Ibanez Acoustic Guitars
Ibanez Acoustic guitar is made by the Ibanez Company, which is headquartered in Nagoya, Japan. Although the company has roots in the Hoshino Gakki Company begun in 1908, the modern era of Ibanez guitars began in 1957. The 1950s and 1960s catalogs show some wild looking designs. In the 1970s, Ibanez acoustic guitar makers generally copied American guitar designs by Gibson, Fender, Dan Armstrong, and Rickenbacker. This resulted in a lawsuit period after which Ibanez produced its own designs.
The late 1980s and 1990s were important in the rise of Ibanez electric guitars and acoustic guitars. Frank Zappa’s former guitarist Steve Vai introduced the Ibanez JEM and Universe models after the earlier successes of the Roadstar and Iceman models. Gakki also had semi acoustic guitars with nylon and steel strings. Most Ibanez acoustic were made in a factory in Japan until the late 1980s. From then on, Ibanez guitars have also been made in other Asian countries.