Hikaru Customs
I moved from Japan to Colorado in 2022. I love the low humidity here and the mild weather makes for a very comfortable lifestyle. Colorado has high-quality breweries and distilleries, which I like to frequent.
After graduating from high school, I spent two years at the ESP Musical Academy in Tokyo. I learned guitar making and how to operate woodworking machines there. I built three solid-body electric guitars and one flat-top acoustic guitar while at school.
After graduating ESP, I did an internship at Odashima Guitars in Wassam, Hokkaido. After that, I worked in fields unrelated to guitars and took a long break from instrument making. I began building guitars again from 2017.
Building hand-carved archtop guitars takes time, especially carving wood. It also is hard to find the right thickness of tone wood.
To me, a great guitar is one that draws out more than a hundred percent of a player’s potential through a pleasing sound and a stress-free playing experience. I pursue my craft with the goal of one day perfecting such an instrument.
