Mateus Asato's equipment [Amplifiers, guitars, effects]

Mateus Asato was born on December 1993, 12 in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.
As a Brazilian of Japanese descent, he grew up in an environment where music was close to him from an early age, and picked up the guitar at the age of nine.

Gifted with a keen musical sensibility even back then, he excelled at memorizing and reproducing his favorite songs by ear, and his skills quickly grew to the point where he was able to perform at local events and churches.
He was particularly influenced by guitarists with a strong sense of song, such as John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Eric Clapton, and these became the foundation for shaping Asato's style in his youth.

At the age of 19, in search of a higher level musical environment, Asato traveled alone to the United States and enrolled in the prestigious Musicians Institute (MI) in Los Angeles.
In this place where talent from all over the world gathered, Asato was exposed to a wide variety of musical genres, including jazz, rock, funk, and R&B, and made great strides in both his performance technique and music theory.

While still a student, he performed at local gigs and gained professional experience, which made him realize the importance of "a guitar that matches the song."
Rather than flashy fast playing, he began to pursue a style that beautifully expressed phrases that blended into the music.

It was his activity on Instagram since 2015 that made Asato's name known to the world.
His guitar playing videos, which are shot within a time limit of 60 seconds, demonstrate his unique style of creating memorable melodies using fluid legato, delicate harmonics, and a variety of slide expressions.

It quickly became a viral hit, and guitarists around the world began to take notice of his videos.
He has received praise from famous musicians such as John Mayer, Ari Honig, and Ed Sheeran, and his number of followers has exceeded one million in just a few years.

As a "professional guitarist" who has made the most of the social networking site Instagram, Mateus Asato has become something of a symbol of the digital age.

After SNS's breakthrough, Asato received offers to work as a session guitarist and joined the touring bands of world-famous artists such as Tori Kelly, Jessie J, and Bruno Mars.

Through his experience performing at arena-class venues, Asato has further refined his perspective as a player on "how his instrument should sound within an ensemble."

During the same period, he also focused on educational and outreach activities, such as holding guitar clinics and releasing videos of his master playing, and established a reputation as an idol for guitarists around the world.

In 2020, he collaborated with Suhr to release two signature models named after himself, "Classic S Antique" and "Classic T."
Each model incorporates specifications that reflect Asato's ideals, and as truly "musical and versatile" guitars, they have attracted the attention of many guitarists, both professional and amateur.

In addition, Jackson Audio released the overdrive pedal "Asabi" and Neural DSP released the software amp simulator "Archetype: Mateus Asato," creating an environment where anyone can experience the Asato sound.

Mateus Asato has established himself as more than just a performer, but a modern guitarist who can produce his own sound.

In 2021, he suddenly announced that he was taking a break from social media.
Asato, who said he "needed time to refocus on music," disappeared from public view for a while, but resumed his activities in 2022 and began posting videos of himself performing again.

His playing, which pursues the essence of the term "singing guitar," continues to evolve even today.

The Mateus Asato signature Classic S Antique (shell pink) is Asato's favorite Stratocaster-type electric guitar.

The alder body is finished with a relic finish of extremely thin nitrocellulose lacquer, and features fine weather checking for a vintage-like appearance.

This model uses an HSS layout (humbucker on the rear and two single coils on the others), allowing it to cover everything from thick, sustained lead tones to sparkling clean tones with just one guitar.

The combination of a roasted maple neck and rosewood fingerboard provides a powerful sound with a full midrange, while the 22 stainless steel frets provide smooth playability.

Asato himself has used the Suhr Classic Antique as his main guitar since he first purchased it in 2013, and the shell pink Strat has become an iconic presence in his Instagram videos.

This is a masterpiece that is packed with attention to detail in every aspect, including a special neck plate with Asato's autograph on the back of the headstock and custom-designed pickups, and its clear yet rich tone is the core of Asato's sound.

