{TEXTBOOK} History of Japanese Electric Guitars

HISTORY OF JAPANESE ELECTRIC GUITARS PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

The company, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its presence on the American market and export to other countries beyond Japan, has consistently produced guitars that have sold in impressive numbers and attracted a notable following of celebrity players and esteemed pros. Yet the success of Yamaha guitars is influenced more by their reputation for high quality and the outstanding value their instruments offer for the money than by the usual forms of guitar hero worship that drive many guitar sales. As a result, Yamaha has quietly satisfied the needs of all walks of players from beginner to pro while an ever-changing parade of trendier instruments have hogged the spotlight. Although Yamaha was originally founded in to produce pianos and organs, the company did not start building guitars until the early Forties, eventually opening a factory dedicated exclusively to guitar construction in Hamamatsu in the late Forties. By the mid Sixties, the entire world had a fever called Beatlemania, and the only prescription was more guitars. The United States was particularly stricken, and domestic guitar companies struggled to keep up with the increasing demand for anything with six strings. To satisfy customers, particularly those on tight middle class budgets, retailers turned to Asian manufacturers to fill their shelves with affordable, low-cost instruments. The phenomenal increase in demand for guitars was very beneficial to Yamaha. The company already had more than two decades of experience building guitars, and the decision was made to pursue these new opportunities in a grand fashion. In , Yamaha sold their first export models, which consisted of the G50, G60, G80, G, G and G classical guitars, all produced at their Hamamatsu factory. That same year, Yamaha established a custom shop dedicated to the production of the finest instruments they could make, and they started to collaborate with outside experts. Their first collaboration was with Spanish guitar builder Eduardo Ferrer, who helped Yamaha refine the designs of its classical guitar models. At the same time during the mid Sixties, Yamaha expanded its production by offering its first steel-string and electric models, including bass guitars. These guitars still have a strong cult following in Japan today. As a result, Yamaha guitars were a very popular choice for beginners as well as experienced players who wanted an inexpensive backup acoustic instrument. Possibly the first major exposure for a Yamaha guitar in the United States was when Country Joe McDonald performed a nine-song solo set on the second day of the Woodstock Festival accompanied only by a Yamaha FG The guitar belonged to a stage hand, who loaned it to the performer when McDonald was asked to play an impromptu set before Santana took the stage. By the late Sixties, Yamaha had expanded its line of guitars considerably. The most notable development was the introduction of several high- quality acoustic models made from solid materials. Encouraged by the success of their acoustic guitars, Yamaha started to export electric models outside of Japan as well. The SG and SG, which featured a single-cutaway, dual-humbucker, set-neck design similar to a Les Paul, were the first Yamaha electric models to officially arrive on American shores in None of the SG models made much of an impact on the American market initially. In an effort to increase interest in their electric guitars, Yamaha reached out to Carlos Santana in and offered to build him a custom instrument. While Santana clearly loved his custom Yamaha SG, he also noticed numerous areas where the guitar could be improved and collaborated with Yamaha to develop his ideas. The SG featured a neck-through-body design and was granted two United States patents for its T-Cross System of attaching mahogany wings to the maple and its Sustain Plate, which was a brass block mounted in the body and connected to the bridge to enhance sustain. Whereas the FG series guitars were primarily affordable, budget instruments, the L series were designed as high-end acoustics. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia updatet Please go to their site and donate, so they can keep up their good work. Matsumoku Industrial was a Japanese manufacturing company once existed in Matsumoto city, Japan, between — Tsukada in Matsumoto, Japan. It was a family owned woodworking business that specialized in building tansu and butsudan. Matsumoku Industrial was contracted to build its sewing machine cabinets, and in Matsumoku became a partially owned subsidiary of Singer, Japan. Matsumoku also built amplifier cabinets and wooden cabinets for audio and television makers. Modest classical guitars, small steel stringed acoustic guitars, and violins were built and marketed in the mids. Combined with its staff of skilled craftsmen, Matsumoku was able to realize the mass production of high quality guitars. By the early s, Matsumoku had begun using CNC computer numerical controlled mills, routers, and lathes, one of the first guitar makers to do so. This created a significant economy of scale, allowing the company to rely upon factory automation rather than skilled labor for rough shaping of components and basic assembly tasks. This machine-cut yet hand-worked process offered improved profit margins at lower unit prices and yielded high quality instruments with unique character. American owned Unicord contracted Matsumoku to build most of its Univox and Westbury guitars. Penney sold Matsumoku-built Skylark guitars through its catalog division. Washburn Guitars contracted Matsumoku to build some of its electric guitars and basses from through though Yamaki was the manufacturer for the early Wing series. Shiro Arai founded Arai and Company in as an importer of classical guitars. In , Arai contracted Guyatone to manufacture guitars. These issues were addressed early on with Matsumoku. The relationship between the two companies was both amicable and symbiotic. Aria focused on sales in both domestic and export markets and provided design development. Matsumoku devoted its energies on engineering and building guitars and other stringed instruments. These Ash Bodied Guitars were only produced in extremely small numbers for the domestic market. However most were, maple bodies. Some Guitars were produced with the Urushi finish and again these were mostly produced for the domestic market, in both red and brown urushi lacquer. The vast majority of these would have Ash Bodies and the export models would be Maple. Arai and Company guitars were briefly labeled Arai, and then switched to the familiar Aria around Aria Diamond was a name chosen for its early hollow bodied electric guitars. Aria had two factories that produced guitars besides Matsumoku, one which made classical guitars, and another that made medium grade and specialty guitars. Gibson decided to move Epiphone production to Japan in the early s and chose Aria as its contractor. 10 Superb Vintage Japanese Guitars on Reverb Right Now | Reverb News

I guess it was fate. Albert Molinaro is his name, and hand-crafted Fender-style guitars are his thing. He used to GRU ceased building guitars in build amazing Fender replica guitars for sale in Japan only. AirMusic Japan was the sole dealer until and then GuitarsJapan took over distribution for a short period until Albert is a good friend of mine and his guitars took a l-o-n-g time to make, since they were custom-made by hand and made-to-order. His guitars rank at the top of my list for Fender clones, bar none. Even Fender Master-built guitars. Shaped like a crescent moon, it was loaded with active EMG pickups and was adorned with green abalone inlays and sparkle finishes. Kawai also made copies of Alembic guitars of exceptionally high quality and those are somewhat popular to collectors as well. No model can compare to the popularity of the MoonSault, though. They are now extremely rare. He used woods that are next to impossible to get my gold Lenny Kravitz Flying V replica has real Korina wood on many of his models. He made Gibson, Fender and Zemaitis replicas and custom one-off guitars as well. His guitars are regarded by the Japanese as one of the best and most rare brands of all Japanese vintage guitars. Tune also is noted for their intricate engraving on the tailpieces on these guitars. The Korean models have Les Paul-style bridges and stopbar tailpieces. The Japanese versions have 1-piece mahogany necks. It is Yamaha we have to thank for changing that. In the US, C. In , it introduced the Martin Sigma range, which rapidly established a mystique around itself worthy of its association with the Martin legend. There are lengthy debates about serial numbers and plenty of fables about the materials used. Some claim the reason they sound so good is because they were made of all solid woods, which is not the case. In fact, most Sigmas had laminated backs and sides, and some even had laminated tops, too. Given how good a "First Generation" all-laminate Sigma Dreadnought can sound, this should give pause for thought among those who insist that only solid-wood acoustics can sound "right. Martin used various Japanese manufacturers to supply Sigma models, which were checked and set up in the US before sale. Potential Sigma buyers need to do their research, because not all Sigmas were made in Japan Martin had models made in Korea relatively early , and serial numbers and label styles are quite complex. Fortunately, the detailed information you need is available online. Yairi and S. Yairi, though related, ran separate