Vintage Ibanez Guitars
Interested in learning more about vintage Ibanez guitars? If so, there is actually a whole lot to learn. These guitars are actually from Japan and the brand was owned by Hoshino Gakki. This company actually was one of the very first in the instrument business to be able to get a real hold in the market in Europe and in the United States.
The company of Hoshino Gakki was first started back in 1908. They were part of a bookstore company. However, the vintage Ibanez guitars brand actually only goes back to 1929. This was when Gakki began to bring in special guitars from the country of Spain. These guitars were no long available after the Spanish Civil War ended up destroying the workshop where they were made. When this happened, Gakki purchased the Ibanez Salvador brand name and he began to make these guitars in 1935. He started out using the full name, but later would just use Ibanez as the brand name for these guitars.
During the late 50s and the early 60s, the catalogues of these vintage Ibanez guitars show some very interesting designs. They were on the wild side. Most of the guitar makers in Japan were then copying designs that were found in Europe, and some of the later designs in the ‘60s were pretty close to the EKO and Hagstrom designs of guitars. The guitar factories that were eventually used to manufacture these guitars were the FujiGen and Teisco factories, although most were made at the FujiGen factory.
Later the guitar makers in the ‘70s would begin to start making their guitars a lot like some of the American designs in guitars. There were new models of vintage Ibanez guitars that were made that started to look like Rickenbacker, Fender, and Gibson guitars, and there was a lawsuit during this time period for the company. However, after this time period, the company began to produce designs that were all their own.
Gakki began to have a relationship with Steve Vai, who was a former guitarist with Frank Zappa, and this resulted in a new type of guitar. Out came the Universe and the JEM models as a result of this relationship. The superstrat market was then entered with the RG guitar series, which were really just a new version of the JEM models that were much lower in cost.
Through the years this company has continued to produce guitars. Some of the older vintage Ibanez guitars are really worth some money and are sought after by many collectors. One of the best places that you can find and purchase these guitars is on the web, where you can find some of the best deals available.