Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar.
Danelectro is a brand of musical instruments and accessories that was founded in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1947. The company is known primarily for its string instruments that employed unique designs and manufacturing processes. The Danelectro company was sold to the Music Corporation of America (MCA) in 1966, moved to a much larger plant in Neptune City, New Jersey, and employed more than 500 people. Nevertheless, three years later Danelectro closed its plant.
Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in İzmir, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his father's business, Epaminondas Stathopoulos named the company "Epiphone" as a combination of his own nickname "Epi" and the suffix "-phone" in 1928, the same year it began making guitars. From the 1930s through to the early 1950s, Epiphone produced a range of both acoustic and (later) electrified archtop guitars that rivalled those produced by Gibson and were the instruments of choice of many professionals; a smaller range of flat-top guitars were also produced, some designations of which were later continued during the Gibson-owned era for the company.
The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is an American manufacturer and marketer of musical instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment; however, it is best known for its solid-body electric guitars and bass guitars, particularly the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass, and the Jazz Bass. The company was founded in Fullerton, California, by Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender in 1946. Andy Mooney has served as the chief executive officer (CEO) since June 2015.
Silvertone is a brand created and promoted by Sears for its line of consumer electronics and musical instruments from 1916 to 1972.
Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers.
Electro-Harmonix is a New York City-based company that makes electronic audio processors and sells rebranded vacuum tubes. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. It is best known for a series of guitar effects pedals introduced in the 1970s and 1990s. EHX also made a line of guitars in the 1970s.
Hamer Guitars was an American electric guitar manufacturer founded in 1973, in Wilmette, Illinois, by vintage guitar shop owners Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig. The company's early instruments featured guitar designs based on the Gibson Explorer and Gibson Flying V (Vector), before adding more traditional Gibson-inspired designs such as the Sunburst. Hamer Guitars is generally considered the first "boutique" vintage-style electric guitar brand that specifically catered to professional musicians, and was the first guitar manufacturer to produce a 12 string bass guitar.
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than regular acoustic guitars, which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion instruments in dance orchestras. They became prized for their distinctive tone, and found life with bluegrass music and the blues well after electric amplification solved the problem of inadequate volume.
The Harmony Company is a former guitar manufacturing company that is currently a brand owned by Singapore-based BandLab Technologies. Harmony was, in its heyday, the largest musical instrument manufacturer in the United States. It made many types of string instruments, including ukuleles, acoustic and electric guitars and violins.
Joseph Benjamin Hutto was an American blues musician. Influenced by Elmore James, Hutto became known for his slide guitar playing and declamatory style of singing. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame two years after his death.
The Fender Twin and Twin Reverb are guitar amplifiers made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Twin was introduced in 1952, two years before Fender began selling Stratocaster electric guitars. The amps are known for their characteristically clean tone.
Kay Musical Instrument Company is an American musical instrument manufacturer established in 1931 by namesake Henry "Kay" Kuhrmeyer and based in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed when Kuhrmeyer bought out his financial backers in the instrument manufacturer Stromberg-Voisinet. They produced guitars, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles and were known for their use of lamination in the construction of arched top instruments.
Westone is a brand of musical instruments that has been used by various manufacturers of electric and acoustic guitars and basses. The name gained wide recognition in the mid-1970s when Matsumoku in Japan and St. Louis Music in Korea began marketing guitars under the brand. After production by Matsumoku ceased in 1987, the brand continued to be distributed by St. Louis Music in the United States and FCN Music for the UK and European markets, with guitars built in South Korea by Samick.
Electric guitar design is a type of industrial design where the looks and efficiency of the shape as well as the acoustical aspects of the guitar are important factors. In the past many guitars have been designed with various odd shapes as well as very practical and convenient solutions to improve the usability of the object.
Supro is an American brand, currently owned by Bond Audio, a manufacturer of effects units. Formerly, Supro produced musical instruments as a subsidiary of Valco. The brand entered into disuse after the closure of Valco in 1968, being later revived in 2013.
Valco was a US manufacturer of guitar amplifiers from the 1940s through 1968.
The Vox Phantom is an electric guitar, originally released in 1962 by the Jennings company. It is unique for its distinctive, pentagonal shape, which became part of the iconic representation of the British Invasion. Originally made in England, manufacturing was later relocated to Italy.