companies. It was Kazuo Yairi K. Yairi who studied guitar-making in the US after learning his trade in Japan and then formed a partnership with the US distributor St Louis Music, which resulted in the famous Alvarez Yairi guitars—the brand name they were sold under in the US—while in Europe they were sold separately as K. Yairi and Alvarez. Alvarez Yairi, like Yamaha, really deserves a dedicated article, but as K. One in particular was a license-built model for Bozo Podunavac , the US-based guitar maker born in what at the time was Yugoslavia and whose ornately decorated guitars were and still are highly prized by collectors and serious acoustic players. Yairi in Japan, complete with the ornate design work. Later—and admittedly outside the general scope of this article—Yairi also license-built some guitars for George Lowden , and these, too, are much admired. Ah, but which Yairi? Some sources say it was Kazuo, others that the Lowdens were made by his uncle Sadao in a separate factory. This is just one example of the complexity underlying Japanese guitar collecting, though by no means the most confusing. Any K. Yairi guitar is likely to be expensive, but they are reckoned by their owners to be worth the money. Not exactly the choice for the bargain hunter unless you are very lucky , but as good of its kind as it gets. Apparently, the Yamaki company is still in business today but concentrates on making guitar parts. What we are looking for, however, are acoustic guitars sold with the Yamaki brand name or, sometimes, with Daion. Yamaki may have been responsible for some of the fine Washburns of the era, too, notably the Prairie Song models, which are collectable and highly regarded. While on the subject of Washburn , and again as an illustration of how complicated it can be to get to the bottom of who made what, someone who worked at a UK guitar distributor recalls how occasionally he would unpack a new shipment of Aria acoustics, only to find that the guitars inside had the Washburn brand. So any Yamaki-brand guitar is likely to be from the golden era and will be worthy of serious consideration. Happy hunting. About the author: Gary Cooper is a journalist working in the musical instrument and pro audio fields. Gary also contributes to a number of other music magazines and websites. He lives in Sussex, England. Miscellaneous & Rare Japanese Guitar Brand Information & History

The good news is that a small number of dedicated fans have worked hard to retrieve useful information, so Google is your friend. The prowess of some brands in this area is a given. More or less any Takamine is going to be good, and any Yamaha is going to be at least pretty playable and, at its best, world-class. Either brand really deserves its own article, as does Alvarez Yairi. What we are looking for here, however, are the standout guitars from the less obvious sources that are worth tracking down—and that will repay the dedicated hunter with an individualistic instrument of surprising quality, and an instrument by now nicely played-in, aged, and, with a bit of luck, at a good price. Aria is better known for its solidbody electric guitars and some fine basses, and the brand name, if it is associated with acoustic instruments at all, tends to be pegged to beginner-level, nylon-strung, Spanish-style guitars, and some pretty forgettable dreadnoughts and folk models. Gigsville wanted to offer high-quality Aria acoustics and introduced the two guitarists to Aria, which commissioned them to design six-string and string signature models. The results were impressive. Featuring entirely solid woods, the Joyce and Brett models were like no other Aria acoustics before, leading to speculation that they had been made by one of the premier Japanese acoustic producers. In fact, recent contact with a former Aria employee in Japan confirms that they were produced by Matsumoku , the factory long associated with Aria instruments and later with Westone and others. Matsumoku was known to be capable of producing some fine instruments but is really best known for its solidbody guitars and basses. The fact that these acoustics came from the same plant makes me wonder what else they produced, as they were known to provide instruments for other brands, including Washburn and Epiphone. The Joyce and Brett models were extremely well-made, great-sounding, and yet quite affordable. They were intended to be sold only in the UK, but in fact they seem to have appeared in other countries, too. John Joyce died in , but not before designing another Aria acoustic classic, the Sandpiper series, examples of which are also worth looking out for. Paul Brett is still very much with us, both as an authority on vintage guitars and a designer for the Vintage brand. It is Yamaha we have to thank for changing that. In the US, C. In , it introduced the Martin Sigma range, which