The saxophone is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments. Saxophone players are called saxophonists.
Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in Smyrna, 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.
Peavey Electronics Corporation is an American company which designs, develops, manufactures and markets professional audio equipment. It is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world, and is headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi.
The Selmer guitar — often called a Selmer-Maccaferri or just Maccaferri by English speakers, as early British advertising stressed the designer rather than manufacturer — is an unusual acoustic guitar best known as the favored instrument of Django Reinhardt. Selmer, a French manufacturer, produced the instrument from 1932 to about 1952.
C. G. Conn Ltd., sometimes called Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, is a former American manufacturer of musical instruments incorporated in 1915. It bought the production facilities owned by Charles Gerard Conn, a major figure in early manufacture of brasswinds and saxophones in the USA. Its early business was based primarily on brass instruments, which were manufactured in Elkhart, Indiana. During the 1950s the bulk of its sales revenue shifted to electric organs. In 1969 the company was sold in bankruptcy to the Crowell-Collier-MacMillan publishing company. Conn was divested of its Elkhart production facilities in 1970, leaving remaining production in satellite facilities and contractor sources.
Hagström is a musical instrument manufacturer in Älvdalen, Dalecarlia, Sweden. Their original products were accordions that they initially imported from Germany and then Italy before opening their own facility in 1932. During the late 1950s, the company started making electric guitars and later amplifiers. The early guitars were heavily influenced by the accordion production and had a special look and feel. Hagström were the first company to mass-produce 8 string bass guitars as well as the first to build a guitar/synthesizer hybrid. The company ceased production in 1983. In 2004 the brand was resurrected and is now in production in China. In 2008 Hagström expanded their line of products and launched their own line of basses including a re-issue of their famous Hagström H8, an 8 string bass.
Conn-Selmer, Inc. is an American manufacturer of musical instruments for concert bands, marching bands and orchestras. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments and was formed in 2003 by combining the Steinway properties, The Selmer Company and United Musical Instruments.
Silvertone is a brand created and promoted by Sears for its line of consumer electronics and musical instruments from 1916 to 1972. The rights to the Silvertone brand were purchased by South Korean corporation Samick Music in 2001. Samick made new musical instruments under the Silvertone brand and relaunched some historic models. In 2020, RBI Music was appointed the exclusive worldwide distributor of the Silvertone brand.
Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers.
Fender amplifiers are a series of electric instrument amplifiers produced by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The first guitar amplifiers attributed to Leo Fender were manufactured by the K&F Manufacturing Corporation (K&F) between 1945 and 1946. Later, Fender began building its own line of electric guitars. Fender amplifiers would become favorite of many famous guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, also known in these cases for playing Fender guitars.
The Buescher Band Instrument Company was a manufacturer of musical instruments in Elkhart, Indiana, from 1894 to 1963. The company was acquired by the H&A Selmer Company in 1963. Selmer retired the Buescher brand in 1983.
Leblanc, Inc. was a musical instruments manufacturing company based in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The company was a woodwind instrument manufacturer known mainly for its clarinets. In 2004 the firm was sold to Conn-Selmer, a division of Steinway Musical Instruments. As a result, Leblanc ceased to exist as an independent operation, becoming a brand.
Matsumoku Industrial was a Japanese manufacturing company based in Matsumoto, Nagano, between 1951 and 1987. Established in 1951 as a woodworking and cabinetry firm, Matsumoku is remembered as a manufacturer of guitars and bass guitars, including some Epiphone and Aria guitars.
Greco is a Japanese guitar brand owned by the Kanda Shokai Corporation (in Japanese) 神田商会, a musical instrument wholesaler mostly known for being part of Fender Japan. Instruments manufactured with the name "Greco" are electric and acoustic guitars.
The Selmer Mark VI is a saxophone produced from 1954 to 1981. Production shifted to the Mark VII for the tenor and alto in the mid-1970s, and to the Super Action 80 for the soprano and baritone saxophones in 1981. The sopranino saw limited production until about 1985.
Vito is a brand name of Leblanc, started in 1951.
The Lowrey organ is an electronic organ named after its developer, Frederick C. Lowrey (1871–1955), a Chicago-based industrialist and entrepreneur. Lowrey's first commercially successful full-sized electronic organ, the Model S Spinet or Berkshire, came to market in 1955, the year of his death. Lowrey had earlier developed an attachment for a piano, adding electronic organ stops on 60 notes while keeping the piano functionality, called the Organo, first marketed in 1949 as a very successful competitor to the Hammond Solovox.
King Musical Instruments is a former musical instrument manufacturing company located in Cleveland, Ohio, that used the trade name King for its instruments. In 1965 the company was acquired by the Seeburg Corporation of Eastlake, Ohio, and the name changed to "King Musical Instruments".
Chicago Musical Instruments Co. (CMI), later known as Norlin Music, was a manufacturer and distributor of musical instruments, accessories, and equipment, which at times had controlling interests in Gibson Guitars, Standel, Lowrey, F. E. Olds & Son, William Lewis & Son Co., Krauth & Beninghoften, L.D. Heater Music Company, Epiphone Guitars, Selmer UK, Moog, and other musical instrument brands. In the mid-1970s, the company was the largest manufacturer of musical instruments in the United States.
Ian Date is an Australian acoustic and electric guitarist most associated with the Gypsy jazz and bebop genres. He achieved success in the 1980s in the band Sweet Atmosphere co-led with Australian violinist George Washingmachine, playing repertoire of the 1930s and 1940s. He also plays banjo, trumpet. Jazz Ramble states, "(Ian) has played all over the world, has made numerous television, radio, festival and concert performances, and is regarded as one of Australia's great guitar players."
