Japan's foremost craftsmen, closest to the front lines
T.S. Factory
Inheriting Leo's genes!? The stubborn craftsman's unyielding dedication
Profile of Mr. Tsunoda, Representative of T.S. Factory
Worked at Dyna Musical Instrument Factory. Served in the body inspection department for renowned brands including F/J.After serving as an instructor in ESP's Guitar Craft Department, he established his own workshop, "T.S factory," in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, where he was born and raised. For over 20 years since, he has maintained and repaired instruments for numerous famous manufacturers and popular musicians while also crafting original guitars. His uncompromising work ethic, characteristic of a stubborn craftsman forged in the factory, has earned him the deep trust of many top musicians and instrument makers.
Forbidden Workshop: No General Public Allowed
T.S. Factory generally does not accept repairs from the general public. Access to the workshop is also restricted to certain individuals. Why is that? Is there some secret? We attempted an undercover investigation."Well, I don't mean to be pretentious or anything... but if someone who knows what they're looking at sees instruments in repair, they'd probably recognize whose they are, right?" Looking around the workshop after hearing that! Wait! Is this... that person's guitar? And this is the one I saw on TV! The cases waiting for repair even have the names of some truly illustrious figures written on them. Because maintenance is based on trust, they don't want to reveal the clients' names, and it's truly regrettable that we can't share that information."If he revealed the names, he could become super famous," I think to myself, but that seems to go against his aesthetic. Conversely, perhaps it's precisely that aesthetic that earns him such deep trust from top-tier musicians. Without exaggeration, I just want to convey this: it's a workshop where astonishing top artists gather in secret.
Never compromise on anything. Never cut corners anywhere.
The builder personally selects and uses only the finest premium wood... not!
All the wood used in T.S factory guitars is sourced from Aichi Timber. We don't go out to select it ourselves. Isn't the wood supplier, who handles logs day in and day out, far more reliable in their judgment? Even if a luthier went out on a whim to pick out wood, there's no guarantee they'd find good pieces. It's far more reasonable to leave wood matters to the wood professionals; it leads to better results.
We don't prioritize the natural resonance of the wood by insisting on ultra-thin lacquer finishes...
"Even Fender himself used leftover paint from his side business making automotive coatings. It just happened to be nitrocellulose lacquer. There's no secret in the paint itself. What exactly is the inherent resonance of wood anyway? Even if a board resonates at the plank stage, the sound changes depending on the wood combination and processing methods. Applying the most suitable finish is what matters. Fixating on the paint itself stifles free thinking."
I'm not confident in achieving a precise, high-precision finish...
"Does a guitar really need that much precision? Well, some degree of precision is necessary, but that's not the most important thing. Take the finish, for example. If it's perfectly smooth like a mirror, it looks great. But sometimes leaving a bit of texture actually improves the sound. A joint that's perfectly flush can actually hinder the resonance. Excessive precision is just the builder's ego, I think. Would you really want to use precision equipment like that on a sweaty stage?"
Active circuits make diverse sound creation... impossible.
"I'm basically passive. Well, if someone told me to go active, I could do it. But active systems just end up sounding like the circuit, and they all blend together. It's not interesting.Also, most modern circuits are way too extreme. Where are you even supposed to use that? Like, if you seriously boost the bass in a space the size of a live house, it's not sound anymore—it's just vibration. Do you really need that? When it comes to playing music, it's enough to just get the necessary sound out. Nothing more, nothing less."
What I'm making is tools.
They're not decorative items or works of art. They're tools, pure and simple, for musicians to play music. That's why we focus intently on how stress-free they are to use. We put particular effort into the neck's grip.NewBut the moment you hold it, it should feel like a guitar you've played for years. You'll mean to play it just a little, but before you know it, you'll be playing for hours. That's the kind of guitar I aim to make. Don't you dare hang it on the wall.
Sound is determined by the musician.
I don't want to say things like, "This model has this kind of sound." Of course, there are certain goals we aim for, but that's not for the makers to say. Even with Strats, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck—they all produced their own unique sounds, right?The ones in the spotlight, receiving the applause, are always the musicians. I want people to say the musician sounds great, not that the guitar sounds great. All we can do is give our absolute best so those musicians can play comfortably and focus on their performance. An instrument shouldn't assert itself; it's a tool to faithfully convey the message the musician wants to express. That's what an instrument is, I believe."
Leo of Downtown
What do you think? This contrarian attitude. I've dealt with many guitar makers over the years, and usually builders passionately express their obsessions and convictions. But he's obsessed with nothing. Or rather, he's obsessed with not being obsessed. And that directly translates to the instrument's sound in the most efficient way possible. You could call it thoroughgoing rationalism.
Yes, he is truly the "Leo of the downtown area." Here we see the rationality of Leo Fender, whom he deeply admired, and the innovative frontier spirit born from it, carried on.
And it is precisely this rational approach, taking the shortest path to sound, that makes a significant difference not only in the sound itself but also in the price. Just imagine how much it would cost to have a guitar of this caliber handmade in a Tokyo workshop. This rational thinking, eliminating unnecessary elements, is what enables the creation of instruments that are "player-friendly" in so many ways.
Infiltrating T.S. Factory
T.S. Factory in Tokyo's downtown area. As a workshop within the city, it's quite spacious, lined with various specialized tools. Even for me, who knows many workshops, its surprising size and comprehensive collection allow you to see tools you wouldn't find anywhere else. Among them were some that made me wonder, "What on earth is this used for!?"
Wood is stacked in a wide variety, filling every available space.Rare woods are present, of course, and some are quite old. "I bought them ages ago and just left them sitting," he says, but he almost never uses new wood directly for guitars. He lets it rest for at least several years before using it. While T.S. Factory guitars are made using "whatever wood is lying around," the "whatever wood" here has a different level of age and character. He pretends not to care about anything, but you can tell he actually cares deeply.
Guitar being assembled and guitars waiting to be assembled.
This is a freshly assembled body. What most models share is a laminate top made by layering multiple pieces of wood. This achieves the ideal resonance. You say you "don't care about anything," but you clearly do care, don't you?
There are also set-neck and semi-hollow models. The red binding on the body is a bit of a concern.
The semi-acoustics after painting. The model with red binding had a unique color scheme. Looking forward to seeing the finished result.
This body is also incredibly unique. It's actually carved from a tree stump. The growth rings around the rear pickup position give it its defining feature. Yet, once the parts are installed, it becomes invisible. Obsessing over details no one will notice. Is that the T.S. Factory aesthetic?
From another angle. Beneath the top wood, the distinctive three-dimensional growth rings unique to stumps become visible. This challenging approach—unbound by conventional wisdom about wood, embracing diverse timber—and the talent to synthesize sound from it all, truly evokes Leo's spirit.
By the time I visited next, the painting was complete. Once the paint goes on, you can no longer tell it's a stump... But I'm really looking forward to hearing what kind of sound it produces.
Mirror coating
Another innovation from T.S factory is mirror coating. Using a special paint, they achieve a metallic texture with a mirror-like finish. This texture, distinct from conventional metallic colors, is truly captivating. They are actively challenging themselves with new materials, not only in wood and manufacturing methods but also in coatings.