Tosin Abasi Gives a Sneak Peek of a Fresh Ernie Ball Music Man Kaizen Finish | New from NAMM 2024

Shop Ernie Ball Musician Man Kaizen models at Guitar Center: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Ernie-Ba...

Lucky us. During our interview with Tosin Abasi, he was holding a Kaizen model dressed up in an ethereal, almost steampunk-style finish that has been hitherto unseen.

“Music Man was able to innovate this metallic finish in a patina version,” said Abasi. “It’s really striking and original. It reminds me of an artifact from a lost civilization.”

Abasi revealed that he and the Ernie Ball Music Man team have been working on the finish for a while, and although it is not available just yet, it’s “pretty close.” Another benefit to this exclusive color is that, due to the manufacturing process, every finish will be unique.

“I really like that there’s not this uniformity,” said Abasi. “There’s individuality in each one.”

The guitarist also shared that he and Ernie Ball CEO Brian Ball have been “kicking around” names for the new finish, but that nothing has been decided yet. However, he may have tipped off the direction of the name search when he said, “It reminds me of Mercury glass—like on an antique mirror.”

During the rest of our conversation with Abasi, he discussed his biamped Bad Cat amp rig, voicing guitar pickups, listening to gear demos on mobile devices, finding your own sound and guitar-shop culture.

Chapters
00:00 - Intro with Tosin Abasi
01:13 - A Look at a New Finish for the Kaizen
03:26 - Tosin Abasi On Working With Ernie Ball Music Man
03:47 - Tosin on the Public Reception of the Ernie Ball Music Man Kaizen
04:32 - Learning About Other Guitarists by Playing Through Their Rigs
06:03 - How Tosin Wires His Black Cat Amps
07:11 - How Tosin Matches Pickups to Amplifiers
08:38 - Online Gear Demos vs. Experiencing Products In-Store
09:33 - Tosin’s Love of Guitar Shop Culture
10:29 - Advice to Aspiring Guitiarists From Tosin Abasi
12:30 - Tosin’s Thoughts on the Kaizen Finishes
13:09 - Outro