Michael McCarthy apprenticed then worked with Hideo Kamimoto at his Oakland workshop in the 1970s. In the 1980s he left lutherie to work in the software industry, but returned to lutherie in 2008. As a jazz player, his main interest is acoustic arch top guitars and he has owned and restored many arch tops from the classic era, but needed to build his own, to get everything he wanted in an instrument. McCarthy uses his software skills in his guitar making - utilizing Rhino 3D software for design, with the MadCAM plugin to create tool paths, and a Techno LC 4848 CNC router. Michael's twin brother Patrick is a professional bassist and luthier who does repair and restoration of basses at his workshop, and abroad.

Source: McCarthy Stringed Instruments website (2 March 2018)