Quick Facts
Biography
Toshiya (born March 31, 1977, in Nagano) is a Japanese musician, best known as the bassist of the metal band Dir En Grey. He has been with the band since its inception in 1997, although he was not in La:Sadie's, as the other four previously had been. Unlike his fellow band members Kaoru and Die, Toshiya has only composed a handful of Dir en grey's songs, such as "Erode" and "Bottom of the Death Valley". Unsurprisingly, his compositions tend to have a distinct, bass-driven sound.
Equipment
Near the beginning of the band's career, Toshiya was endorsed by Killer Guitars in Japan. During this period he primarily used guitars with the company's Kumovi body and later his signature-series bass, the Beelze, which is similar to a reverse version of a typical Rickenbacker guitar. These signatures had a verse written by Toshiya on the headstock instead of the standard Killer logo. The third model he used from Killer was a custom bass called the 3epo.
Toshiya is currently endorsed by ESP in Japan, who provides most of his basses, picks, and straps. His endorsement began with P-bass style guitars, used for most of the band's songs, and Lakland 5-string guitars used for low-tuned songs such as "Obscure". He used to use his signature-series basses from the ESP Custom Shop called the RU-Drive until 2009 which is a copy of the Gibson RD body shape. Now he has two custom basses with 00 and 01 written on the headstock. They feature a flying V design at the bottom of the body and horns resembling something close to a Fender Stratocaster at the top. It has a V headstock. Replicas of the discontinued Beelze series were once available through Killer, who still offers a non-signature version of it under the series name Simmony. ESP currently offers replicas of the 22-fret RU-Drive in both the ESP and Edwards artist series.
Bass guitars
| Brand | Model | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ESP Guitars | D-TT <TRICK STAR> | Toshiya's current 5 string bass from ESP. Being at 889mm long, it is slightly longer than his old RU-Drive series basses which are at 864mm. |
| ESP Guitars | D-TR-290 RU-Drive | Toshiya's signature model from ESP. The bass was made in alternating combinations of white and black, much like the Beelze, along with multiple fret amounts. This model was originally referred to as the "RD Type." It now features a sunburst finish, like the original Gibson RD. The sunburst finish has a PJ style pick-ups, and the green-burst finish has two ESP Custom Lab Jazz pick-ups with plastic covers. Both newer models feature a 35" scale length instead of the usual 34". |
| ESP Guitars | D-TR Prototype | Precursor to the RU-Drive series. It features a modified version of a left-handed P-bass body and has the same headstock as the RU-Drive models, including Toshiya's custom ESP logo. It can be seen on the The Code of Vulgar[ism] DVD, i.e. during the performance of "Child Prey". |
| ESP Guitars | Halibut - ash | Recently replaced his Lakland Bass. A standard stock 5 string bass that is available in the new Japanese 08 ESP catalog. |
| Seymour Duncan | DP-100 RSV | Like many of the artist's guitars, it became heavily decorated with stickers and electrical tape over time, leading to confusion whether it was still the same model. Later replaced by the ESP Prototype. |
| Lakland | 55-94 Classic | Alternating models with either a white or black finish. |
| Gibson | Flying V | Has a white finish with white pickguard. |
| Killer | Beelze | Toshiya's signature Killer bass. Used several models with either a black and white finish. One can be seen broken in the Ware photo book. |
| Killer | 3epo | A custom bass designed by Toshiya with a biomechanical look, the body resembling that of a reptile or insect. Has a primarily purple finish with details in white. The guitar can be seen on Dir En Grey's 1999.12.18 Osakajo Hall release and the "Myaku" music video, available on the Kimon compilation. It has since been retired. |
| Killer | Vulture | Alternating models with either a see-thru blue finish or a matte black finish. |
| Killer | Eve | Used multiple versions. |
| Killer | Stone Blue | none |
| Rickenbacker | 4003 | Has red finish with white pickguard. |
| Fender | J-bass | Has a sunburst finish. |
Pickups and other accessories
- Ampeg SVT-2 Pro Bass Amp
- Ampeg SVT-810E Bass Cabinet
- Eden WP100 Navigator Bass Preamp
- Eden 2x Eden D810RP Bass Cabinets
- Seymour Duncan SJB-1n a neck and SJB-1b at bridge on older RU-Drive basses
- ESP Custom Lab Jazz Pickups on green-burst RU Drive
- ESP custom-printed picks
- ESP Dir En Grey series guitar strap
- http://www.espguitars.co.jp/artist//toshiya/index.html
- ^ “Dir En Grey Pure Essence of Machiavellism", Gigs, Sept., 2004.