is a Japanese musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and sole constant member of the
heavy metal band
Loudness
In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...
. He is also the guitarist of the band
Lazy, with which he first rose to prominence in the 1970s.
Career
He started his career as a guitarist, winning a TV contest for young music talents at the age of 14. He was rapidly put under contract to be part of the pop-rock band
Lazy, of which drummer
Munetaka Higuchi
(December 24, 1958 – November 30, 2008) was a Japanese musician and record producer. He is best known as the original drummer of the heavy metal band Loudness, but first rose to prominence as a member of Lazy in the 1970s.
Career
From a ...
was also a member. Lazy produced five successful albums at the end of the 1970s, but Takasaki's musical style, oriented towards
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
and
heavy metal, did not gel with the band and in 1981 he decided to form his own band,
Loudness
In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...
, alongside bandmate Higuchi. The many heavy metal albums produced by Loudness brought him international fame and vast critical acclaim. He is the only member of Loudness that has been in the band since its inception, producing more than 20 studio albums in 25 years. Takasaki has also continued the production of solo works, starting with ''
Tusk of Jaguar
''Tusk of Jaguar'' is the first solo studio album by Japanese guitarist Akira Takasaki, best known for his work in the rock bands Loudness (band), Loudness and Lazy (band), Lazy. It was released in 1982 only in Japan and reissued in 2005. The alb ...
'' in 1982 and is now committed to a new side project called Ji-Zo.
In 1998 and in 2002, he was also directly involved in the reunion of Lazy for the release of two new studio albums and for a tour. Takasaki found enough time to start Killer Guitars, a company co-founded and managed with fellow guitarist George Azuma. He is responsible for several of the guitar designs.
Style
Takasaki's guitar playing style is characterized by complicated
heavy metal riffs executed at great speed and with extreme precision, often using
alternate picking
Alternate picking is a guitar playing technique that employs alternating downward and upward strokes in a continuous fashion. If the technique is performed at high speed on a single string or course voicing the same note, it may be referred to ...
technique and little
vibrato
Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...
. His compositions are usually filled with
melodies
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
and
hooks, in order to make well-constructed songs, instead of long neo-classical themes like some of his peers do.
His
shred guitar
Shred guitar or shredding is a virtuoso lead guitar solo playing style for the guitar, based on various advanced and complex playing techniques, particularly rapid passages and advanced performance effects. Shred guitar includes "fast alternate pi ...
work has attracted many fans over the world and his musicianship has often been compared to the ability of guitarists of his age like
Paul Gilbert,
Marty Friedman
Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 unti ...
,
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...
,
David T. Chastain and others. In 1986 Takasaki declared that the main influences for his compositions and guitar solos came from the work of
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
's guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guita ...
and from Japanese music for
koto
Koto may refer to:
* Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group
* Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument
* Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana
* Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women
* K ...
. He has also cited
Hideki Ishima
is a Japanese musician, known primarily for his work with Flower Travellin' Band and for creating the sitarla instrument. A guitarist and sitar player for nearly forty years, he now exclusively plays the sitarla, an instrument he invented in 2 ...
as an influence.
Equipment
Takasaki uses
ESP
ESP most commonly refers to:
* Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability
ESP may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment Music
* ESP Guitars, a manufacturer of electric guitars
* E.S. Posthumus, an independent music group formed in 2000, ...
Signature Random Star guitars and several Killer guitars, mostly the KG Prime model. He is co-owner of the company, which are made and distributed by ESP.
Its name was coined by rearranging the three
hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''.
It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...
characters that are found in both Takasaki's given name and the surname of his guitar technician Ichizo Araki into , which sounds similar to the English word "killer".
Throughout Loudness' tenure, he has mostly used
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
amps, ranging from Lee Jackson-modified Super Leads in the early-mid '80s, the JMP-1 preamp throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the JCM2000 DSL100, TSL100, and Modefour MF350 in the early-mid 2000s, and the JVM410H in the late 2000s, which is currently his main amp. Starting in the early 1990s, after the release of ''
Loudness
In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...
'', Takasaki began using the Marshall JMP-1 preamp, which would be the center of his rig ever since, with other amps being along the side.
Alongside Marshall, Takasaki has used other amp brands. From 1986 to 1988, he used
Mesa Boogie
Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969.
Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...
amps and cabinets, which were possibly used to record ''
Hurricane Eyes
''Hurricane Eyes'' is the seventh studio album by Japanese Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Loudness (band), Loudness. It was released in 1987 worldwide with standard English lyrics. A "Japanese Version" was subsequently released only in Japan ...
''. In 1988, Takasaki began using Lee Jackson Metaltronix amps, using the M-1000 amps on ''
Soldier of Fortune'', ''
On the Prowl'', and the following tours. Former Loudness manager, Kazuo Sumida said on an interview to ''
Premier Guitar
''Premier Guitar'' is a media company devoted to guitarists. It is based in Marion, Iowa, and it's staff is focused on creating the best website, videos, podcasts, and print/digital magazine for gearheads around the world. Interviews have include ...
'' on February 11, 2010:
In 1992, Takasaki would begin using
Peavey amps, making use of their solid state Supreme 160 heads, which could be heard on ''Loudness'' and the live release ''
Once and for All''. Peavey would be the last company he would endorse before switching back to Marshall in late 1992. Since 2016, he has been using and endorsing Friedman Amplifiers, and uses a BE100 model for live work.
He has also used
Roland JC-120 combo amplifiers. His equipment in the 1980s was completed by
Boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, ...
,
Guyatone
Guyatone (Japanese: or ) is a Japanese guitar brand and its manufacturing company making electric guitars, guitar amplifiers, and effect pedals. In the 1930s, the predecessor company was founded as the earliest electric guitar manufacturer in J ...
and
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...
effects and Harmonizer,
Roland
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
delays, and
Celestion speakers. He also currently has his own signature Shredneck.
Solo albums
* ''
Tusk of Jaguar
''Tusk of Jaguar'' is the first solo studio album by Japanese guitarist Akira Takasaki, best known for his work in the rock bands Loudness (band), Loudness and Lazy (band), Lazy. It was released in 1982 only in Japan and reissued in 2005. The alb ...
'' (1982)
* ''Ki'' (1994)
* ''Wa'' (1996)
* ''Gene Shaft'' (2001)
* ''Made in Hawaii'' (2002)
* ''Splash Mountain'' (2004)
* ''Maca'' (2005)
* ''Osaka Works #128'' (2006)
* ''Nenriki'' (2006)
* ''Black Brown'' (2007)
References
External links
*
Killer Guitars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takasaki, Akira
1961 births
Living people
20th-century Japanese guitarists
21st-century Japanese guitarists
Lead guitarists
Musicians from Osaka
Japanese rock guitarists
Japanese heavy metal guitarists
Loudness (band) members
Lazy (band) members