Another signature model of Asato is the Classic T (Telecaster type) with a black body and gold parts.

This model combines a swamp ash body with a 3A grade roasted birdseye maple neck, making it both luxurious and durable.

The biggest feature of this guitar is that it is equipped with the MAT (Mateus Asato T) pickup, which was jointly developed by John Suhr and Asato.

This pickup was completed after more than 10 prototypes were made in pursuit of the ideal Telecaster tone.It covers a wide range of sounds from bell-like clean to thick, warm crunch, and is highly responsive to both fingerpicking and pickstrokes.

It is a versatile Telecaster that delivers exactly the "brilliant yet rounded and fat sound" that Asato was looking for, and he himself describes it as "the ideal guitar that can clearly express any style of playing, from jazz to rock."

In addition to the pickups, the Classic T features modern improvements such as stainless steel frets and a Silent Single Coil System (SSCII), while still retaining the look and tone of a traditional Tele.

Asato uses this black Classic T in songs that call for funk-like cutting, taking advantage of the crisp rhythm tones that can't be achieved with a Stratocaster type.

He uses this guitar along with a shell pink Classic S for live performances and recordings, and his two signature guitars, a Stratocaster and a Telecaster, support his diverse musicality.

Apart from Suhr, the most memorable guitar used by Mateus Asato is the famous Gretsch model.White FalconThe White Falcon is known for its luxurious look with a full acoustic body and gold parts, and is a guitar that produces a thick, rich clean tone.

Asato primarily uses this guitar in his arrangements when he wants to highlight clean arpeggios and backings, and it gives off an airy sound that you can't get with a solid-body Suhr.

His bright tone and long sustain match his ambient style and play an important role in creating the sound of his recordings.

The White Falcon has a very large body size, but combined with Asato's delicate touch, it produces a sound that has a unique presence.

Bogner's Goldfinger 45 Superlead is a hand-wired tube amp head that Mateus Asato has been using frequently in recent years during live performances. It is a 45W output all-tube amp, and although it is a two-channel amp, it features gain modes and boosts on each channel, allowing for flexible tone making. The Goldfinger 2 is based on a Marshall-style vintage tone, and the two Alpha/Beta channels cover a wide range from clean to lead. Asato uses this amp as part of a stereo setup on stage, and sets it to clean at the same time as another amp to get a thick clean sound.

In particular, the Goldfinger excels at producing an organic drive sound with a firm midrange, which matches his soulful lead tone. As Asato himself commented on Facebook, "A great companion (Goldfinger 45) has been added to the Bogner Duende. The sound is just huge!", it's an amp that Asato himself is in love with for its power.

The Thur Badger 30 is a 30W class guitar amp head that Asato uses primarily for small to medium-sized live performances and in the studio.

It features a British-style voicing with EL34 tubes, and provides high-quality tube tones from clean to crunch with simple controls. The Badger series has a built-in power soak function that allows you to change the output wattage, making it easy to get distortion even at home or in a small venue. Asato used the Badger 30 at a clean to slightly breakup setting and added the necessary distortion and effects with pedals.

For him, who is also an endorser of Suhr, the company's Badger amp plays a role as a reliable "foundation" that enhances the pedal sound. In fact, as I will explain later, there are no ABYs or switchers on his board, so it is assumed that he always operates cleanly, and the natural clean tone of the Badger is the foundation of his sound creation.

The Suhr Bella is a single-channel combo amp that Asato used in clinics and small gigs. It is designed to produce a clean, rich tone similar to Fender's and is optimized as a pedal platform. In fact, when Asato used it at his clinic in Japan in 2017, he described it as "a simple 1-channel amp with high sound quality, recommended for players who create sounds with effects."

This 44W tube amp has high clean headroom and the boost and bright switches give you the flexibility to adjust the pedal response. Asato set the Bella to a clean tone close to full range, and left all distortion and spatial effects to the pedals.

