Heya!!

Alright, let's just TRY and imagine that one day, you managed to get the opportunity to sit down with YUI and have a drink (non-alcoholic beverages only, no spiked ones either)!
(Guys!!... =.=" ... Stop thinking that this is the date of your dreams... This is NOT a DATE!!)
Errr... Let's also say you spoke fluent Japanese... =P
The conversation continues about how good you think her music is (and whatever else you want to say to her... No marriage proposals here!). Then, she asks you to recommend her some guitar gear! She gives her YUI smile...

Yui... smiled... at... me????... :shock =O :hee

And it's your turn to talk!!... (Assuming you haven't fainted...)
Guitars, effects, amps, whatever you want! Be as detailed as you like... And give reasons if you want... Also, be imaginative!! (About the guitar gear... O.O")
What would you start talking about? (Assuming that she would probably buy whatever you recommend!)

For me, I'd say...

Electric Guitar... "Gibson Les Paul"
She needs a change and she could do with a new sound too. The Les Paul might develop a new side of her that we have yet to see, esp. since she has a liking for vintage bluesy tones (she uses Texas Special pick-ups on her strats!). Have the neck modified to her hand shape... And if she really dislikes the weight, drop off a volume and tone control! That way, it'll be as light as my Les Paul Standard DC+. Also, extend the neck to 24 frets (gives her more creative range... :P)!

Acoustic Guitar... "Taylor"
She has Fender acoustics and a Martin&Co., so it's time for a new brand and without a doubt, I'd ask her to try out a Taylor. I don't have much details about specific types... So I'm going to leave that to a Taylor expert to do (*cough* *cough* Natalie *cough*). But she HAS to try a Taylor... :D

Dream/Ideal Electric Guitar... "F&G YUI custom ~feel my soul~"
OHHH... Creativity options... Yay!... :P
Picture this... Fender and Gibson doing a partnership just for YUI! Stratocaster shape using Gibson's premium woods. Neck is custom-made to fit her hands.
The pick-ups are up to her... If she wants to go with the Texas Specials again, I won't push her. Maybe she could experiment with 2 different pick-ups!! Also, shove on Fender's S1-Switching System... For the sake of more tone... (If it's possible!)... :P
On the headstock (shaped like a stratocaster's), "F&G YUI custom" with "~feel my soul~" written underneath in smaller writing. Fender and Gibson logo probably goes on top or under... Hmmm... Should it be shortened to F&G??
Fretboard wood is up to her... But I'd say to try rosewood for a change in looks!! :P
Fret INLAYS... All fret inlays are to be her star-shaped turtle design (same as on her GA-45SCE!)... Also, 'YUI' signed on the 5th fret!
Bridge needs a tremolo... None of that Floyd Rose nonsense... Fender Vintage Strat Tremolo, which she's so used to on her other stratocasters!!
Colour choice is up to her... Don't want to push her over the edge and have her glare at me... :'(

Effects...
She's had plenty of fun with her Fender amp distortion and KORG VP-10 or XVP-10. Also, I think she has a volume expression pedal... So that's covered too!!
It's time she added some DELAY to her arsenal... Line-6 Echo Park should do fine! In fact, I'd throw in a Digitech Distortion Factory 7 for more versatility (like me and Cross)!! The Delay should give her plenty of things to play with... Wonder what amazing songs she could make with that.

Strings...
She's been using Fender 60L light and SUPER BULLETS 3250L(09-42).
Probably a preference... But I'd love to be able to see her try some D'addarios... A lot of artists use it. Ahh... But I'm not picky... If she sounds good with the Fender strings, I say she keeps using them!!


Phew... That was one long post...
What would the rest of you do??!! Let's hear it!

:good
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JK

A PRS.

@Cross: LOL!!!!!!!!!

@JKDragoon: I'm a hardware n00b. *runs*

wow dood.. thats as detailed as it gets..

:hee

Hahaha!!

Mine was the very detailed spectrum... And Cross was the least detailed spectrum!

Cross...
"Any particular PRS to try?", says YUI :P

Stephen...
You chose all 4 of your guitars... You're no longer a n00b at guitar hardware! :P

br4d137...
No suggestions? I heard you were the one with many many many guitars... XD

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JK

NO, a TAYLOR!

lmao, you know it. Why elaborate?

But I guess for the sake of conversation and to play along, I'll give it a whirl.

