One of the earliest guitar manufacturers in Japan, Guyatone began production in 1933. According to Mr. Hiroyuki Noguchi, editor of Japan's :ja:リットーミュージック#雑誌|Guitar Magazine, "Matsuki Seisakujo" was founded by a cabinet maker's apprentice Mr. Mitsuo Matsuki and friend Mr. Atsuo Kaneko, who later became a famous player of Hawaiian and Spanish style guitars as well as help with the formation of the great Teisco in 1946. Matsuki had been enrolled in electronics classes, studying nights after his cabinetry apprentice job. Hawaiian music becoming increasingly popular at the time led Mr. Kaneko to inquire to his friend Matsuki about building an electric Hawaiian guitar using his wood working and electronics skills. In the late 1930s the "Matsuki Joiner" company was formed producing and selling mostly American style guitars under the Guya name. In 1940 Matsuki was drafted into the war between China and Japan and production halted for several years. After returning home, Matsuki formed his own company, "Matsuki Denki Onkyo Kenkyujo", translated means: "Matsuki Electric Sound Laboratory."
Guyatone name
In 1951 Matsuki began to use the Guyatone name on his instruments. They also began to make amplifiers and cartridges for record players. These cartridges found a large market after being routinely used by NHK, a government-owned broadcasting station. In 1952 the name of the corporation was again changed to Tokyo Sound Company. Eventually it was changed Guya Co., Ltd. or model 1860 "Rhythm Maker" is said to be a model for which Jimi Hendrix had traded in his Danelectro, in 1962. Then, this model was roughly copied by Kawai as model "S-180", and some lots were also manufactured by FujiGen. Kawai's copied model was played by Hound Dog Taylor, as seen on his first album Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers in 1971. And in the 21st century, Ibanez reissued the Rhythm Maker as Jet King 2.
In the United Kingdom, James T. Coppock Ltd. had introduced Guyatone under Antoria brand in the late 1950s, and these were played by Hank Marvin, Marty Wilde, Rory Gallagher, Johny Guitar, and Ringo Starr from the Hurricanes, and even possibly young Jeff Beck. Especially, Antoria LG-50 played by Hank Marvin in the late-1950s had influenced on the design of Burns-Weill Fenton guitars, and that guitar was reissued as Drifter LG50 by Burns London in 2010. In the early 1960s, also other distributors imported Guyatone and sold under Broadway brand, and in the mid- to late-1960s, Selmer had distributed Guyatone as a budget line under :es:Resonet Futurama|Futurama brand.
In 2013 "Tokyo Sound Co. Ltd." closed their doors to business and transferred ownership of the "Guyatone" name to Hiroshi Matsuki, son of the founder of Tokyo Sound Co., and brother to the president of the company, re-opening and re-organizing a short time later that same year. Guyatone now continues in its US office in Oswego, IL, USA with partner company DeMont MFG LLC, where the new Guyatone WR6 pedal & Excelsior 5 guitar are produced. Later, DeMont MFG LLC was purchased and absorbed into "DeMont Guitars" along with all assets. The Guyatone company is now owned by former R&D Guyatone engineer, Toshihiko Torii, and Nate DeMont
Latest products
In 2017 the WR6 AutoWah was launched as an all USA-Made pedal, limited to 100 units. The DeMont / Guyatone Manufacturing facility sustained a fire in December 2017 resulting in a slow release of the product. 2018 also introduced a limited run of 10 hand-made, USA Guyatone Zoom Box re-issue pedals. Likewise, in Japan, Guyatone began development for a new line of micro pedals engineered by Toshihiko Torii. Vintage Documentation In late 2018, Guyatone launched the GuyatoneGuitars.com site to document and collect information about vintage products and instruments as an on-going project.
