Hofner Club 60

Hofner Club 60 electric guitar

THe Hofner Club 60 was introduced in 1958 and followed the Club 40 & 50 - but was much fancier than those models. The Club 60 had pearl inlays, ebony fingerboard, bound headstock and flamed woods. The body was semi-acoustic with a fully vaulted back. Available in Blonde (model 425) or Brunette (model 442) the Club 60 was fitted with Hofner's double flick action control console and two Hofner super response double pole pickups.

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Heartland

Heartland is a house brand of Muzikkon - an Irish musical instrument distributor. The Heartland brand is used for traditional folk instruments from around the world.

Atlas

Atlas is a brand name for traditional folk instruments from around the world, distributed in the UK by Gremlin Music. The range includes stringed instruments, wind instruments and percussion.

ZON VB SERIES

The design of Zon VB4 bass started out as a headless prototype made for Michael Manring in 1993, who named this bass "Vinny" after the My Cousin Vinny film. Although Zon were initially reluctant to release a production headless bass, this original “Vinny” design eventually morphed into the headless line of Zon basses called the VB series, introduced around 2004. Designed for portability and ease of travel, the headless design and small body of VB basses means they will fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane or behind the seat of a tour bus.

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DALLAS

Dallas was a UK musical instrument manufacturing and distribution company, founded by John E. Dallas. Dallas began making banjos in 1873, eventually moving to premises at 415 Strand. In 1905-1906 Dallas' three sons were given directorships and the firm's title changed to John E. Dallas and Sons.

By the late 1920s, Dallas instruments were being mass produced under the brand name "Jedson." derived from Dallas' initials, "J.E.D", and "Sons". When John Dallas died in 1921 the form became a private limited company

In 1926 The firm moved to larger premises, at 6-10 Betterton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2, and became a wholesale importer and distributer of musical instruments. They moved again to Dallas moved to Ridgmount Street in 1937 (concinding with the introduction of the Ridgmount brand), before eventuallu settling in Clifton Street, EC2.

Violinda

Violinda violins were designed by John Hullah Brown (born 1875) of Richmond, England.  John Hullah Brown was a music teacher who created the Violinda in the 1930s as a way of teaching the violin in large classes of children. Hullah Brown had been dissapointed in the failure of the Maidstone System of group violin tution and came up with his own national vision for music education - which he published in his 1938 book Instrumental Music in Schools. He set out his vision for group violin lessons in this book - " the aim of violin classes and school orchestras is not directed to instrumental specialisation, but to allowing every child to share the delights of instrumental ensemble up to the point of his or her musical capacity, with specialization again reserved for the final stages." The Violinda's classroom role clearly influenced its design which was robust, affordable, easy to use and quiet .

Rein (Thomas)

Thomas Rein started making steel stringed guitars in the early 1970s and apprenticed with Edward F. Rose in Lexington, Kentucky. He founded Thomas Rein guitars in 1975 and by 1980s was also building lutes, theorboes, and gambas. After a moving to the Washington DC area in 1986, he decided to concentrate solely on the classical guitar. Rein's classical guitars have been played throughout the world in concerts and on recordings. In 2007, he came full circle and started building steel string guitars again while continuing to build classical guitars.

Source: Thomas Rein website (19 June 2019)

YAMAHA RBX 200 (200F)

Yamaha RBX 200 bass guitar

The Yamaha RBX-200 bass was made from the late 1980s to early 1990s. It was also available fretless as the RBX-200F model. Very similar to the RBX-300 model - the only difference was a gloss finish on the neck and the low mass bridge.

Source: Yamaha catalog 1988

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Stradi (Symphony Guitar Design)

Stradi is the brand name of Marek & Agnieszka Dąbek. Marek is Polish luthier, photographer and designer who founded the Stradi brand in 2002 to develop a range of electric upright basses, electric violins and bass guitars. Every instrument is hand made by Marek and Agnieszka and they build fewer than 20 instruments per year. The Dąbek's company is called Symphony Guitar Design.

Source: Stradi website (7 June 2019)

Soultool

Egon Rauscher has been hand-building electric guitars since the late 1990s under the brand name Soultool. Soultool is based in Buttikon, Switzerland. Initially Rauscher offered two models based on the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster, but circa 2019 Soultool's designs are original, beautifully made using certified hardwoods and the best hardware and electronics.

Source: Soultool Customized Guitars website (7 June 2019)

Skytop

Skytop guitars and ukuleles are hand made in New Paltz, New York by Eric Weigeshoff. Skytop guitars do not have a traditional sound hole, instead they have a soundport in the side which directs the sound up towards the player, while still maintaining good forward projection.

Source: Skytop Guitars website (6 June 2019)

Shabat

Avishay (Avi) Shabat graduated from the Algranati Guitar Making School in Israel before moving to Los Angeles to apprentice for guitar repair shops and work for a boutique guitar company. Avi spent the next four years building handmade instruments, and founded a company of his own, Guitar Groomer, where he restored and repaired guitars and basses from his home workshop. In 2012, Avi expanded his repair business and began designing and building his own instruments, launching a new line of handmade electric guitars and basses—Shabat Guitars.

Source: Shabat Guitars website (6 June 2019)

Sankey

Luthier Michael Sankey of Sankey Guitars has been making and repairing guitars since the mid 1990s. He initially specialised in archtops but now also makes outstanding and original custom electric guitars.

Source: Sankey Guitars website (5 June 2019)

Scott Walker

Scott Walker studied at the Roberto Venn school of lutherie before working at the Santa Cruz Guitar Company alongside luthier Richard Hoover, where he hand carved necks. Custom neck carving became his specialty but he took on other responsibilities as the Shop Foreman including: guitar finishing with Nitrocellulose, wood management and tool maintenance.  During this time he began developing a new electric guitar design and five years later in 2005 he opened his own workshop and offered his guitars to the public. Walker makes electric guitars, lap steel guitars and a 5-string electric mandolin model.

Source: Scott Walker Guitars website (5 June 2019)

Bird

Bird Amplifiers were made from the late 1950s until the mid 1960s by Sydney S. Bird and Sons of Poole, Dorset. Sydney Bird's company started out in the 1930s in Enfield making toys and electronics. They relocated to a larger factory Poole in 1953 and diversified into other products including electronic organs and in the late 1950s they added guitar amplifiers to their product line. The company stopped making amplifiers by 1966 in the face of strong competition from other British amplifier companies of the era.

This brand is not related to "Bird Brothers" amplifiers - these amplifiers were distributed in the 1970s and 1980s by brothers Peter and Arthur Bird who operated some music shops around Manchester, UK.

Source: Tim Fletcher and Steve Russell (4 June 2019)

Hamstead

Hamstead Soundworks was founded by Peter Hamstead an electronics engineer with a design and development background in avionics and radar. Peter Hamstead got started in music electronics when Jim Bird asked him to replicate an old guitar amplifier. In trying to replicate it, Peter saw how he could improve it. This led to a line of Hamstead tube amplifiers and effects pedals.

Source: Hamstead Soundworks website (4 June 2019)

ROLAND G-808

Roland G-808, electric guitar synth controller

ROLAND manufactured the G-808 between 1980 and 1984. It was designed as a controller for the Roland GR-300 guitar synthesizer and was the top of the guitar synth controller range offered by Roland.

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