Founded in the mid 1960's by Mass Hirade, Takamine Guitars (pronounced 'TA-ka-ME-nee') filled a niche -- excellent guitars at a reasonable price.

Kaman Music (a division of the Kaman Corporation, which was founded in 1945 with the intent to revolutionize rotary wing flight), own Takemine.

The Kaman Corporation controls several music-oriented companies:

Guitar:

• Ovation
• Takamine
• Hamer
• Adamas

Percussion:

• Gibraltar
• Toca
• Gretsch
• CB Drums

Accessories:

• Seiko

Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, Nils Lofgren, Steve Wariner, Dave Stewart and David Gilmour have all used Takamine guitars for both studio and stage work.

See the Everything Guitar Project meta node for infomation on other guitar manufacturers.