P-Project A1-Nエレクトリック・ナイロン弦ギター（エレガット）は、ドミニク・ミラーというギタリストを象徴するギターであり、おそらく彼自身の様々な思い出が詰まっているギターだと思います。 The P-Project A1-N Electric Nylon Strings Guitar (Ele-gut) is the iconic guitar of guitarist Dominic Miller, who himself must have many fond memories of it.
■ Commentary ■
1992年にこのギターを手に入れてから、ドミニクはライヴにレコーディングにと、アコースティック・サウンドのメイン・ギターとしてこれを愛用していました。彼にとってこのギターは美しい音と利便性の面で最高のギターだったのではないでしょうか。スティングのアルバム『Ten Summoner’s Tales』(1993)の曲のMVでも、このギターはとても活躍し、このアルバムに収録されたオリジナルの『Shape of My Heart』はこのギターで録音されています。
そして現在ドミニクはこのギターをドミニクはライブで使用する事はなく、2000年ごろから「Shape of My Heart」や「Fields of Gold」の演奏ではギルドギターズのパロマを使用しています。変わった理由は推測ですが、もうフェルナンデスにはこのギターの製作者が居なくなってしまった事、そして、イントネーションがパロマの方が正確さがあり、安定している為、大きな会場により適していたからだと思われます。
このギターのネックはかなり細く、アコースティックギターのように湾曲した指板が付いています。クラシックギターはまったく湾曲していません。まるでエレキギターを弾いているような感じです。非常に明るく、反応がよく、ダイナミックレンジも広いです。弱く弾いても強く弾いても、本当によく伝わってきます。 ロドリゲスのようなギターに自分の個性を出すには何年もかかることがあります。クラシックギターで音を出すのは通常とても難しいのです。スタジオでは、ストレートな DI だけです。デスクには何もありません。コンプレッションは一切使用していません。
Since acquiring it in 1992, Dominic has used it as his main acoustic sounding guitar, both live and on recordings. For him,I think this guitar was probably the best guitar in terms of beautiful sound and convenience.The guitar also played a very active role in the music video for a song from Sting’s album “Ten Summoner’s Tales” (1993). The original ‘Shape of My Heart’ on this album was recorded on this guitar.
Fernandes P-Project A1-N
First of all, before I get into the description of this guitar, I would like to reiterate what is great about the musician Dominic Miller. There are many great things about him, but I think the two main categories are his greatness as a composer and his greatness as a guitarist in terms of performance.The great thing about his playing side is that he can play both classical guitar (nylon strings) and electric guitar at the highest level at any given time.It is usually difficult for one guitarist to play both classical and electric guitar at a high level. But Dominic can. Nylon-strings guitars are usually played with fingernails, but he practiced hard and modified it so that he could play with his fingers. (Dominic says that was the biggest and best decision of his life). As a result, Dominic can produce beautiful tones that only he can produce, whether on nylon-string guitar or electric guitar. Guitarists like him are very rare in the world. And for Dominic, who plays both nylon-string and electric guitars seamlessly and freely, the P-Project A1-N guitar was very practical and important. Conversely, Dominic is probably the only one of the many guitarists in the world who can get the most out of this guitar.
Fernandes P-Project A1-N
Pino Palladino Awesome Bass solo and groove - Manu Katche and Dominic Miller live at Montreux 1999
【SPEC】 Type: A1-N (nylon string version) Colour: Natural finish. Body Material: Honduran mahogany (side & back) Body top material: Spruce Body style: Telecaster style Body Shape Characteristics: Single cutaway Neck Material: Honduran mahogany Neck Joint: Bolt-on neck Fingerboard: Ebony Fretboard: Ebony Fretboard: 22 frets Scale: 647 mm (25.5 inch) Nut: 45 mm (1.77 inch) Pickups: Fishman Piezo Original/AGX 125 PU Pickup configuration: Piezo-Transducer Bridge (Under Saddle Pickup System (Active)) Preamp: Fishman Pre Amp AGP-2P (Active) Bridge: Wenge Tuner: Gotoh Tuner (6-serial tuner) Weight: 2.75kg Made in Japan
History of P-Project
P-Project is a Japanese high-end guitar workshop founded in Kobe in the 1980s. P-Project was a pioneer in the production of original guitars made to order for individuals, which was rare at the time. The high quality guitars, with no regard for profitability, were highly regarded by professionals and amateurs alike.The workshop then joined the Fernandes family and took on the role of building custom and high-end guitars for the manufacturer. P-Project guitars are extremely practical and have a balanced sound for a wide range of musical styles favoured by fusion and studio musicians.
Beginning of A1-N
This guitar was first produced in 1991 by P-Project, a subsidiary of the Japanese Fernandes company, as a custom-made electric/acoustic guitar. Dominic saw this guitar when he came to Japan and liked it so much that he bought it in 1992. Then,Dominic’s use of the guitar on Sting’s “Ten Summoner’s Tales” album(1993) made it a popular model.
And the guitar was then sold as Dominic Miller’s signature model for about 10 years before it was discontinued. The discontinuation was probably due to the death of the skilled P-Project craftsman who designed this model and built all these guitars. Also, Fernandes recently went bankrupt, which makes this guitar extremely valuable.
And now Dominic no longer uses this guitar in his live performances, but has been using a Paloma from Guild Guitars since around 2000 for performances of Shape of My Heart and Fields of Gold. The reasons for the change are speculative, but it is possible that Fernandez no longer has a builder for this guitar, and that the Paloma, with its more accurate and stable intonation, was better suited to larger venues.
