A beautifully painted iron box that fits in the palm of your hand. At first glance, you may not know what this box is. It's an "effector," an indispensable item for musicians. In a room in an apartment in Sapporo, Yuji Sugimoto makes the equipment known as an effector. ■Yuji Sugimoto: "The most important thing is to make something that I find attractive." Sugimoto's effects are sold at famous music stores and are highly regarded, even used by major artists. Meanwhile, he talks about his own work like this. ■Yuji Sugimoto: "When I say I make effects, people who have played in bands tend to understand, but people who haven't will not understand." What exactly is this "effector" that Sugimoto makes? We asked Tetsuro Kuwao, a guitar instructor in Sapporo, to demonstrate it. Guitarists and bassists who have their hands full while playing can change the sound by stepping on the switch of an effector placed at their feet. We asked him to try it out with a familiar song. (※On-chan Good Morning Exercise) When there is no effect pedal... [The raw sound of an electric guitar♪] If you step on something called a "fuzz" that distorts the sound intensely... [Distorted sound♪] If you step on something called a "phaser" that creates an undulating sound... [Undulating sound♪] Effect pedals are essential equipment for manipulating various sounds. Sugimoto started making effect pedals when he was in junior high school. ■ Sugimoto Yuji: "There was an article in Guitar Magazine about making effect pedals. I borrowed a soldering iron after school, tried it, and couldn't get any sound out." After that, Sugimoto continued making effect pedals as a hobby while playing in a band. Then, one day, there was a turning point. ■Yuji Sugimoto: "I have an acquaintance who works at a music store in Tokyo, and we talked about putting our products there. We actually made a few samples and had them try them out, and when they said they could put our products on the shelves, we put them there, and that's how it all started." With this as a trigger, Sugimoto launched a brand called "1995fx," named after a song by his favorite band. He says that his continued performances on stage have been useful in his manufacturing. ■Yuji Sugimoto: "I don't think about anything other than products that can be used on the spot, and I think that things like ease of use when used in a band, and the ability to create a good sound are things that you can't understand unless you're in a band yourself, so I value those aspects." After completing the design of the circuit diagram, everything is done by hand, from soldering to painting. Sugimoto has started selling products in collaboration with professional musicians and receiving orders from overseas. In fact, he was about to hold a big event. Shimamura Music is one of Japan's leading music stores, with 182 stores nationwide. Sugimoto was asked to set up a booth at a large event held by Shimamura Music and to create limited edition products. ■Shimamura Music's Aoki Yuta: "I trust Sugimoto-san to make something great, so I definitely recommend it." The limited edition product that Sugimoto-san is currently working on is called "parhelion." ■Sugimoto Yuji: "This one is called 'parhelion,' which is written as phantom sun. I wanted to create a sparkling sound, so I thought the sparkle of the phenomenon of parhelion was perfect." After about two hours of work, the pedal was assembled. Finally, we checked that it worked properly. ■Sugimoto Yuji: "This is finished." Q: "I hope you'll like it." Just before the event, Sugimoto-san's preparations were in the final stages. And then the day of the event arrived. The pedals that Sugimoto-san had made were lined up at the booth. ■Event greeting: "We'll open at 10:00, thank you." The event finally started. Then, the first customer who visited the venue that day went straight to Sugimoto-san's booth. He immediately started trying them out. ■Customer: "It's really good." ■Sugimoto Yuji: "Thank you." ■Customer: "It's really good. I'm really attracted to the design and the way it's made to produce the sound you like." The first customer purchased the "Parhelon" that was made for this day. ■Sugimoto Yuji: "It shows that it's in the hands of the right people, which is a common sentiment. I was a little nervous, but I'm grateful." After that, customers continued to gather at Sugimoto's booth, and the limited edition items were almost all sold out in two days. About a week after the event, I visited Sugimoto's house and found a previous customer there. It was Shimura Takuya, who plays in a band in Sapporo. He said he'd come to ask for his broken effects pedal to be repaired. ■Shimura Takuya: "This tremolo stops making sound when I plug it in." Many musicians in Sapporo say that when they have a problem, they consult Sugimoto. (Sound comes out) Q: Is it fixed yet? ■ Sugimoto Yuji: "It's fixed now." ■ Shimura Takuya: "It's like having a family doctor, I think everyone really relies on it." Sugimoto is relied on by many musicians. So what does an effects pedal mean to him? ■ Sugimoto Yuji: "I call it a magic box. As the creator of the circuit, of course there is the design and various discussions that need to be done, but for the user, it's like pressing a button and the sound changes, so I think you could call it a kind of magic box." A "magic box" created by a craftsman in Sapporo. It will continue to support the feet of many musicians. ▼HTB Hokkaido News Official Website https://www.htb.co.jp/news/ ▼For information and video submissions, please visit "Recommended!! 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