Here's an article about Toshi and his gear from tcelectronic.com. I orginally posted it at the now deceased ddlr.com. *RIP*
Thought some here might get a kick out of it. Pretty cool to hear Toshi talking about getting classic Eddie tones, etc.:
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Toshinori Hiketa - On Tour with Diamond Dave
22-9-2003
For any touring guitar player, it is no trivial task to leave a personal imprint on stage while staying true to the spirit of the original tunes. This is especially true going on the road with David Lee Roth, who certainly has no shortage of classics in his repertoire.
Toshi Hiketa takes on this role for Diamond Dave's "Tour of the Worlds", which covered 58 spots in the U.S. alone. Toshi, when not on tour, teaches at Musicians' Institute in Hollywood, and keeps busy with the Hiqueta Trio and Hideous Sun Demons.
We had a chance to visit him right before the tour.
"Currently, I use two setups. For David Lee Roth and the Hideous Sun Demons, I use a combination of Custom Audio and Marshalls. For recordings and session work, I use VHT and Egnators. I use the G-Major for both."
For this tour, Toshi employs a system which combines the G-Major with distortion stomp boxes, controlled from a MIDI footboard. First and foremost, he mentions the sound.
"I can get close to the 'Eddie' sound with vintage MXRs and the like, but it's not an option for me because of the noise and sound degradation that comes with vintage gear. I use Vintage Phasers and Flangers on the G-Major to get that sound, and it's noiseless. As for the sound itself, Dave approves... and that's saying something."
Of course, his use is not limited to sonic re-creations. "For Steve Vai tunes and to get the contemporary sounds I need, I may use the Octave, Pitch Shifter, and Chorus too."
What then, is G-Major's biggest appeal? "Studio-quality sonic quality. Ease of use. Intuitive control, under any circumstance. All this is something I can't live without. Setup is as fast as stompboxes. I often have pedals controlling Chorus and Tremolo speeds. Also, I can change delay times instantaneously."
For those that missed the tour, a Hideous Sun Demons CD has just been released. His website has links to MP3 sample tracks as well.
Toshi Hiketa website: www.toshihiketa.com
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http://www.tcelectronic.com/Default....54&AjrThmId=11
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