Takamine guitars

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Takamine Co., Ltd.
Native name
 Takamine Gakki Seisakusho
Private
Industry Musical instruments
Founded 1962; 62 years ago (1962)
Headquarters Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Mass Hirade
Products
Website takamine.com
EG-361SC model
1978 F-340S model

Takamine Co., Ltd. (株式会社 高峰楽器製作所 Kabushiki-gaisha Takamine Gakki Seisakusho?) is a Japanese guitar manufacturer based in Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan. Takamine is known for its steel-string acoustic guitars.

The company was founded in May 1962; in 1978 they were one of the first companies to introduce acoustic-electric models, where they pioneered the design of the preamplifier-equalizer component.

Although English speakers sometimes incorrectly pronounce the company name as /ˈtækəmaɪn/ ("ta - ka - mine"), the correct pronunciation, as in the original Japanese, is /tɑːkɑːˈmiːneɪ/ ("ta - ka - mee - nay").[1] The name was taken from Mount Takamine located in Nakatsugawa.

Company history

While known primarily for their acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars, Takamine produced a limited run of very high quality solid body electric guitars in the early 1980s.[2] These are the GX100 (Gibson Explorer body style), GX200 (proprietary type body style similar to a Stratocaster, stop tailpiece bridge), GX200-T or TB, (same as GX200 only with a tremolo bridge), GZ300 (proprietary design), and GZ340 (proprietary design). The GX200 and GZ340 contain factory DiMarzio made pickups.[3]

The Takamine EG523SC came with a clear finish Spruce top and flame maple back and sides. On top is a TK-40 pickup with a tuner and equalizer powered by a 9V battery.[citation needed]

In the early 1980s, Martin Guitars issued a letter asserting that the Takamine F-340, as well as Takamine's acoustic guitars in general, included a logo design that was allegedly nearly identical to that of the Martin Models.[citation needed] According to Chris F. Martin IV, CEO of CF Martin and Company, in a speech given to the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum members on 8 August 2005, no lawsuit was ever actually filed, and Takamine did change the appearance of their guitar logo.[citation needed]

Every year since 1987, Takamine has presented a Limited Edition Guitar model, which has been produced in very limited quantities up to a few hundred guitars for worldwide distribution. These guitars have come with the latest pickup/preamplifier combination available and artful inlays, often with motifs focusing on nature or astronomical phenomena.[4]

Since March 2015, Takamine's US-American distributor has been ESP Guitars.[5]

Series

  • G Series
  • Legacy Series
  • Pro Series 1–7
  • Signature Series

References

  1. ↑ "Re: How do you pronounce Takamine?" "Asked a Japanese relative today...She told me that Takamine is pronounced Tak-a-Mean-ay in Japan. It is pronounced 'flat' with no extra emphasis on any syllable. Since she grew up in the area I'll go with her version." Retrieved on 18 October 2015 from http://www.takamineforum.com/forum3/viewtopic.php?p=56760&sid=ebdc74d5c342b096bf547434c85bb1aa.
  2. ↑ Retrieved from http://i.ebayimg.com/t/TAKAMINE-GX100-GX200-ELECTRIC-GUITARS-1984-AD-8X11-FRAMEABLE-ADVERTISEMENT-/00/s/MTA2M1g4MzE=/z/OgMAAMXQAx9RPTFB/$T2eC16ZHJIkE9qU3k63wBRPTFBnrtw~~60_57.JPG.
  3. ↑ Retrieved from http://www.guitarsite.com/discussion/messages/23003.shtml.
  4. ↑ Book on Limited Editions. Retrieved from http://www.sttec.com/.
  5. ↑ ESP (24 February 2015). ESP AND TAKAMINE ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP IN THE USA. The ESP Guitar Company, 24 February 2015. Retrieved from http://www.espguitars.com/articles/1994042-esp-and-takamine-announce-partnership-in-the-usa.

External links

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