Takamine guitars

Takamine Co., Ltd. (株式会社 高峰楽器製作所) is a Japanese guitar manufacturer based in Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan. Takamine is known for its steel-string acoustic guitars.

The company was founded in May 1962; in 1978 they were one of the first companies to introduce acoustic-electric models, where they pioneered the design of the preamplifier-equalizer component.

English speakers often pronounce the company name as ("ta - ka - mine"), but the correct pronunciation in the original Japanese, is  ("ta - ka - mee - nay"). The name comes from Mount Takamine located in Nakatsugawa.

Company history
While primarily known for acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars, Takamine produced a limited run of high quality solid body electric guitars in the early to mid 1980s. These are the GX100 (Gibson Explorer body style), GX200 (proprietary type body style similar to a Stratocaster, stop tailpiece bridge), GX200-T or TB, (same as GX200 only with a tremolo bridge), GZ300 (proprietary design), and GZ340 (proprietary design). The GX200 and GZ340 contain factory DiMarzio made pickups.

The Takamine EG523SC came with a clear finish Spruce top and flame maple back and sides. On top is a TK-40 pickup with a tuner and equalizer powered by a 9V battery.

In the early 1980s, Martin Guitars issued a letter asserting that the Takamine F-340 and other models featured a logo design that was allegedly nearly identical to their own. According to Chris F. Martin IV, CEO of CF Martin and Company, in a speech given to the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum members on 8 August 2005, no lawsuit was ever actually filed, and Takamine did change the appearance of their guitar logo.

Every year since 1987, Takamine has produced a Limited Edition Guitar model, limited to a few hundred guitars for worldwide distribution. These guitars have come with the company's latest pickup-preamplifier combination and decorative inlays, often with motifs based on nature or astronomical phenomena.

Since March 2015, Takamine's US-American distributor has been ESP Guitars.

Series

 * Classical & Hirade
 * G Series
 * Legacy Series
 * Bass
 * Thermal Top
 * Pro Series 1–7
 * Signature Series
 * Limited Series