The pianos were sold in his shop right next to the factory. Success came quickly, and in 1964 Samick exported pianos to the USA.Ī year later guitars were also built for the Korean market and for export as there was a lot of demand for cheap Asian guitars. On January 20, 1978, a Samick branch was opened in Los Angeles and on December 11, 1980, a branch office in Dusseldorf, In the early 1970s, Samick had grown into a company with more than 3,000 employees. Germany, to introduce the brand to the European market. On 9 June 1989 there were opened a branch in Harbin, China and on 2 March 1990 a branch office in Tokyo, Japan. In March 1992 a factory was opened in Cileungsi near Bogor, Indonesia (PT Samick Indonesia). Sales of Samick instruments in the USA were so successful that on The vast majority of instruments are built in this factory. July 1, 1987, an American subsidiary, the Samick Music Corporation (SMC), was opened. The range for the international market was expanded considerablyīy developing a line-up based on American examples such as Gibson and Fender. In 2006 Samick moved the complete production to Bogor, Indonesia and production in Incheon was discontinued. The main reason for this was the increasing labor costs in South Korea. Under the brand name Hondo they started to produce cheap guitars with modern manufacturing techniques, but with the American In 1969 Samick entered into a joint venture with the American company International Music Corporation (IMC) in Fort Worth, TexasĪnd the Hondo Guitar Company became a reality. The productions initially consisted of acoustic models. In 1972 they also started producing electric electric models and from 1976 also mandolins and banjos.Īt the end of 1976, under the name Hondo II, models were released that were based on the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul.įrom 1978 these were equipped with DiMarzio pickups. In 1979, more than 790.000 Hondo guitars were sold worldwide. Until 1989 Hondo guitars were mainly produced at the Samick factory in Korea. In 1995 Hondo Guitar Company was sold to MBT International, Musicorp. With a now renewed production line, after 46 years the brand name Hondo was replaced by the name J.B. Player, of which Musicoprp also owns the proprietary rights.Īs early as 2003, it was feared that Korean production would disappear.
#Age of samick pianos professionalīy a group of Samick employees the companyīecame SPG (Sound Professional Guitar Co, Ltd company) established.Īfter production ceased in Korea, Samick's factory was bought by SPG.Īs a result, the quality of the products was maintained and many brands continued to outsource their assignments to SPG. Greg Bennett was a former guitar builder at Gibson, and was approached by Samick to design a new guitar line. The tuning pitch is often one-half or whole−tone too low.This new line of instruments includes acoustic, archtop guitars, basses, mandolins, ukuleles and banjos in addition to
Tonal as well as in terms of technical requirements (repetition, precision of the regulation) these instruments do not meet present standards. In this cases, the focus does not lie on the current value but on a sentimental value. Exceptions are a special age (historical value) or antiquarianism (special inheritances). In most instances, service or repair works do not make any sense with those grand pianos. For this reason, these grand pianos should not be used for beginners and piano students. Such musical instruments are not suitable for a serious piano education. That means, instruments containing a Viennese−style action are older than 90 years by now. Why should you refrain from instruments with a Viennese−style action? The last instruments constructed like this were built in Austria around 1920. You can see a picture of the cross−section of a Viennese−style action under the menu item “Technical Information”.
The arrows show you the damping and the fulcrum of the hammer handles which mark this difference. The pictures above show how you can detect a Viennese-action. This old grand piano often works with a Viennese−style action. Continually old instruments show at antiques dealers or inheritances.