Pata's Guitar Collection

- Pata's beloved equipment at a glance -

Photography: Shun Hoshino, Taichi Nishimaki

Gibson Les Paul Custom '70s

"We were separated for a while, but we're still "married". We're never getting a divorce."

Pata: This model is from around 1972, and is a guitar I've been using since I was very young. I kept it as a quick substitute for a time, but now I've been playing it as my main guitar. We were separated for a while, but we're still "married". We're never getting a divorce. I've never thought too much about the sound of it, just how it looks. Because each guitar has its own sound, and I also mostly just noted how the neck grip felt. Back when I was in high school, I used a guitar with a tremolo arm, but since I never used it outside the times when I made a conscious effort to, I realized I didn't need one, and then I became more of a tune-o-matic bridge user. It was right around the time when many bands were heavily using tremolo, and I thought: "What a waste of time for just a small detail". Well, maybe that's how I got my playing style.

Gibson Les Paul Standard 1959

"I've completed my quest for the ultimate Les Paul model."

The story of how Pata acquired this guitar is told in this book, but we would like to explain why this 1959 Les Paul is considered special. Les Paul was first introduced in 1952 by Gibson as their first solid electric guitar. Later, in 1958, with a change in specs, the Les Paul Sunburst was perfected. However, the Sunburst was not valued at the time, and its production was halted in 1960. The models produced in 1958 to 1960 became a rare breed, causing prices to soar. The Les Pauls manufactured in those years are commonly called “Burst”, and are considered to be one of the most valuable guitars today.

Pata: When I first saw this guitar, its Grover tuners had been replaced. Later, when I went to buy it, the original tuners had been returned, but there were marks left on the front of the head, where the Grover tuners had been placed. I used to have another 1959 Les Paul Standard, but I eventually let it go, and this is the only one I have now. Well, I've completed my quest for the ultimate Les Paul model.

Gibson Les Paul Custom 2008

Pata: I bought this guitar about 15 years ago, when I randomly got the desire to own a white Les Paul Custom. Every once in a while I get the craving to buy a specific guitar. On the other hand, I can't be bothered to look after too many of them. I often use this guitar between X Japan songs since they have many different tunings. This guitar has the back of its neck painted in black, but I have no idea why. Due to the colors, I nicknamed it "Panda". Compared to other Les Pauls, this guitar is quite lightweight, I can immediately feel the difference when I switch from the 1976 model to this one. I seem to have this guitar with me at home a lot these days, so I guess it has become a guitar for domestic use.

Gibson Les Paul Gold Top 1955

Pata: This guitar was originally bought by a guitar tech, but when I borrowed and played it, I felt like playing it live, so I traded my 1959 vintage issue for this one. This guitar didn't have a tune-o-matic bridge, it should also have P90 pickups, but the original owner made many modifications to it. I was supposed to strip its dirty all gold paint job and make it a pretty gold top, but I thought it looked good like that, with the paint stripped off, and so I left it like that. It's just coated in oil, so it's more stained than it used to be. I haven't used it in a while, but it's an essential substitute guitar for me.

Gibson Les Paul Custom 1976

Pata: I wanted a lightweight guitar to play at home, so while I was browsing online for SGs and the like, it struck me: "Now that I think of it, I don't have a wine red Les Paul Custom"... And so, I bought this. I'm very sure it's a 1976 model. However, it's extremely heavy. I only have myself to blame for getting my priorities backwards... The sound is phenomenal, but it's impossible to play it for more than one song on stage. Both X Japan and hide songs have all very different tunings, so I play this guitar only for a couple songs. For example, I play X Japan's "Jade" with it. The rear pickups have been replaced with Tom Holmes pickups, but only to match other guitars' sounds and outputs.

Gibson EDS-1275

Pata: This is a reissue model I got when I collaborated with Gibson, I had the tailpiece modified to be just like Jimmy Page's model. I don't have any other electric 12-string guitar, so this is the guitar I always make sure to use whenever I have to record a song that needs 12-strings. After I write a song that uses 12-string, I think to myself: "Oh yeah, I gotta play that guitar". This guitar is awfully heavy because of the maple necks. I feel like I'm about to die when I play it live. It's also a pain to play solos on the 6-string side. I also have the tendency to mistake the switch between the 12-string and 6-string sides for a pickup selector switch when I haven't played this guitar in a while. I also had the handle of the toggle switch modified to a longer one so it looks identical to Jimmy Page's.

Fender Stratocaster 1964

Pata: I always loved the Burgundy Mist color of this guitar. When a distributor told me there was someone selling a guitar in this color, I bought it. It was when I was still living in a studio apartment, so it was a real struggle. Ever since I got it, I haven't done any modifications to it and have only used it when recording. For a Stratocaster, this guitar has a super thick sound, and is not meant for the so-called "clangy" tone. Once in an interview, I was asked something like: "You're playing a Les Paul yet there's a tremolo sound?" but I was actually playing this guitar. I also used to have a Jeff Beck model Stratocaster, but this is the only Stratocaster guitar I currently own.

Burny Pata Model

Pata: Fernandes told me that they had some good Korina wood, so I asked them to make an Explorer model, but I also asked them to shape the head like this to make it look more interesting than the usual shape. For ease of use, the knobs are designed so that the front side also controls the rear volume.

Burny Hide Model proto

Pata: When I had my custom Explorer made with Korina wood, it seems like hide also wanted a Korina wood guitar, so he also got one made. It's very similar to mine.

Ampeg Dan Armstrong Lucite Guitar

Pata: This one reminds me of Keith Richards, Joe Perry, and the Georgia Satellites. I actually bought it because it looked interesting, and I also wanted a Humbucker guitar. It sounds very powerful, so I mostly play it live.

Hamer GSTC-RN-59B

Pata: I learned guitar seeing Rick Nielsen, so I really wanted this type of guitar when I was younger. I sought one for years, and then the guy who plays me in X-Hiroshima found one and told me, and I got one, at last.

D-28 1968

Pata: While recording my solo album in LA, I really wanted a proper acoustic guitar, so I asked an LA acquaintance for advice. They showed me this guitar. Jimmy Page also was an influence in my choice of this D-28.

Dan Electro 59

Pata: I got this simply because I wanted it. The color is the same as Jimmy Page's, black. I use it mostly for my own enjoyment but there have been times when I played it live, since it's so light. I once found a double-neck model of it in Argentina. I wish I had bought it.

Guild F212

Pata: I think I bought this one just because I wanted an acoustic guitar with 12 strings. I mostly use it for acoustic songs that require 12 strings. I wasn't particularly influenced by Eric Clapton, nor have any bias towards Guild guitars.

Martin O-017

Pata: I found this guitar at a music store and bought it because I thought it was cute. One X Japan song I wrote, "White Wind From Mr.Martin ～Pata's Nap～", was inspired by this guitar.

Takamine LTD98

Pata: I got this guitar as a gift, and it's the guitar I play the intro to hide's "Hurry Go Round".

Jagard Parlor Type

Pata: This was originally my sister's, and it was the guitar I started with. It has been repaired and I've been borrowing it.

Ovation Elite 12ST

Pata: I'm pretty sure I got this while recording in LA. At the time, Ovation were the go-to brand when you wanted an electric acoustic.

Ovation Classic

Pata: This acoustic guitar is different from what I'm used to, but I have written a song using it, and I also played it live with X Japan.