Buck-Tick Zone

Hisashi Imai

real name: Hisashi Imai

nickname: fans have given him many nicknames but most seem to call him Imai as is Japanese custom to address someone by their last name

instrument: guitars; noise

first band: Buck-Tick

date of birth: October 21, 1965 (Showa era, year 40)

siblings: younger brother, younger sister, (plus a cousin he grew up with like a sibling)

marital status: married in 2008

education: graduated from Takasaki High School, Gunma prefecture in March 1984

first record bought: "Technopolis" by YMO or "Nikumi Kirenai Roku De Nashi" by Sawada Kenji (depends on interview)

pets: Hisashi once had a beagle named "BJ"

favorite...

artist: Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, Robert Smith, John Lydon, Boy George, YMO, Kraftwerk, Ultravox (other major influences include various punk and techno acts)

cigarette: he smokes out of habit (previously Marlboro Menthols and Salem)

color: red, white, black

drink: barolo, tomato juice (Del Monte) (previously Jack Daniels bourbon, Heartland beer, Corona beer, Wild Turkey & Four Roses bourbon)

food: Thai, Italian, fried chicken (previously sushi, lime, tabasco, watermelon, etc.)

movie: Stranger Than Paradise, Friday the 13th, Freaks

season: end of summer to fall

sport: nothing really, but he did have to play rugby in high school

time of day: middle of the night

thing about Buck-Tick: concerts are the easiest, most relaxed

favorite / influential albums:

(this information was compiled from various books and interviews where Hisashi talks about all-time favorites and recent favorites)

Night Music by Tones On Tail
Hisashi loves guitarist Daniel Ash [who was in Bauhaus and Love and Rockets] and considers this album to be "dark dance music"

B-2 Unit by Ryuichi Sakamoto

Slug by Meat Machine

Hello America by The Cassandra Complex
Hisashi thinks this is very cool "hardcore body music"

Cream by Mean Machine

Methods of Mayhem by Methods of Mayhem

The Man Machine by Kraftwerk

Drukqs by Aphex Twin

Evil Heat and Xtrmntr by Primal Scream

From the Double Gone Chapel by Two Lone Swordsmen

Express by Love and Rockets
this is Hisashi's favorite Love and Rockets probably because it's very "pop"; he likes the balance of psychedelia and darkness

Earth Sun Moon by Love and Rockets

Private Parts by Robert Ashley

Traktor by Traktor

Humanity by The Mad Capsule Market's

Neuromantic by Yukihiro Takahashi

First In Last Out by Stroke

Insiding by Bruce Gilbert

Normal by Ippu-Do
this is Hisashi's favorite Ippu-Do album

Naked City by Naked City

Taxidermy by Queen Adreena

Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson

Chairman of the Board by Frank Sinatra

The Attraction to All Things Uncertain by Tweaker

Summer Make Good and Finally We Are No One by Mum

BGM by YMO
Hisashi's favorite YMO album; he bought it in 10th grade (first year in Japanese high school) and has been listening to it since. When asked who is the one artist that changed your life, Hisashi declared it was YMO.

Zelda by Zelda

Playing the Angel by Depeche Mode

Stop Jap w/ Go Go Stalin (bonus single) by The Stalin
this is Hisashi's favorite Stalin album

Rock Swings by Paul Anka

Asect: Dsect by Richard Devine

The Unacceptable Face of Freedom by Test Dept.
this is probably Hisashi's favorite Test Dept. album; it's noise with a rhythm and he thinks that's it's pretty scary

Tronika by Sketch Show

Intelligence & Sacrifice by Alec Empire

Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails

The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails

Emilie Simon by Emilie Simon

Ovalcommers by Oval

Instant Love by Boøwy
Hisashi liked this in high school for its blend of techno and punk

Planet Oz by Inga
it also has some house rhythms but Hisashi likes it for its gentle sound

OK Cowboy by Vitalic

Technodelic by YMO
Hisashi bought this as soon as it was released and listened to it a lot

Blue by RC Succession

-1 by Gel

Mudai by Downy

The Swining by Pig

Arbor by Greg Davis

Atak006 and Real Time 7 ~ Ongaku No Oshie by Yuji Takahashi

Kick Up the Fire and Let the Flames Break Loose by The Cooper Temple Clause

Equipment Overview

Hisashi tends to use a lot of effects (in the first 10 years, namely Overdrive/Distortion and Harmonizer/Pitch Shifter). In the very early days, perhaps as late as 1988, Hisashi would use the standard individual pedals. In the studio, he continues to experiment with various devices but to keep his large sound palette manageable live, he switched towards incorporating midi and using foot controllers that triggered multi-effects in a rack system. In short, Hisashi's effects are complex.

