Unsung Company Overview

Unsung Musical Instruments was founded in 1987 in Inchon, Republic of South Korea. At their peak they employed over 100 people and exported 50,000 electric guitars annually. Unsung was an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for many companies and the instruments they produced were sold to the public under hundreds of different brand names. Typically their instruments were targeted towards the low to medium price points although some premium brands were produced.

Unsung produced the Silver Star brand name of guitars and basses which were used as sales samples and demonstrators. The company’s catalogs carried the Silver Star name. This brand name was not produced for retail sale, only for demonstration and display purposes.

Unsung built 12-string basses under at least 7 different brand names starting in 2000 and ending in 2015. These 12’s fall into two major types which we call the First Series and the Second Series. First Series 12’s exist in three sub-types based upon body design and electronics configuration, plus there is an additional variety due to the design of the neck inlays. These designations were not used by Unsung but are useful in differentiating how their 12-string basses changed over the years.

Increasing competition from China, Indonesia and Vietnam forced Unsung to close its doors in 2016. Some of the brand names of guitars built by Unsung continue to be produced by other companies that had no affiliation with them.