# Janne Da Arc (progressive pop metal?)



## JohnIce (Jan 27, 2010)

I beat you fuckin' to it, didn't I, JP?  wub

Anyway, Janne (for those not in the know) is a japanese 5-piece rock band who have shown incredible versatility over the years. With highly skilled intrumentalists aswell as a strong feel for catchy choruses, I'd class them somewhere in between Toto, Dream Theater and the Backstreet Boys, sort of... 

Anyway, I know there are some fans around here, so discuss goddammit, and for those uninitiated, here are some good starting points:






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehcd6wfufrA&feature=related


----------



## ry_z (Jan 27, 2010)

Huh, Dry? has almost a ska feel going in the verses. Cool stuff.


----------



## JohnIce (Jan 27, 2010)

ry_z said:


> Huh, Dry? has almost a ska feel going in the verses. Cool stuff.


 
Yeah, but that's classic Janne... "Let's mix symphonic metal, ska, big band jazz and a massive shred solo into a song, and let the lyrics be about doing sticky things to your bedmate!"


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 27, 2010)

...where do I begin? 

Own all their albums, own all their live DVDs, soon to own all their solo stuff (except Kiyo's DVDs). 


What can I say. I bloody love this band!  Easily my favorite Japanese band in existence. 

EDIT: John, I present to you my geekiest post:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/1825781-post33.html

For those who want 7 strings:





And what has to be one of my favorite songs ever written:



This thread will one day get me sacked from work.


----------



## JohnIce (Jan 27, 2010)

Good shit, JP! Sakura is funky as all hell 

And yeah, that is pretty geeky but in an awesome way  I'd love to get my hands on You's instructional material, although I don't expect to understand a word of it 

On of my personal favs (besides those in the OP):


I just love the swing-metal element (which is also evident in Dry? a,ong others. Acid Black Cherry does it a lot too).


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 27, 2010)

Acid Black Cherry is Yasu's band after all. Swing and sleaze intact.  Plus he gets extra points for having Daita and Jun-ji on his albums. 

Some more:

















Anybody notice the influence from the music from Megaman games? 

 EDIT: I may as well say that a sharp sense of arrangement is what makes this band so appealing. Every single song, with all the busy stuff and styles going on, are all still songs. All of them can be stripped to their bare minimum and still be just as intense because the songs are already great to begin with. This band actually made me rethink my songwriting views and actually made me feel like a young fan again.


----------



## JohnIce (Jan 27, 2010)

Not to mention the one and only Sugizo  Although I think he only played on the Spell Magic track.

Gaia is one of their most breathtaking songs in my opinion, that last "chorus" or what you may call it is just enormous!

Then we of course have this little number:



Fucking beautiful! This song is to JDA what Mother is to Luna Sea, I'd say.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 27, 2010)

Sugizo played on 2 tracks. Spell Magic and Scar. 

Plus there's also Luna Sea influences lurking:


----------



## JohnIce (Jan 27, 2010)

Oh, I didn't know that! Cool 

Yeah I've thought that too about Stare, aside from the guitar tone and the keyboards it could easily pass for a Luna Sea song. Even the solo has a Sugizo feel to it!

Also 100% agreed on their arrangements, to be able to blend so many styles into single songs require a lot of finesse and taste in order to not go overboard and clutter the soundscape. janne are obviously great at this.


----------



## ArtDecade (Jan 27, 2010)

I love Acid Black Cherry. Yasu has an awesome voice!

EDIT: What kind of guitar is You playing in "Rainy"...? Looks like a Fernandes.


----------



## JohnIce (Jan 27, 2010)

ArtDecade said:


> I love Acid Black Cherry. Yasu has an awesome voice!
> 
> EDIT: What kind of guitar is You playing in "Rainy"...? Looks like a Fernandes.


 
Yup, You has a long-standing endorsement with Fernandes. He's not exclusive, but close.

BloodyInferno is more well-read on the subject of You's guitars than I am but I think that's a Dragonfly model? JP did a review of You's signature Fernandes aswell, should be in the reviews section if you're interested


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 27, 2010)

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/guitar-reviews/77281-fernandes-jda-115y-you-signature.html

I reviewed a version with white pickups (which IMO looks better with the blue). It's based on the Dragonfly shape. 













Finding specs let alone pics for You's gear is extremely hard. To the best of my knowledge however, some guitars he's been seen using:

Fernandes Dragonfly natural Finish w/Floyd (seen on the Chaos Mode tour footage)

Black (not white, my bad) Gibson Flying V - only seen in the old R-Type clip where he's got bleach white hair. 

YouTube - Janne Da Arc -R-TYPE?????(PV)


Various Fernandes JDA sigs (blue, green, purple flame burst, black)
You was using EMGs during the Gaia tour, but has moved on to Dimarzios (Tone Zone in bridge, unknown neck - possibly an Air Norton) afterwards. Black model used in the Rainy clip. 






















Fernandes JDA 7 String Black HT (used during Fate or Fortune on Child Vision and Mysterious)






Fernandes JDA 7 String Matte Green w/EMG 707s (main 7, used for various tracks)

YouTube - Janne Da Arc ?in silence?

