Neal's Biography


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Date Of Birth: July 15th 1971
Los Angeles CA.

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Profile:

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Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Neal Nagaoka. I am a guitarist/musician. I started playing guitar at the age of 12. My father is actually a very well known artist in Japan. His name is Shusei Nagaoka. And because of my dad, I had quite an unusual childhood. For example, I grew up with some very interesting classmates and friends, some with famous parents, and many even becoming famous stars themselves. Also when I was very young, I've been on national TV a few times even before I ever picked up the guitar. Some of my unusual daily routines used to included having several television camera crews following my dad around the house, meeting celebrities etc.... and this is all before I reached the age of 12. But because of my unusual childhood, this may be the main reason why I chose to become a musician and follow in my dads artistic footsteps. When I was younger, I was very fortunate to study under some of the best teachers in the world and I am truly grateful for that! As far as my journey through life, it hasn't always been a smooth ride due to my health issues but I am very thankful for all the great friends and family members that has helped support me. I also had the priviledge to study and perform with some of the most incredible musicians in the world and even teach some amazing students. I definitely cannot complain about that. For now, I am just enjoying the ride and hope it gets even better. :-)

As far as my professional career goes, I currently have 3 self produced Instrumental CDs out. I was also a teacher at Musicians Institute and currently a teacher at the National Guitar Workshop. I have had several different endorsements in the past but at the present time, I am endorsing ESP Guitars. Other companies I have worked for or endorsed are Dimarzio Pickups, ENGL Amplification, Point Technologies and Double Whammy Tremolos.

Below are just a few list of things I am versed in and some of my musical experiences:

  • Engineering and Mixing.
  • Arranging and transcribing music scores.
  • Teaching of guitar and advanced music at a college level.
  • Multitrack Recording and Editing, Mixing and Computer MIDI Sequencing, Notation.
  • Computer Midi and Notation Software (Finale, Overture, Band in a box,)
  • Computer Graphics Software (Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Indesign)
  • Computer Web Editing.
  • Computer Scripting Language (HTML, PERL, PHP, Javascript)
  • Akai based sampling and remixing.
  • MIDI and Audio studio setups and troubleshooting.
  • Live and studio performances.
  • IT, Network Troubleshooting

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Education:

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  • Berklee College Of Music, Boston MA. 1992 - 1995 Major: Professional Music
  • Musicians Institute/ GIT, Hollywood CA 1991
  • Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Hills CA 1985 - 1989

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Musical Experiences:

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  • Teaching guitar privately and publicly on a regular basis.
  • Performed several guitar shows, clinics for various companies and schools.
  • Produced, Engineered, Recorded and Mixed for various bands, musicians and artists.
  • Artist for E.S.P Guitars since 1997
  • Teacher for the Musicians Institute 1997-98
  • Gigged and performed with different artists, musicians and bands.
  • Artist for Dimarzio Pickups since 2001
  • Associated and worked for various companies (ENGL amplifiers, Point Technologies and several other guitar company).
  • Teacher for the National Guitar Workshop since 2003
  • Released 1st Instrumental CD entitled The Crossing 1997
  • Released 2nd Instrumental CD Entitled The Second Coming. 2001
  • Released 3rd Instrumental CD Entitled Transition. 2009
  • Rereleased 1st Instrumental CD Entitled The Crossing. 2010
  • Built a new recording studio. 2010
  • Created website called Neal's Terrifying Young Guns. 2011
  • Created website called Network Guitar. 2011

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Neal's Gear:

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This is not my complete list of gear. To view list, click on my guitar icon to see the dropdown list.
Neal's Guitars and Instrument List:
  • 2 ESP Horizons
  • ESP M-III
  • ESP Baritone Guitar
  • Gibson Les Paul
  • Ovation Legend
  • Several Fender Strats and Teles
  • Ibanez Semihollow body
  • Misc. Electric and Acoustic 6 string and 12 string Guitars
  • Bass
Neal's Amps List:
  • ENGL Savage 120 Amp
  • Marshall JCM 800 Full Stack
  • Marshall 2x12 Valvestate combo
Keyboards and Synths List:
  • Yamaha S90 88 keys Keyboard
  • Roland keyboard solely used as a 64 key midi controller
  • 2 USB Oxygen 8 keyboard
Sound Modules, Softsynth and Samplers:
  • Roland MGS-64
  • EXS-24 with several AKAI Sample CD Sounds
  • VST Instruments
  • Sampletank
Percussion and Drum Modules:
  • Roland TD-20 Electronic V-Drum Set
  • Roland TD-12 Electronic V-Drum Set
  • Roland TD-4 Electronic V-Drum Set
  • Addictive Drums
  • BFD Drums
  • Alesis DM5
  • Roland R 70
Effects and Hardware:
  • TC Electronics G-System
  • Line 6 X3 Live pedalboard
  • Lexicon MPX-1
  • Lexicon MPX-500
  • Alesis Midiverb 4
  • Guitar Rig 3 w interface
Microphones List:
  • Dual Universal Audio 710 Twin Finity Mic Pre
  • Neumann TLM 49
  • AKG C 414 B-XL II
  • Rodes K2 Mic Modified with Vintage NOS tube
  • AKG C1000
  • AKG C2000
  • 3 Shure SM 57
  • Shure SM beta 58
  • Sennheiser e609
Mixers List:
  • Yamaha 16 Channel Mixer,
  • Mackie 1604 VLZ,
  • Emagic Logic Control,
  • Mackie Big Knob,
Multitrack Recorder and Tape Decks:
  • Alesis ADAT XT
  • Tascam DA 30mkII
  • Tascam 102mk II
Monitoring System:
  • Genelec 8020A Monitors,
  • Alesis Monitor Ones,
  • Carvin FET 1000 power amp,
  • Yamaha Subwoofer,
  • Yamaha 6.1 surround system,
Computers and Recording Gear:
  • Mac Pro Intel 2.26ghz Intel 8 core with 6 gig ram, Dell Monitor, Multitrack Recording System MOTU 2408mk3 and 24 I/O system with 424 PCI Express card.
  • Powermac Dual 1.25ghz G4 w/2 120 gig HDs and a Apple 23" Cinema Display and 19" Sony Monitor running Mac OS X Server utilizing X Grid via network. with 1 Gig of ram memory. Also included is a CD-RW/DVD burner and a second 32x CD-R, connecting a Echo 8 channel Layla 24/96 for multitracking.
  • Macbook Intel 2.0 Duo Core laptop w/Presonus Firebox audio interface, 60 gig HD space 1.5 gig ram. 4th Apple
  • Macmini Duocore . Mainly using as a Logic Node for extra effects processing.
  • Sony PC with Windows XP. 22" Dell Monitor, Presonus Firebox and Guitar Rig 3 with Interface. Multitrack Recording System, 7.1 Surround system card. M-Audio Monitoring system. Logic Audio, USB keyboard Oxygen8
  • All 4 macs can be connected via appletalk/ file share networking setup via gigabit network and also utilizes Logic Nodes for increased Processing power.
  • PreSonus Digimax LT 8 channel Digital micpreamp,
Other Miscellaneous Gear and Equipment:
  • Marshall JMP-1
  • ENGL Tube Toner
  • EQs
  • Compressors
  • Patchbays.

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