Ibanez: a brief history
Ibanez’s obsessive attention to detail has made the company a global guitar and bass powerhouse, but it didn’t happen overnight. Ibanez began its life in 1908 as the Hoshino Gakki company in Nagoya, Japan. However, the company didn’t get into the guitar business until 1929, when it started importing Salvador Ibanez guitars from Spain. In 1935, Hoshino Gakki began building Spanish acoustic guitars under the “Ibanez Salvador” name, which was later shortened to Ibanez. Although Ibanez started manufacturing electric guitars in 1957, the company was relatively unknown in the West until the 1960s, when it started producing guitars based on American designs. By the late 1970s, Ibanez began manufacturing the innovative, original guitar and bass designs that the company is now known for. The company is also famous for its effect pedals, most notably the Tube Screamer.