Fernandes JDA sig (6 side headstock as opposed to 3 on 3). Tuned to Eb and used on Age and 7Seven. 

Fernandes Custom Double Neck. Natural finish, acoustic for top neck, electric w/wilkinson bridge for bottom. Used in Gaia, Heaven's Place and others. 






Fernandes Retrorocket strat. Used live in songs Liar and Kasumi Yuku Sora Se Ni Shite (Eb). 

YouTube - Kasumi Yuku Sora Se Ni Shite Janne Da Arc

Steinberger GM7TA-W w/EMGs HSH config, was used on his instructional video demonstrating 7Seven. He's got 2 hair scrunchies wrapped around the neck. Used in many various recordings. 

Fernandes JDA White HT w/maple board. Used in the clip for Dolls, Tuned drop D live, used in Lunatic Gate. Loaned to Kiyo for his solo record. 

YouTube - Janne Da Arc- DOLLS PV

YouTube - Janne Da Arc ?Lunatic Gate?


Arcadia onwards, You went on to use various other guitars:

Vigier custom. Amber flame maple HSH model unknown. Either way it looks sweet. EDIT: It looks like an Excalibur model. Main guitar for Arcadia/Joker tours. 

YouTube - Janne Da Arc ?WILD FANG?

Custom Black HSH Strat w/reverse CBS headstock. Model unknown. Used in various tours including his solo tours. Can be seen on the back cover of his first solo disc Life The First Movement. 











Gibson ES335 Cherry. Seen on the Black Jack clip, used on certain live songs (Kokoro no Yukue) and throughout his solo tour (most notably in Relation). 

Gibson Les Paul DC. See thru black finish. Used on all Joker promo clips. Tuned to Eb live for Kasumi Yuku Sora So Ni Shite. 

Fender Sunburst Telecaster. Used in Furimukeba clip and promos. 






Fender metallic blue Telecaster. Tuned to C# used for Easy Funky Crazy. 

Custom Red Fernandes Retrorocket 2H. Seen mostly for warm up practices. Used live on Feel The Wind, Love is Here during the Joker tour. 

YouTube - Janne Da Arc ?Love is Here?

Hamer Slammer. Seen in post Joker clips (Heaven, Mobius) and used throughout various recordings. 

YouTube - janne da arc heaven oficial video sub esp.

Custom Blue HSH Strat. Model unknown, headstock logo illegible (for me anyway). This was You's main guitar throughout the post Joker tours (Dead or Alive) and used throughout his solo tour. 











YouTube - Janne Da Arc- Speed Live 2006 -Dead or Alive

Custom Yellow Fernandes Retrorocket 2 single coils. Only seen a photo of this during his solo tour. 






Fender Sunburst Strat. Used throughout various recordings and has been seen live during the First Movement tour. 

Various custom or stock Fender or other brand Strats. Lots of HSH models. 











Fernandes Custom Black Retrorocket 2H. You's newest guitar, seen on the clip of Truth of Life. Main guitar used through out the 3rd movement tour. 











AFAIK 3 models exist. Different pickups on each, though it may be the same guitar with various pickup swaps. Pickup specific models unknown. 

Gibson ES335 Blonde. Used during the 3rd movement tour with his Cherry 335. 






So far that's all I can remember...  random additions will appear in this post  

More  edits for youtube clips 


After Arcadia it seems he kept his sig usage to a minimum and opted for more Strat based models instead. He seems to have slowly phased out the Floyd in favour of non locking trems (Wilkinson) too. The sigs are still used live, but mostly in songs tuned to C# (Messiah and Sylvia). 


As for Amps, He's a tried and true Hughes and Kettner Tri Amp (mk II model) user, particularly for Live. He also uses Bogner Uberschalls. 

Yes I am the biggest You fanboy here.


----------



## ArtDecade (Jan 27, 2010)

Wait... he has an instructional video? Where can I find that? I bet its awesome!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 27, 2010)

ArtDecade said:


> Wait... he has an instructional video? Where can I find that? I bet its awesome!


 
You - Technical Guitar Method. You can try yesasia.com. 

Kayu and Shuji has instructional vids as well for bass and drums respectively. 

Unfortunately there's no subtitles, I stumbled and barely got some info on his gear from the vid. It'd probably be more awesome if I understood what the hell he was talking about.  Still, showing how to play the tapping solo to 7Seven, Stranger and all the flashy shred parts are just insane.


----------



## ArtDecade (Jan 27, 2010)

Such a talented band... and they wrote good music! I don't know how many times we end up with a super group of players and it just sounds like a prog-wank fest. Luckily, JDC bucked the trend!

I am going to look for that video, but I bet it will be a PAL version and I'll be screwed. Ha. Just my luck...


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 27, 2010)

ArtDecade said:


> I don't know how many times we end up with a super group of players and it just sounds like a prog-wank fest.


 


Sorry, couldn't help it.


----------



## ArtDecade (Jan 28, 2010)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Sorry, couldn't help it.


 
Ha!!  

Yet, there is a big difference between this wank-fest and that of a typical prog-band, for example. All the guys in JDA are smiling and having a good time communicating with each other. 

