Tag Archives: Guitars

News

Hey folks, it’s been a busy couple of weeks after getting back from my trip to Japan, but today is the time for some B’z updates! Rocksmith 2014 Edition was released in Japan on November 7th, 2013 and with it, a special message from Tak Matsumoto concerning the game was released.

What great times we live in! If Rocksmith had existed when I was just a young aspiring guitar player…I probably would have become an even better guitarist now. Be a guitar hero with Rocksmith!

Takahiro Matsumoto

To celebrate the release of the Japanese version of Rocksmith 2014, Ubisoft Japan is also conducting a special giveaway for Japanese players. They are giving away an Epiphone Tak Matsumoto Double Cutaway Standard Cherry which has been signed by Tak Matsumoto himself! The campaign runs until November 30th, 2013.

News

[UPDATE 8/29]: CNET Japan is now reporting that three more B’z songs will be available as downloadable content. They are juice, Easy Come, Easy Go!, and girigiri chop.

[UPDATE 7/4]: Famitsu now also reports that Tak Matsumoto’s solo work “GO FURTHER” has also been announced to be part of Rocksmith 2014 Edition.

At their press conference yesterday for the E3 video game event, game publisher Ubisoft unveiled the next iteration in their Rocksmith franchise, which allows both prospective and experienced guitarists to learn and hone their skills on the instrument with the guitar of their choice. Among the announcements and demonstrations for the game, Ubisoft announced their first teaser of the tracklisting, and one addition particularly stands out: B’z — Ultra Soul. We presume this will be the English version released on the band’s debut English album last summer and performed as one of the staples during their ensuing North American tour. The English version can be purchased on iTunes along with the other four new English tracks here.

B’z are in good company, being joined by other rock heavy-hitters such as Aerosmith, Bob Dylan, and Oasis, with many, many more to come. The original Rocksmith game, available now, was released in 2011 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The original game allowed users to expand their virtual library via downloadable content, so the opportunity for further B’z action to be featured in the game isn’t out of the question just yet.

Rocksmith 2014 Edition ships in October of this year and will be available for PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3.

Tak Matsumoto News

On August 1, it has been announced that Dunlop is going to release their first Tak Matsumoto signature wah pedal. The wah pedal called the “Tak Cry Baby” is the first signature wah pedal issued for a Japanese artist. Other notable Dunlop signature artists include Slash, Kirk Hammett and Eddie Van Halen.

The Cry Baby is a very popular among guitarists and is rumored to be the best selling wah pedal of all time. The “Tak Cry Baby” is going to be on sale in September this year at a limited quantity.

You can check out more pictures of the Tak Cry Baby on Moridaira’s website.

News

Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has interviewed Rocksmith 2014 Edition’s creative director, Paul Cross, to find out more about the reasons why B’z made it onto Rocksmith 2014. Their first question was why B’z was chosen to be included in the game. Paul Cross replied “That’s of course because they’re one of the greatest bands on the planet!”, which leads Famitsu to ask the next question: Have you known about B’z before? Paul had to admit that he had not known about B’z before. He says that one of Rocksmith’s Japanese producers introduced him to the band.

With Rocksmith’s 2014 edition, Ubisoft aims to have everyone around the world enjoy the game. Therefore, they decided to include songs from all over the world. Moving on, Famitsu wanted to know why “ultra soul” was specifically chosen for the game. Paul explained that he was discussing with Ubisoft’s team in Japan which B’z song they would choose for the game. “Of course a popular song is fine, too”, Paul says, “but we wanted to find a song that is on par with the songs we have released on the previous Rocksmith.”

Finally, the magazine wanted to know if there’s a possibility that Japan will get exclusive downloadable content with the latest B’z songs, which Paul denied by stating that if there’s going to be downloadable content, it’s going to be available world wide. Furthermore, Paul says it’s possible that more Japanese artists might be included in the game in the future.

Source: 『Rocksmith 2014 Edition』に堂々B’z参戦。いったいなんで！？　開発者に独占直撃インタビュー！【E3 2013】

Tak Matsumoto News

Hello fellow B’z brothers!

The hype meter is constantly growing with B’z being in the middle of recording and Shane being back in Tokyo after a short break!
News should be out any day now… Everyone’s hoping for February 1st (JST), so check back tomorrow in case there’s some hype news!

Photo taken by: TOMUJI OHTANI

Japanese music magazine “Player” has posted a teaser for the new issue on their blog. It will feature a C’mon tour live report as well as a report on Tak Matsumoto’s latest gear. The very same gear he also used during the C’mon tour. To get everyone excited, they posted a picture of the latest guitar prototype Tak is using at the moment: The Gibson Tak Matsumoto DC Prototype 2011 #1. (ver wondered what guitar Tak is holding in the picture on B’z official website? Well now you know.

Perhaps I can get ahold of that issue (out Feb 2nd) and report back to you guys! Would certainly be interesting to read that live report… and of course the Tak Matsumoto gear report 😉

Source: Player Blog

Tak Matsumoto News

Hey folks, it has been quiet on the B’z front these days, but I’m still alive and kickin’. Today, I bring you this piece of news: Tak Matsumoto is releasing another Epiphone Double Cutaway(DC) model in Japan. It’s available in Japan starting today at a price of  122,850 Yen. It comes with a hard case and a limited edition gigbag.

Judging from the picture above, it looks like Tak has already used that guitar while touring North America this year.

Epiphone has also posted quite a stunning article about Tak’s new gem:

Epiphone announces the new Tak Matsumoto DC Standard Plus Top Cherry Outfit, a stunningly beautiful guitar designed by Epiphone and Tak Matsumoto exclusively for Japan. From his blistering solo work and his long-standing association with the band B’z to his GRAMMY winning albums with renowned artists like Larry Carlton, Tak Matsumoto has proved himself not only one of Japan’s true masters of the fingerboard, but one of the world’s most powerful rockers. With a searing tone that is utterly infectious, Matsumoto has bridged the musical gap between East and West and proved that rock is truly a universal language. Now, Epiphone brings Tak’s unique design and superior tone home with the one-of-a-kind Limited Edition Tak Matsumoto DC Standard Plus Top Cherry Outfit which embodies Tak’s own asymmetrical take on the popular DC Standard Les Paul style with a carved Hard Maple cap with AAA Flame Maple Veneer and a stunning Black Cherry finish.

Check out the full article here: Introducing the Tak Matsumoto DC Standard Plus Top (Japan Only)