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, the models with only were made after Gibson ended the contract with leftover parts, was a
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 ...
of guitars that was managed by the
Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...
Guitar Corporation for the
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
market during the late 1980s and most of the 1990s. The name is borrowed from
Orville Gibson Orville H. Gibson (May 1856 – August 19, 1918) was a luthier who founded the Gibson Guitar Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1902, makers of guitars, mandolins and other instruments. His earliest known instrument was a 10-string mandolin-guita ...
, who founded Gibson in 1902. Products manufactured under the "Orville by Gibson" name were
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 ...
s and
basses Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass ...
.


History

During the 1970s and the 1980s, Japanese guitar companies using brand names such as
Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...
,
Tōkai Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to: * Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu * Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village) * Tōkai, Aichi, a city * Tōkai University, a private university in T ...
,
Burny Burny is a sub-brand of Fernandes Guitars. Initially used on their range of Gibson replica guitars produced by Fernandes Guitars, it was also used as a name on some of their 1970s strat copies (Burny Olds and Burny Custom) and later used as a brand ...
, and
Greco Greco may refer to: People * Greco (surname), a list of people with this surname * a masculine variant of Greca (given name), an Italian feminine given name * Greco Mafia clan, one of the most influential Mafia clans in Sicily and Calabria Wine ...
were making high-quality copies of Fender and
Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...
guitars. Some brands were sold only on the Japanese market, but other brands such as Ibanez were also exported. Fender and Gibson opened Japanese branch divisions to make guitars in Japan using the Fender/
Squier Squier is an American brand of electric guitars owned by Fender. The former manufacturing company, established as "V. C. Squier Company" was founded in 1890 by Victor Carroll Squier in Battle Creek, Michigan, producing strings for violins, ban ...
or Gibson/Epiphone brand names for the Japanese market. Fender established
Fender Japan Fender Japan, Ltd. was a joint venture between Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, and to produce and sell Fender-branded instruments for the Japanese market. The collaboration began in 1982 and ended on March 31, 2015, with Fender's launch ...
in 1982 and contracted and to oversee the production and distribution of Fender Japan guitars in cooperation with Fender. Yamano Gakki (''Gakki'' meaning "musical instrument(s)") are one of Japan's largest musical instrument distributors and retailers, and Kanda Shokai are one of Japan's largest musical instrument distributors. Gibson established
Epiphone Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his f ...
Japan in the early 1970s with the production and distribution being managed by
Aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
in cooperation with Gibson. The Aria and Gibson Epiphone Japan partnership ended in 1983 with the production of Epiphone guitars for export being moved to Korea. In 1987 Yamano Gakki obtained the Gibson and Epiphone dealership in Japan. Yamano Gakki distributed Gibson and Korean Epiphone guitars and also produced a limited range of Epiphone Japan semi-acoustic guitars in cooperation with Gibson. In 1988, Yamano Gakki decided to expand the Epiphone Japan model range to include solid body models as well as semi-acoustic models. Gibson and Yamano Gakki decided not to use the Epiphone brand name for the expanded model range and so the Orville name was chosen instead, Orville being the first name of Gibson's founder
Orville Gibson Orville H. Gibson (May 1856 – August 19, 1918) was a luthier who founded the Gibson Guitar Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1902, makers of guitars, mandolins and other instruments. His earliest known instrument was a 10-string mandolin-guita ...
. When the "Orville by Gibson" series was launched in 1988, Gibson was also selling American-made Gibson guitars, Japanese-made Epiphone guitars, and Korean-made Epiphone guitars in Japan. The Orville by Gibson series were distributed by Yamano Gakki and were priced midway between the American-made Gibson guitars and the Korean-made Epiphone guitars. There were a number of changes to the Orville by Gibson model range between their beginning in 1988 and their end in 1998. Production ceased in 1998 due to Gibson and Yamano Gakki deciding to export an expanded Epiphone Japan model range that included solid body and semi acoustic models. Gibson and Yamano Gakki ended their relationship in late 2006.


Epiphone Japan

Epiphone Japan was first established by Gibson in the early 1970s with the dealership mostly being managed by Aria in cooperation with Gibson. The
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 ...
guitar factory in Japan was used to make the Aria Epiphone Japan guitars. In 1983, Epiphone export production moved from Japan to Korea Epiphone: 140 Years
and In 1987, Yamano Gakki obtained the Epiphone Japan dealership and produced a limited range of Epiphone Japan semi acoustic models in cooperation with Gibson. The Terada guitar factory in Japan was used to make the Yamano Gakki Epiphone Japan guitars. After Gibson and Yamano Gakki ended Orville production in 1998, Gibson and Yamano Gakki produced an expanded Epiphone Japan model range including solid body as well as semi acoustic models. Some of the Gibson/Yamano Gakki Epiphone Japan guitars were exported. The Epiphone Japan guitars that were intended for export do not have a Gibson style open book
headstock A headstock or peghead is part of a guitar or similar stringed instruments such as a lute, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and others of the lute lineage. The main function of a headstock is to house the pegs or mechanism that holds the strings at the ...
. The Epiphone Japan open book headstock guitars were produced for the Japanese market only. The same Terada and Fuji-Gen guitar factories that made all of the Orville by Gibson and Orville guitars were used to make the Gibson/Yamano Gakki Epiphone Elite and Epiphone Elitist series with the Terada guitar factory mostly making the semi acoustic models and the Fuji-Gen guitar factory mostly making the solid body models. Gibson and Yamano Gakki ended their relationship in late 2006.


References

{{Guitar brands Gibson electric guitars Musical instruments brands