Electric Guitar

A Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 Artist Package in a Ruby finish. A highly figured quilted maple top, stoptail, wide-thin neck, gold hardware, Paua bird inlays, rosewood headstock veneer, and Paua headstock signature. That would be a hella cool guitar to see YUI playing. I would probably steal it from her. The Dragon II pickups have a nice bite to them, which could lend to some pretty rocking tunes, while the maple cap would add brightness and clarity to the tone, so that the notes do not become too muddy. The pickups can also be coil-splittable, which provides a greater diversity in sound, if she feels like going back to her "strat" sound. All in all, a cool guitar - and I would get to see more threads that start with "which PRS should I get?". That'd be hawt.


Acoustic Guitar

Any brand that will allow her to make a guitar using Koa Wood - mmmmm, Koa. Abalone fretboard inlays, headstock inlays, and rosette would be cool.

Dream/Ideal Electric Guitar

A PRS. Private Stock. Oooooooo. Aaaaaaaa. A suped-up Custom 22. Flame maple top with a wide flame. Bonnie Pink Finish, with Gold Mother of Pearl bird inlays and gold trim around the birds. Recessed truss rod cover, Brazilian Rosewood neck and board with a matching headstock veneer. That'd be sweet - I would probably steal it from her.

Amp

Marshall Vintage Modern. I'd love to hear what these things sound like. I'd love to hear what they sound like with a PRS.

There seems to be an evident theme to my post - maybe 2 :nah

hmm...how bout an Ibanez JEM Jr..without those tree of life inlays, Yui would look cool carrying the JEM around by holding the guitar thru the holer on the body (is that what you call it?)

or maybe a Jackson RR3 would be good, Vs look good on girls I think.

That is some crazy stuff @@ Me know nothing.

Something besides Fender, Taylor will be nice. Most Japanese artists use Gibson, if YUI uses PRS, it'll be cool lol.

But then, I think I'll be the one who ask her opinions on which guitar gears to buy though :please

JKDragoon: Delay? Something KT Tunstall always use? That'll be cool. Playing around with it xD And you're very imaginative lol.

Cross...
As always... Pushing for the PRS move there! Have you got one btw?...
You seem to have a very clear view of what type YUI should go for!
No doubt you have a dream one as well... :D

sirnanzy...
Took a look at the Ibanez... Ahhh... I hope YUI doesn't hurt herself with the Floyd Tremolo... (Like I did... =.=")

atheon...
Imaginative enough to design a YUI get-together!! :P :P
Tunstall uses delay? I haven't heard her songs in depth to realise it!! XD
The best use of delay I've ever heard was in L'arc~en~Ciel's "Dive To Blue"... The intro is amazingness... XD

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JK

Well, the JEM Jr. would not be a problem since the tremolo system on the Jr. isn't a Floyd Rose (correct me if I'm wrong), btw, if you're looking forward to a Fender - Gibson collabo for fender looks and gibson sounds, how bout the Eddie Van Halen Frankenstrat..selling for a cool $25k USD "ONLY"

Hahaha... WOW... That guitar is CRAZY... XD
But it's a little too overwhelming for me... Even with an 'imaginative' guitar, I prefer the overall look to be 'simple'... =P

:sayw $25K US???!!!

Hehehe... One guitar name... Eric Clapton's fusion guitar, "Blackie"... :D
(I'm sure most of us will remember the original's bidding price of US$959,500...)
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JK

hmm.. simple designs.. then the Washburn N6 would fit her the most I think, or maybe the ESP vintage series, they're all strat styled guitars..

JKDragoon: My defination of delay -> KT Tunstall - Black Horse & The Cherry Tree

Correct ho? Lol I'm noob when it comes to electrics....ok generally guitars.

That Gibson looks nice too xD

EDIT: I think not correct lol. Just watched 'Dive in Blue' =.= A Japanese band called Jinn likes to use this delay thing. Now I know how to 'create' such sound :what

Ahhhh... I don't think that's "Delay"... :sry

What she uses there is called a "Looper" or "Looping Pedal"... It's a longer version of Echo/Delay which allows you to record long PHRASES of music and play it back... Like she did! :D
Specifically, she used the Akai E2 Headrush. As she herself said, it's pretty tough to use, especially live... And boy did she have some guts to pull that off!!
That was a pretty cool performance!! XD
:clap

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JK

P.S. YUI!! DELAY NO MORE AND BUY DELAY!! XD :P

I'm not a big fan of pedals and stuffs, haha because I'm a noob so I haven't learn how to aprreciate the beauty of them yet

Ahhh... It's brilliant!!
You should go out and experiment with them... Amazing what kinds of sound you can make... XD
Even distortion/overdrive is enough to get you going on the creative walk of music... =P

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JK

I have a Boss DN2 stolen/boroed/taken/loaned from my friend and that's the only overdrive pedal I have..lol,

Yup

Wow, a PRS..what model do you have? Any ESP users here as well?

