Los Angeles- where fierce competition amongst the musicians takes place. To find the best instrument holds the same meaning as a swordsman finding his "Meito-the superb sword." Thus luthiers and guitar builders in this town must answer to the demands for more advanced techniques and innovative ideas. In this tough environment, we find one man tackling it head-on. His name is Hiro Miura. In a way, he is also a "Samurai." When the electric bass market is leaning more towards adding more strings, what does he pursue? Let's find out.
"Looking for more possibilities"
PCI: What are your experiences prior to coming to the US?
Hiro: I quit college at age 19 and started working for Moon Corporation. Moon used to be a small company with young employees. We handled Schecter parts and we were the pioneer for "build your own custom guitar." I think this helped me find my roots. After I left Moon, I established Lumtric, and then went to work for a music store in Fujisawa, Kanagawa. This is when I started traveling to the US to purchase vintage guitars. And in 1986 I decided to relocate to the US.
PCI: Why did you decide to relocate to the US?
Hiro: I had been working in the music instrument industry for 7 years at that point, and I saw where I was going to end up in life. There were also other factors that made me feel like I was stuck in a blind alley... and this is when my previous guitar purchasing trips to the US came to mind. I started thinking there might be more possibilities in the US. I wanted the change. So I quit my job and moved to Los Angeles. Initially, it was just a fling, and I was hoping for a good 6 months or so. That was 22 years ago... (lol).
PCI: What did you do when you first moved to the US?
Hiro: I had a local friend who owned a roofing company, and I helped them around the office. After a while, an acquaintance from a Japanese music store started contacting me, saying, "Please look for this", "Could you find this?" Within 6 months, I had started a business selling vintage and used instruments to Japan. It was before Japan's economic "bubble era" and vintage guitar shops were still rare. After about 3 years, I opened a guitar shop "Guitar Gang" in Studio City. And 3 years after that, I met Taku Sakashita (from TakuSakashita Guitars) and we moved together to a different location. Taku had just left a Japanese guitar company and become independent. He was looking for a location for his shop. Around this time, I started being concerned with where the vintage guitar business was going and started distributing guitars and pickups by manufacturers like Turner, Larrivee, Collings, Olson, Klein, and Van Zandt to Japanese whole sellers. And as I watched Taku build guitars, with his encouragement, I eventually decided to start my own brand, "Xotic Guitars." It was in 1996.
PCI: Do you think there is a difference in mentality as a guitar builder in Japan and the US?
Hiro: Basically, the mentality of wanting to create the best possible product as a guitar builder is the same, but when it comes to the actual procedures, builders in the US will "build from scratch", where builders in Japan will "put together existing parts." I'm not saying which is better or worse. I just think the environment is different. There are still only few guitar builders in Japan, and shops that sell necessary parts and materials for these independent builders are also rare. I believe the biggest difference is in this environment. Because of this environment, most guitar builders in Japan would have to ask the factory to make the body and neck, and then put together the parts according to the customer's orders. Luthiers and guitar builders in the US are mostly one-man operations. They would purchase the wood and make the body and neck according to their own original design. Many builders make their own tools as well. I also think builders in the US are more picky. When they can't find what they want, they would create it themselves from scratch. If they can't find a good pickup, they will wind it themselves. I also think networking and information exchanges are very active amongst the guitar builders in the US.
PCI: What has being in the US taught you?
Hiro: "Do it yourself!" And also to not get caught up in the stereotype. Nothing will take place unless you do something. That is the same in Japan, but here, people will build their own house even if they are not a carpenter. They would even build their own cars! (lol) That kind of mind-set is hard to do in Japan. Also in the US, if there are ten guitar builders, there will be ten different ways to build the instrument and there is no right way. That is why you can have a very free mind-set without any stereotype. Anybody with soft brain has an advantage.