He has combined amps, but until recent years there always seemed to be a Mesa Boogie among them. Currently he seems to favor Marshalls for his new noisy sound. It appears that he uses other amps with Lucy, notably Orange.

In the early 90s Hisashi used Ernie Ball strings. I do not know what strings he is currently using.

For guitar straps, a custom thin (leather?) strap with "Buck-Tick" in gold letters was created in the late 80s to early 90s that both Hisashi and Hide used. (This was sold to the public as Fernandes S-3500BT.) In fact, Hisashi has continued to use this type of strap even in side projects such as Lucy. This strap has been mass produced and sold in stores. Starting with the second Lucy album, Hisashi began to use a different strap for the first time. One was wider and had a cross on it and another was thinner with belt loop-like holes. These were probably used to coordinate with Kiyoshi as he had the same straps and they have matching custom Lucy guitars.

As for setups, here are some examples. Please note that whenever 2 of the same items are listed, 1 is for regular guitar and the other is for midi guitar (synth guitar in Japan so I might use these terms alternately).

Seventh Heaven Tour period: Boss octave, Boss pitch shifter, Boss dimension chorus, Boss EQ, Korg compressor, Zip overdriver, Rat distortion, Yamaha EQ, Roland guitar synth, Maxon digital delay, Maxon EPP400, Boss volume pedal, Maxon HD1000, and Rexer wireless.

Aku No Hana Tour setup: pictured below is the Rocktron foot controller.

Darker Than Darkness Tour setup: Roland FC-100MK II foot controller for guitar synth, Bradshaw:RSB-18F foot controller with a RSB-18R rack as his switching system, two DigiTech Wah WH-1pedals, two Boss Volume FV-200 pedals, and a Korg AT-1 tuner.

Somewhere/Nowhere Tour (Six/Nine) setup: wireless system and pedal switching system were the same except for one Boss FV-200, one Boss FV-300L (volume pedal), and DigiTech whammy pedal I & II. The rack slightly differs: two Juice Goose PD-2, Eventide H3000S, Sony DPS-M7 (chorus, pitch shifter, phaser, tremolo, etc.), Vital Eight Vital Audio, Sony DPS-D7 (stereo delay, feedback, long top, delay, etc.), Sony DPS-M7, Sony DPS-F7 (feeding, parametric EQ, dynamic filter, mono synth, etc.), Rocktron Patch Mate, Rocktron Bradshaw RSB-18R, Soldano preamp, Engl Tube preamp, Rocktron Progap, Korg Mir & Wavestation, Akai Midi Stereo Digital Sampler S1000, Roland GR-50, Rocktron G612 line mixer, Roland SDE-3000 digital delay, Roland SPV-355 (guitar synth), and H H Mosfet M900 power amp. Here is a diagram of his rack in 1995 as well as his midi setup.

Hisashi's Chaos Tour (Cosmos) rack consisted of 2 Juice Goose PD-2, DigiTech IPS-33B (harmonizer), Roctron Patch Mate (loop switch), Sony M7/D7/M7 (M7 is modulator and D7 is delay), Eventide H-3000 S (multi effector), Rocktron Bardshaw RSB-18R (switching system), Rocktron Pro GAP preamp, Soldano (main amp), Korg Mir & Wavestation (guitar synth module), Maxdon DMD2000 (delay), Rocktron G612 (line mixer), Roland GR-50 (guitar synth module), Ex-pro AD-1 & four Pro-1 (wireless system), Roland SPV-355 (guitar synth), and MosValve MV-962 Tube Works (main amp).

