Brands
While some brands manufacture guitars in all price ranges, typically you will find certain brands dominating certain price points. Also, you will see that the same manufacturer may have strategically defined different brands to address different price point ranges.
In the low price ranges you will see brands like Epiphone, Rogue, Oscar Schmidt, First Act, Johnson, etc.
The the mid-range, you will see brands like Fender, Dean, Yamaha, Gretsch, Seagull, and others.
Near the top end of the range, you will see brands such as Taylor, Guild, Gibson, and others dominating the ranks. Often, these guitars are made of superior woods and also include nicely appointed trims such as abalone and mother-of-pearl inlays.
The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Epiphone was bought by Chicago Music Company, who also owned Gibson Guitar Corporation, in 1957. Epiphone was Gibson‘s main rival in the archtop market. Their professional archtops, including the Emperor, Deluxe, Broadway and Triumph, rivaled (and some contend surpassed) those of Gibson. Aside from their guitars, Epiphone also made bass guitars, banjos, and other stringed instruments. However, the company’s weakness in the aftermath of World War II allowed Gibson to absorb it.
Fender offered the first mass-produced solid-body Spanish-style electric guitar, the Telecaster (originally named the ‘Broadcaster’; ‘Esquire’ is a single pickup version)[1] the first mass-produced electric bass, the Precision Bass (P-Bass); and popular Stratocaster (Strat) guitar. While Fender was not the first to manufacture electric guitars, as other companies and luthiers had produced electric guitars since the late 1920s, none was as commercially successful as Fender’s. Furthermore, while nearly all other electric guitars then were either hollow-body guitars or more specialized instruments such as Rickenbacker’s solid-body Hawaiian guitars, Fender had created versatile solid-body electric guitars. These guitars were and still are popular for musicians in a variety of genres.
Taylor Guitars was established in 1974 by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug. Taylor Guitars is based in El Cajon, California and specializes in acoustic guitars and acoustic-electric guitars (although it started manufacturing electric guitars in the late 2000’s). Taylor Guitars are used by a variety of top acoustic guitar players including Dave Matthews and Leo Kottke.
Taylors – without a doubt, are one of the finest acoustic guitars money can buy. Great sounding guitar, amazing woodworking and wood selection . Creative design ideas, and at the forefront of changing guitar designs (e.g. NT neck, ES electronics).
Some of the most eclectic guitars ever created were the Dean Guitars.
Dean Zelinsky created the Dean guitar in the attic of his Chicago home when he was just 18. The Dean guitar, with its electronic sounds, are peculiar in shape. Unlike most guitars, the Dean guitars usually come in some form of a “v” neck top, and a “v” shaped bottom. Many rock stars took a liking to the Dean guitars, and quickly after, many every-day musicians were buying them too. Owning a vintage Dean guitar is owning a piece of music that forever changed the appearance of the guitar. Vintage Dean guitars can definitely create musical memories that can go down in history.
Dean Guitars 30 year Video Overview!
Music Man is an American guitar, and bass guitar manufacturer. It is a division of the Ernie Ball corporation.
Ernie Ball had started producing a modern acoustic bass guitar in 1972 under the name Earthwood but the venture had largely collapsed by the mid-1970s, some say due to poor marketing. It seems it was an idea twenty years before its time. His partner in this company was George Fullerton. The factory, which Ball still owned at the time of the Music Man purchase, was located in San Luis Obispo, California and that is where Music Man started producing basses in 1985. Some people mistakenly assume that the buyout of Music Man was like the CBS and Norlin buyouts of Fender and Gibson (and Moog Music) and that it was another in a line of big corporations ruining good guitar manufacturers, but nothing could be further from the truth. One important difference is that Ernie Ball was a musician and spent his life in the service of musicians. Another is that since Sterling Ball was a longterm employee of Music Man the buyout had more in common with the employee buyouts of Fender and Gibson in 1984 and 1986.
By using player endorsed models Music Man racked up a string of successes including the Silhouette (1986), Steve Morse Signature (1987), StingRay 5 (1987), Eddie Van Halen Signature/Axis model (1990), Kim Mitchell uses an Axis Sport Albert Lee Signature (1993), Steve Lukather Signature (1993), the Sterling Bass (1993), the John Petrucci 6 & 7-string guitars (1999), and theBongo Bass (2003), whose futuristic look was designed in conjunction with the BMW DesignworksUSA team. While none of these could compete against Fender or Gibson on sales figures, Music Man outpaced the competition by making ‘players’ guitars with quick change pickup assemblies, teflon coated trussrods, low noise pickup designs, piezo bridge pickups, 5 and 6 bolt necks, sculpted neck joints, graphite acrylic resin coated body cavities and most importantly, consistently high quality fit and finish.
Ibanez (pronounced /ˈaɪbænɛz/ ai-bahn-ez) is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe. The Ibanez brand name dates back to 1929 when Hoshino Gakki began importing Salvador Ibáñez guitars from Spain. Ibanez has developed some very innovative guitars including the Roadstar and Iceman models of the late ’70s as well the more recent JEM and RG models. Ibanez also developed effects pedals and more recently guitar amplifiers.
Popular players include Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Paul Gilbert.
