They sold Vega dreadnoughts in the USA and the Martin adverts for these guitars can still be found on the internet. They took control of the designs, the woods used and the advertising.

Martin took over the Egmond guitar factory and switched from factory production to the Martin style of handmade production. Egmond had hit a rough patch because of competition from Korea and Martin wanted to break into the European market for mid range guitars. I was suprised to find that it was made by C F Martin between 19 in a guitar factory in Holland which formerly made Egmond guitars. Having said this, there are a lot worse guitars out there, and as well as being historically important, the 1820 bass can certainly provide the goods when required.I have bought a nylon string guitar called an Alpha A-100.

Over the course of the 70s, the Japanese output improved dramatically, and in many ways these early 70s models are a low point for the brand.

These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration. The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. By the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price).

Egmond acoustic guitar made in korea