rapidly established a mystique around itself worthy of its association with the Martin legend. There are lengthy debates about serial numbers and plenty of fables about the materials used. Some claim the reason they sound so good is because they were made of all solid woods, which is not the case. In fact, most Sigmas had laminated backs and sides, and some even had laminated tops, too. Given how good a "First Generation" all-laminate Sigma Dreadnought can sound, this should give pause for thought among those who insist that only solid-wood acoustics can sound "right. Martin used various Japanese manufacturers to supply Sigma models, which were checked and set up in the US before sale. Potential Sigma buyers need to do their research, because not all Sigmas were made in Japan Martin had models made in Korea relatively early , and serial numbers and label styles are quite complex. Fortunately, the detailed information you need is available online. Yairi and S. Yairi, though related, ran separate companies. It was Kazuo Yairi K. Yairi who studied guitar-making in the US after learning his trade in Japan and then formed a partnership with the US distributor St Louis Music, which resulted in the famous Alvarez Yairi guitars—the brand name they were sold under in the US—while in Europe they were sold separately as K. Yairi and Alvarez. Alvarez Yairi, like Yamaha, really deserves a dedicated article, but as K. One in particular was a license-built model for Bozo Podunavac , the US-based guitar maker born in what at the time was Yugoslavia and whose ornately decorated guitars were and still are highly prized by collectors and serious acoustic players. Yairi in Japan, complete with the ornate design work. Carolyn Stevens shows how Japanese popular music has responded over time to Japan's relationship to the West in the post-war era, gradually growing in independence from the political and cultural hegemonic presence of America. It also discusses the connections to Japanese television, film, print and internet, thereby providing through pop music a key to understanding much of Japanese popular culture more widely. This work probes the restaging, representation, and reimagining of historical violence and atrocity in contemporary Chinese fiction, film, and popular culture. It examines five historical moments including the Musha Incident and the February 28 Incident Author Michael Wright builds on the success of his Guitar Stories, Volume One in this series of histories of cool guitars. Volume Two continues Wright's incredible research and painstaking attention to detail, covering brands that had a heavy impact in the world of the guitar, including companies such as Kay, Alamo, Veleno, Martin Electrics, Maccaferri, and Guild Solidbodies. As with Volume One, over rare and fascinating photos including sumptuous full-color spreads help to tell the tale of these innovative instruments. Includes a helpful index. In , Leo Fender introduced to the world the solidbody electric guitar the instrument known as the Telecaster. He soon added two more classics: the Precision Bass and the Stratocaster Fender's sleek, adaptable guitars have since fueled modern music from country to rock and have been heard in the hands of virtually every guitarist of note, from Buddy Holly to Kurt Cobain, from Eric Clapton to John Mayer. Illustrated with an unrivaled gallery of color photographs of instruments, players, and memorabilia, this revised and updated edition expands upon 50 Years of Fender , covering nine more years of the Fender story. Most people still think of themselves as belonging to a particular culture. Yet today, many of us who live in affluent societies choose aspects of our lives from a global cultural supermarket, whether in terms of food, the arts or spiritual beliefs. So if roots are becoming simply one more consumer choice, can we still claim to possess a fundamental cultural identity? These ethnographic case studies form the basis for a theory of culture which we can all see reflected in our own lives. Gordon Mathews opens up the complex and debated topics of globalization, culture and identity in a clear and lively style. The guitar, most elegant and sophisticated of musical instruments, has made an enormous impact on popular culture in the last hundred years, and continues to attract the most talented musicians from around the world. Focusing on the creativity and craftsmanship behind each selected model, this unique book looks at the extraordinary diversity across acoustic and electric guitars, and celebrates the most dazzling among them, from the classic solid-body electric Gibson Flying V and novelty solid-body electric Framus Super Yob specially built for Slade's Dave Hill, and the amazing five-necked Hamer built for Rick Nielson of Cheap Trick, to Les Paul's pioneering Log. Packed with stunning and rarely