Kikuchi Guitars / Hermes MV5 Black [05]

Hermes Series

Yoshiyuki Kikuchi, who served as Chief Luthier at the Sadowsky Tokyo branch and recently launched Three Dots Guitars.
Combining the know-how gained from years of instrument making and collaborations with numerous musicians with a wealth of ideas, “Kikuchi Guitars” is a brand newly created as the culmination of Mr. Kikuchi’s career.

The “Hermes” series is designed to be accessible to a wider range of players.
While maintaining its proven quality, the brand achieves an affordable price point by limiting specifications and color options.

・Features
Neck: To achieve optimal tone and weight balance during play, the neck has been reinforced for strength, and the headstock has been made thicker.
With a nut width narrower than a standard J-style guitar and a neck grip that retains moderate thickness for durability and playability while being easy to grip, you can play smoothly from low to high positions, as well as mute the wide-neck 5-string.

To accommodate various playing styles and musical genres, the string action is uniformly set up across all fret positions, delivering a powerful tone for aggressive picking and a warm, enveloping tone for gentle strumming.

Body: Features a redesigned Dinky shape tailored to the Japanese physique for stress-free playing. Beyond its maneuverability for modern tones, the solid body—with its moderate weight—delivers a resonant tone and enables a wide range of tonal variations.

The MV model is crafted from ash. In addition to the crisp, snappy tone of the maple fingerboard, it is characterized by a dry, punchy tone.

Pickup: It is equipped with a DiMarzio custom model also used in the Custom Series. This is a hum-canceling pickup that delivers a sharp, crisp, and powerful tone while reducing noise.

Preamp: To achieve the ultimate tone envisioned by Kikuchi, we’ve equipped this model with the original preamp used in the Custom Series, developed in collaboration with a world-class design manufacturer.
When boosted, it delivers a clear and natural tone across the low and high frequencies regardless of the setting, with a scooped midrange. It is designed to minimize any perceptible difference in volume and tone quality when switching between passive and active modes.

Offering reliable sound and playability, this long-awaited series is set to become the first choice for active-type pickups.
S/N: 685
Weight: 3.90 kg
JAN Code: 4571220089985
Accessories: Semi-hard case, wrench

[Product Specifications]
Body: 2-Piece Ash (Solid)
Neck: Maple, Thin Matte Nitro
Fingerboard: Maple
Fingerboard Radius: 12″ (305R)
Nut Material: Tusq
Nut Width: 46mm
Frets: DHP24H, 22 frets
Scale: 864mm (34″)
Body Finish: Poly
Hardware Color: Chrome
Bridge: Hipshot 19mm Spacing
Tuners: Hipshot License Ultra-Light
Pickups: DiMarzio 5HC in 60s-style positions
Preamp: Kikuchi Guitars Original Preamp
Controls: Master Volume, Pickup Balancer, Passive Roll-Off Tone (with pull switch for preamp bypass), Treble/Bass Boost