Artinger Guitars

Approaching his 10th year in business, Matt Artinger has established quite a niche in his relatively young career. Often jokingly referred to as a 'guitar monk' for his level of dedication to his instrument designs and clients...

Asher Guitars

Bill Asher, founder, owner and master builder behind Asher Guitars & Lap Steels is also the head honcho and master luthier of the renowned custom shop Guitar Traditions in Los Angeles. Asher has a diverse and extensive 22-year career in the guitar business and has worked with an impressive list of clients, including Grammy Award winners, Billboard Chart topping musicians, vintage collectors and dealers...

Gene Baker Guitars

What can you say about Gene Baker? He's a mad man first and foremost, having dedicated his life towards the evolution and improvement of the electric guitar as we know it. Gene Baker guitars are known for their smooth, comfortable lines that are very appealing to the eye.

Bochar Guitars

Joe Bochar is the guitar player’s guitar builder. A player himself for more than 25 years, he understands what a guitar should and should not be. Joe built his first guitar in 1989 in his father’s shed with nothing more than a picture and some basic tools. During the next 15 years, he built and modified his own guitars for recording & gigging. A self-taught builder, Joe can best be described as more New Yankee Workshop than assembly line. Each JBG guitar is hand-built from rough slabs of wood and crafted into a stunning instrument with amazing tone & versatility...

Briggs Guitars

Briggs guitars are hand built in very limited quantities with the best tone woods available. Every Briggs guitar receives the same loving attention to detail in construction, finish and setup as the next. The amount of skilled handwork required to produce a Briggs guitar is staggering. Work of this quality is hardly found in any production instrument today at any price.

Dismal Ax Guitars

Dismal Ax guitars are a blend of old and new, fantasy and reality. They incorporate many elements of the classic forms of the instrument, but present them in different contexts, drawing inspiration from nature, and its ability to transform the shiny and new into true works of art...

Fano Guitars

Dennis Fano has always had an interest in building instruments that combined features from a variety of guitars - the guitars that might have existed in an alternate reality where the great American guitar makers and innovators of the 1950s would've existed under one roof, as a collective. That is the idea behind the Alt de Facto series....

Fibenare Guitars

Fibenare Co. has it’s roots in Hungary in the 1980s. The Benedek Family was a family of musicians. All family members studied classical music for several years in their hometown Kecskemét. Kecskemét is a well-known town all over the world thanks to its tradition of musical education involving Zoltán KODÁLY.

Forster Guitars

Nigel Forster was taught to play guitar at age 13 by his grandfather Charlie Ferguson, a well-known musician from the Tyne Valley, Northumberland. From the beginning he was hooked. He became fascinated with the variety and tonal range of the instrument. He really enjoyed both playing and listening to guitars, so it wasn't long before his interest turned to how they worked...

Giffin Guitars

Roger Giffin started Giffin Guitars in England, where it existed in various forms from the late 60's up until the mid 80's. During those years he was fortunate enough to hook up with a lot of very good musicians. This gave him the opportunity and encouragement to design and build guitars that became widely accepted in England at that time...

Kevin Green Guitars

In 1990, Kevin Green found himself (almost) fresh out of art college, wanting to start a band, and desperate for a good archtop. He couldn’t afford the one he wanted. He had just moved into a studio building in Toronto next to Michael Schreiner, a lute and guitar maker who also taught classes in luthiery. It was a turn of good luck that he wasn’t able to afford that guitar. He began classes with Michael to build his own...

Gustavsson Guitars

Johan Gustavsson has been a professional touring and session guitarist for well over 2 decades. His experiences as both a luthier and a seasoned player made it abundantly clear that he had to supply his clients with instruments that at least rivaled the finest vintage and boutique guitars available, both in terms of playability and beauty.

GVCG

Jonathan Wilson and GVCG create a new type of timeless classic, the "Organic Vintage Replica," which defies all odds and scientific norms to produce an instrument that absolutely feels, sounds, and looks old. His work is both uncanny, and unmatched. The GVCG models that have been released to the public have created quite a stir among players and astute collectors alike. Each model is completely hand hewn, rubbed, and crafted to produce an instrument that is truly unique...

Harden Engineering

Bill Harden started playing guitar at age 14 in the suburbs of Chicago. At that time you could buy a Supro amplifier at a garage sale for about $15.00. He and his buddies had a band that tried to cover the songs of a local blues guy named Hound Dog Taylor, so the cool raw sound of electric guitar fascinated him from the very beginning, as it still does thirty years later. At age 18, Bill's parents said "Go to business school or get out." Bill opted to leave and get a job as a machinist in a local machine shop and pursue his dreams of rock and roll superstardom at night...

Hopkins Guitars

A Hopkins archtop guitar embodies the essence of the early hand-carved, hollow body design. With the focus on structure, acoustic quality and impeccable finish rather than adornments and ornamentation, Peter Hopkins' instruments are compelling in their visual beauty, and commanding in their performance.