Therefore, although the Bella itself is not conspicuous, it plays an important role behind the scenes in supporting his effect sound. The characteristic of the Bella, which amplifies the sound created by the pedals without coloring it, is the ideal amp for guitarists like Asato who create their sound mainly with effects.

Asato's signature pedal, Asabi, is an overdrive/distortion pedal developed in collaboration with Jackson Audio, a US company.
This ambitious product is the world's first to feature an analog distortion module replacement function in a compact body, and is scheduled for release in 2020.
This pedal took two years to develop and was completed after testing over 2 prototype circuits.

Key features include:

• 2 channel configuration
  Equipped with a distortion channel and an overdrive channel that can be switched with a foot switch, this one unit provides two types of distortion with different gain amounts.
• "Marshall condensed into a box"
  The distortion channel is high gain like a JCM800, and the overdrive channel is vintage Marshall Plexi style. Classic British distortion is reproduced in a compact unit.
• Smooth high gain tone
  It combines soulful drive with glossy high gain, and is versatile enough to go from a crisp, sustained solo sound to a delicate crunch.

Asabi became a hot topic immediately after its release and is used by many professional guitarists.
It is used extensively as the "main distortion" on Asato's board, and this one unit covers everything from a mid-range driven solo sound to an amp-like rhythm tones.
It's so complete that it makes you think, "All you need is one Asabi distortion pedal."

The Jackson Audio Modular Fuzz is a multi-function fuzz pedal that was included on Asato's board alongside the Asabi.
Multiple fuzz circuits (Fuzz Face, modern fuzz, etc.) can be installed by replacing modules. With a 3-band EQ and internal trimmer, there is a high degree of freedom in sound creation.

Asato is more of a fuzz player thanOctave Fuzz ModeUsed mainly in.
He incorporates a sound that adds overtones to the high notes into solos such as "Purple Rain," creating phrases with a floating feeling.
It can be removed as needed, so its uses are limited. It's typical of Asato to use fuzz as a "coloring" effect.

A multi-function pedal that combines a compressor, 3-band EQ, and booster in one unit.
Asato previously used a Wampler Ego, but now uses a Bloom V2 as his main compressor.

• Apply a little compression to make the arpeggios and cutting sounds even out.
• Built-in booster for extra gain when playing solos

Since it can perform both compression and boost in one unit, it also helps save space on the board.
This is the ideal "dynamics engine" for Asato, as it allows you to take advantage of a delicate touch with a natural effect.

Golden Boy is a transparent overdrive pedal made by Jackson Audio.
This model was developed as Joey Landreth's signature model, but Asato also highly praises it and uses it.

• Flat frequency response for distortion that brings out the natural sound of your guitar and amp
• A rich, forward-thinking sound
• Wide gain range, from clean boost to full distortion OD
• Multifunctional with 4 clipping modes and MIDI compatibility

Asato isDistortion for backingGolden Boy is used as a
It is used when playing rhythm guitar and want to create a powerful sound without losing the feel of the chord.
Asabi for solos, Golden Boy for rhythms, etc.Clearly distinguish between rolesis.

The classic OD from the domestic brand Vemuram. Due to their connection with Asato, they also released the Mateus model, limited to 500 units worldwide.

• Transparent OD that makes the most of the clean sound of Fender amps
• Limited edition has wider gain/EQ range than normal
• Natural yet lustrous sound

Used as the main OD in the late 2010s.
"Even when distorted, the separation of the cords is good," he said.Clean to crunch lead toneIt seems to have been used a lot in this area.
Although it has now been replaced by Asabi, it remains one of the historic pedals that has supported Asato's signature tone.

A delay that reproduces the EP-3 Echoplex. Its appeal lies in its analog-like warmth and the "Age" control that simulates the degree of deterioration.

