JMT Web News

Japan Musical Instruments Association held award presentation of ‘The Best Products 2022’ on October 18 at Yamaha Ginza Studio, Tokyo.

Initiated last year the award celebrates high quality musical instruments, promote their capabilities to the society and aims to increase music makers in the end. The best products of the year are decided by popularity vote of music store sales staff. The award is also presented to the best players/sound creator/DJ of the year, also nominated by music store sales staff and voted by general music fans.

A total of 4,300 music store sales staff completed the vote from June 24 through July 15, and the list of selected products were presented to 29,000 general music fans for vote.

The best product awards of Grand Prix, 2nd Place and 3rd Place awards were given to instruments from 8 categories; piano, guitar/bass, percussion, brass instrument, woodwind instrument, synthesizer/digital musical instrument, music production/streaming system, and the most sensational products of the year.

The manufacturers of the awarded products received the plaque from Takuya Nakata, president of JMIA, (president of Yamaha Corporation) at the ceremony.

The Best Products Awards winners

Piano: Yamaha CFX

Guitar/bass: Yamaha STORIA I/II/III

Percussion Roland V-Drums TD-17 Series

Synth/digital musical instrument: Roland Digital Wind Instrument Aerophone Series

Brass instrument: Bach Stradivarius trumpet 180ML37SP
Woodwind instrument：Selmer Alto saxophone Supreme
Music production/streaming device: Yamaha AG Series AG03MK2/AG06MK2
The most sensational product of the year: Kawai Mini Pianos

The best and most promising player award: Yomii (pianist), Seiji Igusa (guitarist), Yuto Shimazaki　(percussion), Green Ray Saxophone Quartet (wind instrument players), SO-SO (sound creater/DJ/performer), Yomii (pianist), and the best artist entertained audience: Koji Seto (video creator)

Toshiaki Hirose, project leader and president of Shimamura Music said, “It is said that 1 in 10 Japanese citizens are active music makers. We know music gives us happiness, courage in life and relief in difficult times. The pandemic has benefitted the industry with instant surge of interest in music making in the society, but we must continue to promote the pleasure of playing music with help of the players making music with the musical instruments provided by the industry. On behalf of the all members of the steering committee, I appreciate very much the music store sales staff supported and heavily involved in the project.”

The award is expected to contribute to boost the business of music store as one music store owner told last year that sales of awarded products immediately drew attention of customers and sales of them increased.