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A Brief History of Epiphone Guitars

Author: William McRea

When thinking about the history of Epiphone, one must start in Greece where Anastasios Stathopoulos made lioutos (a Greek stringed instrument), mandolins, fiddles, and lutes. The family moved to New York, and his son, Epi Stathopoulos inherited the company in 1915.

The company name changed from the House of Stathopoulos to Epiphone, a combination of his name and the Greek word for sound. The change was made official in 1928. It was during this time that the company was active in making banjos, and they even bought out a banjo company in Long Island. After the change was approved, the company became the Epiphone Banjo Co.

Epiphones guitars were launched in 1931. This was a full line of what are known as archtop guitars, a style that is popular with jazz and blues musicians. They quickly became one of the top guitar produces with Gibson being one of their biggest rivals. Notable Epiphone players of that time include Tony Mottola with the George Hall band and two band members of Benny Goodman.

Epi unfortunately died of leukemia and left the company to Orphie, who before his death was the second in command. His other brother, Frixo, became the Vice President. The two brothers later have a feud and Frixo sells his stock. After that, company had some trouble and eventually stopped producing a lot of instruments.

In 1957, Chicago Musical Instrument purchased Epiphone and made them a division of Gibson. Epiphone now still maintains their own line of guitars and the Gibson and Epiphone labels remain separate.

Current Epiphone models include a few Gibson copies (Epiphones version of the Flying-V and Les Paul are a few examples), and a few original Epiphone lines. The original guitars include all the versions of the Casino, Zephyr, and Sheraton, the Wildkat, the Broadway, and the Emporer.

Epiphone has had some famous endorsees. Both George Harrison and John Lennon played Epiphone Casinos. Lennon is famous for his personal modifications to the Casino. Other artists include Bob Marley, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Lars Frederickson or Rancid, and Chad of Nickelback. For a complete list of artists, visit the Epiphone website . The list is quite extensive.

Here are what some uses have to say about Epiphone guitars (source Harmony Central):

About the Epiphone G-400 Custom

Action was really good. Finish was ok. Definately looks different than the rest of the pack. Gold hardware is gorgeous. The custom logo shined in the stage lights. I had to have it and I had fun with it for a few years.

This guitar is solid. Never goes out of tune. Hardware will dull a bit over the years. Strap buttons are solid. Careful with the neck dive on stage. Very top heavy.

About the Epiphone Flying Vee-Wee

I absolutely love this guitar!!! The VeeWee is the perfect shape for lap you can rest your hand on the upper arm of the V, or put it your hand in the point of the V to pick right near the bridge. The controls and cord jack are in the perfect position for lap style as well. Since it is so small and inexpensive, I carry it with me everywhere. I would not dream of bringing my Les Paul into the office, but this VeeWee is perfect for break time noodling. As I mentioned, the sound is great. I now own 5 guitars, and my lap-steel PeeVee wins the Most Fun award hands down!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/a-brief-history-of-epiphone-guitars-54173.html

About the Author
Guitar Warehouse is your place to Buy Guitar and other musical gear. We also offer a wide range of
free guitar lessons and tips.

A Brief History of Yamaha Guitars

Author: William McRea

In general, the Yamaha Corporation manufactures a wide variety of products. Among these include Yamaha line of acoustic guitars. They have a lot of experience and have been building instruments since the late 1800s. Today, people know Yamaha as a Japanese company that is known for its products, including their instruments and acoustic guitars.

In 1887, the Yamaha Corporation began making instruments. In this case, it was an organ. The company, however, got started in 1897. It was called the Nippon Gakki Corporation with a man named Tarakusu became the president. He was the individual who make the organ in 1897.

So, the organ was essentially their first instrument. In 1900, they expanded their instrument line to the piano. They even started making furniture in 1903. But, they managed to receive a good amount of recognition at the Worlds Fair in St. Louis when both the piano and the organ one an honorary prize.

The dabbled in creating other products, such as the harmonica and phonographs. They even started designing acoustics for concert halls. Finally, in 1942, they debuted their first acoustic guitar. By then, the company had been in business for almost fifty years, so they were already known for their instruments and musical products.

Yamahas products line has since expanded. At one point, they even had an archery products business and started manufacturing motorcycles. Many people may think that because Yamaha has interests in a wide range of things, they do not necessarily do any of them well. That simply is not true. Yamaha acoustic guitars are high quality and stand up to some of the best acoustic guitars in the world.

There guitar models include the Yamaha 12 String model, the Yamaha F-310, the Yamaha FG 325, the Yamaha CJ 12, the Yamaha S70A, the Yamaha CPX8, and the Yamaha 20. However, there are a lot of acoustic guitar styles available so you would have to visit your favorite music store or the Yamaha website to learn about all of them.

There are also a lot of artists who love and play Yamaha acoustic guitars. These include Peter Hayes, Amy Abdou, Clayton Gibb, Peter Hayes, Chris Henderson, Michael Herring, David Lvita, Steve Wilkinson, Take 6, and Mark Oakley. For more information on the artists visit at yamaha.com.

Here are some reviews written by satisfied Yamaha Acoustic Guitar uses:

About the Yamaha Dynamic Guitar

This guitar is great, it has great sound, and is probably one of the best looking guitars ever, it is perfect for just sitting down and playing anything genre of music you like. Another thing I liked about this guitar is that it always stays in tune.