Thanks for adding some pics to the above gear list. This is a killer resource for me, because info is hard to come by here in the States. Any word on effects or the like? Thanks again!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 28, 2010)

Info on You's gear is near impossible to find outside Japan. Unless you can find issues of Young Guitar or Gigs magazines (which are awesome in terms of gear sources) with him, good luck. 

From what I've seen, he keeps his effects fairly low. The only thing I can definitely confirm is a Digitech Whammy. Dunno what Wah he uses, and pictures of his rack gear are scarce. Gotta recheck that instructional vid...


----------



## JohnIce (Jan 28, 2010)

Haha that's a pretty serious list, JP  You know your stuff.

As for effects, I haven't really heard him use that much... he barely uses delay for his solos, sometimes. He seems like kind of a guitar into amp kinda guy, which obviously wouldn't be so hard to do if you had a TriAmp 

- edit - 'd by one minute


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 28, 2010)

Delay is definitely there (unknown but it's a Yamaha). Not so much for the solos but more for the Dead End style rhythm parts like Fantasia and Heaven's Place. And there's a Harmoniser used in Fantasia as well. Stereo Chorus also used, mostly for cleans. 

I may as well add this: he puts hair scrunchies on the nut on all of his guitars (see solos for 7Seven and Explosion) but lately he's gotten the Michael Angelo Batio string muter on some guitars as well.


----------



## ArtDecade (Jan 28, 2010)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Delay is definitely there. Not so much for the solos but more for the Dead End style rhythm parts like Fantasia and Heaven's Place. And there's a Harmoniser used in Fantasia as well.
> 
> I may as well add this: he puts hair scrunchies on the nut on all of his guitars (see solos for 7Seven and Explosion) but lately he's gotten the Michael Angelo Batio string muter on some guitars as well.



Wouldn't that make playing open chords impossible? I've seen him do a few solos with the scrunchies, but couldn't figure out how we could have gotten through the rest of the song. At least the MAB muter can be flipped on and off as needed.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 28, 2010)

ArtDecade said:


> Wouldn't that make playing open chords impossible? I've seen him do a few solos with the scrunchies, but couldn't figure out how we could have gotten through the rest of the song. At least the MAB muter can be flipped on and off as needed.


 
Just roll off the scrunchie back behind the nut. Granted that it's harder with locking nuts but it's not that bad. Greg Howe, Jeremy Barnes and one of the guys from Protest the Hero and many others do this all the time. 

Some songs, the scrunchie stays throughout. If you can find a live performance of Explosion, you'll see why. 

You can also see it on the 7-Seven live clip on the first page. 

I hang around this thread too much.


----------



## ArtDecade (Jan 29, 2010)

Well, I just ordered up the Scores for _Joker_ and _Arcadia_. Hopefully, I'll be a better player down the road as a result, but I think I will just be a more frustrated one!


----------



## Desi (Feb 1, 2010)

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS THREAD EXISTED!!!


Y'all are speaking my language. Janne da Arc were one of the first Jrock bands I ever got into. My first JdA album was DNA. But my fave has to be Arcadia, that album defines what a "futuristic" sound should be. You's one of my influences as well...actually, I have more Jrock influences than anything else.


----------



## ry_z (Feb 1, 2010)

I just listened to JDA's album _Joker_. I figured I would like it, but man, I _loved_ it. There's something about Yasu's voice that I just love. OP:


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Feb 1, 2010)

ArtDecade said:


> Well, I just ordered up the Scores for _Joker_ and _Arcadia_. Hopefully, I'll be a better player down the road as a result, but I think I will just be a more frustrated one!



Awesome! 

You'll be surprised how some of the rhythm parts are actually pretty hard to keep up at first because they're so damn intricate and angular. But that's what makes them so fun. 

At least the solos are easier on these 2 albums... well maybe not Wizard, Tsumetai Kagerou and Athens....


----------



## JohnIce (Feb 1, 2010)

You is indeed a great rhythm guitarist, a lot of the time the solos aren't as fun to play as the rest of the songs 

I found this guy on the tube, he does pretty cool close-up covers of a lot of Janne songs (and his j-Custom is pretty tasty too). I just picked out some parts from watching him  He has a bunch of Luna Sea, Siam Shade and X Japan songs up too. Not to best timing at all times but his notes and fingerings seem pretty accurate.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Feb 1, 2010)

JohnIce said:


> You is indeed a great rhythm guitarist, a lot of the time the solos aren't as fun to play as the rest of the songs


 
Oh no?





The earlier stuff definitely had more full on shred going on, so it may not be to everybody's fun factor. And the solo on Sister is still of of the most fun solos to play (that song is what really hooked me to Janne). I do see where you're coming from John... too many great rhythms going on. Who the hell taps all over a chorus?


----------



## ArtDecade (Feb 2, 2010)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Who the hell taps all over a chorus?


 
 Hahaha!

Has anyone had a chance to listen to you's solo work? Is it worth hunting down?


----------



## AngelVivaldi (Feb 3, 2010)

Here's my fave J-Rock band- very similar to Janne, but their tone is much better IMHO and I can tolerate this guy's voice much more LOL


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Feb 3, 2010)

ArtDecade said:


> Has anyone had a chance to listen to you's solo work? Is it worth hunting down?



