For over 30 years, Tomo Fujita has been a revered figure in the global guitar community, balancing a prestigious professorship at Berklee College of Music with an illustrious performance career sharing the stage with legends like Phil Collins, Steve Gadd, and Bernard Purdie. Known worldwide for his online platform Guitar Wisdom and for mentoring icons like John Mayer, Fujita’s approach to the instrument is rooted in groove, nuance, and a pristine clean tone. At the heart of his expressive, vocal-like phrasing is a deep reliance on Celestion guitar speakers including the Vintage 30, G12-65 Creamback, and the Celestion 100.
You moved to the US in 1986 with just one suitcase and one guitar. Did that limitation force you to communicate more deeply through your instrument?
Yes. I didn’t have many possessions to bring here, but I had a lot of dreams and imagination. Back then, my English skills were limited, so verbal communication was difficult. But through music, we understood each other. I couldn’t talk well, so I really worked on my playing. That is how I communicated and made friends. Sometimes we couldn’t understand each other’s words, but once we played together, we understood everything because the meaning was in the music.
When did you first discover the impact that a speaker has on your tone?
It started with the Boston Best Guitarist Competition when I was a student. I came in third and won a full Marshall JCM900, two cabinets, and a 100-watt Celestion speaker.
I thought “What should I do with this speaker?” Around that time, I had purchased a Fender Champ 12 practice amp with a standard 12-inch speaker. I decided to swap one of the Celestion speakers from the Marshall into the Champ. Until that moment, I had no idea about the difference speakers made. But right away, with Celestion, I noticed a better balance from the low to high frequencies, and I could hear every detail. That was the moment I first became interested in the profound impact of speakers.
You often say you treat your guitar as a “vocalist.” If the guitar is the singer, what role does the speaker play?
If you consider the amplifier’s power to be the lungs, then the tone is truly the throat. Everything ultimately comes out of the speaker, and a good speaker, like Celestion, brings out the best characteristics of a guitar.
Many players rely on pedals for their sound, but you advocate for a pure tone. Do you find a clean tone requires a higher quality speaker since there is no distortion to hide behind?
I believe so. A clean tone reveals everything—the player’s noise, the picking sound, every detail. So, the speaker must pronounce every detail of the player. When you push them, they vibrate organically. A truly great speaker reveals the nuances of a player’s tone exceptionally well. If you push it too much with pedals, the tone gets thin. But a great speaker provides that natural compression without sounding digital.
Your teaching style emphasizes dynamics. How do you use the speaker to help students learn that control?
When I practice tone, or when I teach, I use a setting that makes many people uncomfortable. We turn the treble all the way up and the bass all the way down. Then, we turn the guitar volume down to about 8.
This setting reveals every mistake and any bad habits. If you pick too hard, it sounds awful. It forces you to play softer and control your touch. It makes your hands sensitive. Once you master that dry, difficult tone, everything else becomes easy. I taught John Mayer this method—treble up, bass zero—and he understood how important it was to practice with a dry tone to develop his touch. Now, everyone loves his tone.
What is your current rig and which Celestion drivers are you using?
Right now, I am using my signature Two-Rock amplifier. It is a simple setup with a 1×12 cabinet loaded with a Celestion Vintage 30. I initially thought the Vintage 30 was strictly a rock speaker, but the balance is incredibly good. It simply has everything you need right there.
I also have a G12-65 for that vintage funk sound, which is really great and clean. I also recently got the Celestion 100 Alnico, which is a fantastic speaker. I am also using a G12M-65 Creamback in a Blues Junior, which sounds great. But honestly, the Vintage 30 has surprised me the most with how well it sits in the mix.
You have mentioned that if a guitar is perfectly set up but played through a bad speaker, the effort is wasted. Can you elaborate?
Everybody gets into the guitar and the amplifier, but a lot of people don’t know how to choose speakers. Everything ultimately comes out of the speaker… it is one of the most important parts of your guitar tone. That is why when you change an old, tired speaker to a Celestion, you suddenly get crispness, more mids, and punch. It brings out the great parts of the guitar. If the speaker is muddy, you end up picking too hard to compensate, and you lose your technique.
When you look at the next generation of guitarists, is there a “tone secret” you hope they take away from your teachings?
I hope the next generation learns to use a simple amp—just volume and tone. Nowadays, people are “too rich” with options; there are so many presets and effects before the signal even hits the amp that everyone starts to sound the same.
Presets are a great place to start, everybody needs to start somewhere, but if you only rely on presets, you don’t know why it sounds good. It is like drinking a juice without knowing what ingredients are in it. I want young people to understand good choices. Get a simple amp and a good speaker. That combination allows your personality to come through so you are recognizable.
Where can people go to learn more about your teaching philosophy?
I have been teaching at Berklee for 33 years, but I also have my own website, Guitar Wisdom, which helps people all around the world. I also have published books. My mission is to make sure everyone understands how to make good musical choices, beyond just the easy stuff.