About the Yamaha CJ 12

The build quality is superb- you would think that the guitar was more expensive as it really is beautifully made. Tonally, it is quite bright for a jumbo but sounds brilliant. I recorded a demo with it and recorded it sounds great- a real Neil Young acoustic tone! Obviously the access to the higher frets is problematic, but I believe that if you are looking at a guitar like this then you are not getting to play above the 12th fret much anyway! Other than that, the string spacing is superb and the neck is much more reminiscent of an electric guitar than an acoustic-it reminds me of the neck on a Les Paul.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/a-brief-history-of-yamaha-guitars-55159.html

About the Author
Guitar Warehouse is your place to Buy Guitar and other musical gear. We also offer a wide range of
Yamaha Guitars and Free Guitar Lessons.

A Brief History of ESP Guitars

Author: William McRea

ESP, short for Electric Sound Products, started as a shop in Japan by Hisatake Shibuya in 1975. At first they just sold replacement parts for the guitar but in 1976 they started making guitars. These products were only found in Japan until the 80s when the replacement parts found their way to the U.S.

The company was pretty much obscure in the United States until 1983 when these replacement parts line was introduced. Then in 84 and 85 ESP began creating custom guitars for certain artists such as Bruce Kulick of KISS, Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones, and Vernon Reid of Living Color. In 1986 George Lynch discovered the shop in Japan while searching for a replacement guitar part. The end result of this encounter was his Kamikaze model. The Kamikaze was ESPs first signature model.

Over the years, the company has evolved. They have gone from an exclusive producer of replacements parts for the guitar to a high quality electric guitar manufacturer. In the early 90s the company faced some changes to their United States division. At the same time that they discontinued the replacement parts for the U.S., they started expanding their guitar line. Also, ESP moved their headquarters a few times before settling on their Los Angeles, CA location in 1993.

Now, ESP is a fast growing company in the guitar industry. Their current line of guitars boasts many celebrity endorsees. These include Lynchs Kamikaze and James Hetfields Truckster model, created in honor of the companys 30th Anniversary. Other models include the AX series, the Standard Series, the Mirage Series, the Xtone Series, and the Signature Series.

ESP boasts a really long list of artists who play their guitars. In fact, the nature of ESPs popularity is tied into the fact that many renowned artists love their guitars. These artists include James Hetfield and Kirk Hammet or Metallica, Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, Jeff Hannemen and Tom Arraya of Slayer, and Richard z Kruspe of Rammstein. For more information on the artists, visit their website.

It isnt just famous artists who love the guitars. ESP guitars receive great reception from guitar players of all ages. Heres what one person has to say about ESP guitars (Source Harmony Central):

Concerning the ESP B-154

The sound is just awesome. I play hard rock and metal and have played for 5 years now. I am just happy with this. I use a Behringer V-Amp Pro Pre-amp, with a Behringer BX4500H amp and a 1500 Watt slave amplifier.
It is impressively noiseless!!! It has a bright sound, but it depends on what EQ settings i am using. With setting it correct, you can get a “thick” sound like the one in the Metallica track Enter Sandman.

The sound generally is very good. Definitely worth all money!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/a-brief-history-of-esp-guitars-54175.html

About the Author
Guitar Warehouse is your place to Buy Guitar and other musical gear. We also offer a wide range of ESP Guitars and offer Free Guitar Lessons.

A Brief History of Ibanez Acoustic Guitars

Author: William McRea

Ibanez electric guitars have received quite a following, but a lot of people do not realize that their acoustic line is also well made and sounds great. The company started in 1900 under a different name by Hoshino Gaki in Japan. Though the company began at the turn of the 20th century, they did not start making guitars until 1935.

In general, the company was relatively unknown in the United States until the 60s. Hoshino Gakki partnered with Harry Rosenbloom, an American music shop owner in Pennsylvania. They decided that the name, the Hoshino Gaki Company, did not have what it took to signify success in the West. So, together, they came up with Ibanez, thus making the guitars more marketable based on the name alone.

Some of their early guitars included styles that were modeled after the popular guitars put out by large companies like Gibson and Fender. They were able to find people to use their instruments by offering nearly exact replicas of these brands for inexpensive prices. This helped them get their name out there, but it was not their permanent solution to success.

They no longer model their guitars after the success of others. They currently have their own line of both acoustic and electric guitars and the Ibanez brand is endorsed by some pretty accomplished players. Some of these players even have their own signature models. For example, Steve Vai is a very accomplished solo player and he has his own line through Ibanez which also includes an acoustic model.

Ibanez has a full line of acoustic guitars. These include the acoustic in the Steve Vai signature series, the AE, the Talman, the masa the GA, and the DT. For more information on the acoustic guitar line, visit the website at ibanez.com.

There are also a lot of musicians who love Ibanez guitars in general, and several actively endorse the brand. These include Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Andy Timmons, who are all accomplished solo players. Other guitarists include Terry Balsamo, Adam Blackstone, and Mike DeWolf. For more information on the artists visit the website.

Here is what some people have to say about their Ibanez Acoustic guitars:

About the Ibanez DT 10

Beautiful style and sound!. Great tone quality, nice finish. I started playing the guitar a little over a year ago. I was lucky to get a good deal on my Ibanez, since I did not even know where to begin. I walked into our local music store, stood at the counter, and said, I want to buy a guitar.

About the Ibanez AW100
This is a good guitar with a great sound. It holds up to the Ibanez reputation with a nice feel and an even better sound. It is a very sturdy guitar that can take a lot of abuse even for an acoustic. It has a nice bright sound and a smooth thin neck.

Another for the Ibanzes AW100

Great sound and solid top for this price is exceptional. Great starter guitar. I have played the guitar for about 12 years no so recently I have been in the market, or at least looking and drooling over, a higher end guitar. My recent research has lead me to be quite up to date on several different guitar makers and the individual.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/a-brief-history-of-ibanez-acoustic-guitars-55155.html

About the Author
Guitar Warehouse is your place to Buy Guitar and other musical gear. We also offer a wide range of
Ibanez Acoustic Guitars and Free Guitar Lessons.