The Autumn themed -Autumn Leaves- model for Headway’s 45 anniversay
For Headway’s 45th anniversary we took Autumn as a theme, and we made -Autumn Leaves- models
This time we bring -Autumn Leaves- models to the Headway Standard Series, and while we’ve had -Autumn Leaves- models before, these are the first in the Headway Standard series.
This is a limited model that was produced because we were able to obtain a small amount of Kaede, also known as -Japanese Maple-, a rare wood that in our eyes, is indispensable in expressing the feel of autumn in Japan.
The Headway’s designers have spent many years fusing design and story to create an anniversary model that brings color to the four seasons in Japan with models themed after every season, and this model inspired in the beautiful Autumn scenery of Japan is no exception.
This time we bring -Autumn Leaves- models to the Headway Standard Series, and while we’ve had -Autumn Leaves- models before, these are the first in the Headway Standard series. This is a limited model that was produced because we were able to obtain a small amount of Kaede, also known as -Japanese Maple-, a rare wood that in our eyes, is indispensable in expressing the feel of autumn in Japan. The Headway’s designers have spent many years fusing design and story to create an anniversary model that brings color to the four seasons in Japan with models themed after every season, and this model inspired in the beautiful Autumn scenery of Japan is no exception.
Limited production of only 17 units
Headway HD-AUTUMN LEAVES ’22 F, S/STD
Headway
HD-AUTUMN LEAVES ’22 F, S/STD
MSRP・・・￥270,000（w/o taxes）
Limited production of only 18 units
Headway HF-AUTUMN LEAVES ’22 F, S/STD
Headway
HF-AUTUMN LEAVES ’22 F, S/STD
MSRP・・・￥270,000（w/o taxes）
A beautiful design that transmits the feeling of Autumn
Design
The slow yet unstoppable flow of time
The design is simple yet evocative of the Japanese autumn, with dragonflies and autumn leaves portraying the slow flow of time.
Dragonflies fly over the quiet autumn meadow
The image depicts dragonflies flying over a meadow colored with magnificent autumn silvergrass and the ephemeral shimmering of autumn leaves.
The nostalgic Autumn sunset
For the coloring of the body we decided to go with a gradation inspired in the Autumn dusk turning into night, and we named it -Autumn Sunset-.
Autumn harmony of carefully selected materials and Headway’s craftsmanship
Features
Hard to obtain beautiful white wood tree: Kaede
In recent years, high-quality wood has become hard to obtain due to the rising cost of lumber. The Kaede (Japanese maple) wood used in this project is characterized by its very high-quality white wood with a beautiful grain. Kaede itself is a rare material, and the craftsmen carefully selected and milled each piece of wood to make it the best it could be for the limited edition model. The crisp treble and expressive midrange characteristics of Kaede wood are a perfect match for this design.
Dovetail joint – Where precision determines the sound quality
Headway uses the traditional dovetail joint method. While in recent years, models with simpler bolted joints have been on the rise, the dovetail joint has a larger joint area, and when finished precisely, the neck and body produce a rich sound as if they were one single piece of wood. The joint’s protrusion referred to as “dovetail”, is made larger than a standard joint, and is joined using a special jig and a lot of precision. Adjustment of the neck angle and other parts at this point greatly affects playability and sound, and is a process that requires a high level of skill to pull off correctly.
Post-treatment assembly
The body and neck are treated, painted, and finished separately and then jointed using the dovetail method. This method of jointing the body and neck after painting is called “Post-treatment” jointing. By using this method, it is possible to fine-tune the joint angle of the body and neck after observing small changes of the body and neck caused by the painting process. This allows the neck to be perfectly angled in relation to the bridge, which in turn makes it easier to set the proper saddle height and string height, thereby contributing to improved playability, durability, and overall quality of the guitar.
デザイン
ゆっくりと流れる時の流線をトンボと紅葉のデザインで表現し、シンプルでありながらも秋の空気感も感じれるようなデザインとなりました。
雄大な秋のすすきが色づく草原をトンボが飛翔する様と紅葉の儚く散るゆらめきを表現しました。
夕暮れから秋の夜への移ろいをイメージしたAutumn Sunset（オータム サンセット）を採用しました。グラデーション塗装で表現する秋の透き通る空気感を表現しました。
厳選マテリアルとHeadwayの
職人が織りなす秋のハーモニー
機能
近年は木材高騰により上質な木材が手に入りにくくなっています、今回使用した「楓」材は非常に上質で杢目の通った白木が特徴です。楓自体が希少材であること、そして職人が1本1本丁寧に選定と製材をおこない限定モデルに相応しいマテリアルとなっています。「楓材」特有のパリッとした高音域と伸びやかで表現豊かな中音域はデザインと非常にマッチしています。
蟻溝方式のジョイントは接合面積も広く、職人の熟練技術により高精度に仕上げれたネックの接合は、ジョイント部の確認が難しく見えるほどの精度なっています。ひとつの木材であるかの様な豊かな鳴りを生み出します。 また、ジョイント部の突起は一般的な物よりも大きめに作られており、接合強度を高めており、「一生涯を掛けて弾き続けることが出来るギター」という点に沿った仕様とも言えます。
ボディとネックはそれぞれ別々に塗装された後、蟻溝工法によってジョイントされます。 この様に塗装後にジョイントされる方式を『後仕込み』と呼んでいます。 後仕込みを採用することで、塗装工程で生じてしまったボディとネックそれぞれの僅かな動きを見て接合角度を微調整してから組み込むことが可能となります。 ブリッジに対して適切なネックの角度を決められるため、結果として適切なサドルの高さ、弦高設定を行い易く、演奏性を高めることに一役買っています。
Videos
Videos
▲試奏動画
