Ibanez is one of the most well-known guitar companies in the world. The Hoshino Company started as a sheet music store and later grew into a music products company based in Nagoya, Japan (Ibanez). The Hoshino company began distributing a Spanish guitar named Ibanez. About forty years later, the company opened and purchased a store in Philadelphia, which is now its headquarters. These guitars were made famous by the lead guitarist of KISS. Early production guitars are still available and are a very important and valuable collector's item. Ibanez guitars are certainly one of the highest quality guitars ever owned due to their universal use with music. “Salvador Ibanez, luthier active in Valencia at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. He had a store in Baja San Francisco and then moved it to Padre Rico. He was a determined man who started with a small workshop and slowly built his business. His two sons took over the business in 1920 after his death” (Zavaleta Guitarras). Hoshino began importing these guitars from Spain when Salvador's store was demolished during the Spanish Civil War. Hishino purchased the rights to the name "Ibanez Salvador" and began making acoustic guitars in 1935. The name then went to Ibanez and stayed. During the 1950s-1960s, Ibanez guitars released some wicked designs. These models imitate European guitars and are also similar to Hagstrom and EKO models. These creations marked the beginning of a guitar company that would be known forever. Additionally, these models gave the Ibanez team a vision and a dream for other guitars they would design in the future. After being sued for copying guitar styles from other companies, Ibanez began releasing their own style...... middle of paper ...... Series. These guitar models have some of the most incredible sound you will ever hear in music. They are the needle in the haystack. Having experience with Ibanez guitars, they are certainly one of the highest quality guitars in the world due to their universal use in music. Ibanez is the guitar player for beginners, intermediate and famous guitarists. Works Cited http://www.chrisbsmusic.com/hisofibguit.htmlhttp://www.ibanez.com/support/faq?id=19Zavaleta Guitarrashttp://zavaletas-guitarras.com/content/index.cfm?action=view&ContentID =68&Parent_ContentID=39J. Sherry, E. Pardee-Warren, E. Witt, R. Lee, A. Taylor, GA Molano http://www.guitarsofspain.com/Salvador_Ibanez_ca1897/Ibanez.asphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibanezhttp: //guitaristrock.com/ibanez-guitars/the-history-of-ibanez-guitars/ Scotty Smith