Next Festival - September 2026
Tables will be limited. Invitations to exhibit will be sent out in late 2025. Please email info@archtopfestival.com for consideration.
2024 Exhibitors:
Founded in 1968 by luthier Robert Benedetto, Benedetto Guitars, Inc. of Savannah, Georgia celebrates over 50 years of jazz guitar excellence.
The internationally renowned company builds some of the world’s most collectable and expensive instruments while still focusing their production on the needs of professional and aspiring jazz guitarists.
"There are moments during the mayhem where I just take a step back and look at my bench, the sawdust, the tools, the glue, the mess... and I swear... it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.”
"LHT guitars are all a little piece of my soul. I build each one from start to finish by hand. From the hand drawn full scale blueprint at the beginning, to applying the finish, I obsess over every detail."
Ken Parker, designer of the groundbreaking Parker Fly guitar, has returned to his first love, the acoustic archtop guitar, with the goal of bringing the history and future of instrument making together to create instruments of unprecedented power and versatility.
The freedom lutherie brought me to my life is a true blessing! Thank you Peter for bringing all of us together!
Martin Tremblay, a Montreal-based luthier, is renowned for his archtop and gypsy jazz guitars. A professional since 2002, he has crafted instruments for notable musicians like Bireli Lagrene and Denis Chang. Tremblay's work is shaped by his mentor, Mario Beauregard, and further enriched by his experience working for Ken Parker, blending tradition with modern innovation.
The pinnacle of one-of-a-kind guitar creations personally built for the most discerning artist, dealer or patron. Each individual piece below is methodically constructed using raw materials from a curated stock of aged tone woods combined with thirty years of expertise. Working closely with my clients I'm able to deliver unique personal works of art that perform and sound; well, exceptional.
For over 25 years, Tad has been working with music, art, wood, and guitars – personally handcrafting all aspects of each instrument from start to finish with the utmost attention to quality. Brown began building guitars in 1996 and has worked for several renowned Southern California guitar repair shops where he became known for his fine set-up and fretwork. Handcrafted using only the finest select woods and materials, Brown guitars are characterized by their exceptional acoustic responsiveness, inspiring a wide dynamic range of rich tonal resonance.
"I have spent years weighing the relative merits of different guitars and found things I love and things I really hate. I’m not a guitar factory, and the instruments I make are different than a factory guitar. Factories make money by moving more units, and they use machines to crank out thousands of identical parts with amazing efficiency. I use some of the same machines, but more as a way of doing intricate procedures than to create an assembly line. To me, each guitar is a living, functional sculpture and not just a product."
A lifelong woodworker, Tim began making electric guitars and basses at age 16. He made his first archtop after taking Tom Ribbecke's class in 1995, and the archtop guitar has been his main focus since. Shortly after receiving a BFA in jazz bass from CalArts in 1999, he began his repair career working with Gary Brawer in San Francisco, and in 2016, began working part time with Frank Ford at Gryphon Strings in Palo Alto. In 2019, he moved to Portland Oregon where he splits his time doing repair and restoration work, and making archtops.
"I build archtop Jazz guitars exclusively. Each instrument is hand-crafted here in my workshop. I use no prefabricated wooden parts, all parts are being made personally by me. I use only select woods that I choose myself from special suppliers. These woods are air-dried and stored for no less than five years. Only then do they posses the necessary quality that I demand in order to build my guitars."
The line of instruments that I developed and build now takes everything that creates positive emotions related to the tradition but does not take it as a limitation. Those beautiful, woody instruments, are technologically advanced as physical structures and as sound generators. They are traditional at the first glimpse, but under closer examination, one can find some titanium alloy here and carbon fiber reinforcement there. Those "novelties" are not there for the sake of modernity. They always serve the purpose: quality of sound generated and comfort of playing. Guitars are, in the end, tools for guitarists. But great tools help the artists to make their art great.
At Eastman, each instrument is given the attention to detail required to ensure that it reaches its maximum potential. Features such as hand-scalloped bracing and precision tap tuning are just two examples of the way we differentiate ourselves. Considering the outward beauty of an Eastman Guitar, it’s often easy to overlook the skill and artistry applied to the inside of such a fine instrument.
D’Arcy Guitars was founded by accident when tough times called for a shift in lifestyle. At the beginning of 2020 when the world largely shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and my career as an art historian was put on temporary hiatus, I turned back to my first love: carpentry. My twin brother, acclaimed Canadian jazz musician David Blake, asked me around that time if I would build him an archtop guitar, and together, the two of us designed the Figure Zero, what is now my flagship model.
Stephen Marchione started building instruments in 1990 after graduating from Naropa University with an B.A in Music. He completed his graduate education at Cooper Union where he studied Spanish Culture and later finished an SBA Business Program at Baruch College in Manhattan. In his early 20’s Stephen learned the basics of electric guitar building under the direction of world renowned guitar builder John Suhr. Stephen also studied privately with Manhattan-based violin makers Guy Rabut and Charles Rufino. In 1993, Stephen opened his first shop in New York City where he earned a reputation of Master Luthier. In 2001, Stephen moved back to his hometown of Houston where he built a studio exclusively to make guitars in.
"Focused on providing professional Lutherie services, my goal is to make unique pieces that vibrate by innovating in a world where multiple factors can affect the conception of a musical instrument. I always aim to build instruments that are very responsive, easy and fun to play, making it easier for you to free your inspirations!’’
A shop in Manhattan making archtop and flattop guitars, including custom guitars, inlay work, repair
Linda has been making guitars since 1974 and loves what she does.
Instrument making is both an art and a science, and my work lies at the convergence of these two fields.
I hand craft custom six, seven and eight string archtop guitars. I use a variety of traditional woods; spruce and maple with different grades to suit my clients requests. I also enjoy using nontraditional woods which gives me the opportunity to develop new models, some specifically designed for the performing musician. I am a member of the Guild of American Luthiers (GAL)
George Leach has ben working on guitars for approximately 35 years. He builds most types of guitar, but focuses mainly on his archtop and classical guitars.
Gordon is owner and President of Melody Music/Elite Sound in Englewood for 51 years and has been a guitar instructor and professional guitarist in the area for 68 years. He developed and designed the Harvest guitar line 12 years ago, and they are currently producing over 23 different models of guitars.
I build acoustic archtops drawing inspiration from the 1920’s and 1930’s. Using old world glues, finishes and craftsmanship, I focus on building finely crafted instruments to promote a highly immersive, intimate and rewarding experience for each player.
With over 40 years of experience, Cristian Mirabella is regarded as one of the premier Archtop builders today.
In addition to his custom instruments, Mirabella is also noted as the top restorer of vintage D’Angelico, D’Aquisto, and golden era Gibson instruments.
Recognized as being one of the finest guitar makers in the world today, Theo Scharpach has been at the forefront of innovative archtop instrument design for more than forty years. In his one-man shop in the Netherlands, he makes a limited number of guitars for enthusiasts, collectors and players including Steve Howe, Randy Bachman and Al Dimeola.
At Fremediti Guitars, Bill and George Fremediti believe that an instrument should be an extension of the musician’s mind, hands and soul. Their minds use all the knowledge they have collected over the last 25 years of guitar making.
I am a design luthier specializing in original design stringed musical instruments, including violins, guitars, mandolins, ukuleles and lutes. Although I spend a lot of time designing the aesthetics, my first priorities are sound quality and playability!