Kaman
Kaman
Also known as: Kaman Music, Kaman Music Corporation, KMC, KMC Music, KMCMusicorp, KMC Musicorp
UnclaimedKaman Music Corporation is an American musical instrument company founded as a division of Kaman Aircraft, the aerospace firm started by helicopter pioneer and amateur guitarist Charles Kaman. The company's defining product was the Ovation guitar, introduced in 1966, which used a parabolic synthetic-composite bowl back — a design that drew on Kaman's expertise in helicopter rotor materials — pa...
Kaman Music Corporation is an American musical instrument company founded as a division of Kaman Aircraft, the aerospace firm started by helicopter pioneer and amateur guitarist Charles Kaman. The company's defining product was the Ovation guitar, introduced in 1966, which used a parabolic synthetic-composite bowl back — a design that drew on Kaman's expertise in helicopter rotor materials — paired with a wooden top to produce an acoustic guitar with a distinctive sound and feedback resistance for stage use. The high-end Adamas line followed in the 1970s, replacing the traditional spruce top with a carbon-fiber/birch composite and relocating the soundhole to a multi-port pattern on the upper bout.
Over the decades Kaman expanded from manufacturing into distribution, becoming one of the largest independent distributors of musical instruments and accessories in the United States. Its portfolio grew to include Hamer Guitars (acquired in 1988), the Applause and Celebrity budget lines built around the Ovation roundback design, and distribution rights for percussion, woodwind, and pro-audio brands such as Latin Percussion, Toca, Gretsch Drums, KAT Percussion, Gibraltar Hardware, Vandoren reeds, Ampeg, and JBL Professional. Kaman Music became part of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation in 2008 and was later sold to Canadian distribution group JAM Industries, where the distribution business continues to operate as KMC Music.
Ovation roundbacks built under Kaman ownership have been associated with a wide range of players across folk, country, and rock — including Glen Campbell, who became closely identified with the instrument early in its history, and artists such as Paul McCartney and Melissa Etheridge — making the Ovation one of the most recognizable acoustic-electric guitar shapes of the late twentieth century.
Kaman has 3 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Semi-Hollowbody Electric Guitars, Electric Basses, and Ouds. Their gear is featured by 1 artist, with the strongest followings in Rock and Pop. Notable users include Tim Eiermann.
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