Westheimer Music Kingston

The new invitee to Ukulele Corner here is a faux flamed Kingston. Kingston was the brand name that Jack Westheimer used when he first started the practice of importing of Japanese Chordophones and beginning the process of killing Harmony, Regal, Kay and most of the other less premium US makers. I believe the Ukulele itself was made by Teisco, (who were in turn killed by Korean, Chinese and Indonesian manufacturers), and apart from its history, I have always liked the faxu flamed finish.

Now its here its interesting to compare it to the American made models of the period, (especially my Silvertone Player which would have been contemporary to it), and think about what part quality played in the demise of the US musical instrument industry.