Hisashi's pedals during the Chaos Tour were the same as Somewhere/Nowhere Tour (Six/Nine) and his rack was also the same (except with Micro Synth and Big Muff). Hisashi's pedals during Sexy Stream Liner are pictured above: Rocktron footswitch, two Digitech Whammy-II pedal, and two Boss FV-300L (volume pedal). Again, when there are two pedals of the same thing, one is for regular guitar and one is for midi guitar (synth).

Hisashi's rack at this time consisted of seems to be similar but I will list out in full what was printed in a magazine: Sony WD-820, three Ex-Pro Pro-10 (wireless receiver), two Juice Goose PD-2, Eventide H3000 (ultra harmonizer), Sony DPS-M7 (sonic modulator), Vital Audio mixer, Sony DPS-D7 (digital delay), Sony DPS-F7 (dynamic filter), Rocktron Patch Mate (program system), Rocktron RSB-18R (switching system), Soldano power amp, Engel tube preamp, Rocktron Pro GAP (programmable preamp), and Ztar VRS sampler and effectors. There are also single pedals being stored, visible at the very bottom of the rack during Cosmos and Sexy Stream Liner: Electro Harmonix Big Muff (fuzz) and Electro Harmonix Micro Synthesizer.

Main Guitar Summary

early days: Fender Tele he had painted over himself
late 80s: Fernandes copy of above in Strat form (sold as Imai model in plain white)
early 90s: series of custom guitars first created during the recording of Aku No Hana that became known as "mai-mai"
mid to late 90s: many different types of interesting models in use but more traditional rock type guitars were used along with custom ones (namely Jaguar and Strat copies as well as a hollow body, Les Paul, and Gibson V)
late 90s to 2000s: custom guitars "mai-mai" and stabilizer as well as BP-220HI seem to be the main 3 types

Hisashi is not known to get rid of his guitars but I am not sure if he still has any of the guitars he first bought when he was learning how to play and during his days with Hinan Go-Go.

Equipment: mid 1980s

Tele style with 1 single coil pickup
custom paint by Hisashi (perhaps he and Hide and U-ta all decorated their own instruments at this time)

Roland GR-500 & GS-500
(released in 1977, this is one of the first midi guitars)
Hisashi acquired this at a very good price in the indie days

Fender Telecaster
Hisashi's first main
custom paint by Hisashi

Equipment: late 1980s

P-Project STJ-BT white
pickups: 2 single coil
controls: volume, tone, toggle switch
usage: often, a main guitar at the time
P-Project did sell copies of this as the Hisashi custom model

P-Project STJ-BT black
pickups: 1 single coil, 1 humbucker
controls: volume, tone, toggle switch
usage: rare

Fernandes Stratocaster STJ-BT
pickups: 2 single coil, synth (midi) pickup at the bridge
overall this is quite similar to the P-Project listed above
Fernandes sold this starting around early 1989 as the STJ-80BT Hisashi custom model but those were plain white and this one pictured is Hisashi's personal guitar with his custom paint job
STJ80BT sold to public specs:
neck: maple, bolt-on
fingerboard: rosewood, 24 frets
body: basswood or sen
pickups: FGI Technology-T
controls: volume, tone, toggle switch
bridge: combination-B

Fernandes Telecaster TE-BT Proto black
pickups: blade (front), humbucker (rear)
usage: rare live but this was the main guitar used to record Aku No Hana
when Fernandes sold the STJ-80BT as noted above, they were also selling Telecaster models of Hisashi (TE-80BT) and Hide (TE-75BT), which I believe this is the model it was based on)
TEJ-80 sold to the public specs (available in white only):
neck: maple, detachable neck joint
fingerboard: rosewood, 24 frets
body: basswood
pickups: FGI Technology-T
controls: volume, mini pickup selector switch, mini on-off switch
bridge: combination-B

Fernandes Hishiza
usage: visible in Sabbat II video during the encore, the music video for "National Media Boys", Akuma To Freud -Devil and Freud- Climax Together

Equipment: Aku No Hana period onwards

Fernandes custom BT-MM (black on) white
Hisashi designed this guitar during the recording of Aku No Hana in 1989. Fernandes workers who received the rough sketch apparently remarked, "what kind of shape is this?!".
The guitar and the subsequent copy models have become a staple in Hisashi's arsenal. The guitar has been nicknamed "mai-mai". The various versions are known as "mai-mai red", "mai-mai black", etc.
back of neck: "5 for Japanese babies" (quote from Taboo's "Iconoclasm")
Fernandes did sell copies of this as the BT-480MM Hisashi custom model but there was no writing on the back of the neck so some fans put it on themselves (available in white or red)

