Kaman Music Corporation
Encyclopedia
Kaman Music Corporation is a part of the Kaman Corporation founded by Charles Kaman
Charles Kaman
Charles Huron Kaman was an American aeronautical engineer, businessman, inventor and philanthropist, known for his work in rotary-wing flight and also in musical instrument design via the Kaman Music Corporation.-Biography:...

. Kaman is also a guitarist and he came to explore the use of composite materials technologies to guitar building. He and his engineers created the round-backed, composite-body Ovation guitar
Ovation Guitar
The Ovation Guitar Company, a holding of Kaman Music Corporation, is a guitar manufacturing company based in New Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Ovation primarily manufactures Steel-stringed acoustic guitars....

 which revolutionized the guitar industry since about 1966. Today, Kaman Music owns a number of subsidiaries and brands in the music industry, being the largest independent distributor of musical instruments and accessories in the United States and a major producer of guitars and guitar parts and accessories. On 29 October 2007 the Kaman Corporation announced that it had agreed to a definitive deal to sell its subsidiary, the Kaman Music Corporation, to Fender Musical Instruments Corporation for $117 million. On January 2, 2008 Kaman received approximately $120 million in cash from Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, which included the purchase price of $117 million and certain working capital and cash adjustments.

Guitars

  • Ovation
    Ovation Guitar
    The Ovation Guitar Company, a holding of Kaman Music Corporation, is a guitar manufacturing company based in New Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Ovation primarily manufactures Steel-stringed acoustic guitars....

     — composite body acoustic guitars.
  • Adamas — separately branded, high-end line of Ovation guitars distinguished by their carbon fiber tops.
  • Takamine
    Takamine Guitars
    is a Japanese guitar manufacturer based in Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan. Takamine is known for its steel-string guitars.The company was founded in May 1962; in 1978 they were one of the first companies to introduce acoustic-electric models, where they pioneered the design of the preamp-equalizer...

     — low-end traditional acoustic guitars.
  • Hamer
    Hamer Guitars
    Hamer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars. Founded in 1973 by vintage guitar shop owners, Jol Dantzig and his business partner Paul Hamer. Early instruments featured guitar designs based on the Gibson Explorer and Flying V...

     (since 1988) — low-end electric and semi-acoustic guitars and basses.
  • GTX — Strat/Les Paul copy (Discontinued).

Guitars - value line

  • Applause — "Applause by Ovation", budget Ovation subsidiary.
  • Jasmine — "Jasmine by Takamine", budget Takamine subsidiary.
  • Slammer — "Slammer by Hamer", budget Hamer subsidiary.
  • Montana — by Kaman, budget acoustic & acoustic-electrics.
  • Ventura — by Kaman, budget acoustics.

Amplifiers

  • Genz Benz (since September 13, 2003 — press-release) — guitar, bass, keyboard, acoustic amplifiers, powered mixers.

Percussion

  • Toca — world percussion.
  • Gibraltar Hardware
    Gibraltar Hardware
    Gibraltar Hardware is a maker of drumset and percussion hardware. It's most famed for making drumset frames and cages, but it also makes everything from hi-hat stands to drumset thrones...

     — percussion hardware (stands, pedals, racks).
  • Gretsch Drums
    Gretsch Drums
    Gretsch Drums is a leading drum manufacturing company, based in Ridgeland, South Carolina. Their motto is "That Great Gretsch Sound!"- History :...

     — professional drumsets.
  • LP Music
    Latin Percussion
    Latin Percussion, also known as LP, is a brand of percussion instruments, specializing in ethnic instruments engineered and manufactured to withstand the rigors of use in a drum kit, orchestral percussion section, and similar applications...

     (since October 21, 2002 — press-release) — Latin and world percussion, hand drums.
  • Dixon Hardware — drum hardware.
  • Dixon Drums
    Dixon Drums
    Dixon Drums started as a drum hardware company in 1979 in Germany. They have a presence in Europe, Asia, and most recently in the U.S. with slightly different product lines in each international market. Dixon won "Best in Show" at Winter NAMM 2008 for Best New Drum Product Line category. Dixon...

     — drum kits.
  • Sabian
    Sabian (company)
    Sabian is a Canadian cymbal designer and manufacturer. It is a leading manufacturer of cymbals along with other top companies such as Zildjian, Paiste, and Meinl.-History:...

     — cymbals.
  • Legend — premium, custom professional drums produced for a short period in the mid 1990s. Legend drums were highly acclaimed for their exceptional finishes.
  • CB Percussion — percussion instruments for educational purposes.

Accessories

  • Seiko — tuners and metronomes.
  • Kaman Wearables — Ovation, Takamine, Hamer, Toca and Gibraltar clothing and accessories.
  • Lee Oscar Harmonicas — harmonicas and accessories.
  • Hercules — stands.

Educational line

  • Becker Instruments — stringed instruments.
  • CB Percussion — percussion and drum kits.
  • LP Rhythmix — Latin Percussion (LP) line for children.
  • Vic Firth
    Vic Firth
    Vic Firth is an American musician and is the founder of Vic Firth Company , a percussion stick and mallet manufacturing company that he started in 1963. The company bills itself as the world's largest manufacturer of drum sticks and mallets...

    Percussion (since 1997) — percussion and drum kits.
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