Torque Amps has its origins in a buisness started by Jim Edgeworth in the early seventies in Darlington, UK. Edgeworth built the forerunners of the current TORQUE range of amplification in small quantities in his retail shop. Success of the first products led to an approach by a major UK national distributor who commissioned a range of amplifiers under their own brand name. This first major contract initiated the formation of the Edgeworth Electronics Limited  company in 1978 and a move to a 2,000 sq. ft. workshop on the Chilton industrial estate. Within a couple of years they purchased a 5,000 sq. ft. factory in Darlington, but the deep recession of the the early eighties caused tremendous difficulties in the UK music trade and forced their sole customer to cancel all of their orders. This forced a widening of the customer base and they were soon supplying several UK distributors with products designed specifically for them and the company began to grow.

John McGuire was raised in a guitar manufacturing enviroment - his father is luthier Mike McGuire of Valley Arts Guitars fame. In 1993  Mike McGuire decided to move John and the rest of his family to Nashville to start a new career with the Gibson Custom Shop. John turned sixteen the next year started to work at Gibson’s Custom Shop after school. John studied an associates course in CAD and applied sciences, while at the same time getting experience in almost every department at Gibson Custom including sanding, fret filing, final assembly, and packing. He then started working full-time in engineering at Gibson Custom Shop where he designed  models including the Flying V Custom and the Flying V standard flame top.

Ben Tortorici classical and flamenco guitars in Long Beach, California. Ben Tortorici was already an accomplished woodworker when he was introduced to guitar making in 1978. His skills were refined under the guidance of his friend, the late R.L. "Bob" Mattingly, a renowned classical guitar maker, who studied under Miguel Rodriguez. Tortorici also worked for Boeing as an engineer from 1970 to 2000.

Source: B.J. Tortorici website (archived 2007)

Fructuoso Zalapa Luna is a maker of fine classical guitars in Morelia, Mexico. He was born in 1961 into a family of guitar makers in Paracho, Mexico, where he began his apprenticeship at age 10. In his late teens he left for Spain to spend several years studying with various luthiers including Felix Manzanero and Manuel Cáceres. His studies continued in the late 1980s in Mexico City at the National Music Conservatory. His guitars have received numerous awards and in 2019 he was awarded the Maximum Award of the VI National Contest "Great Masters of the Artisan Heritage of Mexico 2019", held in the city of Tlaxcala, Mexico.

Luis Fernandes de Cordoba makes classical and flamenco guitars in the tradition of the European master luthiers, such as Torres, Santos, Esteso, Hauser, Fleta and Bouchet. He got started in luthiery in his late teens: this led to a certified guitar-making course, followed by an apprenticeship in repair work and construction of classical, steel string and bass guitars. He has spent time with luthiers of all types, in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Argentina and his native country, Panamá.

Source: Luis Fernandes de Cordoba website (23 February 2021)

Arturo Sanzano Moreno makes classical and flamenco guitars in Madrid, Spain. He started in 1963 as an apprentice with José Ramirez III  and worked there until 1984, when he opened a workshop in collaboration with Mariano Tezanos Castro ("Moreno y Castro").  In 1989 Sanzano opened his own workshop in Madrid. He has also made guitars in collaboration with Miguel Molero and also Alfredo Gregori.

Source: Arturo Sanzano website (archived 2007)

Saburo Nogami was an early apprentice of Masaru Kohno - he joined in 1959, finally leaving the workshop in early 1970s. Nogami is best known for his classical guitars but also made some other types of stringed instruments. In the mid 1970s he became involved with Zen-on, supervising production of affordable classical guitars which bore his name on the label - as well as either "Zen-on" or "Nisshin Kogyo Co., LTD". From the late 1970s until the late 1990s Nogami worked with Kazuo Yairi, where again he supervised production of classical guitars.