 

You has only 3 albums and a live DVD. All 3 CDs are a concept trilogy with Life as the main theme. The first movement is very light hearted and processed pop (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). The second movement is all acoustic but still has a fair amount of burning on guitar. The third movement is the most diverse, dark and very prog. Plenty of shred but also has 3 vocal songs courtesy of Hachiya Koto. Plus Shuji and Kiyo are in the album as well (Shuji states in his blog that the third movement is the hardest session he's ever done). 

A gist of them:






Also, looks like You had used Marshalls in the early days:


----------



## JohnIce (Feb 3, 2010)

AngelVivaldi said:


> Here's my fave J-Rock band- very similar to Janne, but their tone is much better IMHO and I can tolerate this guy's voice much more LOL




As a fan of both bands, I'm not sure I agree that they're very similar at all... aside from singing in japanese. The GazettE have a strong dose of Punk and Nu-metal in their sound, whereas Janne have pretty much none of that, but rather a lot of old-school progressive stylings (á la Rush, ELP, Genesis etc.). Janne also have an 80's pop/hair metal vibe going on that I can't hear at all in The GazettE's music.

Both bands are incredibly diverse though and certain songs from both bands could be considered in the same genre, but as a whole I think they're pretty far apart. And as you say, the tones and vocals are very different aswell.

To each their own though.


----------



## ArtDecade (Feb 3, 2010)

Thanks for the you solo clips. I don't think I know Hachiya Koto's work. She has a nice voice, but I totally would have dug Abe Mao's vocals on that track. I stumbled onto her work through a recommendation by Marty Friedman - He is all about her at the moment. 



As for The GazettE, they have a different vibe than JDA. The cool thing about JRock and JPop is the diversity that the musicians employ. The whole musical scene there is really refreshing.

@ John - That had to be a empty Marshall head, because it went down really easy! Unless... you might be super dense and heavier than he looks! Ha.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Feb 4, 2010)

For the interested, this is what Ka-yu is working on now:

DAMIJAW

Shuji on drums and Ex Siam Shade guitarist Kazuma on guitar.


----------



## JohnIce (Feb 4, 2010)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> For the interested, this is what Ka-yu is working on now:
> 
> DAMIJAW
> 
> Shuji on drums and Ex Siam Shade guitarist Kazuma on guitar.


 
Cool! Classic J-Rock inbreed ftw! I can't view the site at the moment, but I assume Ka-Yu is singing? I think he's got a great sense for melodies and arrangements but I have a hard time with his voice as a lead singer... he's a textbook backup vocalist I'd say.

I did like a lot of the Solid Beat songs however.


----------



## BrainArt (Feb 4, 2010)

First it was MUCC, now it's Janne; John, you have amazing taste in music. One song and I was hooked.  I will definitely be picking their stuff up.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Feb 4, 2010)

JohnIce said:


> Cool! Classic J-Rock inbreed ftw! I can't view the site at the moment, but I assume Ka-Yu is singing? I think he's got a great sense for melodies and arrangements but I have a hard time with his voice as a lead singer... he's a textbook backup vocalist I'd say.
> 
> I did like a lot of the Solid Beat songs however.


 
Yeah, Ka-yu on vocals. Agreed, at first I couldn't stand listening to Solid Beat at all for the longest time, but some of the songs are absolute killer (particularly on the second album). He did write some of the best Janne songs after all (Sakura, Hysteric Moon, Kaze Ni Notte, Guns etc). Plus if Kazuma is involved there's bound to be singing on his end too. 

Slightly tangent; I like how the song Tears in Kiyo's solo album has Yasu in it. Essentially (or should I say literally) a rejected Janne song.


----------



## renzoip (Feb 4, 2010)

Dude, this band kicks ass. Thanks for sharing!!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Feb 4, 2010)

Kiku's Translations - Janne Da Arc lyrics, interview translations, and more!

I'll leave this here. Kiku is awesome, going through all the time translating all that. 

I can't get away from this thread.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Feb 10, 2010)

ArtDecade said:


> @ John - That had to be a empty Marshall head, because it went down really easy! Unless... you might be super dense and heavier than he looks! Ha.


 
Some new info:

Marshall JCM 900 was used in the early days. Confirmed


More info on gear (and lots of it)

Gear used on Z-Hard:

Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier was the main amp. Additional amps were a Soldano SLO 100 and a Peavey 5150. 

Mesa Boogie settings:

Green Channel: Master 4, Presence 8, Bass 4, Treble 5-8, Gain 7
Yellow Channel: Master 6, Presence 3, Bass 6, Mid 4, Teble 6, Gain 3-6

The Steinberger GTM7TA-W was used in for the recording of Liar (to my surprise) and Messiah and parts of Dry. Fender Sunburst Strat used in Neo Venus and the JDA sig with EMGs used in Will. A Hamer Slammer was used as the main rhythm guitar in various tracks. 

Mysterious was recorded with the JDA7 through a Marshall. A Telecaster was used for the solo. 

Digitech Whammy and Guyatone Wah used and clearly heard in Prism. 