Nik Huber Guitars

"...what we do, is to turn beautiful pieces of wood into excellent guitars. As easy as it sounds, this process requires not only a reasonable amount of experience, it is also a never ending story of mishaps, dead-end-streets and tiny little pieces of metal that won't fit into their tiny little holes. Building fine instruments can be a very bumpy ride. On the other hand: this is the fun part, too."

-Nik Huber

Kauer Guitars

Kauer Guitars is a family run business started by Doug and Rick Kauer. With over 15 years experience in wood-working, Doug was able to capitalize on his experience with CNC machinery to do precision work such as fret slotting, bridge placement, body shape and more. In tandem with the precise work their CNC machines offer, Doug still uses an overall hands-on approach to more delicate matters such as shaping necks, contours, fretwork, finishing and final setup...

BC Kingston Guitars

Brian Kingston bought his first stereo using all his summer job savings in 1969. He was only 14 years old but because of a competitive swimming background he was traveling with a group of 18-20 year-olds to different towns to teach swimming. A couple of the kids played guitar and listened to guitar music constantly. It was there for the first time during the Woodstock summer that Kingston experienced the magic of guitars. In short order he became obsessed with guitar music and tone. As his ears received their education and became more sophisticated he realized the subtle nuances in tone improvement as one climbs the stereo cost ladder...

Koll Guitars

There are guitar makers and there are GUITAR MAKERS. Among the finest luthiers working today, Saul Koll constructs Innovative, bold new designs that are evocative, reminiscent, and familiar. These are the modern comfort food for the vintage guitar aficionado.

Mario Guitars

The Tennessee based guitar maker - Guitar Mill, has officially announced that their custom shop division, formerly known as "Guitar Mill Custom Shop," will now be named after master builder / owner and founder - Mario Martin. The name change to Mario Guitars was made due to overwhelming feedback from customers, dealers, and fellow industry friends...

Moriah GuitarWorks

Moriah GuitarWorks was founded in 2007 by John Mark Hampton. John Mark has been building musical instruments since the late 70's. He attended the Guitar Research and Design Center and was instructed by George Morris and Charles Fox in acoustic and electric guitar construction...

Myka Guitars

David Myka builds each and every guitar entirely by hand. Every tool he uses is directly controlled by him without the use of automated machinery. In this way he can produce a much more integrated guitar in terms of overall tone and workmanship. When designing and building these guitars Myka takes every opportunity to fine tune the design to fit the particular tonal requirements and the results are well worth the effort..

John Page Guitars

John Page started building guitars out of necessity. He was a kid in his early teens with a lot of desire to play guitar and virtually no money to buy one. Figuring "it can't be that hard," he proceeded to attempt building his first guitar. After weeks of work, filled with anticipation and excitement, he threw it in the trash... it totally sucked. That was over thirty years ago, but John continued building guitars, until he got it right...

Pheo Guitars

No, you didn't forget to put on your glasses! These fractured, yet crafted, random yet profoundly organized instruments are the creations of Phil Sylvester of Pheo Guitars. They are the very epitome of functional art - they play, beautifully, even startlingly well. They are consummate instruments that press hard at the boundaries of what we normally think an instrument "should" be.

Pfeister Guitars

Like most guitarists, Craig Pfeister began playing when he was about thirteen and immediately fell in love with the instrument. He received a BFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco before he began Pfeister Guitars. He had wanted to learn to build guitars when he first arrived in California, before art school was even an option, and began learning to build while still in school...

Potvin Guitars

Since the age of 8, Mike Potvin has been fascinated with guitars. Ironically, it would not be until much later in life before he picked up the instrument with a serious intent to play. Fortunately, in the years leading up to that point he pursued another passion - working with wood. When he was inspired to bring the two passions together, Potvin Guitars was born...

Probett Guitars

When Damian was a small boy, his family moved into a new home, the garden of which was was somewhat overgrown and full of interesting things like old Anderson shelters and a once loved but now ramshackle workshop full of old tools and dusty containers of things which must have once seemed useful. He and his friends would spend hours enacting games of cowboys and indians and similar childhood escapades. He became increasingly drawn to the old workshop where he would attempt to fashion various “objets de guerre” from whatever materials he could rescue from the spidery corners...

Red Rocket Guitars

Matt Nowicki is the one who chooses the lumber, wires the parts, does the cutting, sanding, painting, polishing and he's got the splinters to prove it. Many years ago Matt got a degree in sculpture and, after a few fantastically lucrative years (insert sarcasm…), ended up in London ad agencies as the guy who could draw and knew how to use the brand new (at the time) Macs...

Ribbecke Guitar Corporation

Tom Ribbecke has been building guitars for over thirty years. He is one of the premier archtop builders in the world, with a considerable waiting list and many different models of guitars and basses employing carved top and back technology. He also makes conventional steel string and classical guitars to order.

