On 9 June 1989 there were opened a branch in Harbin, China and on 2 March 1990 a branch office in Tokyo, Japan. Germany, to introduce the brand to the European market. On January 20, 1978, a Samick branch was opened in Los Angeles and on December 11, 1980, a branch office in Dusseldorf, In the early 1970s, Samick had grown into a company with more than 3,000 employees. Success came quickly, and in 1964 Samick exported pianos to the USA.Ī year later guitars were also built for the Korean market and for export as there was a lot of demand for cheap Asian guitars.
The pianos were sold in his shop right next to the factory. Originally, founder of Samick, Lee Hyo-Ik, was the Korean importer of Baldwin Pianos.Īround 1960 he also started building his own pianos, first from imported parts and later from homemade ones. Samick builds guitars under his own brand name but mainly under OEM license for several major brands such as Fender/Squier, Gibson, Epihone, Gretsch, Ibanez, Jackson and many other brands. Good quality copies, including the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul, were made in 1976 and released under the Hondo II brand.
Samick started producing acoustic guitars in 1965 and electric guitars in 1972. founded in September 1958, is one of the world's largest producer of musical instruments. The Korean company Samick Musical Instruments Co.
