T.S Factory

Profile of Mr. Tsunoda, Representative of T.S Factory

Worked at the Dyna Musical Instruments factory, where he was in charge of body inspection for famous brands such as F/J.Afterward, following a stint 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 then, he has been caring for and repairing instruments for many famous manufacturers and popular musicians, while also crafting his own original guitars. His uncompromising work ethic—characteristic of a stubborn craftsman who cut his teeth in a factory—has earned him the deep trust of countless top musicians and instrument manufacturers.

A Forbidden Workshop Closed to the General Public

T.S. Factory generally does not accept repair requests from the general public. Access to the workshop is limited to a select few. Why is that? Is there some secret? We attempted an undercover investigation.“Well, it’s not that I’m trying to be mysterious or anything… but if someone who knows their stuff sees an instrument under repair, they’ll instantly recognize whose it is, right?” When he said that and I looked around the workshop—wow! “Wait, is this that person’s guitar?” or “This is the one I saw on TV!” Even the cases waiting for repair were labeled with the names of some truly legendary figures. Since he maintains these instruments based on a relationship of trust, he doesn’t want to reveal the clients’ names—and it’s truly a shame that I can’t share them.I catch myself thinking something rather crass like, “He could become super famous if he just named names,” but that apparently goes against his principles. Yet, perhaps it is precisely those principles that have earned him the deep trust of top-tier musicians. Without any exaggeration, I just want to convey that this is a workshop where an astonishing number of top artists gather in secret.

The builder does not personally select and use carefully chosen high-grade wood…

“All the wood used in T.S. Factory guitars is sourced from Aichi Lumber. We don’t go out to select it ourselves. Don’t the lumber dealers, who bring in logs and sort through them day in and day out, have a far more reliable eye? Even if a guitar maker went out on a whim to pick some wood, there’s no guarantee they’d find something good. It’s far more rational to leave the wood to the wood professionals—and that leads to better results.”

We don’t insist on ultra-thin lacquer finishes to prioritize the wood’s natural resonance…

"After all, even Fender used leftover paint from their side business making car paint. It just happened to be nitrocellulose lacquer. There’s no secret to the paint itself. And what exactly is the ‘natural resonance’ of wood anyway? Even if a piece resonates as a blank, the sound changes depending on the combination of woods and the processing methods. What’s important is applying the finish that’s best suited for it. If you get fixated on the paint, you can’t think freely."

I have no confidence in a precise, high-precision finish

"Do guitars really require that much precision? Well, a certain degree of precision is necessary, but that’s not the most important thing. Take the finish, for example. Sure, a mirror-smooth finish looks nice, but sometimes leaving a bit of texture actually improves the tone. Joints that are perfectly aligned can sometimes hinder the sound. I think precision beyond what’s necessary is just the builder’s self-indulgence. Would you really want to use such a precision instrument on a sweaty stage?"

Active circuits make diverse tone shaping… impossible

"It’s basically passive. Well, if someone told me to make it active, I could probably do it. But with active circuits, it ultimately just becomes the sound of the circuit itself, and they all end up sounding the same. It’s not interesting.Also, a lot of modern circuits are extreme, aren’t they? Where on earth are you supposed to use those? For example, if you seriously boost the bass in a venue the size of a live house, it’s no longer sound—it’s vibration. Do you really need that kind of sound? As long as it produces the sound necessary for playing music, that’s enough. We don’t need anything more or less than that.”

"What I’m making is a tool."

"They’re not ornaments or works of art. They’re strictly tools for musicians to play music. That’s why I focus on making them as stress-free to use as possible. I put particular effort into the neck’s grip. New But the moment you hold it, it should feel like a guitar you’ve played for years. You might intend to just play a little, but you’ll lose track of time and keep playing. That’s the kind of guitar I aim to make. Please don’t just hang it on the wall."

The sound is up to the musician

"I don’t want to say, ‘This model sounds like this.’ Of course, we have certain goals in mind, but that’s not for the maker to say. Even with a Stratocaster, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck—they all produced their own unique sounds, didn’t they?It’s the musician who stands in the spotlight and receives the applause. I want people to say it’s not that the guitar sounds good, but that the musician’s sound is good. As for us, we just do our best to ensure those musicians can focus on their performance with ease. I believe an instrument isn’t something that asserts itself; it’s a tool designed to faithfully convey the message the musician wants to express—that’s what an instrument is all about.”