1985: A Year in Guitar History

Late Norlin era. Quality began improving in the early 1980s as Norlin invested in better processes. The Kalamazoo factory continued as a custom shop until it closed permanently in 1984.

Fender Japan, built by FujiGen Gakki. The JV (Japanese Vintage) series (1982–1984) were painstaking recreations of pre-CBS Fenders, so good they embarrassed the US-made Fenders of the same era. Japanese Fenders from this period are now highly collectible.

Bill Schultz bought Fender from CBS for $12.5 million — but the deal excluded the Fullerton factory. Fender was briefly left without a factory. Minimal production of Vintage reissues occurred while the new Corona facility was being established.

An SQ (Squier Quality) series guitar, continuing Japanese production at FujiGen. These are well-regarded, though a small step below the JV models in collectibility.

Built by Matsumoku Industrial Co. in Japan — one of the first guitar factories to use CNC mills. These Matsumoku-era Epiphones featured thin finishes and solid construction, and are increasingly collectible.

An early PRS from the original Annapolis shop. Guitars with serial numbers under 1,000 are highly collectible. Paul Reed Smith spent years hand-building guitars for Carlos Santana, Peter Frampton, and Al Di Meola before founding the company.

Built at Yamaha's Kaohsiung, Taiwan factory, which produced millions of acoustics over 35 years. These "Green Label" guitars were workhorses — affordable, consistent, and used by countless beginners and professionals. The factory closed in early 2007.

Built at Yamaha's Hamamatsu custom workshop, which has operated continuously since 1966. These are individually handmade by master luthiers — the same shop that produced the original Red Labels.

A San Dimas-era Jackson — hand-built in the original Charvel shop where Grover Jackson personally oversaw every instrument. On December 23, 1980, Randy Rhoads commissioned the Concorde here — the first guitar to bear the "Jackson" name, named after the supersonic jet he'd just flown home on.

The golden age of ESP custom instruments. George Lynch's Kamikaze (1985) was ESP's first signature model. James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica became prominent endorsees, and ESP competed directly with Jackson for the thrash metal market.

Built at Rickenbacker's Santa Ana, California factory, where they've been for over 60 years. Rickenbacker has never outsourced production — every instrument is built by roughly 60 employees producing only 8,000–12,000 guitars per year.

Features the Hi-Gain pickup, introduced in 1969 to replace the Toaster with a hotter output suited to heavier rock. Vintage reissue models still use the original Toaster design.

Built at Guild's legendary Westerly, Rhode Island factory — widely considered their golden age. While competitors suffered quality dips in the '70s and '80s, Westerly production maintained consistently high standards for 35 years.

An original Evanston, IL Dean. Dean Zelinsky was just 19 when he unveiled the V, Z, and ML at the 1977 Winter NAMM show. The ML was named after his best friend Matt Lynn, who died of cancer at 17. Only about 6,000–8,000 total guitars were produced, making originals genuinely rare.

Takamine pioneered the factory-installed acoustic-electric guitar with the Palathetic pickup in 1978 — six individual piezo transducers, one per string. This same basic design is still in production essentially unchanged. Bruce Springsteen has used Takamine for over 30 years.

The founding of Ernie Ball Music Man. Ernie Ball purchased Music Man on March 7, 1984 and relocated to San Luis Obispo. The Silhouette became EBMM's first solidbody guitar — the platform that spawned the EVH, Axis, JP, and virtually every subsequent Music Man model.