Gear used in Gaia:

Most of the album was through an old 1959 Marshall. A Boss BD Blues Driver was used as a booster pedal. 

You opted for a traditional approach using a Gibson Les Paul Custom blended with a Fender Strat for a majority of the rhythm tracks. 

The Strat apprears predominantly in Cell, Feel the Wind, Curse, Age and Plastic and Sister. The Sister solo was recorded with the Steinberger. (Thanks ArtDecade)

A Telecaster was used for the solo in Age. 

Seed was recorded with a JDA sig (2) through the Marshall 1959. Digitech Whammy used on the solo. 

Gaia was recorded with his Vigier model (confirmed), and Guilty Pain was his JDA 7 String TOM. 


Gear used in Another Story (You's sound changed dramatically here)

Main rhythm guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Custom through the JCM900 head and Bogner SLX cab. Solos were done with the Steinberger and JDA Sig. For additional boost, a Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor and Klon Centaur were used. Thanks to ArtDecade for the Klon Centaur confirmation. 

A Gretch Country Classic II plugged into a Fender Vibro King were used in Suicide Note, Pardise and Akai Tsuki. 

Rasen was recorded through the Hughes and Kettner Tri Amp Mk II on clean with the Centaur added for dist. 

Line 6 Pod (specific unknown) was used throughout. 


Gear used in Joker

You's main amps includes the Soldano SL100 head mated with a Marshall 160 cab and Peavey 5150. 

The 2 main guitars used were the same used during the Arcadia tour: The Vigier and the custom hand built HSH Stratocaster. HSH Strat plugged into the Soldano/Marshall used for the majority of the ballads (Kaze Ni Notte, Kamen, I'm So Happy, Gekkouka etc). Vigier into the 5150 used for the majority of the harder songs (Tsumetai Kagerou, Mr Trouble Maker, Wild Fang etc). The choice of guitars became the basis of the entire Joker tour as well. 


Info of You's rack setup during the Fate or Fortune tour:

Samsung Wireless
Furman Power Distributor
Boss TU2 Tuner
Marshall JMP-1 (Midi preamp)
Digitech GSP2101
Marshall EL34 100 100 (tubes)
VHT 2150 and 2152 Power Amp
Korg A3 multi effects

Boss FC200 Midi Controller

Cabs:
2 Marshall 1960 4FB4s and a Mesa Boogie. 



Source:

JDA-º²¡Áyou¡Á From Janne Da Arc

Previous post updated with gear confirmations. Thank you Google Translator for at least getting the gist of it.  

 Regular edits because navigating through that page even with the translator was a pain in the ass. /


----------



## ArtDecade (Feb 10, 2010)

Sweet...! I don't know how you found that site, but I am so stoked that you did. Thanks for the source link, too. 

You rocks as always... and so do you!


----------



## JohnIce (Feb 10, 2010)

I'm surprised to see he's recorded so little with the TriAmp, as I seem to recall him using that in a lot of live vids... maybe they're all from the same concert, though


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Feb 10, 2010)

ArtDecade said:


> Sweet...! I don't know how you found that site, but I am so stoked that you did. Thanks for the source link, too.
> 
> You rocks as always... and so do you!


 
I was determined to find more info, so after some Google searching I found it by accident. Glad I did. 



JohnIce said:


> I'm surprised to see he's recorded so little with the TriAmp, as I seem to recall him using that in a lot of live vids... maybe they're all from the same concert, though


 
After Fate or Fortune, the Tri-Amps essentially became his main live amp. In the instructional vid, he blends the Tri-Amp with a Bogner Ubershall head (or Shiva, not sure) through another HK Cab. 

I'm curious to what he used during Arcadia, because Another Story was so different to his usual tone. It was a lot less dominant, then Arcadia got all dark and heavy. Most likely the Vigier and the custom Strat was introduced then. 

And I still need to pickup La Conclusion, but it's just too expensive.


----------



## includao (Feb 10, 2010)

dear god! j-pop and j-rock IS SO GOOD! post some more please! Love your topics JohnIce.


----------



## ArtDecade (Feb 10, 2010)

Is you playing a super-strat on Sister? Those warbles sound like a floyd rose to me. Also, I can't seem to find a Steinberger matching that model number. I think there is a GM series, though. It might have been a Japanese import model.

I've never heard of a Coulomb Centaur, but in the States there is a popular boutique pedal called the Klon Centaur. It's basically a powerful clean boost with a distinctive mid range hump. Although it can be used as a distortion pedal, most people find it unpleasant and harsh. It seems to prefer pushing a distorted amp as opposed to acting as the single source of distortion. I imagine it would sit very well in front of a Marshall or the HK for solos.

http://www.klon-siberia.com/

You can totally hear those Filtertron or P90-type pickups in the Gretsch Country Gentleman tracks.... (Sugizo-esqe)

I wonder what you was using on the Rainy solo. I love the tone on that track.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Feb 10, 2010)

ArtDecade said:


> Is you playing a super-strat on Sister? Those warbles sound like a floyd rose to me. Also, I can't seem to find a Steinberger matching that model number. I think there is a GM series, though. It might have been a Japanese import model.
> 
> I've never heard of a Coulomb Centaur, but in the States there is a popular boutique pedal called the Klon Centaur. It's basically a powerful clean boost with a distinctive mid range hump. Although it can be used as a distortion pedal, most people find it unpleasant and harsh. It seems to prefer pushing a distorted amp as opposed to acting as the single source of distortion. I imagine it would sit very well in front of a Marshall.
> 
> K L O N


 
Fixed previous post. Google translator wasn't really great, so it's most likely a Klon Centaur. Thanks.  

