Once these guitars arrived in the United States, the Kent brand name, or another brand, was added to the guitars headstock.The Japanese manufacturer Teisco, which is said to be an acronym for Tokyo Musical Instrument and Sound Company, also imported guitars and basses under a variety of brand names other than Kent.These brands or badges included Silvertone, Lyle, Encore, Beltone, Winston, Kimberly, Audition, Decco, and more. Market was flooded with cheap foreign guitars, since nearly every adolescent was eager to be a rock star. We know in later years they used a Korean company, best known for building pianos, called Kawai.From 1962 to 1967 the U.S.

If they offered a Kent guitar, it was usually because it was taken in as a trade.Hagstrom first Kent branded guitars got their start in the U.K. Music stores of the day had franchise agreements with the major guitar companies. These were the models that showed up as early as 1962 and were usually sold by department stores, through catalogs, and pawn shops. This explains why Buegeleisen and Jacobsen ended the contract.Like many Asian manufacturers, Teisco, Guyatone, and others found a key niche in distributing instruments in bulk to American importers.The first Kent guitars I remember seeing were listed as the 500 series, which came with the glued on 'K' on the instruments headstock, and the 600 series, which had the Kent name in metallic letters glued on the headstock. The Teisco company was sold in 1967, at that time the brand name ended. Brand name was changed to Teisco Del Rey.

At times the necks were topped with six-on-a-side headstocks. Kent also distributed some hollow body guitars with single and double cutaways.Some of the 800 series models resembled Gibson ES-335's or ES-175's. Around 1963.Besides the Series 500 and 600, there were the Series 700 and 800 models. Though they are the same guitars and basses, if it says Kent, it was brought here by Buegeleisen and Jacobson, if it says Hagstrom it was imported by Herschman.These budget Hagstrom-made Kent instruments began being imported to the U.S. In 1963 Buegeleisen and Jacobson began importing this model of Kent guitar to the United States and distributing it.From a prior article, you may recall that Jerome Herschman's company had been importing Hagstrom guitars under the Goya brand, and later under the Hagstrom name. Since these instruments had vinyl bodies, the owners of Hagstrom feared that any damage due to poor manufacturing would besmirch their reputation, so those guitars were stamped with the Kent logo.

To this day, Southland remains a major music wholesaler, but now specializes mostly in music accessories.Click on the links below the pictures for sources. Some vintage Teisco instruments have been trashed just for the pickups.By the early 1970's, Buegeleisen and Jacobson went out of business and another distributor, Southland Musical Merchandise Corporation, acquired the Kent brand name.This company shifted distribution from manufacturers in Japan to those in Korea, as the production cost was less.The font for the logo changed when Southland took control, and emphasis was placed on lower prices with a higher profit margin at the expense of quality.Most of these Korean made guitars were knock-offs of Gibson Les Pauls, ES-335's and Fender Stratocasters, and copies of well known bass guitars. With the rise in collectors seeking vintage Japanese guitars, value has been placed on these pickups. Most 700 and 800 models, except for bass and 12-string gutars, were equipped with a vibrato bar.Some model 820s were equipped with a genuine Bigsby vibrato.A unique feature of some Teisco-made Kents are the Gold Foil pickups.Guitarist Ry Cooder equipped his Stratocaster and some other of his guitars with these Teisco Gold Foil pickups, as he prefers their sound. They may have been made by Kawai/Teisco, however and expert on Japanese guitars of this era believes the Kent 700 series instruments were made by a small factory called Hayashi Mokko. There were several similar, but noticeable different, body shapes in the 500 series Kent guitars.They all have the same size metallic logos on the headstock.The 700 and 800-series Kents were not made by Guyatone.

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