![Guyatone LG-140T (c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Guyatone_LG-140T_%28c.1964-65%29_clipped.png)
Kent was a 1960s/1970s
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
brand.
The "Kent"
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
was established by
Buegeleisen and Jacobson
Buegeleisen and Jacobson (B & J) was a musical instrument distributor in New York City, United States.
B & J opened for business in 1901, on 17th Street in Manhattan, run by the previously salesmen Samuel Buegeleisen (1871–1957) and David Ja ...
, a musical instrument distributor based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, in 1960.
Early Kent guitars were made by
Hagstrom, based in Sweden.
These were branded "Kent" in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and "Futurama" in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Later, around 1963,
Guyatone
Guyatone (Japanese: or ) is a Japanese guitar brand and its manufacturing company making electric guitars, guitar amplifiers, and effect pedals. In the 1930s, the predecessor company was founded as the earliest electric guitar manufacturer in Ja ...
and
Teisco
Teisco was a Japanese musical instrument manufacturing company from 1948 until 1967, when the brand "Teisco" was acquired by Kawai (河合楽器製作所; Kawai Gakki Seisakusho). The company produced guitars as well as synthesizers, microphones ...
guitars were rebadged as Kent guitars.
Other manufacturers included
FujiGen
FujiGen Gakki (), also known as FGN, is a Japanese musical instrument manufacturing company based in Matsumoto, Nagano
is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Matsumoto is designated as a core city since 1 April 2021. , the city had ...
,
Kawai
is a musical instrument manufacturing company headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. It is best known for its grand pianos, upright pianos, digital pianos, electronic keyboards and electronic synthesizers. The company was founded in Augus ...
, and
Matsumoku
Matsumoku Industrial was a Japanese manufacturing company based in Matsumoto, Nagano, between 1951 and 1987. Established in 1951 as a woodworking and cabinetry firm, Matsumoku is remembered as a manufacturer of guitars and bass guitars, includ ...
. In the early 1970s, Southland Musical Merchandise Corporation acquired the Kent brand and moved manufacturing to
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
Kent guitar series included the 400, 500, and 600 series.
Kent
guitar amplifier
A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which a ...
s and
guitar pedal
An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...
s were also marketed by Buegeleisen and Jacobson.
Kent guitars were played by musicians including
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
and
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
.
References
External links
*
{{Guitar brands
1960 establishments in the United States
1970s disestablishments in the United States
Products introduced in 1960
Electric guitars
American brands
Defunct brands