Taku tragically passed away in Feb 2010. His legacy lives on in his uniquely crafted, modern guitar masterpieces.
Version R is a Sakashta original option which adds rounded, hand carved-out side rims to the body of the guitar. The body style options are The Karizma, Style Europe, Style N.Y., Opera and Lotus guitars. The Version R is a unique, innovative, and highly intricate design feature offered exclusively from Taku Sakashta.
The new generation of Jazz Guitarists are creating new playing styles, but are playing instruments having traditional specifications and sound. “New Age” playing requires immediate full tone response of the guitar after picking each note in the initial phrasing. Traditionally, musicians have added effects or amplifier volume control overdrive to achieve this.
Traditional archtop guitars have severely limited immediate response (“attacks”) to support initial phrasing, no sustain, and feedback problems.
Probably many of you have noticed the interesting sustained tones of solid body guitars played “unplugged” that disappear and are not heard when “plugged in.” I thought about this over and over, realizing the need to capture these lost sustained tones which clearly support current playing styles and music. From these thoughts comes the “R-Shaped” hand-carved-out hollow-siderim guitars — The Version R’s New Generation of Jazz Guitars, a more modern design that supports all forms of music playing.
The hand-carved siderims create first response with sustain plus carry reproduction of full overtones even with thin, clear amplifier settings. Sound so generated have natural overdrive – full, clear tone.Unlike other guitars the Version R’s have reduced internal volume to efficiently exchange limited electric guitar picking energy into clear undistorted self-overdrive without distortion or feedback.The modern looking shape has no siderim corners (which are inefficient energy transmitters) and is more comfortable to play.
- 15″ R-version body with cutaway design
- Completely hollow with X-braced design body construction
- Carved out body limb from solid wood blanks.
- Semi-silenced sound hole design
- Hand-carved top of Selected Spruce
- Hand-carved back of AAA-Flamed Bigleaf Maple
- Wood binding body
- 24-3/4″ Scale length 22 frets
- #6100 medium jumbo size fretwire
- Hand shaved AAA-Flamed, Eastern hard rock maple 2 or 3 piece neck
- Adjustable ebony bridge
- Free angle-jointed tailpiece
- Scalloped tempered bone nut
- Fullsize Sakashta Hand Wired TM humbucker jazz pickup mounted in body
- 1 volume, 1 tone control pots on body or disk pots on pick guard
- Custom setup playability
- Black Schaller M6 tuners with pearloid buttons
- Nitrocellulose lacquer finish
- Hard Shell Cases
Taku Sakashta (1966 – 2010)