And I may have got the Steinberger/Strat mixed up.  The recording was definitely gargles, and he used a stock sunburst strat (w/maple neck).


----------



## ArtDecade (Feb 10, 2010)

I think that Steinberg model is probably a GM series with a Trans-Trem in White.... The M series was designed by Steinberger and Mike Rutherford of Genesis. I know that the Trans-Trem can be used to change tunings on the fly. I can't say that I hear you doing that with JDA, but Van Halen used it quite a bit.

M Series


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jul 16, 2010)

Necro bump, but I'd thought starting a new topic for a guitarist that's mostly already covered in this thread isn't really justified, so....

You gets his newest Fernandes model as a signature guitar: introducing the Regulus.












Specs:

Neck: Maple 648mm bolt on / Luminous Side Position mark
Fretboard: Maple, 22F, 350R
Tuners: Gotoh (HAP-M System Pearl Knob)
Body: Light Ash 45mm
Pickups: New VH-10 (updated cover) x2
Control: 1 Volume, 1 Tone, 3 Way Lever Switch
Bridge: Wilkinson VG-300
Color: BB (Basalt Black)

Admittedly, lookwise, it's not all that compared to a lot of guitars posted on this site, but then again, I like the simplicity of it. Very different to his blue sig. I'm gonna have to try this out next time I go back to Japan.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Dec 10, 2010)

Another necro bump but this is footage I've been trying to look for since the beginning of this thread. 

That footage is now found, and it's cool, and here it is.


----------



## Murmel (Dec 11, 2010)

They totally did NOT write that song 

Edit: I fail, Nuno did write that song. Not the night prior to that though


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (May 12, 2011)

Bumping for the fans (and those who haven't seen their joke clips) 












And also a rare but nice rendition of Sakura:


----------



## Solodini (May 12, 2011)

033 Joan of Arc on Vimeo

Joan of Arc. Progressive pop?


----------



## Ralyks (May 12, 2011)

So, this band is freakin' awesome. Now, can anyone suggest which album I should start with?


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (May 12, 2011)

DNA or Z-Hard are good albums to start with.


----------



## ArtDecade (Jul 1, 2011)

^ Another Story is my fav!

Back on page one, can anyone identify that Hughes & Kettner combo? They all have a similar (and beautiful) look about them, but it has a bunch of knobs so I am guessing it has a few channels.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jul 1, 2011)

ArtDecade said:


> Back on page one, can anyone identify that Hughes & Kettner combo? They all have a similar (and beautiful) look about them, but it has a bunch of knobs so I am guessing it has a few channels.



Which one? The one in the Furimukeba clip or the one with the HSH black Strat? No idea on either model unfortunately...



> Fernandes JDA White HT w/maple board. Used in the clip for Dolls, Tuned drop D live, used in Lunatic Gate. Loaned to Kiyo for his solo record.



I completely overlooked this but it turns out that the Dolls joke clip just confirmed that this is not a Hard Tail guitar but non locking trem equipped. You can clearly see the spring cavity when Yasu lifts the guitar up. 

And since this thread is bumped: some solo stuff:

Acid Black Cherry covering Siam Shade and snippet of newest single:





A song from each Life movement (You):







From Kiyo's Solo album Artisan of Pleasure:





Kayu's band Damijaw





Shuji playing with others on the Loudness Munetaka Higuchi Forever tribute concert:







Now can you guys reform now?


----------



## ArtDecade (Jul 1, 2011)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Now can you guys reform now?



Pretty please!


----------



## Ralyks (Jul 1, 2011)

Really wish a live clip of Akai Tsuki existed, I think thats the tune I'm diggin' the most.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Sep 26, 2011)

ArtDecade said:


> I think that Steinberg model is probably a GM series with a Trans-Trem in White.... The M series was designed by Steinberger and Mike Rutherford of Genesis. I know that the Trans-Trem can be used to change tunings on the fly. I can't say that I hear you doing that with JDA, but Van Halen used it quite a bit.
> 
> M Series



Bumping this thread because the answer has finally arrived. 






Translated from his blog:



> Anyway, today's favorite thing is the electric guitar I play all the time, considering that previously I introduced my acoustic.
> 
> 
> This is a guitar by Steinburger, and the neck is not wood, but synthetic (graphite and other materials), which allows it to have all kinds of unique traits.
> ...



Also his favorite acoustic, a Martin D-18. 






Damn, I want a Steinberger now.


----------



## ArtDecade (Dec 17, 2011)

Thread bump...

What has you been up to? Anyone? Seems like a while since his trilogy of solo albums were released. Obviously, news here in the States is next to none. Thanks.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Dec 18, 2011)

ArtDecade said:


> Thread bump...
> 
> What has you been up to? Anyone? Seems like a while since his trilogy of solo albums were released. Obviously, news here in the States is next to none. Thanks.



