Kaman Music Corporation

Kaman Music Corporation (pronounced /kəˈmɑːn/) 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 the 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 29 October 2007 the Kaman Corporation announced that it had agreed to a definitive deal to sell its subsidiary, the Kaman Music Corporation, to Fender Musical Instruments Corporation for $117 million. On January 2, 2008 Kaman received approximately $120 million in cash from Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, which included the purchase price of $117 million and certain working capital and cash adjustments.

Brands, holdings and subsidiaries

Guitars

• Ovation — composite body acoustic guitars.
• Adamas — separately branded, high-end line of Ovation guitars distinguished by their carbon fiber tops.
• Takamine — mid-level quality traditional and modern acoustic guitars.
• Hamer (since 1988) — mid & high-end electric and semi-acoustic guitars and basses.
• GTX — Strat/Les Paul copy (Discontinued).

Guitars - value line

• Applause — "Applause by Ovation", budget Ovation subsidiary.
• Jasmine — "Jasmine by Takamine", budget Takamine subsidiary.
• Slammer — "Slammer by Hamer", budget Hamer subsidiary.
• Montana — by Kaman, budget acoustic & acoustic-electrics.
• Ventura — by Kaman, budget acoustics.

Amplifiers

• Genz Benz (since September 13, 2003 — press-release) — guitar, bass, keyboard, acoustic amplifiers, powered mixers.

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.
• Dixon Drums — drum kits.
• 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.
• CB Percussion — percussion instruments for educational purposes.

Accessories

• Seiko — tuners and metronomes.
• Kaman Wearables — Ovation, Takamine, Hamer, Toca and Gibraltar clothing and accessories.
• Lee Oscar Harmonicas — harmonicas and accessories.
• Hercules — stands.

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.

External links

• KMC Music, Inc.