Teisco
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Formerly called
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Aoi Onpa Kenkyūjo (1946) Nippon Onpa Kōgyō Co. (1956) Teisco Co. (1964) Teisco Shōji (1967–early 1970s) |
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| Musical instrument manufacturing | |
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Founded | 1946 / (1948 for brand) |
| Founder | Atswo Kaneko, Doryo Matsuda |
| Defunct | 1966 / (1969 for brand) |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
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Area served
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Global |
| Brands | Teisco |
| Parent | Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co. Ltd. |
Teisco (テスコ) was a Japanese manufacturer of affordable musical instruments from 1948 until 1969, and now the brand is owned by Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (河合楽器製作所; Kawai Gakki Seisakusho). The company produced guitars as well as keyboard instruments, microphones, amplifiers and even drums. Teisco products were widely exported to the United States and the United Kingdom.
The brand name "Teisco" was established in 1948, and sometimes incorrectly explained as an acronym of Tokyo Electric Instrument and Sound Company. However, the exact name of company establishing and producing the Teisco brand was not that name, and rather, they had frequently renamed their company.
The company was founded in 1946 by renowned Hawaiian and Spanish guitarist Atswo Kaneko and electrical engineer Doryu Matsuda. The company was originally called Aoi Onpa Kenkyujo (roughly: Hollyhock Soundwave or Electricity Laboratories). In 1956, the company name was changed to Nippon Onpa Kogyo Co., and changed to Teisco Co. in 1964. In 1967, the company was acquired by Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (河合楽器製作所; Kawai Gakki Seisakusho), who discontinued the Teisco brand name for guitars in 1969 (1977 in Japan), but continued to use it for electronic keyboards until the 1980s.
Teisco guitars were imported to the United States since 1959 or early 1960, and then re-badged as "Teisco Del Rey" after 1964. Teisco guitars were also imported in the U.S. under several brand names including Silvertone, Kent, Beltone, Duke, Encore, Heit Deluxe, Jedson, Kimberly, Kingston, Lyle, Norma, Tulio and World Teisco. Likewise, they were imported in the U.K under such labels as Arbiter, Sonatone, Audition, Kay and Top Twenty. These brands were typically sold in large department stores, including Sears, Montgomery Ward, Woolworth (US), and Woolworth's (UK).
From 1948 to the early 1960s Teisco products often, like many Japanese products of the period, shared several designs with American and Western European products of the time including Hagström and EKO.
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