Kaman Music Corporation
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Kaman Music Corporation is a part of the Kaman Corporation founded by Charles Kaman. 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 which revolutionized the guitar industry since about 1966. Today, Kaman Music owns a number of subsidiaries and brands in 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 29th October 2007 the Kaman Corporation announced that it had agreed a definitive deal to sell its subsidiary, the Kaman Music Corporation, to Fender Musical Instruments Corporation for $117 million. The sale is expected to be completed before January 1st 2008.
Contents |
[edit] Brands, holdings and subsidiaries
[edit] Guitars
- Ovation — composite body acoustic guitars.
- Adamas — off-spin brand of Ovation guitars.
- Takamine — high-end traditional acoustic guitars.
- Hamer (since 1988) — high-end electric and semi-acoustic guitars and basses.
- GTX — Strat copy (Discontinued).
[edit] Amplifiers
- Genz Benz (since September 13, 2003 — press-release) — guitar, bass, keyboard, acoustic amplifiers, powered mixers.
[edit] Percussion
- Toca — world percussion.
- Gibraltar Hardware — percussion hardware (stands, pedals, racks).
- Gretsch Drums — professional drumsets.
- LP Music (since October 21, 2002 — press-release) — latin and world percussion, hand drums.
- Dixon Hardware — drum hardware.
- Sabian — cymbals.
- Legend — premium, custom professional drums produced for a short period in the mid 1990s. Legend drums were highly acclaimed for their exceptional finishes.
[edit] Accessories
- Seiko — tuners and metronomes.
- Kaman Wearables — Ovation, Takamine, Hamer, Toca and Gibraltar clothing and accessories.
- Lee Oscar Harmonicas — harmonicas and accessories.
- Hercules — stands.
[edit] Value line
- Applause — "Applause by Ovation", budget Ovation subsidiary.
- Jasmine — "Jasmine by Takamine", budget Takamine subsidiary.
- Slammer — "Slammer by Hamer", budget Hamer subsidiary.
[edit] Educational line
- Becker Instruments — stringed instruments.
- CB Percussion — percussion and drum kits.
- LP Rhythmix — Latin Percussion (LP) line for children.
- Vic Firth Percussion (since 1997) — percussion and drum kits.
