Tacoma Guitars began life as a division of Young Chang America in 1996. The company was purchased by Fender in October 2004 and is now a division of Fender.

Tacoma has incorporated unusual features in many of its guitars, notably its paisley soundholes on the upper bout. The idea behind this was to move the soundhole to a low-stress part of the top, reducing the amount of bracing needed, and making the top more resonant.