GuitarMatchup: Guitar Brands

Fender

With an illustrious history dating back to 1946, Fender has touched and transformed music worldwide and in nearly every genre: rock 'n' roll, country and western, jazz, rhythm and blues and many others.

Everyone from beginners and hobbyists to the world's most acclaimed artists and performers have used Fender instruments and amps, in the process making the company not only a revered music industry name, but also a cultural icon.

It is our vision to continue championing THE SPIRIT OF ROCK-N-ROLL® throughout the world and our mission to exceed the expectations of music enthusiasts worldwide.

Gibson

Gibson Inc., the world's most iconic guitar brand, has shaped the sounds of generations of musicians and music lovers across genres for more than 100 years. Founded in 1894 and headquartered in Nashville, TN, Gibson has a legacy of world-class craftsmanship, legendary music partnerships, and progressive product evolution that is unrivaled among musical instrument companies. The Gibson portfolio includes Gibson, the number one guitar brand, as well as many of the most beloved and recognizable music brands, including Epiphone, Kramer, Steinberger, MESA/Boogie, and the Gibson Pro Audio division, KRK Systems. Gibson is dedicated to quality, innovation, and sound excellence so that music lovers for generations to come will continue to experience music shaped by Gibson.

Ibanez

Ibanez (アイバニーズ, Aibanīzu) 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 well as the first brand of guitars to mass-produce seven-string and eight-string guitars. Ibanez manufactures effects, accessories, amps, and instruments in Japan, China, Indonesia, and the United States (at a Los Angeles-based custom shop). As of 2017 they marketed nearly 165 models of bass guitar, 130 acoustic guitars, and more than 300 electric guitars. After Gibson and Fender, Ibanez is considered the third biggest guitar brand.

Jackson

Jackson began back in the late 1970s, when heavy music experienced a flamboyant and virtuosic resurgence in popularity and a small Southern California guitar repair shop became the epicenter of a new level of shred-approved excellence. Ever since then, Jackson guitars have been universally lauded as the metal guitars; the shred machines—highly original high-performance instruments of distinctive style and formidable substance. From metal's chart-topping peaks to its darkest recesses, for discerning guitarists all over the globe, Jackson is the only way to go.

To make a long story short, a new generation of talented and extravagant young guitarists who came of age in the burgeoning MTV era of the late '70s and early '80s needed more—in fact, demanded more—from their instruments. A small staff of highly skilled craftsmen answered the call with a new breed of high-performance custom guitars bearing Jackson's own name on their headstocks.

PRS

Paul Reed Smith Guitars, also known as PRS Guitars or simply PRS, is an American guitar and amplifier manufacturer located in Stevensville, Maryland. The company was founded in 1985 in Annapolis, Maryland by Paul Reed Smith. Products manufactured by PRS include electric and acoustic guitars, basses, and amplifiers.

Paul Reed Smith (born February 18, 1956) graduated from Bowie High School in 1974 and then briefly attended St. Mary's College of Maryland, where he began his guitar-making career. Smith left school and contacted Ted McCarty, former president of Gibson and creator of the Explorer, ES-335, and Flying V guitars, and McCarty became his mentor and advisor. Their collaboration resulted in the early models of Paul Reed Smith Guitars.