Westville
Westville
Also known as: Westville Guitars
UnclaimedWestville Guitars is a Tokyo-based archtop and semi-hollow guitar maker founded in 2013 by Masaki Nishimura, whose surname translates to "west village." Nishimura's path into lutherie began in 1991 and deepened through his 2006 partnership with luthier Taku Sakashta to revive the Jazz Guitar Designs brand; following Sakashta's death in 2010, Nishimura began designing guitars under his own name....
Westville Guitars is a Tokyo-based archtop and semi-hollow guitar maker founded in 2013 by Masaki Nishimura, whose surname translates to "west village." Nishimura's path into lutherie began in 1991 and deepened through his 2006 partnership with luthier Taku Sakashta to revive the Jazz Guitar Designs brand; following Sakashta's death in 2010, Nishimura began designing guitars under his own name. Each Westville instrument is designed by Nishimura, handbuilt in a Japanese factory, and given its final setup at his Shibuya workshop.
The lineup launched with two semi-hollow prototypes in 2013, the Butter and the Water, which were named by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and feature solid carved spruce tops and solid carved hard maple backs aimed at jazz tones with strong mid-range and long sustain. The brand expanded in 2016 with two full-hollow models, the Aruba and the Solar, alongside the Kurt Rosenwinkel Signature Vanguard series. The Butter made a notable public debut during a Herbie Hancock tribute performance at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2013.
Westville has 2 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Semi-Hollowbody Electric Guitars and Solid Body Electric Guitars. Their gear is featured by 2 artists, with the strongest followings in Jazz, Electronic, and Pop. Notable users include Kazumi Watanabe and Shoya Kitagawa.
Artists Who Use Westville
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