Every year in May, we at Deviser hold a business meeting for dealers at the Deviser Showroom in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture where we are based. This year, we couldn't invite our business partners from all over the country due to the restrictions on going out due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Of course, it won’t be the same as holding the products in your own hands, but we put a lot of effort into creating content that would convey their appeal even under such conditions.
Every single custom model will have a dedicated page with detailed videos on them.
The Headway catalog comes in a wide range of quality and prices, but the -Headway Custom Series- has the highest grade guitars among its entirety, and every single model is manufactured such to make them unique and packed with the attentive care of each one of our craftsmen, new technology, and sleek designs. We would like to convey as much as possible the differences and uniqueness of the different sounds every Headway Custom model brings with it. For this purpose we will make sure to upload a video showcasing these characteristics for you to see and judge which models convince you the most.
The videos can be viewed on the Headway Custom series page on the special website for this year’s business meeting or on the official Deviser YouTube channel. The best way to get to know the difference in sound and the high quality of each model is to actually pick it up at a music store and to try it out by oneself, but still, we will do our best to convey the characteristics and difference in tones to the best of our ability.
In this article, we will introduce 3 of the 34 Headway Custom models that were selected for the exhibition.
Momose Yasuo's model - HM-SAKURA CUSTOM #3179
This is a model made out of Cherry tree wood for the body back, made by Yasuo Momose, a master builder that has been a part of Headway from the very beginning in 1977 nowadays he’s the factory's highest technical advisor. Since 2014, when Headway first made a guitar using Cherry tree wood, we have released Cherry tree wood guitars every year while making minor adjustments to the design, and now it is a staple series of Headways. Momose has only made custom ordered Cherry tree wood, until today. This is the first time that he has ever made his own Cherry tree wood guitar design.
Until now, it was a standard practice for us to match the Cherry tree wood with colorful Purpleheart wood for the fingerboard and bridge in every one of our Headway Cherry tree wood models, but with this one, we decided to go with exotic ebony that brings a chic and elegant color. We made it into a calmer design by minimizing it. To put it in simple words, this is a Momose-like model with a lot of “maturity".
HM-SAKURA CUSTOM #3179 Product page
Yasui Masato's model - HD-115 Feather CTM #Y63
This is a model produced by Masato Yasui, a craftsman who aims to create a "New Headway guitar" that actively incorporates the implementation of unprecedented technology and designs. This unit has an extremely simple orthodox headway HD-115 style design, but various new technologies and techniques are applied in terms of making its structure. One point that Yasui had in mind when making this unit was "To make it as light as possible while maintaining the durability and robustness enough to be used as a professional instrument" Recently, the amount of players that want a lightweight musical instrument is increasing, and he worked on the production of this model as an attempt to meet such demand. The body and headstock thickness, and the structure and size of each component that makes up this acoustic guitar, such as the neck and end blocks, have been thoroughly redesigned to reduce the weight as much as possible. Along with that, we have adopted the brand new "Extra Slim U" grip for the neck, making it easier to play even for players with relatively small hands. Compared to the average rosewood side and back guitar, we have succeeded in reducing the weight by about 200g, and as its name implies, it is as lightweight as a feather. Please don’t lose the chance to try it yourself.
HD-115 Feather CTM Product page
Furihata Arata's model - HD-280 #F22
This is a model produced by Arata Furihata, a custom shop builder who creates guitars with original designs such as his signature 3 piece cross round back and contour designs that he invented while developed while working under the tutelage of Mr. Momose. This model is based on the orthodox HD-280 style that Momose has perfected over time, and was built with the spirit of continuing and evolving the idea of "a guitar that is durable and will always be there for you".
The ARS bracing, which Headway has been actively adopting in recent years, has been employed and combined with a body made of high-quality materials such as an Adirondack Sprouse body top and Madagascar Rosewood body side and back. The ARS bracing gives us a stonger sound by crossing closer to the bridge and in doing so reinforcing the soundboard and making it tigther, but with this unit, the depth of the scallops in the bracing is finely adjusted to create a slightly sharper and rounder sound. For the finish, he went for a Headway classic, all lacquer, which uses lacquer for everything except for the protective layer which is sprayed only once at the beginning. The more you play this guitar, the more the sound will develop.
HD-280 #F22 Product page
Demonstration videos' guest preformer
Watanabe Yu
In 2006, he won the highest award at "Fingerpicking Day", a fingerstyle contest for acoustic guitarists. He has been using Headway guitars as his main guitar since he discovered them in 2010. In 2018, we created the HEADWAY HOC-KING FISHER model as a collaboration where he supervised the guitar’s development.
Watanabe Yu's profile
Headway craftsman - Endou Kosuke
A craftsman who joined us during 2007 and has mainly been in charge of the painting and finish process. With the best solo guitar skills in the whole factory, he also plays the role of tester, quickly confirming the sound of the completed Custom shop guitars and giving useful feedback to other craftsmen.
In addition to the models introduced in this article, a number of unique guitars were virtually exhibited at the 2020 Deviser Business Meeting, so please visit the special website for a full tour.
If you are interested in any of the models that are up in the Special Collection page, check with the dealer closest to you for more info on how to get one!
Deviser 2020 virtual presentation
Headway 2020 Special Collection
