Do you know how to pronounce Ibanez, Takamine, Godin, Suhr, D’Addario or gulp, Ruokangas? The Ibanez pronunciation is a common one that I get asked about at work!
You know what’s even more smarmy than being the grammer grammar guru who rectifys a person’s spelling mistakes online? Being the enunciation expert who corrects their pronunciations – to their faces.
Thanks to this article, you can now be that smug know-it-all! You’ll never pronounce a guitar brand’s name incorrectly again.
Working in a guitar store, I’ve heard people butchering pretty much every brand name under the sun. So I’ve detailed 23 of the worst offenders below to ensure that you can avoid all embarrassment when you next visit your local guitar emporium.
And just to demonstrate that I’m not making these pronunciations up, I’ve linked to irrefutable video proof for each brand in case you don’t believe me. And also in case my pronunciation guide isn’t quite clear enough…
How To Pronounce Guitar Brand Names
1. How To Pronounce Catalinbread
Cat-Alin-Bred Proof
My colleague at work calls these awesome premium effects pedals Kate-Alinbread. I don’t bother to correct their mistake, but I definitely think less of them as a result.
2. How To Pronounce Charvel
Shar-Vel Proof
I have a shameful secret. I pronounced these hard-rockin guitars as Car-Vel for probably a good decade. Don’t I feel a right muppet now.
3. How To Pronounce D’Addario
Da-Da-Ree-Oh Proof
No, it isn’t Dee-Addario. Yes, i’m looking at you Rob Chapman. Check out the proof video above, it’s comical how Jim D’Addario’s ‘good friend’ can’t pronounce his name correctly. Excellent guitar strings, tricky name!
4. How To Pronounce D’Angelico
Dee-Ann-Jelico Proof
New york based guitar brand D’Angelico was only recently brought back into the limelight after being reaquired in 1999. Why is it pronounced differently to D’Addario? How in the hell should I know? It just is…
5. How To Pronounce Epiphone
Ehh-Pih-Phone Proof
Some people struggle with the Epiphone pronunciation, mistakenly calling Gibson’s more affordable guitar brand Epiphany. Anyone else think Epiphany could make a good band name though?
6. How To Pronounce Godin
Go-Dan Proof
This Canadian guitar company is another brand with a name that is often butchered. Go-Din?! They’re French-Canadian – get some culture… Oh mon dieu!
7. How To Pronounce Ibanez
Eye-Bah-Nezz Proof
Everyone knows how to pronounce Ibanez, right? Well technically, it could be pronounced Ee-Ban-Yeth. Before being produced by the Japanese Hoshino Gakki, Ibanez was a Spanish guitar company, owned by luthier Salvador Ibáñez.
8. How To Pronounce James Trussart
Troo-Sart Proof
James Trussart’s incredible steel guitars blur the line between instruments and art. And yeah, I thought it was Truss-Art too. He’s French – sacré bleu!
9. How To Pronounce Lakland
Lake-Land Proof
After a premium American made bass? Lakland is a combination of the founders’ two surnames – Lakin and McFarland. There, you learned something.
10. How To Pronounce Lowden
Lao-Den Proof
Handcrafted in Ireland, Lowden produces some of the finest acoustic guitars in the world. You pronounce ‘Low’, as in ‘cow’, just so you know…
11. How To Pronounce Mayones
My-Oh-Nez Proof
The Polish boutique guitar and bass brand has become a bit of a powerhouse in the world of guitarists over the last decade. Many people also pronounce Mayones as May-Oh-Nez. As long as you aren’t one of those Mayonnaise people, you get a pass.
12. How To Pronounce Mooer
Mower Proof
Mooer is primarily known for their line of effects pedals but has recently begun to dabble in guitars as well. Everyone I know pronounces it ‘moor’. Because, you know, it reads that way…
13. How To Pronounce Moog
Mogue Proof
Moog are mainly known for their synths, but did you know they also have a quality range of guitar pedals? PS…that’s right – Moogerfooger is pronounced Moger-Foger. Who knew…
14. How To Pronounce Ruokangas
Rrroe-Kungass Proof
I struggle with this one, even after watching the video. The incredible guitars this Finnish brand produces are just as exotic as the enunciation of their tricky name!
15. How To Pronounce Sadowsky
Sad-Ow-Skee Proof
Ow, as in Owl. If you’ve been calling them Sa-Doe-Skee then you’re probably in good company. If you were planning on grabbing yourself a high-end American-made bass you can now do so without any undue embarrasment.
16. How To Pronounce Steinberger
Stine-Burger Proof
I’ll give you a quick story for this one! Many years ago, a woman came in to the store to buy some gear – I believe it was a piano. My colleague was wearing a t-shirt with a small Steinberger logo on it which the woman mistakenly took to be his name.
For the next half hour of showing this lady the gear she was after, he had to put up with being referred to as Steen-Berje.
17. How To Pronounce Sonuus
Saw-Noose Proof
This line of pedals and other musical equipment is designed in the UK, where we enjoy making up our own trendy pronunciations… It’s not as bad as our town names right enough – have you ever tried to pronounce Worcester or Gloucester? Yeesh…
18. How To Pronounce Strymon
Stry-Min Proof
One of the biggest names in boutique guitar pedals, and probably a fairly obvious one in terms of how to pronouce. But I have heard a fair few people saying Strimmin. For some reason I find this one quite difficult to type as well!
19. How To Pronounce Suhr
Sir Proof
I hear very few people correctly pronouncing this high-end custom guitar brand. It’s not Soor, and it certainly isn’t Shure, cos that’d get very confusing.
Check out the video above where John Suhr introduces himself at a music convention. Pretty unlikely he’d get his own name wrong, right?
20. How To Pronounce Takamine
Takka-Mee-Nay Proof
A lot of people struggle with the Takamine pronunciation. Takka-Meen, Takka-Mine – both wrong. They’re Japanese you know! The name comes from a mountain in Japan called (funnily enough) Mount Takamine.
Fun fact – Takamine was one of the first ever companies to produce an electro-acoustic guitar!
21. How To Pronounce Xotic
Exotic Proof
I’ve heard so many people refer to the US-based effects pedal brand as Zotic. It’s not Eff-ender, or Gee-Ibson, but these guys thought it would be hip to pronounce that first letter in its entirety. It is pretty cool, though.
22. How To Pronounce ZVEX
Zee-Vex Proof
The moniker of this premium effects pedal brand is simply the owner’s name – Zachary Vex, hence the pronunciation. Makes sense unless you’re a ‘zed‘ person! Does that mean Xotic could be founded by Xavier Otic? Hmm…
23. How To Pronounce Squier
It’s SQUIER, NOT Squire
One last infuriating bonus entry. Most can pronounce it, but plenty can’t spell it.
Did I miss any brands? What is the most ridiculous pronunciation you’ve heard?
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