ABOUT US

Since the founding of Sugi Musical Instruments in 2002, we have grown to become a recognized force in the Japanese music scene. Our extreme attention to quality and detail, coupled with our fresh innovative original designs, have been recognized by leading professional musicians as well as everyday musicians. Founded by industry veteran Nick Sugimoto, and made up of some of the most talented craftsmen in Japan and the USA, Sugi guitars are proud to now present themselves to the world music scene.

Makoto"nick" sugimoto

Nick has been working in the stringed musical instrument industry for more than forty years. In 1976, he went to United States and studied guitar repair from Kunio Sugai, owner of Performance Guitar, as well as working at Hoshino USA. After he went back to Japan, he joined Fujigen from 1978 until 1992 and Fujigen Hirooka from 1993 until 2002. During those 24 years he worked in R&D, custom guitar building and engineering, and was one of the main forces in the creation of Fujigen’s design and manufacturing processes. His designs and abilities have been indispensable to customers like FENDER USA and JAPAN, IBANEZ, EPIPHONE, YAMAHA, GRECO, ROLAND, FERNANDES, CASIO, TOBIAS, and of course Fujigen’s own brands “Heartfield" and “FgN". During his years at Fujigen, he wrote more than 1,500 engineering spec sheets and packages for manufacturing. You can see a lot of his ideas in the catalogs of the brands listed above.

Nick has also worked for three different Custom Shops during his years in the music industry. First he worked for the “Greco Made To Order” section for two years. Second, he established the “Fender Japan Made To Order” facility where he made or produced more than 500 guitars, and lastly, he established the “Fujigen Custom Shop”, where he spent over five years as the General Director.

Nick also worked at the Fender Custom Shop in 1990 helping with the design of a joint venture between Fender Musical Instruments and Fujigen, Inc. With the establishment of Sugi Guitars in 2002, Nick has brought his vast experience in guitar building to a whole new level of expertise. Sugi Guitars is now recognized as one of the premier Guitar and Bass brands in Japan.

TIM WILSON

Tim Wilson has been working in the guitar industry for over 35 years. In 1979, as one of the original employees of Jackson/Charvel, he produced the prototypes for the Dinky Strat and Soloist, two of the iconic brand’s most successful models. In 1980, he produced the original prototype of the Randy Rhoads guitar, under the direct supervision of Randy himself and Grover Jackson. He was also responsible for the development of the Charvel Strat-style neck which gained wild popularity in the early 80’s. 

During this period, he set up the woodworking operation, defined the process for making neck-through body instruments, and developed machinery for producing compound radius fingerboards. As the company grew, he was responsible for setting up Charvel’s IT, production and inventory control systems. In 1986 he shepherded the factory’s move from San Dimas to a new facility in Ontario. In the latter half of the decade, he travelled extensively in Japan, Asia, and India, working with parts suppliers and the factories that were making Charvel’s famous models one through six. In 1991 he became the plant manager for the Jackson Custom Shop in Ontario California, working directly with artists such as Phil Collen (Def Leppard), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), and Marty Freidman to develop new models. In addition, he was responsible for the day to day management of an operation which was producing an average of over 200 guitars per month.

In 2002 Fender acquired Jackson/Charvel and moved the production into its Corona facility, where Tim continued to oversee operations until his retirement in 2007. After leaving Fender, he set up his own shop, began making guitars for Sugi in 2010, and has been building guitars for them ever since. By keeping the shop small, he is able to remain personally involved in every guitar produced and nothing leaves the shop without meeting his own high standard of satisfaction.

Professional Musicians worked with;  Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, George Benson, Allan Holdsworth, Lee Ritenour, Steve Lukather, Masaki Mtsubara, Tsuyoshi Kon, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Steve Miller, Phil Collen, Jaco Pastorius, ZZ Top, Chiharu Mikuzuki, Fumio Yanagisawa, Bob Weir, Sting, Paul Gilbert, Victor Bailey, Adrian Belew, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Takumi “Fire” Matsuda, Hojin Egawa, Paul Stanley, Joe Pass, Billy Sheehan, Air Supply, Kenny Loggins, The Allman Brothers, Ju-Ken