Author｜Alpha Note｜2026
Guitar / Music / Sound
Kenji Suzuki
鈴木 健治
Guitarist · Composer · Arranger
Sound Designer
Guitar performance, original music and guitar tones.
Bringing years of experience in music into the sounds I create today.
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About
Playing guitar.
Making music.
Shaping sound.
Kenji Suzuki is a Japanese guitarist, composer, arranger and sound designer. With over 30 years of experience and credits on more than 1,000 recorded tracks, his work spans sessions and live performances with leading J-pop artists, as well as composition and arranging.
Alongside his own music, he shares guitar performances, gear reviews and practical sound-making ideas on YouTube, creates guitar tones under the name KTJ Tones, and runs Suzu Lab, an online guitar community. His work draws on experience in the studio and on stage, with careful listening at the heart of every decision.
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Selected Credits
Selected recording and live credits
MISIA / Hikaru Utada / EXILE / SMAP / V6 / Kumi Koda / Namie Amuro / BoA / Erykah Badu
V6
“ONE” — composition & arrangement / “Feel your breeze” — arrangement. Released together as an Oricon No. 1 single.
MAX
“Grace of my heart” — composition & guitar. Reached No. 2 on the Oricon chart.
Tomomi Kahara
“Anata ga Ireba” — arrangement. Gold Award-winning song at the 46th Japan Record Awards.
Live
Performed live with MISIA for over a decade, beginning with her debut. Live support for Erykah Badu at Expo 2005 Aichi / Performance with mink at Paris Fashion Week.
More credits and editorial work
Additional recording and live credits include Toshihiko Tahara, Miho Karasawa, Mina Ganaha, KinKi Kids, Maaya Sakamoto, Ketsumeishi, TVXQ, mink, Hitomi Shimatani, w-inds., Ko Shibasaki, MAX, SPEED, Akina Nakamori, NEWS, Tomomi Kahara, Hiroko Shimabukuro, Noriko Sakai, Sumitada Azumano, KATSUMI, Shun Someya, Akiko Wada and Yuki Uchida. Editorial work includes columns, gear reviews and recordings for Guitar Magazine, as well as judging its reader competition.
Books & Publications
Author｜Rittor Music｜2025
Recreating Guitar Performances with MIDI Programming
View on Amazon JapanCo-author｜Rittor Music｜2010
Direct Lessons from Top Guitarists
View on Amazon Japan03
Sound Design & Gear
Drawing on years of playing and recording, Kenji creates guitar sounds and shares practical ways to use them. His work spans preset design, gear reviews and a wide range of products and technologies.
Guitar Tone Creation & Sharing
Creating and sharing guitar tones and presets using products from Line 6 and IK Multimedia.
Gear Reviews, Demos & Tutorials
Exploring a wide range of guitar gear through performance and practical sound-making demonstrations, including appearances in official Line 6 content.
Preset Design
Factory preset creation for ZOOM guitar multi-effects processors.
A selection of brands and products featured in sound design, reviews and performances
Line 6 / IK Multimedia / Strymon / HOTONE / Positive Grid / NUX / Enya / Bogner / Mesa/Boogie / Marshall / Orange / Custom Audio Amplifiers / VHT / Synergy / BOSS / Browne Amplification / Shure / Beyerdynamic / ZOOM
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KTJ Tones
KTJ TonesGuitar tones by Kenji SuzukiYears of experience.
In every guitar tone.
KTJ Tones brings together Kenji Suzuki’s experience in playing, recording and shaping guitar sounds. From capturing real gear to creating NAM and TONEX tones, every sound is selected and refined by ear for guitarists to use in their own music.
Explore tones on TONE300005
YouTube
Hear the sound.
Explore how it is made.
Guitar, amp and pedal reviews, NAM and TONEX, recording techniques and practical sound design — demonstrated through real playing.
Visit the YouTube channel06
Original Music
Coming September 2026
I'm Here
Made possible by the support of crowdfunding backers, the new album I'm Here is now complete. Four tracks are scheduled for digital release in September 2026, with a music video also created for one of them.
Streaming links and music video release details will be shared when available.
- Rise Again
- Always Promise
- Dualism
- Here
2025 / Crowdfunding
An album made possible with listeners’ support.
The 2025 crowdfunding campaign raised over ¥3.39 million, enabling Kenji to complete I'm Here. He is deeply grateful to everyone whose support made the album possible.
More Original Music
Explore more original music in this Spotify playlist.
Listen to the playlist on Spotify07
Suzu Lab
Suzu Lab | Guitar Sound Lab
Suzu Lab is Kenji Suzuki’s online guitar community. Through live streams and conversations with members, he shares his approach to playing, sound design and ongoing creative work. It offers a closer look at the ideas behind his music and public videos. Content is primarily in Japanese.
Explore Suzu Lab08
Contact
For recording, composition, arranging, live performance, sound design and gear review enquiries, please get in touch by email.
contact@kenjisuzuki.net