ABOUT US
FREE THE TONE was established in 2002 as a company that designs and produces custom products, pedalboards and tour systems for professional Japanese guitarists and bassists. As the words "THE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SYSTEM DESIGN" express, instead of focusing on single components, we approach the entire system design in a comprehensive way. We believe in helping musicians improve their performance and aim to develop trouble-free products by getting to know more about how musicians use the products in live performance or recording situations. An environment that allows you to concentrate on your performance will have a positive effect on your sound. It helps to unleash the sound.
Today, we can offer products that can be used by everyone by making full use of our accumulated know-how. Every time we release a new product, there is a reaction from our users which will inspire our design for the next product. And by continuing to offer new products, we hope to inspire our users with novel and creative ways to experience their dreams and realize the very best in sound.
| Company Name | Free The Tone, Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Representative | Yukihiro Hayashi |
| Established | November 2002 |
| Office | 2-25-10 Gontazaka, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama-shi 240-0026 Kanagawa |
- About Yukihiro Hayashi
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Yukihiro Hayashi was born in 1968 in Mie prefecture of Japan. After graduating from Shibaura Institute of Technology in 1991, he started to gain experience with the design, development and maintenance of musical instruments/pro-audio equipment, as well as gaining proficiency with recording consoles and recording studio systems. From 1992 to 1994, he worked as a guitar tech for guitarist HIDE (X-Japan) . In 1997, he joined Victor Japan and was responsible for the design and development of custom mixers for music halls, digital consoles and digital amps. In 2002, he joined in Pacifix, Ltd and at the same time, he became a representative of Free The Tone, which was at the time a fully-owned affiliate company of Pacifix, Ltd. He was responsible for the design, development and manufacturing of their main Providence brand products. He worked for many top Japanese musicians designing and building system units and expanding the name of Free The Tone in the music world. In 2011, Free The Tone became an independent company after separating from Pacifix Ltd, and Yuki is now the owner and president of Free the Tone.
- Origin of the company name FREE THE TONE
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FREE THE TONE was conceived by Pete and Lynda Cornish based on the desire to “Free the Tone” from noise, interface, and any other impediments to music performance. Pete Cornish is known worldwide for his custom products developed for some of the best-known names in the music business, including Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and Sting. Lynda has been Pete’s partner for many years.
- Studio On-pa
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FREE THE TONE has a recording studio "Studio On-pa" that is available for our use any time, 24 hours a day. By having our own studio, we are able to carry out sound checks quickly. It is an indispensable environment for product development.
The studio has a 24.5 square meter control room and a 9 square meter recording booth. The height of the ceiling is about 3.8 meters, which gives a very open and airy feeling. The studio is built using wooden construction, and the control room has a comfortable feeling like being at home with a natural sound. The studio is on the first floor, and lots of sun light and fresh air can be let in from the outside. The recording booth with very advanced echo suppression was very useful in the development of the AMBI SPACE reverb sound.
Various instruments and studio equipment are maintained and reserved for sound creation at On-pa Studio. This provides an environment where the experience of top-line equipment and excellent sound can be enjoyed. We believe that it is an important role of FREE THE TONE to convey good sound to the next generation.
