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Hoshino Gakki began manufacturing drums in 1965 under the name “Star Drums”. By 1979, Hoshino decided to make a concerted effort to make high-quality drums and hardware and start marketing its drums under the Tama brand. Tama was the name of the owner’s wife, and means “jewel” in Japanese. “Star” continues to be used in the names of Tama’s drum models to this day. Tama Drums is a brand of drums and hardware manufactured and marketed by the Japanese musical instrument company, Hoshino Gakki. Tama’s research and development of products, along with production of its professional drums, is done in Seto, Japan, while its hardware and more affordable drums are manufactured in Guangzhou, China Please follow this LINK for more information...
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A Short History Of A Company With A Long History If you wanted a total history of Ibanez you´d have go back to 1908 when a company named Hoshino began as a sheet music store and later music products distributor in Nagoya Japan. If you wanted a little less completeness than that you´d go back about forty-five when Hoshino began distributing a Spanish guitar named Ibanez. Or perhaps you´d simply go to the Mid 60´s when Hoshino, who by that time had purchased the rights to the Ibanez name, began shipping incredibly funky looking guitars to the United States, many of which were actually sold in department stores. But for most of us, Ibanez pretty much begins almost 30 years ago, when Hoshino opened an office near Philadelphia, PA for more efficiently distributing Ibanez guitars to the United States. Most of those guitars were Ibanez´ famous high quality (but very inexpensive) copies of just about everything–you name it, we probably made a version of it. At that time many American instruments were going through an unfortunate period of increasing prices with decreasing quality, and these copies hit a ready market. But the people with Ibanez weren´t content with just copying and Ibanez began making their own designs: the solid body Artists (played by Bob Weir of the Dead) the Iceman (first made famous by Paul Stanley of KISS and the George Benson guitars, the first jazz boxes designed for higher volume stage playing. Many of these “first” Ibanez guitars continue to increase in value and a good number are now highly prized collector´s items. By 1976, the Ibanez copy era officially came to an end when one of the major American guitar manufacturers–no longer amused by the copiers–successfully sued the highest profile copier, Ibanez. But by that time it didn´t matter–Ibanez had already left the copies behind and was fast becoming an innovative guitar company in its own right. By the mid-80´s with the interest in instrumental rock guitar on the rise, Ibanez collaborated with players such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert and brought out the JEM, JS, RG and S models. Today, present day versions such as these models still considered the standard in hard rock and instrumental rock guitars. As well known for its jazz guitars as it is for rock, Ibanez has an impressive line of jazz boxes including the aforementioned George Benson models, two Pat Metheny models, and most recently, the new John Scofield signature semi-acoustic. One final note…Ibanez is also one of the top selling bass companies in the world (in many places the top selling bass). Ibanez first drew attention in the 70´s and 80´s with its neck-thru Musician basses with active electronics. Today, Ibanez offers the huge number of 4, 5, and 6 basses in the Soundgear as well as the basses of the future, the luthite-bodied Ergodynes. Please...
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Pioneering new frontiers in bass development is nothing new for Ibanez.For more than 40 years, Ibanez has pioneered new frontiers in bass development, pushing the boundaries of conventional designs for bass players of all styles and an aptitude for new ways of expressing themselves. This spirit of exploration has led to some of the most successful and popular production basses of all time. It is this same drive to bring new and relevant ideas to the forefront that serves as the basis for an ongoing exploratory project, appropriately dubbed the Ibanez Bass Workshop. The impetus behind each one of these unique instruments comes from a personal desire by one or more members of the Ibanez bass development group to satisfy the particular needs of a very particular player. These inventions may not be for everyone, but for those who yearn to explore new sonic vistas through the medium of bass: The Ibanez Bass Workshop project may give you just what you’re looking for. Sliding into the Future of Fretless BassOver 25 years ago, the SR established Ibanez as the leader in innovative bass building. Throughout the years, we’ve made fretless versions of this classic for a limited number of Ibanez artists. Now, The Ibanez Bass Workshop makes this much sought after option available to SR players everywhere with the introduction of the SR Portamento. The SR Portamento offers a Rosewood fingerboard that extends the length of the standard SR neck to a hefty 30-fret length. Several years in the making, the SR Portamento’s new AeroSilk piezo system delivers an uncanny touch of hollow-bodied openness, and realizes the Upright Double Bass sound to blend into the mix that both inspires and redefines the role of the solid body bass. more …… Recreating the 6-String BassThroughout the years, we’ve attentively observed as trends have developed and dictated the demand for different types of instruments to fulfill the creative visions of artists. Sometimes those visions can take us back to instruments of an earlier era. The SR Crossover is such an instrument. Shorter scale 6-string basses were popular in the late 60’s, a zenith of experimentation and creativity. It is in that same spirit that Ibanez has incorporated our own elements of style and innovation to create the SR Crossover 6-string bass. more …. The key to sustain is integrityIt’s difficult to imagine increasing the amount of sustain the Ibanez BTB has to offer, but with the added mass and stability afforded by this unique single cutaway reworking, the BTB Terra Firma gives you just that. Capitalizing on the shortened distance from the body to headstock, string vibration is optimized beyond anything we’ve ever achieved...
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