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“Recording King” Guitars

A Testimony to the History of the Guitar

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The guitar’s roots are in Western Europe.  Ancient guitars were three-string, four-string, five-string, or six-string; until 1833 Frank Martin from Martin Guitar Company in Pennsylvania, USA standardized the number of string of acoustic guitar to be six-string.  The Gretsch Guitar Company and the Gibson Guitar Corporation were established in Brooklyn, New York in 1883 and in Nashville, Tennessee in 1894 respectively.  Guitar companies then sprang up likes mushrooms all over the U.S.; America became the country of origin of the acoustic guitars.        

The Gibson Guitar Corporation was the best guitar manufacturer from 1920 to 1935; Montgomery Ward, a large national chain department store in the U.S., ordered “Recording King” acoustic guitars from Gibson Guitar Corporation and sold in every chain store.  “Recording King”, few months later, was made known to every American household and selected by renowned players.

From left:

Mr. Alan Liu, the CEO of AXL

Mr. Steve Patrino, the president of AXL USA

Mr. Steve Patrino is holding a new generation of "Recording King" guitar

The production of “Recording King” acoustic guitars stopped during the WWI and WWII; this kind of guitar then disappeared from the market in a while.  “Recording King” guitars continue the long tradition of art guitars with new and unique designs by artist Greg Rich (formerly worked with the Gibson Guitar Corporation), causing a sensation in the U.S. market, and was purchased by AXL in 2003.  “Recording King” is a primary brand of AXL; distributors all over the world are applying for the dealership for “Recording King”.

From left:

Mr. Alan Liu, the CEO of AXL

Mr. Steve Patrino, the president of AXL USA

Mr. Steve Patrino is holding an original "Recording King" acoustic guitar manufacturing in 1932

“Recording King” all solid acoustic guitars feature spruce top, mahogany back and sides, rosewood fretboard, and are available in three styles: 000-Style, D-Style, and Cutaway.  “Recording King” guitars are manufactured at AXL’s plant in China and have received acclaim for their overall quality: the Guitar Quality and Design Platinum Award in 2006 and 2007 respectively.  “Recording King” is acknowledged as the best Chinese-made guitar in the world.

One of the secrets to create a truly great instrument is using great materials.  Wood has become like crude oil in the 21^st century.  Prices have literally increased by 150% - 300% over the last 3 years so we must invest millions dollars to purchase materials.  And since wood must be dried perfectly or else it will crack – we must purchase material for guitars that will not be cracked for years in the future.  Also to create world class instruments we must invest in specialized technicians; this involves instrument designer, production engineer, lacquer engineer, wood engineer, and since many of these experts cannot be found in China, we must hire from the U.S.A. at the U.S.A. labor prices!