M S R A NNIV E R S ARY
AMI MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS CELEBRATES 35 YEARS By Brian Berk
Although a more recent entry to the U.S. market, AMI Musical Instruments LLC is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, carrying a rich history. Since 1984, the company, founded by German luthier Günther Lutz, has offered quality fretted instruments worldwide. AMI began as a distributor for several brands of acoustic guitars and mandolins, and over the years has grown to be one of the largest distributors of fretted instruments in Europe. In 2011, the Sigma brand name became available and AMI was able to purchase that trademark and began offering Sigma guitars in Europe. Since that time, AMI has expanded the Sigma guitar offering to more than 45 countries worldwide, and they continue to add distributors all over the world. That includes the United States. In the fall of 2017,
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Lutz decided it was time to bring his guitars to the U.S. market, and due to trademark issues that prevented him from using the Sigma name, he decided to offer them under the company name “AMI” and distribute them through a newly formed U.S. company named AMI Musical Instruments LLC, located in Westlake Village, Calif. With a strong history in the fretted instrument business rich in tradition, Lutz was confident that these quality instruments would someday become a household name in the United States. Since its official U.S. launch in July 2018, the company’s network of authorized dealers continues to grow, and it is looking to add quality retail stores, such as those run by readers of the Music & Sound Retailer. “We started to offer AMI guitars in 2018 … because we sell our Sigma guitars worldwide to about 45 countries very successfully, and we often had U.S. musicians contacting us and asking where they can buy our instruments. Therefore, we thought it
Günther Lutz
was time to bring our guitars to the U.S. market,” said Lutz.
Behind the Brand
Although officially started in 1984, AMI’s history dates back to the late 1970s, when Lutz studied American Culture and History at Munich University in Germany. But, as a guitar player for many years, he decided in 1979, after three years of studying, to do something different: to build and repair acoustic guitars, and to open a retail store for musical instruments with his friend Rüdiger Helbig. In 1982, Lutz booked a flight to New York City and visited Nazareth, Pa.-based C.F. Martin Co. with one of his handmade guitars. C.F. Martin agreed to
sell guitars to his retail store, since at that time, C.F. Martin did not have any distributor in Germany. C.F. Martin was so impressed by the quality of Lutz’ guitar they asked him to do warranty repair for them in Europe, which he did for several years. Regarding why Lutz specifically decided to visit C.F. Martin in the early 1980s as opposed to another manufacturer, Lutz told the Music & Sound Retailer: “Our retail store in Munich focused on acoustic instruments, and especially on bluegrass instruments — acoustic guitars, banjos and mandolins — since my business partner, Rüdiger Helbig, is one of the most famous banjo players in Europe. Therefore, many bluegrass musicians visited our store and, of course, bluegrass guitar players want to buy a Martin guitar first.
MAY 2019
