From 1982, Ibanez guitars have also been sold in Japan as well. The Greco versions were sold in Japan and the Ibanez versions were sold outside Japan. In the 1970s, Hoshino Gakki and Kanda Shokai shared some guitar designs, and so some Ibanez and Greco guitars have the same features. During the early 1980s, the FujiGen guitar factory also produced most of the Roland guitar synthesizers, including the Stratocaster-style Roland G-505, the twin-humbucker Roland G-202 (endorsed by Adrian Belew, Eric Clapton, Dean Brown, Jeff Baxter, Yannis Spathas, Christoforos Krokidis, Steve Howe, Mike Rutherford, Andy Summers, Neal Schon and Steve Hackett) and the Ibanez X-ING IMG-2010.Ĭimar and Starfield were guitar and bass brands owned by Hoshino Gakki.

Most Ibanez guitars were made by the FujiGen guitar factory in Japan up until the mid- to late 1980s, and from then on Ibanez guitars have also been made in other Asian countries such as Korea, China, and Indonesia. Hoshino Gakki also had semi-acoustic, nylon- and steel-stringed acoustic guitars manufactured under the Ibanez name. After the Teisco String Instrument factory closed in 1970, Hoshino Gakki contracted with FujiGen Gakki to make Ibanez guitars. After the Tama factory stopped manufacturing guitars in 1966, Hoshino Gakki contracted the Teisco String Instruments Company to make Ibanez guitars. The late 1950s and 1960s Ibanez catalogues show guitars with some wild-looking designs, manufactured by Kiso Suzuki Violin, Guyatone, and their own Tama factory established in 1962. The modern era of Ibanez guitars began in 1957.

Accordingly, the brand originally was spelled Ibanyesu ( イバニェス) in Japan, reflecting the Spanish pronunciation, before changing its spelling in 1986 to the current name, which represents an English pronunciation of Ibanez. Hoshino Gakki decided in 1935 to make Spanish-style acoustic guitars, at first using the 'Ibanez Salvador' brand name in honor of Spanish luthier Salvador Ibáñez, and later simply 'Ibanez'. The Hoshino Gakki company began in 1908 as the musical instrument sales division of the Hoshino Shoten, a bookstore chain.

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