Book, History of Electric Guitars

[solderjunkie]

Picked up this book, published in the mid-1980s, which is apparently a compilation of articles from 1960, serialized over 7 months in a Japanese guitar magazine called MMY Player. The scope of this 3rd edition covers pretty much every known brand, circa the 1960’s, and then adds a number of contemporary brands that emerged as of the mid-80’s. Half of the nearly 300 pages focuses on Japanese guitar brands and there is a detailed profile of Fuji Gen Gakki.

Interestingly, there is an editors note explaining why there is no mention of Motsumoku, certainly a major player by the mid-80’s (the General Motors of guitars), and the inclusion of Jackson, as well as an admission that official PR from the companies that advertised in the piece was incorporated into the editorial.



It is certainly a dated look at many of these brands…even for the time…and there are probably no real revelations here, but it I think it offers some uniquely Japanese perspectives from another time, as well as some interesting insight into the history of some of these companies and the industry in general (although translation can be tedious and often not precise). There are a number of advertisements throughout the book and it does feel as though this was largely an advertising vehicle and that editorial objectivity may have been somewhat influenced/compromised as a result. There is also a particular focus on many of the wild contemporary styles and designs of the time by companies such as Jackson, Kramer, Hamer and Dean…strongly associated with the metal and hair bands of the 80’s.

Also interesting is that Tokai (not an advertiser as far as I can tell) did not have a bigger presence in the book, and there is no mention of the Greco Super Real Project. The ToKai profile does credit the company for single-handedly creating the “replica” boom, despite entering the electric guitar market relatively late…



Here are some pics to give you an idea of the content…







Working through the translation of the Fuji Gen article it’s pretty clear the company exerted a considerable influence over the copy, if not outright writing it themselves. Indeed, it reads like a promotional piece crafted by a marketing guy. Still…an interesting look inside their manufacturing process of the time.

If there are any requests for particular articles or brands, I would be glad to add them here.

Correction: the Greco profile does mention the Super Real Project.

 

[guitar hiro]

Nice find

How did you locate this; used book store possibly?

Interesting that it has (somewhat of) a mix of English and Japanese language.

 

[solderjunkie]

Nice find

How did you locate this; used book store possibly?

Interesting that it has (somewhat of) a mix of English and Japanese language.

I acquired it used from a Japanese seller on eBay. I believe it’s an exceedingly rare book, as I’ve never seen another one.

Yes it’s curious how English is often dispersed amongst a native language. I see this in Europe as well. My guess is that this is done when the subject matter pertains to a culture outside of that given society. It’s also interesting that the term, “E-guitar” is used in place of electric guitar throughout the book.

 

[Sigmania]

I got a copy too. The info I looked at on Tokai was not super accurate. They said Tokai "entered the electric guitar world" in 1978. The actual date is November 1967. I think they meant to say replica electric guitars which was 1977.

From what I saw it looks like this section was written in 1985/86.