Guyatone in Britain

Guyatone in Britain

Let's try and make some sense of all this because the manufacture, branding, distribution and sales of Japanese imported guitars into the UK during the 1950s and '60s is an entangled mess. Records have been lost, models have been forgotten about and the Japanese factories themselves are long closed. To make matters worse, the workforce employed there are a dying breed, with little knowledge to impart of their former life. We need a bit of history here, to put things into context.

Guyatone were one of the earliest guitar manufacturers in Japan and began production in 1933. Matsuki Seisakujo (松木製作所) was founded by a cabinet maker’s apprentice Mr. Mitsuo Matsuki and his friend, Mr. Atsuo Kaneko. 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 Kenkyuj (松木電気音響研究所), which translated means the Matsuki Electric Sound Laboratory.

Matsuki began to use the Guyatone name on his instruments from 1951. In 1952, the name of the corporation was changed to Tokyo Sound Company (東京サウンド(株), which changed again to Guya Co. Ltd. ((株)グヤ) and then back to Tokyo Sound Company once again. The Tokyo Sound factory eventually began large-scale production in 1956 and Guyatone’s own records indicate them as being officially founded on July 16, 1956. The factory was at Maebashi (前橋市), the capital city of Gunma. The factory reputedly produced 1,500 Hawaiian slide guitars and 1,600 electric guitars and basses a month! 

And here the fun begins, as during the late-1950s to 1960s, Guyatone guitars were also distributed under various brands by other manufacturers/distributors and branded not just as Guyatone but a whole variety of other names and model numbers, which we'll try and sort. The imports to the UK were just as confusing!!