Oroborus

Oroborus Customs is a one man business run by Tobias Traub in Berlin. Truab makes custom acoustic and electric guitars.

Source: Oroborus Customs website (23 May 2019)

Barlow

Barlow electric guitars are handmade by Ricky Barlow in Long Island, New York. Made using rare and exotic tonewoods. Barlow attended the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in 2009 and then worked for Paul Reed Smith Guitars. He launched Barlow Guitars in 2015.

Source: Barlow Guitars website (23 May 2019)

Orn

Gunnar Örn Sigurdsson has been making guitars since 2000. Based in Reykjavik, Iceland Gunnar makes custom electric guitars drawing on inspiration from Icelandic nature and heritage. Some of his models are dipped in hot springs which gives them a unique colour and texture

Source: Örn Custom Guitars website (21 May 2019)

OJ

OJ Guitars is the brand of Swiss luthier Oliver Jaggi. Currently based in California he makes unique acoustic basses and guitars, one at at a time.

Source: OJ Guitars website (21 May 2019)

OD

OD Guitars was founded by Omer Deutsch in Israel. Deutsch has a background as an industrial designer which he combines with his luthiery skills to produce electric guitars with intricate geometric details.

Source: OD Guitars website (21 May 2019)

Maxwell

Glen Maxwell is custom guitar maker based in Clevedon, New Zealand. Maxwell's innovative acoustic guitars are made using CNC machining and thermal modification of the timbers to create complex organic shapes with a very tactile quality. His instruments typically use New Zealand Native, or at least New Zealand grown timbers.

Source: Maxwell Custom Guitars website (21 May 2019)

Maegen Wells

Maegen Wells makes acoustic guitars, archtops, and mandolins by hand in Forestville, California. She started building in 2006 and has since worked in repair shops, electric guitar manufacturers, acoustic and archtop guitar shops, before starting her own shop.

Source: Maegen Wells Guitars & Mandolins website (21 May 2019)

O3

O3 guitars and basses are hand made by Alejandro Ramirez in the south of Spain. Founded around 2005.

Source: O3 Customs website (archived 2006)

Rasmus

Rasmus was a brand name of Suhr, launched in 2010 as a more affordable alternative to their made-in-USA instruments. The name Rasmus was derived from John Suhr's real Danish family name, Rasmussen. The popular Suhr Standard and Modern models were the basis for the Rasmus line. The Rasmus Standard was based on the 22–fret Suhr Standard model that was developed by John Suhr in the 1980's. The Rasmus Modern was based on the 24–fret Suhr Modern model introduced in January 2008 and the first original model from Suhr Guitars since it was established in 1997. Rasmus electric guitars were made in China and featured:

Pratley

Martin Pratley launched Pratley Guitars in 2004 after several years of making custom stomp boxes and guitars. In 2002 he graduated from a 4 year Bachelor Degree in Industrial Design and Technology Education in Brisbane. Pratley Guitars is based on the Gold Coast in Queensland and makes electric guitars as well as wooden percussion stomp boxes and cajons.

Source: Pratley Guitars & Percussion website (19 May 2019)

Rash

Rash Guitars was an Italian company located in Merate (Lecco) founded by Ruggero Ascione. Their handmade electric guitars and basses featured Italian woods, special finish colors and handmade pickups and were endorsed by a number of Italian guitarists. Their website was active from 2002 until 2015. Paolo Lardera worked with Ascione before taking over the workshop at 48 Via Statale and launching his own Blackbeard Guitars brand.

Source: Rash Guitars website (archived 2008)

Blackbeard

Blackbeard Guitars (Barbanera) was founded in Merate, Italy by Paolo Lardera. Lardera worked with Ruggero Ascione of Rash Guitars before eventually taking over the workshop at 48 via Statale. Blackbeard electric guitars are handmade - typically to a telecaster shape - but there are other options as well as bass guitars.

Source: Blackbeard Guitars website (17 May 2019)

Marconi LAB

Marconi LAB is an Italian guitar and bass maker, located in Cureggio in the Novara province. Marconi LAB was a traditional luthiery workshop for ten years before launching their website in 2011. Their website connects customers directly with Marconi with quotes for custom instruments generated in real time. Questions or clarifications are answered directly by David Torriani & Guido Brancalion luthiers of Liuteria Marconi. As well as complete instruments they offer necks and bodies.

Source: Marconi LAB website (12 May 2019)

OVATION ULTRA GS

The GS was Ovation's take on the Fender stratocaster. By the time this model was made Ovation had outsourced the production of bodies and necks to Samick in Korea, but the final assembly was done in the USA.

Jang (Isaac)

Isaac Jang studied with Bryan Galloup at the Galloup School of Guitar Building and Professional Guitar Repair in Big Rapids, Michigan, before getting a job at Westwood Music in L.A. He then started working with Kathy Wingert - an apprenticeship that lasted ten years. He now has his own workshop in Hollywood, California where he makes ergonomic acoustic guitars by hand. Some of his guitars have a clever cutaway - he refers to it as a bendaway- using an idea borrowed from Mitsuhiro Uchida.

Source: Isaac Jang Guitars website (8 May 2019)

Negrini (GNG)

Luthier Giulio Negrini got his Master's degree in violin and bow making in 2007 in Italy. He has since also attended instrument making seminars including Violin Restoration with Adam Whone and Archtop Guitar Making with John Monteleone. Being a hard-rock guitar player, informs the designs of Negrini's GNG electric guitars which are comfortable and playable incorporating features like smooth necks and fretboards, extra strings (like the 10-string Shen model), extended scale lengths, fanned frets and hi-gloss finishes. Negrini makes all GNG instruments himself in his Lausanne workshop in Switzerland. Each one is typically made to order, customers can chose from a wide selection of rare, high grade tonewoods, premium hardware and Negrini's own hand wound pickups.

Source: Giulio Negrini Guitars website (10 February 2017)

Ergon

Adriano Sérgio worked as a scuba diver, touring musician & guitar tech before opening Guitar Rehab in Lisbon - a musical instrument repair, resoration and guitar making workshop. This is where Sérgio started making his Ergon guitars - he is now also helped by Hugo Domingos and Luís Alves. Ergon guitars have unique organic looking hand carved bodies.

Source: Ergon Guitars website (6 May 2019)

McGreevy (Donal)

Donal McGreevy studied at the Lagan Lutherie School with Sam Irwin and then opened his own workshop in County Down, Northern Ireland. McGreevy's guitars are informed by his personal tastes as a self-taught guitar player and by the folk, Irish traditional and Celtic finger-style musicians he grew up listening to. He makes a small number of acoustic guitars each year - circa 2019 his standard model is an OM style acoustic.

Source: Donal McGreevy Guitars website (6 May 2019)

Relish

Relish Guitars was founded in 2010 in Switzerland by Pirmin Giger and Silvan Küng. Relish guitars have several innovative features:

Stafford

Stafford is a Japanese brand of brand of electric and acoustic guitars owned by Kurosawa Music. Stafford guitars are aimed at the domestic Japanese market.

guitar-list