Post trilogy... aside from taking random shots on his blog,  next to nothing really.  

He did take a photo of one of his oldest vintage Fender sunburst Strats. 







Looks quite lovely actually. 

Bandwise, Acid Black Cherry show no signs of slowing down. Not much else going on with everybody else though. Damijaw was the last project with Kayu and Shuji has been quiet up until recently as they've just announced new material being released late January 2012.


----------



## ArtDecade (Dec 18, 2011)

What is you's blog address? Trying to use "you" as a search function is just about impossible! Ha. Thanks for the update.

That Strat is a looker. He has always had great taste in gear. 

I haven't heard any of the Damijaw stuff yet. I'll seek some out. ABC is fantastic. Its almost a shame how good it is, because it limits the chances of JDA reforming. Mixed blessing, yeah?


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Dec 18, 2011)

You's blog can be found on his official website: http://www.you-g.com

Translations can be found on the kiku link posted earlier in this thread. 

As for Damijaw (that hasn't been posted yet):


----------



## ArtDecade (Dec 19, 2011)

JDA needs to get back together again! I just watched the Fate Or Fortune DVD... so, so good! Why did they split up anyway?


----------



## ArtDecade (Nov 27, 2012)

*Thread bump* because I really wish this band would get back together!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Nov 27, 2012)

ArtDecade said:


> *Thread bump* because I really wish this band would get back together!


 


New Damijaw/ABC is the closest you'll have to get:





Interesting fact: Acid Black Cherry's 2012 made it to no.1 on the Oricon charts, better than any Janne Da Arc album. 

Seriously, get a copy of 2012, it's the closest thing to Janne Da Arc that Yasu has done. Plus it's awesome.

EDIT: Somebody uploaded bits of You's instructional DVD so this should satisfy you for a brief period. 



A play through that eventually became the song Sweet Lemon from Life: The First Movement



Sweep song demonstration in order: explosion, Junky Walker, seal, WARNING, MOTHER BRAIN.



Skipping song demonstration in order: in the story, Junky Walker, WARNING.



The last vid, if you can understand Japanese or get somebody to translate, is basically You going talking about his Fernandes JDA sig and his rig.


----------



## ArtDecade (Nov 28, 2012)

Man.... The Damijaw stuff does sound excellent. Although it looks like I will have to stick to youtube clips for now. I can't find any of their music online at reasonable import prices here in the States. Everywhere I look, the CDs are over US$60. That's crazy. 

Someday I hope iTunes combines with the Japanese and European versions...


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Nov 28, 2012)

Have you tried iTunes?

And yeah, Damijaw is certainly quality stuff. That song I posted earlier is just the tip of the iceberg. 











EDIT: Also here's a snippet of Ka-yu's Real Rock Bass instructional DVD:


----------



## ArtDecade (Nov 28, 2012)

The US itunes pulled off most of their J-Pop / J-Rock. Luckily I was able to get a lot about a year ago, but its all gone. What sucks the most is that I can't even retrieve previous purchases, because the band's whole profile is gone.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 3, 2013)

ArtDecade said:


> What has you been up to? Anyone?



Bump REDUX 2013 edition:

Acid Black Cherry, again still no signs of slowing down. In true tradition, every album is followed up with a covers album. Yasu is up to Recreation 3, he even added Siam Shade's 1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou cover that was released on the SS tribute album years ago. He's also announced the "Project Shangri-La" tour. What a machine.

Damijaw have been touring extensively on the "Be With You" tour support for the Made From Your Heart album. So Kayu's been pretty busy. 

Both You and Kiyo, aside from updating their blogs regularly, (the latter more frequently), they really haven't done anything worth noting here... 

...well there was that Dr Doyle Yodonagawa thing that I failed to mention a while back probably because I know absolutely nothing about it at all. 

Shuji, aside from touring with Damijaw, has been quite busy. You (Adachi, Guitarist of Dead End... sorry not JDA You...) has literally just released a solo album called Maniac Love Station. No vocal credits so I'm assuming it's an instrumental album. But the lineup is incredible:

Guitar: You Adachi
Bass: Ikuo
Drums: Shuji



Also, while it's old footage (and already posted on the Deluhi thread), here's Shuji rocking out with Golden Bomber. Also includes Leda on guitar and Shuse (Lachryma Christi, Acid Black Cherry) on bass. 



It's goofy as all hell, but again, the lineup is amazing. 



The official Janne Da Arc webpage is now littered with a bunch of ABC and Damijaw updates.   At least they're active... just not as a band together.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 3, 2013)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> ...well there was that Dr Doyle Yodonagawa thing that I failed to mention a while back probably because I know absolutely nothing about it at all.



Ah what the hell, why not? 




























I don't expect anyone to sit through all of that.  


But Kiyo did compose some music that came with the DVD. 







And yes that was You (JDA) playing guitar on 'Clear A Wall'.


----------



## ArtDecade (Apr 3, 2013)

Thanks for the updates, guys. I really miss these guys and I hope they plan something new in the future... You never know!!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Sep 25, 2013)

For the 3 or 4 people still interested in this band: the closest thing I've got to an update, but it's pretty cool. 