seen photographs throughout, lavishly evoking the romance and beauty of the world's most popular instrument, this is a must-have for guitar enthusiasts all over the world. Illustrated throughout with stunning, specially commissioned photographs, this is the definitive book on the history and culture of the electric guitar. It looks at the effects of the new developments, the stories of the pioneers behind the primitive instruments and the guitarists who made the instrument so influential. Completely updated for this new edition in paperback, this classic book is an essential addition to all guitar enthusiasts' bookshelves. Updated edition of the classic title The Electric Guitar, including a brand new section on 90s Retro and Britpop and a new profile on the 90s classic guitar Specially commissioned photography that brings out the full color and texture of the guitars. Foreword by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. The Fender Telecaster is regarded as the first commercially successful solid body electric 'Spanish' guitar. Designed by Leo Fender at a time when the words rock and roll were not even coined, the 'Telly' is the senior member of a family of instruments whose sounds and looks helped revolutionize the world of popular music. This book relates the story of Telecaster Guitars since - everything you ever wanted to know is explored through lots of color and black and white photos, charts and interviews. This title examines Western music's original European roots, the ways and styles in which it expanded, and how it has grown into such an integral part of Western culture. Special features include a timeline, Art Spotlights, infographics, and fact bubbles. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing. The author of the bestselling Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon takes aim at the boomer generation in a hilarious work of social commentary.

Made In Japan 's Guitars

Intermark was the house brand for a US importer who ordered these guitars from Shinko Gakki. You will sometimes see these same models branded with the Pleasant name. Pleasant guitars are definitely a cut above the ubiquitous lower—end Teiscos and Kawais that other importers were bringing in en masse. Featuring some strong Burns—like pickups, some controls discreetly hidden under the pickguard, and a strong laminate neck, these can be go—to guitars for the home or studio. The Sharp 5 was one of the first artist models produced in Japan, crafted to the specifications of Nobuhiro Mine of the band Sharp 5. The rumor is that these were actually built by Yamaha for Guyatone. These guitars feature some stunning craftsmanship, with two very Jaguar—esque pickups, a unique tremolo, and some Mosrite—inspired knobs. The guitar itself is gorgeous, with a lovely German carve sliding into its offset with binding around the body, neck, and headstock. These guitars are top quality players. At first glance, this looks like a Kawai or Teisco, but it's actually a very early approximately Fujigen guitar. These guitars were exported to companies like Lindell. A perfect staple for your new garage rock revival project. Norma imported guitars from various Japanese guitar manufacturers, but this guitar came from a manufacturer that was actually better known for its accordions. That explains the beautiful sparkle red wrap finish. Tombo only manufactured guitars from to during the height of the first electric guitar boom in Japan. Today, the company continues to make harmonicas and accordions. They did a ton of Mosrite knock—offs, as well as some Gibson and Gretsch knock—offs. The Morales guitars usually feature a two—piece mahogany sandwich body, giving them a bit of heft. The pickups on this one were manufactured by Nishin Onpa, the company that eventually became Maxon. These are some very playable guitars, and look cool to boot. Manufactured by Teisco Gen Gakki, the Idol line of guitars arose from the split which occurred when the original Teisco company was bought by Kawai. Promising to be a new line of high—quality guitars, Idol also manufactured amplifiers. However, a factory fire paired with the end of the electric guitar boom meant that the Idol brand disappeared after two and a half years. Carolyn Stevens shows how Japanese popular music has responded over time to Japan's relationship to the West in the post-war era, gradually growing in independence from the political and cultural hegemonic presence of America. It also discusses the connections to Japanese television, film, print and internet, thereby providing through pop music a key to understanding much of Japanese popular culture more widely. This work probes the restaging, representation, and reimagining of historical violence and atrocity in contemporary Chinese fiction, film, and popular culture. It examines five historical moments including