Memphis Les Paul Copy

[twistedMr]

I have done some research,and it looks like a company from Japan called Matsumoku built are guitars from 1969-1980.Then imported to the USA from a company called Kaman.Kaman stopped imports,because of a death in the family or it sold the company.Yamaha might have taken over the Memphis name after the 1980's.One question i have is why do i have Gibson serial numbers on my guitar?

[Chordchunker]

Ive had Electra, Aria and Memphis LP`sx from the 70`s. I liked the Aria the best but hAven`t played a Tokai which I understand is a different animal than your run of the mill, cookie-cutter, Japanese made Les Paul.

[etawful]

 

I wonder why research shows that memphis was a DBA for yamaha? Could it be a fact that is true? If It is then what will that mean for the future of the rare quality knock offs of the Les Paul? Only time will tell. Seriously, what is in a name? My guitar plays and sounds like any Gibson Les Paul that I have played and there is value in that. Value is not a suggestion of worth but of quality without excessive cost. On another note, Wikipedia is a very reputable source of information. Anyone who has a better source please be kind enough to identify it. Unfortunately the instruments in question were made before the invention of the internet and the information may be lost forever.

 

 

Anyone can edit Wiki. It not a reputable source of information. I could go edit it right now to stated that Memphis guitars were made by the Osaka Fish Concern using Oompa Loompa slave labor.

 

Also, the Wikipedia entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Guitars shows no reference to Yamaha and the reference in history to Yahama states that it was removed because the links alleging the connection were invalid (that means they didn't exist).

[etawful]

 

doubleedit.....just checked out that wiki page. What a joke! No sources or references. Did YOU make that page?

 

 

Look at the history of the article. The first entry "Created page with 'Memphis guitars where in production during the late 1970's and early 1980's. The company started when Yamaha seen an opportunity in the demand for gibson style gui. . . . "

 

Yup, sounds like a really reliable source of information there.

[Roy Brooks]

Most of the Memphis guitars that you are likely encounter in places where 1970s Memphis guitars are likely to be at are most likely going to be the lower end models. Most mom and pop music stores back then usually had a line of lower end guitars for parents to buy their kids for Christmas. But there were also some much nicer Memphis guitars, many of which never made it to the United States back then. You can still find them. But you just have to look harder, especially for the clean all original examples that do not have issues that keep them from being playable musical instruments. Thirty or more years is a long time for things to happen to guitars. Odds are that you will most likely encounter the less than stellar examples on the journey that leads to finding the good ones.

[Special J]

Yamaha might have taken over the Memphis name after the 1980's.One question i have is why do i have Gibson serial numbers on my guitar?

 

Perhaps somebody rebranded your guitar because of the high quality associated with the Memphis name. Or maybe, for a short time between Kaman and Yamaha owning the name, Gibson owned them.

I don't see why Yamaha would bother buying a company that produced low quality Gibby knock-offs, when they've had plenty of success with their own, better, student models bearing their own name.

[weather.at.8]

I LOL'd hard - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Guitars

[wader2k]

I have done some research,and it looks like a company from Japan called Matsumoku built are guitars from 1969-1980.Then imported to the USA from a company called Kaman.Kaman stopped imports,because of a death in the family or it sold the company.Yamaha might have taken over the Memphis name after the 1980's.One question i have is why do i have Gibson serial numbers on my guitar?

 

 

 

Once again. There is no evidence that suggests Yamaha and Memphis were ever in any way connected. Yamaha did NOT make Memphis guitars.

 

[weather.at.8]

Updated with truthy screen cap

[etawful]

I LOL'd hard - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Guitars

 

LMFAO . . . just for the record, I did NOT make that edit