OT?: Where Can I Identify the Logo on My Guitar?

[bobvines]

I have a red six-string, single-coil single pickup guitar that I bought at a "discount" guitar store in 1986. There are no obvious manufacturer's markings other than a gold-colored "five pointed, swirling" logo on the front of the head. I've attached a photo of the logo in case anyone recognizes it.


Thanks,

Bob

PS The original coil was a single coil, but back then I crudely cut the pick guard to install a humbucker.

[Paleo Pete]

I just spent an hour poking around thanks to you...not that I mind...

Didn't find anything, but a site or two that might be worth looking around a little.

World's largest luthier directory, vintage and rare guitars, Acacia Instruments, Airline, Ainsworth...

All guitar brands | guitar-list

[eclecticsynergy]

I saw a guitar like that years ago- I think the brand might've been Propeller. But I can't find anything on the Web.

[SpareRibs]

Hello,
Posting a photo of the whole guitar may be of some help. It may be a guitar ordered by a store with their trademark or brand on it.

[bobvines]

Hello,
Posting a photo of the whole guitar may be of some help. It may be a guitar ordered by a store with their trademark or brand on it.

Here are photos of the front and back of the guitar. I bought it at a "discount" music store that I think was too small to order guitars with their own trademerk/brand on them.






Thanks,

Bob

[rjb]

Just wondering- have you found the country of origin anywhere on the guitar?
That might give you a clue.

Manufacturers can be pretty tricky in hiding that information.
For instance, I have a soprano sax, purchased from WWBW.
On the front of the bell, it is branded "The Woodwind, South Bend, Indiana" in fancy script.
On the back of the horn, underneath the adjustable thumb rest (visible only with the thumb rest unscrewed from the body),
"MADE IN TAIWAN" is scratched in sloppy hand scrawl.

So, maybe you might find more information if you remove the truss rod cover and strap button, check inside the neck joint, etc.
In other words, basically disassemble the guitar!

[J M Fahey]

1) does it matter?
2) ^^^^^^^^
.........
.........
29) ^^^^^^^^


3) that said:

a) in NAAMM type merchant events, in the main areas you find huge Fender/Yamaha/Peavey/etc. stands, very impressive, chock full of mouthwatering stuff and very hot girls; in faraway corridors, upper floors or basements, you'll find small booths with boutique type makers, unknown independent record labels, etc. and quite a few booths manned by a few unscrutable, very poor English speaking Orientals , looking more like Engineers (which many are) rather than Musicians.
These guys have Factories already turning out OEM products for known brands, and have capacity for more, they are hunting for customers.
If you have a design for *anything* , they will be happy to quote a very good price for it.
Design and Brand are up to you.

That shop may have been too small to order a batch of , say, 500 house brand guitars, but an Importer might do so, and then distribute it at an attractive price to many small shops.

b) my personal experience in the 80's was getting a visit from a largish music shop owner, here in Buenos Aires, who was rising capital, searching for partners, to import some Korean guitars in bulk.
He left me a phonebook sized colour catalog (no Internet way back then), there were hundreds of guitars, from nylon string Spanish type ones through steel stringed acoustics to any Fender/Gibson/Rick/etc. model you can imagine to the most expensive ones: a double neck SG and that 7 string, pink and green one Steve Vai used, including the "handle" carved in the body.

Minimum order was 1000 guitars, in up to 5 different models (so 200 each) , and there were only 2 fixed prices: the $100 ones and the $150 ones (FOB Korea of course).
So the bill would run between $100000 and $150000 , plus a similar extra amount to be spent here for shipping, paperwork, importing duties, taxes, etc.
That's why he was taking partners, $10000 per capita being the minimum.
He had a couple samples and the quality was very good.

The factory was not "a brand" such as Fender or Gibson but "something" Ltd. or Corporation, but now I suspect it was the OEM factory which sells its products as "Samick" (which is just a brand).

What surprised me were 2 things:

* the caption (which was unheard of way back then, now we know better) : "these products have been sold under different brands, among them: Kramer, Steinberger, Cort, Ibanez, Fernandes .... etc.

* "we can supply the instruments with any "inscription" the customer wishes printed on the headstock".
As I see it, it was a way to avoid or diminish responsibility for fake instruments ... now if some crazy customer wants a couple harmless letters silkscreened on the headstock, it wouldn't be their responsibility, would it?
What if the customer asked for the letters F-E-N-D-E-R in a certain size and angle, using the free Banff Font?:


So what I guess is: in the 80's the Koreans were aggressively capturing market share (what the Chinese are doing today and the Japanese did in the 70s) so they would have offered good quality at a very competitive price.

Which Factory?
Well, not enough data for that, but I guess there were just a few, if that much and it might even be a "Samick".

So I wouldn't worry much about the "brand" which is just "an inscription" .

In this case, even less, just a symbol.

[rjb]

What if the customer asked for the letters F-E-N-D-E-R ....

Or G-I-L-S-O-N?
I've seen such headstocks in store windows, many moons ago... probably in the '80s.

[J M Fahey]

It still happens, more than ever, just now sleazy vendors have *bought* defunct brands and can *legally* print the full brand, same logo and no need to replace some letter, on their oriental junk.

Unless people thinks a Chinese made, Korg amp, mostly digital + SS except some token tube is in some way related to famous tube amps, handmade by a certain Dick Denney in England in late 50 and early 60s.