Rocketfire Guitars

Rocketfire Guitars brings the best of vintage Fullerton with the comfort and stability of a brand new guitar. Finishes are 100% Nitro-Cellulose down to the wood. The pickups will have you believing that you're holding a vintage guitar. Rocketfire selects the best woods that are crafted, roughed out, and hand shaped in house from raw lumber...

Spalt Instruments

Of the numerous careers Michael Splat has had, this one has probably been the most satisfying. "I'm always looking forward to the moment when I can play the first few notes on a newly built instrument; to find out what it sounds like, how it plays and to welcome it to the family. Over the years I've learned something about what to expect from a given combination of woods, pickups etc., but every new instrument still holds a surprise and promises new discoveries..."

S.Talkovich Guitars

S.Talkovich got his first Sears guitar (with the spray painted sunburst) for Christmas at 10 in 1960, but his love of two piece single cutaway style guitars began in 1970 when he traded a 1960 Epiphone Sorrento thinline for a grocery bag full of a 1954 Blackguard in pieces...

Tandler Guitars

Joerg Tandler was born in 1965 and grew up in the Frankfurt/Germany area which was heavily infected with Rock’n’Roll brought by the American soldiers stationed there, especially in the 70s and 80s. His first guitar related experiences began after hearing his first Van Halen record at the age of 15. Wanting to be a Rock’nRoll guitar player, he bought his first amp and borrowed his cousin's cheap plywood Strat-wannabe, which did not deserve the title "musical instrument" at all...

Tao Guitars

Tao Guitars' hot rod inspired creations represent a crucial contribution to the modern guitar building art form. First & foremost, all Tao Guitars instruments are fully hand made from wood cutting & shaving to finishes, sanding & polishing, everything is done the old way using rasps, scrappers, chisels & sweat which make each piece unique due to the somewhat random aspect of the real by-hand work...

Teuffel

Ulrich Teuffel's great-grandfather was an engineer, his grandfather was an engineer, his father is an engineer, his second grandfather was a cabinetmaker, his uncle is a cabinetmaker, his granduncle was a painter: as you can imagine, becoming an accountant has never been Teuffel's ambition. An inventor is a bit more his style...

Thorell Guitars

Thorell guitars are a commitment to the idealistic vision of what a guitar can be. Each guitar is crafted with an individual intent, that the whole process of building this particular guitar will be a unique experience. This plays across directly to the guitarist; their experience of this instrument is as personal as their own expression.

Cp Thornton Guitars

Cp Thornton Guitars of Sumner, Maine crafts a range of solid wood, semi-hollowbody archtop guitars with innovative construction methods and top-quality materials. Their patented thinline hollowbody guitar design features neck-through construction and a uniquely sculpted neck joint. Their solidbody designs are equally groundbreaking, the Fusion and the Classic apply a fresh design approach to the traditional single-coil guitar...

Michael Tuttle Guitars

Michael Tuttle's background includes lengthy stints with Valley Arts and Don Grosh Guitars, where, among other things, he gained a reputation for his fretwork. As a guitar player for the last 30 years, the transition from a professional musician to guitar builder has been a valuable asset to his company. He built his first guitar in the early 80's and in 1993 started building guitars commercially. After 10 years of honing the art of guitar building working for other organizations it was time to start out on his own. Michael Tuttle Guitars began in 2003. His unique craftsmanship and quality are unparalleled. Once you've played a Tuttle you'll know!..

Verrilli Guitars

Frank Verrilli is originally from Bridgeport, Connecticut. He has been a full time artist for over 20 years. Initially in his career he worked exclusively in wood, carving both relief and three dimensionally. He later began doing pieces in stone and bronze as well. About mid career he also began painting. So his background is a bit different than some other guitar makers.

Versoul Guitars

Founded in 1994, Versoul specializes in the design and construction of high end string instruments for professional musicians as well as collectors, investors and guitar enthusiasts. Since the beginning of the company, the product range has broadened from two acoustic models in 1995 to 19 production models in 2008. Versoul instruments have been sold internationally through dealers in the USA, Europe and Japan and used in hundreds of professional recordings and live performances over the years in Europe and in the USA...

Gil Yaron Guitars

The mission as Gil sees it is to be the antithesis of the modern instrument building entity. It's not a secret that most of the manufacturing processes of our time are driven by big companies with a single task in mind - making money... Nothing wrong with that of course, but when the decision makers in big guitar manufacturing companies are not guitar players and never experienced the difference between a 50s vintage guitar and a mass produced cheapo... this is exactly how you get most of the off the shelf guitars out there...

Zaukus Guitars

Joseph Zaukus' interest in building guitars began in 1985. After building a couple personal instruments, he contacted a small guitar company in Baltimore Maryland (his hometown) called KT Guitars to show Mike Koontz, (one of the owners) his work and hopefully land a job there. A few weeks later he got the call that there was a position available in the woodworking department and got the job...