50 years of Ibanez in the USA: the unstoppable rise of the pioneering Japanese guitar brand

Ibanez history hero img
(Image credit: Ebet Roberts/Redferns; Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images; Robert Knight Archive/Redferns)

Introduction

Fifty years ago, on September 1, 1972, the Japanese musical instrument manufacturer Hoshino officially formed a partnership with America’s Elger company to sell and market Ibanez guitars in the United States.

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Chris Gill

Chris is the co-author of Eruption - Conversations with Eddie Van Halen. He is a 40-year music industry veteran who started at Boardwalk Entertainment (Joan Jett, Night Ranger) and Roland US before becoming a guitar journalist in 1991. He has interviewed more than 600 artists, written more than 1,400 product reviews and contributed to Jeff Beck’s Beck 01: Hot Rods and Rock & Roll and Eric Clapton’s Six String Stories.