I have a Custom 22 Artist Package in a Natural finish. You can check it out here

That's right. Taylor guitars all the way! atheon, you're cool!

I think YUI should play PRS SC245 with McCarty Sunburst!

:suki

+1 I think so too.

ESP vintage series!!!

Wow... Nice PRS.
That's actually the PRS I tried out in my music store once... I think! It's got the same colour... XD
Then I went with the Ibanez and have regretted all my life... =.="

Natalie...
Hohohoooo... A PRS SC245? Nice choice! :P
I wonder if the Tobacco Sunburst would look better...
PRS guitars all look so nice... @@

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JK

Lol, you can sell the Ibanez to me, If you can wait for a year or so for me to save money..

Really? It's an Ibanez RG2550 Prestige... So if I haven't got rid of it by the end of next year, you're my next chance! XD

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JK

hehehe, sure, it has a H-S-H combo and dot inlays? You have problems with the tremolo?

Read my other posts that are dotted elsewhere on these forums...
You will come to realise how much I HATE the Floyd Rose Tremolo system... YES, I know it's versatile and all... But as I've developed and gained more experience since buying it, I've found that I DON'T actually want all that versatilty for a Tremolo...

Ahhhh... PRS styled or Strat styled tremolos are so much easier to use... I hope!! (Someone please confirm this before I go out and buy a strat and find that it's just as difficult as using a Floyd Rose...!! XD)

:please
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JK

I actually don't use the trem on my PRS. The only reason why I bought it was because it was on sale at a ridiculous price that I couldn't turn away from. And it had *almost* all the specs I was looking for, except for a stoptail.

Anyways, what I did was I actually BLOCKED the trem. I took the guitar to a guitar tech who is also a PRS enthusiast, and he helped block the trem for me. Essentially he cut a wooden block and fit it within the trem cavity so that the trem doesn't move, essentially acting now as a stoptail. I leave the trem arm in the case and play the guitar without any worries.

blocking the tremolo like this?

THIS

I would imagine so - I haven't looked into the trem cavity of my guitar. But I trust my guitar tech's handiwork, as he is an honest and reliable dude.

Oh yes... I did consider blocking the tremolo!
It's easier for me, since I had a D&T room in my school and could've made the block there!

However, I chose not too, seeing that the point of the tremolo was to add variation, esp. with the Floyd Rose system.
Anyhow, I don't even like the guitar itself... It's like picking up a guitar and saying "Ahhh... Not this one, definetely not this one". I was rushed in my decision to get the Ibanez because I needed some band practice the next day (and I didn't want to risk my Gibson! XD)

Ahh well... Hopefully, the next strat I get, I'll make sure I really think about it. Well, actually, I already have... So that's done!!

YUI GO FOR LES PAUL OR PRS... :please
Actually, I have this weird feeling that she would never choose a PRS... Don't know why... :S
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JK

Lol, where did you get the Ibanez from, there's some shops where you can change the guitar to another one if you're not happy with it within a week of the purchase

Anyway, I just saw my dream Strat, an original 1959 Stratocaster sellling for a cool price.

edit: Eric Clapton did blocked his tremolo as well.

No way... My shops don't allow you to return... XD
And my Ibanez is about a year old, but I've kept it in good condition because it's a GUITAR... XD

I know about Clapton's tremolo block... That's how I originally had the idea. Maybe YUI blocks her tremolo too... :P

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JK

Maybe, hehe, we've never seen her use her tremolo arm before have we?

btw, anyone knows the long haired guy in her live concerts who is using a black pickguard-less LP??

would that be the lead guitarist? I imagine he's the guy playing the solos in some of her songs.

ya, but does he have a name or something?

^ Yes he does have a name.

YUI usually calls him Kaji san/ chan. His full name is Kajiwara Takeo.

His gear:

Fender customshop 60's Stratocaster Relic
Fender jeff beck Stratocaster
Gibson 65`s SG special
Gibson mid70`s Les paul Custom
Gibson ES-335
Gibson sothern jumbo
TACOMA C2
takamine NPT-110N elegut

Marshall JCM25/50 "SILVER JUBILEE" 2555＆1960A
Fender Hod Rod Deville210

:shock

Maybe YUI will buy Gibson soon XD

OMG... @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ :shock :shock :shock :shock OMG OMG OMG.. He's got the Creamed colored stratocaster!!! and a 60s SG with an ebony fingerboard!! This dude must be damn damn damn rich..