Washburn Guitars
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Founded | 1883 in Chicago, Illinois |
| Founder | George Washburn Lyon |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products |
Electric, acoustic & resonator guitars Bass Guitars Banjos Mandolins Ukuleles Amplifiers |
| Parent | US Music |
| Website | washburn.com |
Washburn Guitars is an American manufacturer and importer of guitars, mandolins, and other string instruments. The original company was established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. The modern Washburn is a division of US Music Corp., in turn now owned by JAM Industries USA.
Lyon & Healy began in 1864 as a partnership of businessman George W. Lyon and Patrick J. Healy, acting as the Chicago, Illinois, outlet for Boston sheet music publisher Oliver Ditson and Company. By 1865, the company had expanded into reed organs and some small instruments. Around 1888, Lyon & Healy launched fully into fretted and plucked instruments (guitars, mandolins, banjos, and zithers) under the "Washburn" brand, which happened to be Lyon's middle name. Tracing the history of any particular instrument presents many obstacles. Lyon & Healy also repaired instruments, and offered engraving services, including decorating instruments that it retailed but did not actually manufacture. They also built instruments for other retailers and distributors.
In 1912, Washburn introduced the Lakeside Jumbo guitar, which some condider the first dreadnought-sized guitar. It bridged the gap between smaller-bodied "parlor" guitars of the late 19th and early 20th century and modern-day dreadnought and jumbo acoustic guitars.
In the late 1920s, the Washburn brand was sold to Tonk Brothers, a distribution firm that had previously acquired the Regal name. Washburn declined to nothing by the early 1940s.
There is no actual connection between the original Washburn brand and the company that became Washburn International.
In the early 1960s, retail store the Chicago Guitar Gallery hired Rudy Schlacher, a young German violin builder, as a repair technician. A few years later, Schlacher opened The Sound Post (in Evanston, Illinois) to focus on guitars. He soon realized the sales potential for lower-cost quality instruments.
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Wikipedia