I asked a staff member from Sago, the guitar/bass maker, about the brand Stem!

2021-07-05

Last time, I spoke with Kubocchi-san who often appears on the official Sago YouTube channel and social media. This time we are going to dig deeper into more about Sago, too.

Yaguchi from Sound House (Y)：This time I would like to hear more about Stem, one of Sago’s guitar and bass sub brands. Kubocchi-san, thank you again.

Kubocchi-san from Sago (K)：You, too!

Y：You talked about Stem last time and how it’s a recommended brand for guitarists/bassists who are ready to move on after their first beginner kit or a Seed guitar/bass, right?

K： That’s right! This new brand was created only about two years ago. Its concept is “a musical instrument that will bring you to the next level”. If you want to upgrade your guitar from the first one you bought to a new one, and you just want a unique new main guitar where you can choose your own semi-custom design options, then Stem is definitely a model for you.

Y：It’s the perfect brand for you who got used to playing and want to upgrade the guitar with customizations. Moreover, I heard Stem has two models.

K：Yes, Stem now has two models, the Sonia guitar and the Ove4 bass guitar. Both models have been released by the Sago brand, and the Stem models have the same shape and appearance as the Sago models. For the Sago models, we allow our clients to choose every design from our basic specifications, so you can also freely choose every detail from the pickup, parts, shape, and any other options. Stem, on the other hand, has fixed specifications, so you only have limited options and you can only pick the color and the pickguard. Since Stem chooses to make guitars based on fixed specifications, it makes it possible for them to mass-produce a certain number of products, and the costs of manufacturing are significantly reduced. Actually, the price of Stem guitars is far lower than Sago’s by 100,000 yen. Simplifying the specifications has reduced costs and it has also made these guitars easier to play for all level guitarists.

Sonia is Sago’s first original model designed with the concept, [Sago’s interpretation of the Strat type]. Because the body itself is designed a little smaller to fit the more compact and slender Japanese body shape, the guitar is easier to handle. The SSH array is used for the pickup layout. In order to solve the problem that the rear pickup alone is not very useful, we used a humbucker for the rear. By also moving the center pickup closer to the rear pickup, it keeps a crisp feeling like a rear pickup. In addition, the center pickup being far from the front pickup will make a full-bodied sound. It sounds sparkly and unique.

Sago is different because they have changed parts of the guitar to be more inexpensive and the specs have been simplified with a flat heel cut. Since the cutaway is still deep, it is easy for the musician to access the higher frets..

Y： Thank you. Regarding Sonia, Sound House currently handles Stem Sonia Otoha Custom. So, you collaborated with popular creator Otoha-san whose TikTok followers and her band’s YouTube channel has reached over 1 million subscribers.

K： Yes! Her guitar skills are tremendous. She has drawn a lot of attention as a new guitarist for this generation who also writes music and does her own vocals, too. This time, she asked us to color her custom guitar in a gemstone like azurite design, so we painted it using a technique called “wrap painting”. Instead of a beautifully polished gemstone, the rugged texture of the original gemstone shows different expressions as the light hits the sparkly finish from different angles.

Stem/Sonia Otoha Custom

Y： It’s a really beautiful design that looks like the surface of a jewel!Please tell us about the bass Ove4 too!

K：Ove4 is an original model of Sago designed with the concept, “Sago’s interpretation of the Jazz Bass type”. Like Sonia, this one is designed to be a little smaller to fit the Japanese physique. For bassists, neck-dive is a concern with a small body bass. However, Ove4 uses lightweight pegs and a smaller head shape than the JB type to keep balance with the small body. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about the head falling while standing and playing. This bass is also recommended for women and those who are standing on stage for long periods of time since it’s a lighter instrument as a whole.

The difference with the Sago brand lies in the controls. In the case of Sago, an active bass is equipped with our original preamplifier, but Stem basses are passive to keep costs down. The simple structure of “1 Vol + balancer + 1 Tone” makes it easy to handle even on stage. In addition to the three controls, the series/parallel switch is equipped. You can change the series or parallel of the two single pickups with just one touch. Because it imitates the humbucker sound, this switch is very useful when you want a lot of sound pressure when playing a solo. Even though it is a passive bass, it has a sound with a solid output. The guitar is easy to handle on stage too since it is a simple model.

Y： Thank you so much. Sound House currently handles two types: the Ayakono Custom and the Sound House Custom. The Ayakono custom is a custom model featuring 16-year-old bassist Ayakono who is well-known on Twitter.

K： The other bass, Sound House’s very own custom body comes in black and tortoiseshell. It looks cool and it matches well with everything! We had a lot of meetings with the person in charge of the bass from Sound House, and it is now finally complete. This combination is only available at Sound House, so if you are interested, please come visit their webpage!