The "Hermes" series is crafted to fully showcase Kikuchi's masterful skills, making it accessible to a wider range of players. Kikuchi Guitars was born 30 years after Yoshiyuki Kikuchi, one of Japan's leading luthiers, visited the world-renowned contemporary master craftsman Roger Sadowsky. You can fully experience the depth of his understanding of instruments, which he has deepened while precisely inheriting the Sadowsky spirit. This "Hermes" series is the brand's standard line. While the basic specifications and manufacturing quality are almost the same as the custom models, the regular model lineup with fixed specifications achieves high cost performance. Experience the world-class sound and playability of "Kikuchi Guitars," a brand that can be considered the culmination of Mr. Kikuchi's knowledge and experience gained at Sadowsky and Three Dots Guitars. - Neck - The neck has been strengthened and the headstock thickened to create the optimal resonance and weight balance for playing. The nut width is narrower than that of a typical J-style guitar, and the neck grip has been made easy to hold while retaining a moderate thickness for durability and playability, allowing for smooth playing from the low to high positions, and even muting the wide 5th string. Furthermore, by using nickel frets with a higher hardness, the noise generated when pressing down on the frets is reduced, producing a punchy sound despite being made of nickel. 22 frets are used to accommodate a wide range of musical genres. By avoiding excessive fret extension and designing the neck joint position deeper towards the bridge, it can be played with a feel similar to a 21-fret bass. To accommodate various playing techniques and musical genres, the string height is set uniformly at every fret position, resulting in a powerful tone for forceful picking and a warm, enveloping tone for gentle fingering. - Body - The Dinky shape, redesigned to allow for comfortable playing even for those with a Japanese physique, is adopted for this guitar. Not only does it offer easy handling and a modern tone, but the solid body with its appropriate weight produces a clear, articulate tone, creating a wide range of tonal variations. The MV model uses ash wood. In addition to the bright and crisp tone of the maple fingerboard, it features a dry, punchy tone. - Hardware - The lightweight and highly functional Hipshot parts, also used in the Custom Series, are strategically placed throughout the instrument to directly transmit the characteristics of the wood, resulting in a more natural sound. - Pickups - It features a custom DiMarzio pickup, also used in the Custom Series. This pickup delivers a sharp, crisp sound with plenty of power and hum-canceling noise reduction. - Preamp - To achieve the ultimate tone that Kikuchi envisions, this guitar features an original preamp developed in collaboration with a world-class design manufacturer, the same preamp used in the Custom Series. When boosted, it delivers a clear and natural tone in the low and high frequencies, and scoops the midrange, while the passive/active switching is designed to minimize the perceived difference in volume and tone.【SPECIFICATIONS】 Model: 5st Body: Ash 2-Piece (Solid) Neck: Maple, Thin Matte Nitro Fingerboard: Maple Fingerboard Radius: 12inch (305R) Nut Material: Tusq Nut Width: 5st: 46mm Fret: DHP24H, 22F Scale: 864mm (34inch) Body Finish: Poly Hardware Color: Chrome Bridge: Hipshot 19mm Spacing Tuner: Hipshot License Ultra-Light Pickups: DiMarzio 5HC in 60's Locations Preamp: Kikuchi Guitars Original Preamp Controls: Master Volume, Pickup Balancer, Passive Roll Off Tone (w/Pull Switch for Preamp Bypass), Treble/Bass Boost Body Color / Pickguard: Trans White / Black Pearl Includes semi-hard case