STAR

While the Star trademark has been reported as a brand name used by an English importer, the trademark also appeared in the U.S. market distributed by Hoshino Gakki Ten (later Hoshino USA, distributor of Ibanez). No matter how you slice the bread, the loaf comes from the same oven. While the quality of these entry level solid body guitars was okay at best, they at least sported original designs. It is believed that Guyatone (Tokyo Sound Company) built the Star instruments.
Classic American guitar designs may have been an influence on the early Japanese models, but the influence was incorporated into original designs. The era of copying designs and details began in the early 1970s, but was not the basis for Japanese guitar production. As the entry level models began to get better in quality with meticulous attention to detail, then the American market began to take notice.