Oahu

Oahu

Also known as: Oahu Publishing Company, Oahu Publishing Co., Oahu Music Company

Unclaimed

Oahu was a music instrument brand founded in 1926 in Flint, Michigan by Harry G. Stanley and his half-brother George Bronson, capitalizing on the Hawaiian music craze of the era. Operating under the name Oahu Publishing Company, the firm built its business around teaching steel guitar and selling branded instruments through a network of affiliated studios known as the Honolulu Conservatory of M...

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Oahu was a music instrument brand founded in 1926 in Flint, Michigan by Harry G. Stanley and his half-brother George Bronson, capitalizing on the Hawaiian music craze of the era. Operating under the name Oahu Publishing Company, the firm built its business around teaching steel guitar and selling branded instruments through a network of affiliated studios known as the Honolulu Conservatory of Music, which at its peak supplied roughly 1,200 teaching locations across the U.S. and Canada.

The company is best known for its lap steel guitars, produced from the 1930s through the 1950s and prized today as vintage collectibles. Notable models include the Tonemaste from the 1930s, the Diana, and the model 1415, often featuring distinctive pearloid finishes, multi-fret-marked fingerboards, and split-coil pickups. Oahu's acoustic instruments were largely contract-built by outside makers including Kay, Harmony, Valco, and Rickenbacker, while its electric lap steels and amplifiers were assembled in-house by Oahu's own technicians. The line later expanded to include accordions imported from Italy beginning in 1950.

Following Harry Stanley's death in 1970, his wife continued running the business until it closed in 1985. Vintage Oahu lap steels remain actively traded on the used market and are associated with the golden age of Hawaiian and country steel guitar.

Oahu has 3 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Power Amplifiers, Steel-string Acoustic Guitars, and Lap & Pedal Steel Guitars. Their gear is featured by 4 artists, with the strongest followings in Rock, Folk, World, & Country, and Blues. Notable users include Nels Cline, Ben Harper, and Ratatat.

Artists Who Use Oahu

Nels Cline uses 1 Oahu product

Nels Cline

Guitarist · Wilco

Ben Harper uses 1 Oahu product

Ben Harper

Singer, Guitarist · Yellowcard

Ratatat uses 1 Oahu product

Ratatat

Music Producer · Ratatat

Buzzy Lao uses 1 Oahu product

Buzzy Lao

Singer, Guitarist

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