So he set about making his own replacements. “Dana” is Dana Sutcliffe, who at age 13 got a guitar with four of the worst pickups ever made. During this period, SLM began moving some production to Cort, in Korea. With it went the Westone brand, and SLM’s electric line became Alvarez. It’s not entirely clear, but Matsumoku may have continued making guitars until 1990. Matsumoku had started as a builder of sewing machine cabinets, and in ’87, the company was purchased by Singer Sewing Machines. In ’83, SLM entered into a joint venture with Matsumoku, and in ’84 transitioned the Alvarez brand to Westone, which had previously been used by the Japanese manufacturer. Many were made by the legendary Matsumoku Moto plant. Beginning around 1970 – maybe slightly earlier – SLM began importing electric guitars from Japan bearing the Electra brand. Louis Music (SLM) for its Japanese-made acoustic guitars beginning in 1966 Alvarez-Yairi models were built in Kazuo Yairi’s workshop, while Alvarez models were built elsewhere. An example of a happy accident is the invention of the Alvarez Dana Scoop.Īs a brand, Alvarez was a name originally used by St.

Bad ones are when you bend over, your rear-end knocks over your axe, and suddenly you’ve “created” a headless guitar.

The Alvarez Dana Scoop by Michael Wright, The Different Strummer There are bad accidents and there are good, or “happy” accidents.

Westone guitar ebay