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S.D. Curlee is a guitar manufacturer originating in Matteson, Illinois and presently in central Texas. Peak years were 1977 to 1981 before ceasing production until 2011. For a while its electric basses were popular, much more so than their guitars. They were exported and especially popular in Belgium and Germany during the original run. == History == This small enterprise was founded by businessman Randy Curlee, instrument designer Randy Dritz and pattern maker Sonny Storbeck in 1975 in Matteson, IL. The name S.D Curlee came from the three original partners: Storbeck, Dritz and Curlee. Actual production began in early 1976 and ceased in 1982. There is much speculation concerning how many USA instruments were made during the initial production run. However all involved (Dritz, former production manager Denny Rauen, export/AR manager Vicki Maker, for example) agree the published production figure of 15,000 was highly exaggerated. The true production numbers will probably never be known, but it would be safe to speculate that possibly 5,000 to 6,500 S.D. Curlee U.S.A. instruments were produced with the Japanese ("Int'l") and Korean-built versions bumping that figure up significantly. Curlee wanted to offer a quality built instrument at an affordable price. Advertising campaigns were rather scarce: only a handful of ads exist. A rather classy 8 page color affair from 1979, multiple color ads originally placed in Guitar Player Magazine, and a few black-and-white flyers were distributed. During these years, the Curlee brand was applied to Curlee-arranged import versions and was also licensed to Hondo. S.D. Curlee was one of the first instrument manufacturers to use this approach to address the issue of unlicenced copies of premium brands. Many other instrument companies subsequently followed its lead, such as Fender's Squier brand of Asian-manufactured products and Gibson's use of its Epiphone brand. This business model has become a standard both to gain a share in the copy market and also provide customers with a more budget-oriented version of a higher-priced instrument. During the early 1980s the climate for these 'all natural' instruments changed drastically. Headless designs, flashy colors and an altogether different approach forced Curlee and his contemporary contenders into new grounds. Combined with a recession and internal business decisions, the company ceased operations in 1982. Randy Curlee continued in sales and marketing in the musical instrument industry, including work for Yamaha. He passed away in 2005. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「S. D. Curlee」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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