SoundGym Hero: Shinji Segawa

A dedicated bassist, producer, and lifelong learner who swapped baseball dreams for music, blending Queen-inspired medleys, country storytelling, and a passion for sonic growth. Shinji Segawa is this month's SoundGym Hero!

How did you first find your way into making music?

In my final year of high school, I came back from our school trip without spending any of my allowance—and used that money to buy my first bass. At the time, I was letting go of my dream of becoming a baseball player and decided to dive into the world of music instead.

Back then, I was really into British rock bands like Queen, as well as thrash metal. I wasn't a good player yet, so I could rarely get through an entire song. That's probably why I started combining bits of different songs into medleys—which I guess was my first attempt at arranging music.

When I entered university, I joined a local club band, and that’s where I learned everything: performing, arranging, working with others. Later, I moved to Tokyo and started building my professional career in music.

Aside from music, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy?

My favorite thing right now is flying drones. It’s pretty hard to fly them outdoors in Japan because of strict regulations, so these days I mostly fly using simulators—but they’re still a ton of fun. There’s one map based on a Japanese park that I absolutely love. I highly recommend it!

Also, I’m really into beer. I can’t resist trying a craft beer or German brew I’ve never seen before. I guess that’s why I ended up living in Sapporo—a city that’s basically made for beer lovers.

What’s something you're surprisingly good at that has nothing to do with music?

I'm pretty good at beer tasting. When it comes to craft beers or German brews, I can usually tell the style just by tasting them. And if it’s one of the major Japanese beers, I can even tell you which company made it.

If you could play or create with any artist, who would it be and why?

I'd love to make music with Rick Rubin. His approach to creating music is far more imaginative than I had ever imagined, and I find it incredibly fascinating. Of course, the fact that he's been involved in masterpiece-level work across so many genres is also amazing. Regardless of the outcome, I feel like there’s so much I could learn from the experience.

What piece of music gear do you love the most, and what makes it irreplaceable in your creative process?

My favorite piece of gear is the Softube Console 1 Channel and its dedicated controller. I've gotten really comfortable with how it works, and with every update, it keeps getting better—now I can use plugins from Plugin Alliance, UAD, FabFilter, and more. At this point, unless I need something really specialized, I can pretty much do everything I want within the Console 1 system. I hope it keeps evolving.

What makes it irreplaceable is how it transforms tedious tasks into something enjoyable—like EQ and compression adjustments I can do with my eyes closed, organizing big sessions, jumping between tracks, or even just panning. All of these become smoother and more intuitive compared to using a mouse.

It does crash from time to time, but I’ve found a workaround: if I open Softube Central, uninstall, and reinstall the software, it comes back to life without even needing to restart my computer. Of course, I’d prefer it didn’t crash at all—but I trust that’ll improve with time.

What daily or weekly habits do you have in place to keep you creating?

This isn’t a promotion—it’s just the truth—but I try to do SoundGym, ToneGym, and GuitarGym as often as I can, ideally every day. They help me stay aware of where I’m currently at, and track my progress, which really keeps me motivated to stay engaged with music.

If you ever make a BassGym, I’d be happy to help build it! I do have a few thoughts about some of the interface choices in GuitarGym, but overall, this whole series really works for me—especially because I enjoy games.

What keeps you motivated to continue making music?

These days, I perform American country music as my main form of expression. What inspires me most is the honesty in old country songs, the incredible musicianship, and the quality of the sound itself. Listening to truly great music keeps me motivated.

Even if the genre is different, I believe the world needs music that reflects life—like a mirror to society.

What song would you choose as the soundtrack of your life?

What's your favorite feature on SoundGym, and how has it helped you in your musical journey?

All of the training apps on SoundGym have been essential in supporting my growth as an engineer. I've gotten better at identifying the sounds I like and getting closer to them more quickly than before. I'm still not fully satisfied with my level yet, but I can definitely feel that the sound of the projects I'm involved in has been evolving.

What’s something exciting you're working on or looking forward to?

Lately, I’ve started a new project in my hometown of Sapporo, aiming to help local artists bring their creative visions to life. The first artist I'm working with is called Toby The World—a jazz guitarist stepping into a rockstar persona under a stage name. We’re just about to finish his first release.

While working on this project, I’ve also been studying on SoundGym and picking up a lot of new knowledge. Looking back, I do have some regrets about the recording phase, knowing what I know now—but the songs are strong, and his performance is amazing, so I’m very happy with how it’s turning out.

After that, I'm moving into a project connected to the classic Japanese TV drama series Kita no Kuni Kara, which was filmed here in Hokkaido. I’m working on a theme song with Yuuya Komatsu, a hard rock guitarist and singer also based in Sapporo.

There’s more ahead—remastering and releasing past works by Masato Matsuzaki, an artist I've worked closely with for years, and producing a new album for Kenny Stone, a singer-songwriter from Hokkaido. Each of these projects is both exciting and a great way to apply the skills I’ve been sharpening through SoundGym.

Just last month, I had the chance to record two songs for EPO, one of the iconic artists from Japan’s city pop scene. I played bass on one track and used my own custom-designed tapping instrument, the Grand Board, to record the bass part on another.

You can follow Shinji on his Instagram, Facebook, X,  and website, and listen to his music on Apple Music, and Youtube. 

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