Kaoru mostly uses Ganesa (Japanese Zombie Guitar), manufactured by ESP. Kaoru has 9 of them, each one is different in colour and design. If you want to put your hands on such a guitar, you will have to pay 609.000 yen. Sometimes he plays on Les Paul, Jaguar, even a Flying V. In the solo of Ain't afraid to die he played on a Jaguar Fender. Kaouru occasionally plays a sitar too (like the Live Solo of Embryo on the 5 days tour).

He has a new guitar; called "D-KV-420", you can buy it for a symbolic 441.000 yen (3.750 USD). This cool guitar is manufactured by ESP, its color is black with white sreaks.

Fun fact I: The design of Ganesa VIII makes a skull if you turn it upside down.
Fun fact II: Kaoru has "Japanese Zombie Heroez" tattooed on his right arm.

Die mostly uses ESP, like Kaoru, but his playing style is different, more powerful. His new guitar is called D-DR-300, its price is 315.000 yen (2670 USD); its scale is 686mm - which is rather long - the color is "See Thru Metallic Dark Red".

The guitarists of Diru basically use acoustic-, bass-, and electric guitars. The standard electric guitars are fitted with six strings and are usually tuned from low to high E - A - D - G - B - E, the same as an acoustic guitar, although some modern guitarists tune their guitars lower to produce a "heavier" sound. Seven-string models exist, most of which add a low B string below the E. Kaoru and Die use both 6-string and 7-string guitars; however, I think it is Kaoru who wields the 7-string one, if the occasion rises to put it into use. There are even eight-string electric guitars, but they are extremely unusual.

Kaoru usually uses humbuckers and Die usually uses singles. The difference between humbuckers and single coil pickups is that a humbucker consists of two coils usually wound in the same direction; however the electrical path to ground travels in opposing directions in each coil and the magnetic polarity is reversed. The humbucker is designed to cancel out 60-cycle hum and has a fatter, richer sound to that of the taller, narrower single coil that can be prone to 60-cycle noise; so humbuckers are popular for metal music. Kaoru and Die both usually play down tuned guitars (atleast with their modern stuff).
Both mainly play dropped D tunings (which is a usual thing for metal, crossover or metalcore guitar players) that makes d-a-d-g-h-e because they can play power chords with a single finger this way (visible in Child Prey lives or in Jessica). Sometimes they even play at lowered D# (all strings down a half step) just the e string goes down to C# that makes c#-g#-c#-f#-a#-d# (like in Beautiful Dirt).

The pronunciation of "bass" in this sense is rhyming to the one of "face", not "glass". Normal bass guitars are 4-stringed, but there are 5-stringeds too. The bass has longer neck than a normal guitar to reach lower notes. As with the electric guitar, vibrations of the bass guitar's metallic strings create electrical signals in electromagnetic sensors called "pickups". These signals are then amplified and played through a speaker. Various electronic components - along with the configuration of the amplifier and speaker - can be used to alter the basic sound of the instrument.

Playing styles: As with any instrument, the electric bass can be played in a number of styles. Some players tend to favor a subdued, melodic approach, while there are many, who favor a funky "slap and pop" approach in which notes and percussive sounds are created by slapping the string with the thumb and release strings with a snap. Many artists utilize a fretless bass guitar for the smoothness of its slide and unique tone.
Another playing style is the two-handed tapping style, where both hands play notes by tapping the string to the fret. This makes it possible to play contrapuntally, or to play complicated chords and arpeggios. Since this makes the bass take up a large part of the aural spectrum, it is mostly used by bass players who act as the lead in their music.

Bassists prefer to pluck the notes with the fingers but there are many - especially who plays harder music, like punk and rock - also use plectra (also called picks). Embryo was the very first song when Toshiya played on his bass using his fingers instead of a pick. Even now he alternates between the pick and his fingers. Using a pick typically gives the bass a brighter, more punchy sound, while playing with one's fingers makes the sound more soft and round.

Variations in style also occur in where a bassist rests his thumb: one may rest his thumb on the side of the fretboard, which is especially common among bassist who have an upright bass influence. Also, bassists with more than 4 string basses, may utilize a low string which isn't often used, for thumb rest. By resting their thumb to anchor their hand while they use their index and middle fingers, bassists create a fuller and louder sound. Most bassists have different preferences as to where on the string they pluck the notes: they can pluck them very close to the bridge for a bright and sharp sound, or the ones who prefer the rounder sound get it by plucking closer to the neck, mostly near the neck pickup. Toshiya mostly plucks close to the bridge.

Toshiya's bass guitars are:

Shinya mostly uses Ludwig and Pearl drums. Ludwig drums are quite popular in the US, and he's been using this brand since about the time Dir en grey went major. Pearl is used by most J-rock drummers (he used this one in the Mitsu to Tsuba PV; and Zan). During live shows, he always has a mirror by his drum set to check his appearance before and after every session!