VanZandt Guitar and P.G.M - Mini interview
Someone in America bought a VanZandt guitar 
which is only available in the Japanese market. 
He asked me if I can find out more information 
about his guitar. I happen to know someone of PGM (*1), 
which is the manufacturer of the VanZandt guitars. 
So I asked him about the VanZandt guitars and PGM.



(*1) Currently PGM is only producing high-end guitars 
such as VanZandt Guitars, Moon, and its original brand PGM. 
They used to make Schecter guitars once.  In 1978, they 
started to sell 22fret replacement necks for Fender Strat. 
This commonly used "plus-one fret" neck was their idea ! 
Where are your guitars manufactured?
Mr.Yoshida (PGM) Our shop is located in the countryside in Japan, Saitama prefecture. We have been there for 12 years.
What is your philosophy or concept in guitar building?
Mr.Yoshida (PGM) We would like to say "confidence and stubbornness". However, our "stubbornness" is always changing. So, we try not to be particular in doing things, because we think that being too particular hinders evolution. When we build a guitar, we take a close look at the wood first, and ask ourselves "What it wants to be?", or "What the player expect from this wood?". You see, every material is unique; therefore, every guitar is unique. We take a different approach to build each guitar. May be we are stubborn in that way. 
Why are your guitars so expensive?
Mr.Miyasaka
(VanZandt Guitars)
Because they are not mass-produced guitars and they are built by hand to the highest quality standards. So we think that the current price of 240,000 yen is reasonable for Japanese standards. When high quality material is used, it motivates builders to build a great guitar. When there is a great guitar, it raises the enthusiasm to sell it. Buyers can really treasure a guitar like that. 
When was his TLV60 Sr#0571 built?
Mr.Miyasaka
(VanZandt Guitars)
It was manufactured in Aug, 1995 and sold at the guitar shop in Hokkaido for the price of 195,000 yen. This rare model(only 30 made) has 184R fingarboard which is Fender's standard instead of our regular 400R fingarboard. This was done due to the demand from dedicated Tele users.
Do you market overseas?
Mr.Miyasaka
(VanZandt Guitars)
We currently do not. Considering the cost of fright and duty, we don't think the price will be competitive enough to market at overseas. 
Mr.Yoshida, please tell me anything about PGM or episodes.
Mr.Yoshida (PGM) More than ten years ago, a player claimed that his guitar is out of tune no matter how precisely tuned it. So, I moved the nut slightly over towards the first fret for him. He was extremely pleased with the result; ended up doing it to all of his guitars. At that time I became confident with my method. So, I did the same thing to another player and told him what I did. Well, in fact, he became furious. He thought that his guitar is now out of tune at all notes! So, I decided to keep this secret method secret. Few years later, I was stunned to hear that somebody patented this methodology as "The Plus Octave Tuning". I never even thought that this could be patented, so I was furious about that.
Try this. Ignore the open strings and tune it at the second fret. You will notice the perfect tune except open strings. The open strings will be slightly lower. Nonetheless, the difference is extremely subtle. So if you notice the difference, try moving the nut over towards the first fret slightly. I suggest not doing it if you don't notice the difference.

Note: Nut relocation procedure can cause your guitar to be irreparable. Please consult qualified repair shop first.





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