A tribute album to J-Rock godfathers Dead End was released earlier this month. It's chock full of all the big names in J-Rock (including Marty Friedman) and its got all members of Janne Da Arc sans Kayu performing: 

Yasu:
With Shinobu of Creature Creature (guitar), and Shinya of Luna Sea (drums)



Shuji:
With Ryuichi of Luna Sea (vocals), Sakito of Nightmare (guitars), Shuse of Acid Black Cherry, Ex Lachryma Christi (bass)



You:
With Tetsu of Zigzo/Ex Malice Mizer (vocals), Fire of The Badasses (bass), Motokatsu Miyagami of The Mad Capsule Markets (drums)



Kiyo:
With Aki of (ex)Laputa (vocals), Chisato of Penecilin/Acid Black Cherry (guitar), Ikuo of Bull Zeichen 88/Ray Flower/Acid Black Cherry/TM Revolution (bass), Levin of Lachryma Christi (drums)



The tribute album makes sense for the members as they're all massive Dead End fans and more or less modelled their sound and image after them; very apparent in the early years.


----------



## ArtDecade (Sep 26, 2013)

Can't wait to get home and listen to these tracks! 

Thanks a million for the update!!


----------



## ArtDecade (Dec 2, 2013)

Bump for any other updates? Hopefully!


----------



## ArtDecade (Dec 3, 2013)

Its a bummer that some of the pics in this thread are gone. I guess the original links went missing. Its still the best _you_ resource on the web - in English, at least!


----------



## ArtDecade (Jul 12, 2014)

So many great videos from this thread are slowly going away... Sucks. I visit here - just to remind myself of all the great music and gear.

Please come back, JDA!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 2, 2015)

Zombie bump. It's not much but it's something:

You now has both a Twitter account and a youtube account.

The youtube vids aren't really much though. Most of it is either snippets of acoustic street performances in Ibaraki prefecture or him messing around with rondo alla turca or canon rock. And almost all the vids are no longer than 15 seconds long. 

Still, it's nice to see You still playing. And here's hoping that it leads to something more substantial.


----------



## ArtDecade (Apr 2, 2015)

I'll take a thread bump here! Thanks, mate!


----------



## ArtDecade (Jul 6, 2016)

Still hoping for a JDA reunion...! That said, the new ABC album (L) is awesome.


----------



## Ralyks (Jul 6, 2016)

I approve of this thread bump for the reason that how could I forgotten about these guys?!


----------



## ArtDecade (Jul 6, 2016)

I bump every year...!


----------



## Ralyks (Jul 6, 2016)

Yeah, I'm definitely throwing on "Maria No Tsumeato" and "Akai Tsuki" when I get out of work. Another Story is an awesome album


----------



## ArtDecade (Jul 6, 2016)

Check out the new Acid Black Cherry album, called "L", if you get a chance. It is yasu's current project. Lots of quality songs and shredding galore.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jul 7, 2016)

Aside from ABC, You and Kiyo did a collaboration with the IA Vocaloid last year. It's got a few big J-Rock names like Taki Yoshimitsu (9mm Parabellum Bullet), Yuta Yasuno (HAWAIIAN6), the guys from Dragon Ash, and even Sugizo. 



You and Kiyo are in track 7. For a vocaloid album, it's pretty good. 

Also You is using AxeFxs now.


----------



## ArtDecade (Nov 26, 2018)

The *wishful thinking that something new by JDA will come out* bump.


----------



## Ralyks (Nov 27, 2018)

Once again, I approve of this bump.

And just because;


----------



## ArtDecade (Nov 27, 2018)

MARIA!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 2, 2019)

For those interested:

https://jrocknews.com/2019/04/janne-da-arc-disbands-bassist-ka-yu.html

Yeah, it's not good news, but after 12 years between bugger and all, at least there's some closure.


----------



## Ralyks (Apr 3, 2019)

This throughout upsetted me


----------



## ArtDecade (Apr 3, 2019)

*Crimes against morality.*
Sounds pretty brutal.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 3, 2019)

Ralyks said:


> This throughout upsetted me



Yeah, I was speaking to my friends about this and they were utterly gutted as well. One in particular who makes the annual effort to watch all the big J-Rock bands. She's seen all of them, but wished she'd seen Janne live. 

It's funny because You and Shuji have been extremely active of late. I posted it on the Deluhi thread that he along with Leda, and a few others are doing Legendary Guitarist shows (basically a Japanese G3). It's actually more than I could hope for personally since 2 of my favorite J-Rock guitarists being the most active members getting up onstage and just shredding away.

Here's a rundown of both You and Leda's current rigs:

http://stagegear.jp/20190222you-gf2

You has just jumped on the G-Life train after playing a bunch of different instruments (a few Ibanez and Keisel guitars), and that custom G-Phoenix 7 is beautiful. The Legator Ninja 8 looks out of place in the boutique arsenal, but I'm guessing that's a place holder since he's playing with Leda's 8 string songs. A G-Phoenix 8 string perhaps...

They were even playing Sylvia... man this is depressing.


----------

