Michael Baranik is a luthier based in California’s San Luis Obispo County, he is known for his acoustic guitars. Baranik first took guitar-building classes at Phoenix's Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in 1993 and then apprenticed with head instructor John Reuter for several months. In 1995, he joined the newly established Phoenix Guitar Company, which provided valuable experience in building, repairing and finishing. The Phoenix Guitar Company soon closed, but after a year with Woodworkers' Source and a short stint making custom furniture and the occasional electric guitars, Baranik began building acoustic guitars under his own name in 1996.