Manufacturers

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is one of the world's largest musical instrument manufacturers, best known for pioneering solid-body electric guitars and basses. Founded by Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender, the company introduced the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass, and Jazz Bass — instruments that became foundational to rock, blues, country, and jazz music.

Gibson is one of the world's most recognized guitar manufacturers, renowned for pioneering archtop guitar design and for the legendary Les Paul solid-body electric. Its instruments — the Les Paul, SG, ES-335, Flying V, and Explorer among them — have shaped the sound of blues, jazz, rock, and metal for over a century.

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand of Hoshino Gakki, known for fast-playing superstrat-style electrics, extended-range and 7/8-string instruments, and a deep signature-artist roster including Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. After starting out copying American designs, Ibanez shifted to original guitars in the late 1970s and is now one of the world's top-selling electric guitar and bass brands.

Jackson is the guitar brand that defined the visual and sonic language of shred and heavy metal, born from the pointed 'Concorde' body Randy Rhoads sketched for Ozzy Osbourne's band in 1980. Its aggressive body shapes and high-output, fast-playing necks remain a staple of metal guitarists today.

C.F. Martin & Co. is America's oldest guitar manufacturer, founded in New York City in 1833 and headquartered in Nazareth, Pennsylvania since the 1830s. Martin pioneered X-bracing and the dreadnought body style that became the template for the modern steel-string acoustic guitar, and its instruments remain the standard against which other flat-top acoustics are measured.

Nash Guitars is a boutique builder specializing in hand-aged, 'relic'd' recreations of vintage Fender-style electrics and basses. Billing itself as the largest independent builder of aged guitars in the world, Nash hand-finishes every instrument in nitrocellulose lacquer with hand-mixed paints, avoiding synthetic finishing materials to more closely replicate the look, feel, and wear of a genuinely decades-old instrument.

Parker Guitars built some of the most radical electric guitars ever mass-produced. Designed by luthier Ken Parker and best known for the Fly series, its instruments wrapped a carbon fiber and glass composite exoskeleton around a wood core, cutting weight dramatically while combining traditional magnetic pickups with piezo pickups for hybrid electric/acoustic tone.

PRS Guitars builds high-end electric and acoustic guitars known for figured maple tops, versatile humbucker-plus-coil-split electronics, and exceptional build consistency. Founded by luthier Paul Reed Smith in 1985, the company has grown from hand-built instruments for artists like Carlos Santana into the third best-selling guitar brand in the world.

Suhr Guitars builds high-end electric guitars and basses known for exceptional playability, versatile electronics, and manufacturing precision that blends hand-craftsmanship with modern CNC technology. Founded by luthier John Suhr, the company is also well known on the guitar-effects side for its pedals and amplifiers.

Taylor Guitars is one of America's largest acoustic guitar manufacturers, known for a crisp, contemporary tone and forward-thinking design innovations like the patented NT neck and V-Class bracing. Founded in El Cajon, California in 1974, Taylor became fully employee-owned in 2021 and remains a leader in sustainable tonewood sourcing.

Tom Anderson Guitarworks is a boutique electric guitar builder regarded as one of the most respected names in the high-end custom market. Producing roughly 1,200 instruments a year, the company is known for exceptionally consistent build quality, playability, and tone, backed by manufacturing innovations most boutique shops don't attempt at scale.