One thing I learned from this project is that some dudes are holding on to their information for various odd reasons and really don’t want to give it up. These three guys are just so great for sharing what they know. Scott Freilich of Top Shelf Music filled in some missing pieces too. The great Jimmy Noise worked on this list and added a ton of information, and Nate DeMont of DeMont Guitars gave up just about everything he had for this project. Many thanks need to go out to the main contributors to this list besides yours truly.
Of course it’s a seemingly impossible task, so I did/do need help. So, I figured I’d give it a shot! I’m going to try to list every damn brand name that was ever placed on the headstock of a 1960s Japanese guitar!! A lot of this information is already out there floating around like tiny puzzle pieces, and all I’m trying to do is collect it in one place. At the end of his list he wrote that it was time to start tracking all the names down but in the almost 20 years that have followed, I haven’t seen anyone else try. What he did was compile a list of brand names and distributors/importers where known. Way back in the 1995 the early legend of guitar research, Michael Wright, published a short list like this in his book Guitar Stories Volume One. They had a zero fret and a screw adjustable bridge modeled after the Gibson Heritage Jumbo bridge of that period.OK, I think it’s time for a list like this. The A24 is a 12 string acoustic guitar, with a solid –but relatively thin– spruce top, rosewood sides and back and a mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard. One of the former can be seen in this circa 1975 Penco Model A-15-JD. Many were quite whimsical and some very innovative. In fact, it was a lawsuit filed by Norlin (Gibson) against Elger (Ibanez) over trademark infringement (headstock copying) in Philadelphia in the summer of 1977 that gave us the now-ubiquitous term “lawsuit guitar.” But when you look a little closer, Japanese guitars from this period were about way more than copying. Indeed, it was with these “copies” that many Japanese manufacturers honed their chops and became world-class guitar makers. The 1970s is often called “the Copy Era” for the dominating presence and spectacular success of Japanese “copies” of popular American guitars, most notably of the Gibson Les Paul.
See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. This item may be a floor model or an item that has been returned to the seller after a period of use. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. Both electric copies such as SGs and American style acoustic guitars were made in 1974-1978 made by Hoshino.Īn item that has been previously used. The brand was for Philadelphia Music Co Limerick Pennsylvania USA. Penco guitars were made in Japan in the same factory as Ibanez (Hoshino). The guitar is beautiful and awesome sounding. This Penco 12-sting Vintage Guitar - made in Japan and sold exclusively by Penco in Pennsylvania.