Oktober Guitars - Company Information
The October Guitars shop was located in the historic Savage Mill in Savage, Maryland.
Tony Leicht with two Hades brand 12-string basses.
October Guitars was a small custom guitar shop owned by Tony Leicht that started off doing basic setups, refinishing and repair jobs. Leicht got into building guitars in the early 1980’s, learning the craft by hanging out in a buddy's wood shop.
Beginning in 2004, October offered 12-string basses under three different brand names; first Hades, then October, and finally Oktober. While October offered custom built American-made guitars, the vast majority (if not all) of the 12-string basses they sold were produced in Korea. In fact, we have not seen any of their 12-string basses under any of their brand names that were unquestionably made in the USA.
The company name was changed and registered as ‘Oktober Guitars, Inc’ in the state of Maryland, USA in February, 2011. They went out of business in late 2016. It has been reported that at that time the company was being sued by Gibson Guitars for use of their Explorer and Flying Vee designs.
A 12-string bass hanging on the wall of the October Guitars office.
An assortment of Oktober Guitars 12-string basses with all three brands names represented.