Fernandes custom BT-MM
fretless
used with bow
body: mahogany
pickups: two EMG-SA and sustainer
back of neck: ? (I haven't seen a clear shot of it yet but something is written)
usage: rare but in more recent times he's brought it out much more, such as with side projects Schwein and Lucy

Fernandes custom BT-MM W-Neck (light gold on black)
double neck (1 with frets and tremelo arm, 1 without frets and no arm)
usage: rare
Hisashi also designed this one of course

Fernandes custom BT-MM (light gold on dark) green
usage: extremely rare (I think the only time I saw Hisashi actually holding it was in a guitar magazine profiling his guitars)

Fernandes custom BT-MM (red on) gray
body: alder
pickups: sustainer (front), THD-1 (middle), THS-1 (rear)
back of neck: "Koroshi No Shirabe" (in Japanese)
usage: rare live I think but it was used heavily to record Darker Than Darkness

Fernandes custom BT-MM (gold on) red
body: alder
neck: maple with ebony
pickups: two EMG-SA
back of neck: "5 for Japanese Babies", however this may have been changed or he had another red copy made as in the Tour 2002 Warp Days 20020616 Bay NK Hall video it can be seen that the back of the neck has "One Life, One Death"
usage: heavy, became Hisashi's main guitar after it was later given MIDI capabilities with a Roland GK-2 pickup
Fernandes sold copies of this as the BT-120MM Hisashi custom model, but without the Roland pickup for MIDI and writing on the back of the neck
there also was a mini version sold during the 20th anniversary

Fernandes custom BT-MM white with arm
tremelo arm (AKA whammy bar) later added to original white version listed above

Fernandes custom BT-MM white with synth pickup
synth pickup for MIDI capabilities later added on to another custom white model

Equipment: Koroshi No Shirabe - Darker Than Darkness period

Hisashi used a bow on guitars since late 1989 but only for a couple of tours, (the bowing technique has been forgotten as Hisashi no longer plays songs live which require bowing). He than began to experiment with drills and other noise devices. The drill is made by Makita and has 3 picks on the end of it.

Fernandes ZO-3 pink (not pictured)
it was mentioned in a magazine when Koroshi No Shirabe was released

the official name is TE-BT S or TEJ but this is more commonly known as Monster Attack Dynamite (M.A.D.)
body: alder
neck: maple
fretboard: rosewood
pickups: sustainer (front), FRT-4B (rear)
usage: used heavily to record Darker Than Darkness as well as live
custom decoration: the white was boring and Hisashi scribbled his hotel room # (602) on the guitar
M.A.D. doesn't stand for anything but is known as the anagram for the song "MAD" off of Kurutta Taiyo

Monster Attack Dynamite
tremelo arm (AKA whammy bar) was added later

Fernandes Stratocaster BT-ST
with guitar synth pickup
LED display behind the front pickup
LED display on the cutaway altrs with the strength of picking
back of neck: "darker than darkness" (at least I think it's on the back of the neck of this guitar)

Fender Stratocaster 1971 yellow
usage: used heavily to record Darker Than Darkness, noisy songs in particular; I believe this was also the strat used to record the following tracks on Six/Nine: Aikawarazu No "Are" No Katamari Ga Nosabaru Hedo No Soko No Fuki Damari, Mienai Mono Wo Miyou To Suru Gokai    Subete Gokai Da

Steinberger GL
body: carbon fiber
usage: can be heard on Darker Than Darkness's "Ao No Sekai"

Gibson Les Paul custom '73-'74 20th anniversary model ("black beauty")
black with black pickguard
specs: basically same as the original
usage: Hisashi acquired this in 1989 and began using it to record Kurutta Taiyo but it's usage increased later in the decade such as with Schaft. (I believe it's primarily used for songs in D tuning)
it was used to record the following tracks on Six/Nine: Love Letter, Kodo, Kagiri Naku Nezumi, Aikawarazu No "Are" No Katamari Ga Nosabaru Hedo No Soko No Fuki Damari, Uta
(Hide has the same guitar but for right-handers, of course)