the Musha Incident and the February 28 Incident Author Michael Wright builds on the success of his Guitar Stories, Volume One in this series of histories of cool guitars. Volume Two continues Wright's incredible research and painstaking attention to detail, covering brands that had a heavy impact in the world of the guitar, including companies such as Kay, Alamo, Veleno, Martin Electrics, Maccaferri, and Guild Solidbodies. As with Volume One, over rare and fascinating photos including sumptuous full-color spreads help to tell the tale of these innovative instruments. Includes a helpful index. In , Leo Fender introduced to the world the solidbody electric guitar the instrument known as the Telecaster. He soon added two more classics: the Precision Bass and the Stratocaster Fender's sleek, adaptable guitars have since fueled modern music from country to rock and have been heard in the hands of virtually every guitarist of note, from Buddy Holly to Kurt Cobain, from Eric Clapton to John Mayer. Illustrated with an unrivaled gallery of color photographs of instruments, players, and memorabilia, this revised and updated edition expands upon 50 Years of Fender , covering nine more years of the Fender story. Most people still think of themselves as belonging to a particular culture. Yet today, many of us who live in affluent societies choose aspects of our lives from a global cultural supermarket, whether in terms of food, the arts or spiritual beliefs. So if roots are becoming simply one more consumer choice, can we still claim to possess a fundamental cultural identity? These ethnographic case studies form the basis for a theory of culture which we can all see reflected in our own lives. Gordon Mathews opens up the complex and debated topics of globalization, culture and identity in a clear and lively style. The guitar, most elegant and sophisticated of musical instruments, has made an enormous impact on popular culture in the last hundred years, and continues to attract the most talented musicians from around the world. Focusing on the creativity and craftsmanship behind each selected model, this unique book looks at the extraordinary diversity across acoustic and electric guitars, and celebrates the most dazzling among them, from the classic solid-body electric Gibson Flying V and novelty solid-body electric Framus Super Yob specially built for Slade's Dave Hill, and the amazing five-necked Hamer built for Rick Nielson of Cheap Trick, to Les Paul's pioneering Log. Packed with stunning and rarely seen photographs throughout, lavishly evoking the romance and beauty of the world's most popular instrument, this is a must-have for guitar enthusiasts all over the world. Illustrated throughout with stunning, specially commissioned photographs, this is the definitive book on the history and culture of the electric guitar. It looks at the effects of the new developments, the stories of the pioneers behind the primitive instruments and the guitarists who made the instrument so influential. Completely updated for this new edition in paperback, this classic book is an essential addition to all guitar enthusiasts' bookshelves. Updated edition of the classic title The Electric Guitar, including a brand new section on 90s Retro and Britpop and a new profile on the 90s classic guitar Specially commissioned photography that brings out the full color and texture of the guitars. Foreword by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. The Fender Telecaster is regarded as the first commercially successful solid body electric 'Spanish' guitar. Designed by Leo Fender at a time when the words rock and roll were not even coined, the 'Telly' is the senior member of a family of instruments whose sounds and looks helped revolutionize the world of popular music. This book relates the story of Telecaster Guitars since - everything you ever wanted to know is explored through lots of color and black and white photos, charts and interviews. This title examines Western music's original European roots, the ways and styles in which it expanded, and how it has grown into such an integral part of Western culture. Special features include a timeline, Art Spotlights, infographics, and fact bubbles. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing. The author of the bestselling Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon takes aim at the boomer generation in a hilarious work of social commentary. https://files8.webydo.com/9591407/UploadedFiles/D399A761-C557-E0CE-789E-AEB253E8885A.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9590972/UploadedFiles/E82BDF3A-918F-3E38-2248-3C690FEB7E55.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9591110/UploadedFiles/AC145A91-75F9-D097-0910-6647152C4C95.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9591411/UploadedFiles/6A7D3963-83AB-6FC6-4AE6-83A889EA1974.pdf