Guitars
Peter Hayward was the chairman and founder of Australis Music Group. He founded Australis Music in 1973 and over the next 33 years he made an enormous contribution to the music industry and formed so many close relationships with people from all parts of the world. His understanding of the growth...
Gil Orr played a part in the era of popular music known as the Surf Sound. With the steady growth of instrumental hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Orr performed and recorded his guitar-playing style with boardwalk bands on the California coast. The Surf Sound hit its zenith when a group...
Nokie Edwards was an original member of the Ventures, a rock group of the 1960’s that helped popularize instrumental recordings. The band enjoyed several hit records including “Walk Don’t Run.” They remained active during much of the 60’s, even providing the music for the “Hawaii Five-O” television...
Peter Frampton is known around the world as a musician and singer who took the charts by storm in the 1970s. To the music products industry Peter is best known as a friend and promoter of the talk box. Bob Heil created a talk box that he gave to Peter as a Christmas gift in 1973. Peter later used...
Paul Johnson formed one of the early surf bands in Southern California during the golden era of instrumental music. As a guitarist and songwriter, Paul performed and recorded in the days before the Beach Boys, when it was common for an instrumental recording to be on the Top Ten lists. Over the...
Johnny Rivers had a series of top hits as a pop singer beginning in the 1960s with records such as "Seventh Son," "Poor Side of Town" and "Secret Agent Man.” Within the music products industry Johnny is well known for his guitar style and composing. Johnny recorded several influential albums in the...
Sir John Pearse was proud of the role he played in encouraging countless people to play the guitar. His BBC program Hold Down a Chord was based on lessons he created by picking up simple techniques from his favorite blues players such as Mississippi John Hurt and Big Bill Broonzy. John provided a...
Tom Dale was the original business partner and long time friend of luthier Mervyn Davis. Mervyn began building guitars in the 1970s and as the demand for his unique instruments grew so did the need to have a business partner who could help navigate the operation while he focused on the instruments...
Mervyn Davis began working full time as a guitar luthier in 1978. Located in South Africa, Mervyn had unique access to materials he used in making his instruments and because he was in an area with few guitar builders he was able to create a strong and loyal customer base. Over the years he has...
Joseph Chen has put his vast knowledge of international trade along with his love of music together for a successful and respected career in the music products industry. His career began with Wu Hsieh at KHS Musical Instruments, which led to Joseph’s own company, Reliance International. Under his...