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With a now renewed production line, after 46 years the brand name Hondo was replaced by the name J.B. In 1995 Hondo Guitar Company was sold to MBT International, Musicorp. Until 1989 Hondo guitars were mainly produced at the Samick factory in Korea.
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In 1979, more than 790.000 Hondo guitars were sold worldwide. In 1972 they also started producing electric electric models and from 1976 also mandolins and banjos.Īt the end of 1976, under the name Hondo II, models were released that were based on the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul.įrom 1978 these were equipped with DiMarzio pickups. The productions initially consisted of acoustic models. Under the brand name Hondo they started to produce cheap guitars with modern manufacturing techniques, but with the American In 1969 Samick entered into a joint venture with the American company International Music Corporation (IMC) in Fort Worth, TexasĪnd the Hondo Guitar Company became a reality. The main reason for this was the increasing labor costs in South Korea. In 2006 Samick moved the complete production to Bogor, Indonesia and production in Incheon was discontinued. The range for the international market was expanded considerablyīy developing a line-up based on American examples such as Gibson and Fender. July 1, 1987, an American subsidiary, the Samick Music Corporation (SMC), was opened. Sales of Samick instruments in the USA were so successful that on The vast majority of instruments are built in this factory. In March 1992 a factory was opened in Cileungsi near Bogor, Indonesia (PT Samick Indonesia). On 9 June 1989 there were opened a branch in Harbin, China and on 2 March 1990 a branch office in Tokyo, Japan. Germany, to introduce the brand to the European market. On January 20, 1978, a Samick branch was opened in Los Angeles and on December 11, 1980, a branch office in Dusseldorf, In the early 1970s, Samick had grown into a company with more than 3,000 employees. Success came quickly, and in 1964 Samick exported pianos to the USA.Ī year later guitars were also built for the Korean market and for export as there was a lot of demand for cheap Asian guitars. The pianos were sold in his shop right next to the factory. Originally, founder of Samick, Lee Hyo-Ik, was the Korean importer of Baldwin Pianos.Īround 1960 he also started building his own pianos, first from imported parts and later from homemade ones.
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Samick builds guitars under his own brand name but mainly under OEM license for several major brands such as Fender/Squier, Gibson, Epihone, Gretsch, Ibanez, Jackson and many other brands. Good quality copies, including the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul, were made in 1976 and released under the Hondo II brand. Samick started producing acoustic guitars in 1965 and electric guitars in 1972. founded in September 1958, is one of the world's largest producer of musical instruments. The Korean company Samick Musical Instruments Co.
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