Gibson Les Paul standard
black with white pickguard
usage: used heavily to record Darker Than Darkness
Hisashi acquired this roughly around 1991 and it has not been modified (a left-hander's model in black is supposedly rare)
please note that the specs are different than one above as this is the standard model

Equipment: Six/Nine - Cosmos period

Starr Labs Star Switch Ztar VRS
midi guitar, custom made for Hisashi
Hisashi was renting a midi guitar while recording with Schaft and decided to purchase this
usage: this is used live and has often been on a stand (in particular it is the main 'keyboard' riff during "Kalavinka" and also in recent years during "Cosmos" and "Gessekai").
it was used to record the following tracks on Six/Nine: Loop, Somehwere Nowhere, Detarame Yarou, Kick (Daichi Wo keru Otoko), Loop Mark II

Fernandes RST custom
body: alder
neck: maple and rose
usage: when Hisashi was playing midi guitar, this was on a stand for easy access to an electric guitar

Tokai Talbo
body: aluminum
this is actually a right-hander's model but Hisashi plays it left-handed
what appears to be controls on the right are dummies
usage: this guitar has been used during recording ("Kimi No Vanilla") and a couple times live but you can see it more prominently perhaps in the videos the band did for the entire album Six/Nine

Metal Driver MD-USA
usage: actually I'm not sure when Hisashi has ever used this

Coral electric sitar
(Hide was the first to use this during recording)

Fender '65 Jaguar red
with floating tremelo arm (whammy bar) for right-handers (an oddity, which is probably why it was removed by the time this photo was taken)
(in the photo there is a sponge inbetween the bridge and tremelo unit)
Hisashi purchased this guitar in London in 1993 while recording Schaft's album
it was used to record Six/Nine's "Mienai Mono Wo Miyou To Suru Gokai    Subete Gokai Da"

Fernandes JG-85BT
this Jaguar copy was custom made after Hisashi saw the originals in England
color: original orange
body: maple top, mahogany back
neck: maple (another magazine says mahogany, perhaps that was the version sold to the public)
pickguard: aluminum
fretboard: ebony
pickups: DiMarzio Air Zone
bridge: GE-103B
controls: volume, tone, and pickup balance
Fernandes did sell copies of this as the Hisashi custom model

Fernandes JG-BT Proto
Jaguar copy also custom made
color: original violet
specs: basically the same as the orange one except it is fretless from the 13th fret up

Anderson Apple
pickups: Hot Rail
This is no longer in Hisashi's possession as someone is 'borrowing' it. Hisashi had been actually borrowing this from someone else anyway.
(I think I've seen Hisashi with this as early as in the late 80s or early 90s but I may have confused it with the Hishiza.)

Sexy Stream Liner period onwards

EMS Sound Beam and Sound Laser
These became one of Hisashi's favorite methods for creating funky sounds. His live set-up become quite a sight with so many effects. Additionally, he has a theremin for creating noise during "My Fuckin' Valentine".
the Sound Beam was used to record the following tracks on Six/Nine: Loop, Loop Mark II

Gretsch Country Club
body: hollow
neck: maple
pickups: Gretsch humbuckers
(I'm not sure which year this model as as that will vary the rest of the specs which are not listed in any magazine I have read concerning Hisashi's gear)
Hide has a similar guitar
(picture taken during the 13th Floor With Moonshine Tour)

Fernandes Stabilizer - white
body: alder
neck: maple
pickups: sustainer (front), Fernandes VH-4 (rear)
controls: volume, sustainer on/off switch, sustainer mode switch
Hisashi helped design this unusual body in 1996
customization: at one point Hisashi put what looked like police crime scene tape on it that read "High Noise AR" (black on yellow)
along with the "mai mai", it has become one of Hisashi's main guitars
also, like the "mai mai", there exists at least 3 versions/colors of this model and their details are below
Fernandes did sell copies of this as the Hisashi custom model (all 3 colors available as an option)

Fernandes Stabilizer - Gun Metallic
body: alder 45mm
neck: maple, 648mm-scale, bolt-on
fretboard: maple, 24 frets, 350R
pickups: CD-100F, FHM-2110W
controls: volume, 3-way toggle switch, machine gun push switch, sustainer controls
bridge: Schaller SFRT-2
features: Fernandes sustainer