• Maximum 750ms, mono/stereo compatible
• Age function to simulate tape deterioration
• Asato uses short delays to create space

Like their signature song "Don't Dream It's Over"To add a short aftertastePerfect for.
It acts as a great supporting actor, creating a "tail fin" on the sound, adding depth to clean phrases.

Designed to be somewhere between the TS and Bluesbreaker styles. Two different characters can be used by switching between UP and LO.

• Rich midrange and persistent distortion
• Asato also uses it to make up for the "stickiness that Jan Ray lacks"
• Also great as the main OD for small-scale live shows

It appears to have been in use until around 2020.
Asato's cutting and rhythmAttack and grainThis is the pedal that supported the

A high-quality "Bluesbreaker" style OD that was used alongside Del Mar.

• Extremely natural tone
• Perfect for adding a little distortion
• "It sounds clean to the listener" so natural

Asato uses it in situations where he wants to "create sounds by subtracting rather than adding."
From the performer's perspectiveFine adjustments to adjust playing feelThis is a machine that was highly valued.

A high-quality compressor made by Bondi Effects.
This is the model that Mateus Asato used around 2017, but has now been replaced by the Jackson Audio Bloom.

• Dynamic Mode: Automatically adjusts the amount of compression according to the strength of the input signal
• Knee knobEquipped with the attack curve can be freely controlled
• Used to adjust the graininess of clean tones and enhance sustain

Asato uses it to make fingerpicking arpeggios more consistent.
Even when applied lightly, it does not destroy the nuances of the original sound.Transparent compressionThis can be achieved.
It is believed that the sense of dynamism cultivated in 2026 will be carried over even after the introduction of Bloom.

Strymon's studio-class reverb pedal is the key to creating spatial effects.

• 12 reverb algorithms(Cloud, Shimmer, Room, Plate, etc.)
• Preset compatible, MIDI controllable
• Creates an "enveloping sound" with rich reverberation and lustrous decay

Asato especially loves Shimmer and Cloud.Fantastic aftertaste and sense of spaceCreated a dramatic effect.
This pedal comes in handy when creating memorable synth-like sounds for ballad solos and the like.
It is truly an indispensable central element in the "spatial production" of his sound.

A vintage style multi-effect effect that combines tremolo and spring reverb in one unit.

• 3 types of tremolo: optical, harmonic, and pulse
• 3 types of reverb: Spring, Hall, and Plate
• Each section can be operated independently

Asat is mainlyTremolo UseUsed in.
It can be used delicately to add flavor, such as by adding a pulsating sense to the backing of a slow-rhythm song or by adding a subtle fluctuation with harmonic tremolo.
The built-in spring reverb can also be used when needed.

A compact, professional-grade, high-quality reverb.

• WET REVERBEquipped with 8 reverb algorithms, including
• Mono/stereo, trail switching, and EQ adjustment are also possible.

Before BigSky was introducedMain ReverbIt is built into the board as
The WET algorithm was responsible for adding a natural "bleed" behind the sound.
It seems that they used both the Immerse and the MXR M300 as boards, dividing them up according to their uses.

An analog-like, ready-to-use reverb pedal. Asato uses it in conjunction with Immerse.

• 6 modes: Plate, Spring, Mod, Epic, Room, Pad
• Digital circuitry with fully analog dry path

mainlyPlate ReverbIt is used for basic spatial processing such as:
The simple design made it easy to instantly decide whether the reverb was on or off, providing excellent responsiveness during live performances.
I retired it when I introduced BigSky, but it was called an "indispensable reverb" because of its rich sound and ease of use.

A high-precision polyphonic tuner is permanently installed at the front of Asato's board.

• Simultaneous tuning check for all strings possible
• Equipped with a ±0.1 cent strobe mode
• Small case fits in the gap between boards

You can check the tuning quickly and accurately while playing, and the sound quality is not easily degraded even with a long effects chain.Built-in buffertype.
This is a truly reliable unit suitable for professional use, and an essential piece that forms the foundation of the ASAT sound.