Ibanez is a subsidiary of Hoshino, a Japanese company that started out in the sheet music business in Nagoya, Japan around 1908 and later became a distributor of musical instruments. They began distributing Spanish (classical, or nylon stringed acoustic) guitars in the 1950's, and grew dramatically over the next decades. In the 1950s and '60s, Ibanez was known as a company that created copies of other companies instruments, like Fender Stratocaster, and Gibson Les Paul electric guitars (if you're interested in electric guitar and electric guitar gear, check out our page on the "ins and outs" of learning to play electric guitar).. Today Ibanez is one of the biggest and most respected manufacturers and distributors of acoustic and electric guitars and electric basses in the world. Some of their older instruments are now considered vintage guitar collectors items and many of their insturments are considered the standard in hard rock and instrumental rock guitars.

Ibanez is best known for their electric guitars that are played and endorsed by many of the biggest names in jazz and rock guitar. Ibanez collaborated with world renowned jazz, blues, funk, and rock guitar players such as George Benson, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert and brought out specially designed signature models, like the JEM, JS, RG and S. Eddie Van Halen played an Ibanez destroyer on several early recordings with Van Halen. Ibanez also makes acoustic guitars, including the Steve Vai ep7 signature model, as well as classical or Spanish guitars and bass guitars.

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