Takamine Guitars, the renowned Japan-based acoustic instrument manufacturer, has reached the milestone of its 60th anniversary. While the company’s origins stretch back to 1959 as a small family-run guitar workshop in central Japan, it was in 1962 that the small company was renamed as Takamine Gakki Ltd., taking its name from the mountain that towered majestically over the facility.
By 1968, Takamine had 60 employees, and became regarded as a respected builder of classical guitars and mandolins. That year, luthier Mass Hirade joined the company and introduced a series of innovative design and manufacturing methods that allowed Takamine to produce better instruments than ever. He was named president of the company in 1975, and spearheaded the efforts to turn Takamine into a leading global acoustic guitar brand. Perhaps the most important innovation was the under-saddle Palathetic pickup, which revolutionized the entire world of amplified acoustic guitars. In 1979, Takamine debuted its first acoustic-electric model, the PT-007S, allowing musicians to easily take acoustic guitars from the songwriting room to the recording studio to the live stage.
Other important Takamine innovations have included the split-saddle bridge, allowing for better intonation on acoustic guitars. In 1989, the company introduced interchangeable preamps that let musicians easily improve the sound quality of their guitars. 1994 saw Takamine adopt lasers for inlay work that resulted in remarkably intricate yet precise designs. The 1990s also saw Takamine expend into factory-built G Series instruments that allowed a wider range of musicians to get into the great sound and stage-ready performance of Takamine than ever before.
Today, Takamine is regarded as one of the world’s leading acoustic guitar brands, with distribution in nearly every country on the planet, and their instruments are used by leading artists in ever genre of music. In the USA, Takamine is distributed by the ESP Guitar Company. More information on Takamine and its guitars is available at www.esptakamine.com.