Fernandes Stabilizer - Gold
body: alder 45mm
neck: maple, 648mm-scale, bolt-on
fretboard: maple, 24 frets, 350R
pickups: CD-100F, FHM-2110W
controls: volume, 3-way toggle switch, machine gun push switch, sustainer controls
bridge: Schaller SFRT-2
features: Fernandes sustainer

Gibson The V
body: maple top and mahogany back
usage: rare until the side project Schwein when it became a main guitar

Equipment: 2000s

Fernandes custom BT-MM
black on gold
this version of the "mai-mai" was created around the time of Lucy and used in Buck-Tick since then
I believe Fernandes started selling this to the public as BT-180MM with slightly different specs than the one Hisashi owns such as keeping the same pickups as BT-120MM model whereas Hisashi's guitar now has DiMarzio pickups

Fernandes custom coffin guitar
black with cross
pickup: humbucker
controls: volume?
back of neck: "Shout, Speed, Shake Your Rockarollica"
usage: this was made for the first Lucy album
Fernandes did sell copies of this but as a mini model

Fernandes custom coffin guitar
white with more detailed cross than black version, gold hardware (also has different logo on headstock than black version)
pickup: humbucker
controls: volume?
back of neck: "Shout, Speed, Shake Your Rockarollica"?
usage: this was made for the second Lucy album

Fender telecaster
black with white pickguard
model year unknown
usage: used with Lucy

Gibson SG - Tony Iommi signature model (ebony)
1961 SG body construction with original style neck joint
body: beveled mahogany
neck: one piece mahogany "slim-taper", white binding
fretboard: 24 fret ebony, sterling silver cross inlays
controls: 2 volume, 2 tone, selector switch
pickups: Tony Iommi signature humbuckers
graphite nut, sperzel tuners, ABR-1 bridge/stopbar tailpiece
chrome hardware
usage: used with Lucy

Gibson ES-335
sunburst with pickguard and f-holes
model year unknown
usage: used with Lucy

Gretsch 6134 White Penguin
white with gold hardware, gold pickguard with penguin motif, winged logo headstock, "G" cadillac tailpiece
model year unknown, specs assumed
body: mahogany with arched maple top
neck: one piece mahogany
fingerboard: 22 fret ebony
pickups: 2 DynaSonic single coil
controls: 2 volume, 1 tone, master volume, selector switch
usage: used with Lucy; used with Buck-Tick since around Parade Tour time

Fernandes BP-220HI also known as "Pot"
specs: maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, alder body, and with a special small theremin device built in
usage: this has become one of the main guitars for Buck-Tick shows, noisy songs in particular
he has this guitar in several different colors
the back of the neck of the white version has "Buck-Tick Kyokutou I Love You" (Kyokutou is in Japanese)
the back of the neck of the silver version has "Fuckin' class hero ON THE BEACH
the back of the neck of the black version has "Lard, Lips and I'll Lick Ya Baby"
in total 13 Pots were made and each were numbered (it is said no two are exact)
Hisashi owns #1, #4, #9, and #13 (I think the rest are right-handed models)

Gretsch G5810 (Bo Diddley Box Guitar)
neck: maple, bolt-on
fingerboard: rosewood
bridge: adjustable
pickups: chrome humbuckers (2)
controls: volume, tone, 3-way toggle switch
tuners: chrome-plated die-cast

Fernandes custom BT-MM with funky finish
back of neck: nothing
not sure if any specs were modified from the 1990s Mai-Mais
usage: Tenshi No Revolver Tour

Gibson J-45 Modern Classic sunburst
(I think this is the model)
body: back and sides mahogany, 4-ply top, single-ply back
top: premium sitka spruce
neck: mahogany
fingerboard: rosewood, 24-3/4" scale
pickup: active electronics with sound hole mounted volume control
bridge: traditional Gibson rosewood bridge
tuners: nickel grovers
pickguard: tortoise tear drop
usage: Tenshi No Revolver Tour but this may have been the same guitar used in the Akuma To Freud live video (there was never a decent shot in that video to identify the guitar for sure)

[this page was last updated on Monday, 27-Oct-2008 19:47:41 PDT]