A1-N Overview
This guitar has a high level of playability that makes it less uncomfortable to switch from an electric guitar, and a ‘good sound’ that is comparable to an acoustic guitar. It also combines acoustic characteristics that make it easy to handle in large venues.
In fact, Dominic mainly used this guitar on many of his solo albums until 2004. He later fell in love with the guitar when Japanese musician Kazufumi Miyazawa gave him a K-Yairi CYTM. (Dominic uses a Rodriguez classical guitar, as the album Shapes is mainly classical music.)
This guitar has a very natural and beautiful sound and the delicacy characteristic of nylon strings, as can be heard on Sting’s albums of the time, Dominic’s solo album First Touch and others. The guitar Dominic used is signed by him on the headstock, but otherwise has the same specifications as a standard production model, with no special modifications.
Specification Details
Semi-hollow construction with a solid mahogany body of electric guitar-like thickness, slightly hollowed out on the bass side to create a cavity in the body, which is covered by a spruce top. By creating a cavity in the body and cutting the soundhole close to the strings, a wide range of resonances is covered from low to high notes. This suppresses howling and creates a beautiful airy resonance. The neck is slightly wider than on Strat guitars, but the 1.77″ nut width is narrower than on nylon-string models, and the grip is thinly moulded to be comfortable when switching from an electric guitar. The cutaway also allows smooth fingering all the way up to the high position, just like an electric guitar. This guitar is available in steel-string and nylon-string versions, with differences in fretboard, fretboard width, top material, tuning pegs, etc. A Fishman undersaddle piezo pick-up system, specially designed for this guitar, is mounted in the bridge (active type). The Fishman AGP-2P preamp, bass and treble controls are located on the back of the body and can be easily adjusted by simply turning the Vol control on the bridge while playing. The piezo PU picks up the core of the sound superbly and can produce good, clean tones in band sounds.
Dominic was asked by a fan on his former official website about the width of the nut on his guitar, to which he replied. DM：“I do have a P-Project nylon which has a small nut width which is noticeable. It can indeed be hard to articulate some of the trickier classical tunes, but it sounds so good it’s worth it. I thought the Paloma was more like a real classical or at least it feels that way to me. My Rodriguez probably has the maximum width and I like it. Easier to articulate but sometimes harder to make the stretches.”
Dom’s Comment
Finally, Dominic talked about this guitar in detail in an interview with Guitar Magazine in 1998. So let’s introduce it here.
・The catalyst for Dominic’s live work with nylon strings evolved because of the development of his Fernandes P-Project electro/classical.
DM：The guitar was made because I needed an acoustic nylon string on stage. I told Fernandes I was looking for one, and I went to Japan and there it was! It’s a solid-bodied nylon acoustic guitar, slightly hollow on the bass side. I don’t know what that’s about, but I’m sure it’s got something to do with the depth of the sound. There’s a real contrast between the Fernandes and any other solid nylon strings guitars. It’s tone is more crisp, so the high-end sounds much better. If I play a Gibson Chet Atkins, I find it’s a very round sound; if you look at the actual signal, you’ll find it’s round, and I don’t hear the fingers. I can’t hear the index finger going through the string before it strikes the note, I just hear the note. It’s like a classical guitar and a flamenco guitar. The flamenco is lighter, so it’s brighter and the same is true of the P-Project. (Note:As for this underlined sentence, I do not play guitar, so it is difficult for me to fully understand Dominic’s words. However, I interpret this to mean that the speed of the rise of the sound and the reaction at the moment of playing is faster on this A1-N than on the Chet model. In other words, I think it means that the feeling when you play it is transmitted more directly to Dominic than on the Chet model.I can understand mine if it were a piano, so I will compare it to that. When I play a Yamaha grand and a Steinway, the Steinway is clearly easier to play and more responsive. The Steinway has a lighter touch on the keys and I feel that what I intend to do comes out directly in the sound. And the sound is brighter.)
・Dominic’s P-Project A1-N nylon strings also has an under-saddle pickup with bass and treble EQ controls on the rear of the guitar.
DM：I usually get the sound I want if I leave it flat. I’ve also got a steel-string version of the same guitar, but for years I couldn’t get it to sound right. Fernandes told me to try electric strings, and instantly it sounded great. I’d assumed all along that it should have an acoustic set on it. They were horrified!
・Is the P-Project nylon string used in the studio as well as for playing live?
DM：Yes – I plug in and the sound is right there. Engineers are amazed at by the sound, because it’s like someone sitting out there with this elaborate mike arrangements. It sounds good whatever you plug into. And it’s great for live work too – you can use it on a big stage and there’s no feedback. With a lot of other acoustics, you’d have difficulties. I’ve got four P-Projects, but I’ve never had used the spares, which is impressive considering the guitar’s been around the world with me two or three times. I use the others for different tunings where they’re drop-tuned to E flat. Sting does a couple of things in E flat so I like to have the open strings available. It’s actually got quite a narrow neck, almost like an acoustic guitar’s, with a curved fingerboard – and classical guitars aren’t curved at all. It’s almost like playing an electric. It’s very bright, very responsive and so the dynamic range is great; you can play soft or hard and it really comes through.It can take years to put your stamp on a guitar like a Rodriguez – it’s usually very hard to get a sound on a classical guitar. In the studio, it’s just straight DI. There’s nothing – zero on the desk, we don’t use any compression.
