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Having stumbled on the thread below, I thought I'd take a few moments & try to reconstruct the guitar history a guitarist & one of the founding members of one of my favourite bands: Ace Shimizu of the Japanse band Seikima-II/Seikimatsu/聖飢魔II
Through his career with Seikima-II he seemed to prefer superstrat/soloist-esque models most of the time and his playing always captured my attention.
Some of the earliest performance caught on tape was a TV live performance they did in September '85.
This is possibly his first appearance with a Charvel.
I can't get better pics but the basic rundown seems to be: HSS (passive pickups), 22 frets, pointy HS, Floyd, bolt-on neck.
Anyone here who care to take a guess at the make of this guitar?
It was impossible to make out the logo from the pictures I took.
Then we skip to 1986. Seikima-II's succes is skyrocketing and they go off on their The Great Black Mass Tour.
The guitar previously used seems to get closeted since both Ace & Jail O' Hashi got endorsed by Aria, both using an Aria-II Pro.
I don't know about the Ace model but Jail got his signature model released by Aria (and it's still available today in the Japanese Custom shop of Aria).
The same colour scheme & guitar specs seem to be applied to this guitar. (B/W with black bevels, 22 frets, etc.).
The main difference being that this guitar is his first neck-through model.
Aria catalogue picture, date unknown.
Skipping over to 1990 when Seikima-II departs on its The Worst Black Mass Tour.
Here Ace is first seen with a Charvel built to his usual specs but this time 2 additional frets were added (making 24 in total ;-)) and shark fin inlays replaced the previously used dots.
The passive pickups have been replaced by active EMGs.
Also, this guitar is a neck-through model.
This is also the first (and to my knowledge only concert) where Luke Takamura can be seen without his usual Killer Serpent guitar.
Wielding a Charvel model instead. I'll let you guys decide what model it exactly is.
Next up: the Live Concerts in London & Spain they did in 1990-1991.
Luke's Charvel has turned into a Jackson model with the same specs.
Moving on to the Special Live Concert in 1993.
Still playing his Jackson
But then this guitar appears for the first time.
It looks like a Custom Shop SL2T arched top.
2 pickups with what looks like a sustainer in the neck, tone & volume knob/blade switch
Redish/Orange Flamed Maple top
Inversed sharfin inlays, 24 frets, TOM bridge, etc.
Used for midi effects (this guitar is never seen without the Roland pickup on it)
(See 2005 for better pictures)
This concert is also the first time the Charvel Questar makes it appearance.
There's no doubt here where Caparison got its inspiration model for the Angelus model.
Consequently, Ace was also (correct me on this of I'm wrong) one of the first artists to get their own Caparison signature models based on the Angelus in various colors & pickup combinations.
Did the Questar have a 24 3/4" scale?
If not, the love for that scale & a mahogony body probably came from the occasional Gibson LP he used live on some songs.
Through his career with Seikima-II he seemed to prefer superstrat/soloist-esque models most of the time and his playing always captured my attention.
Some of the earliest performance caught on tape was a TV live performance they did in September '85.
This is possibly his first appearance with a Charvel.
I can't get better pics but the basic rundown seems to be: HSS (passive pickups), 22 frets, pointy HS, Floyd, bolt-on neck.
Anyone here who care to take a guess at the make of this guitar?
It was impossible to make out the logo from the pictures I took.
Then we skip to 1986. Seikima-II's succes is skyrocketing and they go off on their The Great Black Mass Tour.
The guitar previously used seems to get closeted since both Ace & Jail O' Hashi got endorsed by Aria, both using an Aria-II Pro.
I don't know about the Ace model but Jail got his signature model released by Aria (and it's still available today in the Japanese Custom shop of Aria).
The same colour scheme & guitar specs seem to be applied to this guitar. (B/W with black bevels, 22 frets, etc.).
The main difference being that this guitar is his first neck-through model.
Aria catalogue picture, date unknown.
Skipping over to 1990 when Seikima-II departs on its The Worst Black Mass Tour.
Here Ace is first seen with a Charvel built to his usual specs but this time 2 additional frets were added (making 24 in total ;-)) and shark fin inlays replaced the previously used dots.
The passive pickups have been replaced by active EMGs.
Also, this guitar is a neck-through model.
This is also the first (and to my knowledge only concert) where Luke Takamura can be seen without his usual Killer Serpent guitar.
Wielding a Charvel model instead. I'll let you guys decide what model it exactly is.
Next up: the Live Concerts in London & Spain they did in 1990-1991.
Luke's Charvel has turned into a Jackson model with the same specs.
Moving on to the Special Live Concert in 1993.
Still playing his Jackson
But then this guitar appears for the first time.
It looks like a Custom Shop SL2T arched top.
2 pickups with what looks like a sustainer in the neck, tone & volume knob/blade switch
Redish/Orange Flamed Maple top
Inversed sharfin inlays, 24 frets, TOM bridge, etc.
Used for midi effects (this guitar is never seen without the Roland pickup on it)
(See 2005 for better pictures)
This concert is also the first time the Charvel Questar makes it appearance.
There's no doubt here where Caparison got its inspiration model for the Angelus model.
Consequently, Ace was also (correct me on this of I'm wrong) one of the first artists to get their own Caparison signature models based on the Angelus in various colors & pickup combinations.
Did the Questar have a 24 3/4" scale?
If not, the love for that scale & a mahogony body probably came from the occasional Gibson LP he used live on some songs.
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