All Ibanez Products
If you’ve never played a Schecter guitar, you owe it to yourself to do so. They are fine axes, especially the Custom Shop models of the later ’70s and early ’80s. But the current crop of Schecter guitars are class acts as well.
David Schecter founded Schecter Guitar Research in 1976 as a repair shop and factory making guitar parts. In 1979 Schecter offered its first fully-assembled guitars. These were custom shop models based on Fender classics—very high quality, very pricey, and sold in only a few outlets that served professionals. They quickly caught on with big name players (Peter Townshend fell in love with a Schecter based on the Telecaster, while Mark Knoffler adopted a model based on the Strat) and other professionals who could afford them. The limited availability, high quality, and big name support gave the Schecter name cachet in Guitarland.
Unfortunately, the good Schecter name proved its temporary downfall. The company had reached its limit for Custom Shop production. A group of Texas investors bought the company in 1983, hoping to make Schecter a major guitar brand. It didn’t work. In 1987, the company was sold again, this time to Japanese entrepreneur, Hisatake Shibuya. Fortunately Shibuya had guitar savvy. He was already the owner of Hollywood’s famed Musician’s Institute and a chain of retail guitar shops catering to professionals. Shibuya had respect for the Schecter legacy and set about restoring its former glory. By 1989, Schecter was again turning out its Custom Shop models and showing the world that the real Schecter was back.
The second-generation production Schecters—dubbed The Diamond Series—first hit the street in 1998. Schecter’s foresight in offering an affordable 7-string guitar helped get the Diamond Series off to a strong start, and Schecter followed up in ’99 with the C-1. This model was debuted by Jerry Horton in Papa Roach’s ““Last Resort” video. Ciravolo describes this as “the spark that lit the fuse.” Schecter was again a force to be reckoned with on the stage and in the studio . . . now in an affordable price range.
These new models are sleek, sexy, and epitomize the new Schecter and its willingness to provide musicians with instruments that fit their style and meet their needs. In its modern incarnation as a major guitar manufacturer, Schecter has found success the same way it did in its Custom Shop days—by building guitars that are better than the other guys.
All Schecter Products
Martin® guitars and Rolls Royce® automobiles, Steinway® pianos, Baccarat® crystal.
High–falutin comparisons, to be sure; but few acoustic musicians can hear the name “C. F. Martin” without instantly linking it to some mental image that stands for enduring quality. Since 1833, the Martin Guitar Company has provided instruments of consistently high caliber to virtually a world–wide market. Among musicians there is a standing joke about being able to communicate in any language as long as you say, “Martin guitar.”
Frank Henry Martin explained to potential customers, “How to build a guitar to give this tone is not a secret. It takes care and patience. Care in selecting the materials, laying out the proportions, and attending to the details which add to the player’s comfort. Patience in giving the necessary time to finish every part. A good guitar cannot be built for the price of a poor one, but who regrets the extra cost for a good guitar?” Almost eighty years have passed since Frank Henry Martin authored this statement of policy, but it still is an accurate expression of Martin’s ongoing commitment to quality.
Jackson is a guitar manufacturer originally owned and operated by Grover Jackson, a partner of Wayne Charvel of Charvel Guitar Repair.
It started with the creation of the “Rhoads” V model guitar, originally designed and used by guitarist Randy Rhoads.
In the Fall of 2002, Fender Musical Instrument Corporation purchased Jackson/Charvel, and operations were moved to the Fender factory in Corona, CA. Fender is now manufacturing guitars that are almost exactly like the original San Dimas Charvels, save for a few details.
Jackson Guitars has become known for its slender and elegant models, often with an aggressive look popular with harder rock and metal music.
The Jackson headstockAlmost all Jackson (and many Charvel) guitars share the typical Gibson Explorer-like pointy drooped headstocks.[citation needed] Various models feature a reversed pointy headstock with the tip pointing upwards. Another trademark are their so called “shark fin” fret inlays, which inspired other famous guitar companies such as Ibanez to develop a similar design to that of Jackson’s original, called “shark tooth”.
The instrument choice of many high profile players, Jackson guitars seem suited to a “heavy rock” environment.
All Jackson Products
The Ovation Guitar Company, a holding of Kaman Music Corporation, is a guitar manufacturing company based in New Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Ovation primarily manufactures acoustic guitars.
Ovation guitars are differentiated by their composite synthetic bowl, rather than the traditional wooden back and sides of the modern acoustic guitar as produced by luthiers starting in the late 18th century.
Ovations reached the height of their popularity in the 1980s, where they were more often than not seen during live performances by touring artists if acoustic guitars were being played. Ovation guitars’ synthetic bowl and early use (1971) of preamps, onboard equalization and piezo pickups were particularly attractive to live acoustic musicians who constantly battled feedback problems from the high volumes needed in live venues.
In 1972, Ovation introduced one of the first production solid body electric guitars with active electronics, the Ovation Breadwinner. The model failed to gain widespread popularity, however, and production of the Breadwinner and the Ovation Deacon ceased in 1980. Ovation made several other solid body models up until the mid 80s. Many of these guitars have become collector’s items since only a few thousand were made of each model. Since that time the company’s main focus has been acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars.
