Guitar Brand Origin Countries
Published on 09 April 2025
The guitar is a truly international instrument.
If it was initially developed throughout the mediterranean (its real origin remains a mystery), and ‘turned electric’ in the USA, then it has since travelled the face of the earth, twisting and changing en route. From continent to continent, great guitars are found everywhere, on all corners of the planet. Many of our favourite guitar companies are either American or Japanese, but there’s more to the story than that!
Today, I want to give some time to those brands that are producing excellent instruments in less obvious countries. I’ve focused on brands that you can buy from us today, and I’ve decided not to include American or Japanese brands since they will be very familiar to you already, I feel. Also, this list isn’t for brands like ESP for example, who are Japanese/American but have their guitars made in a number of international locations. It’s more about brands who are located on paths left travelled, and produce their guitars in a local area. I want to shine a light on some truly international guitar brands.
Are you ready to do some guitar globetrotting? Here’s a few that I want to share with you today…
The International Guitar Brands at a Glance
Godin - Canada
Luthier Robert Godin has created something of a mini guitar empire in Quebec, Canada. The brands Godin, Seagull, Norman, Simon & Patrick and Art & Lutherie all come under the overall Godin umbrella, and they are all made in Canada.
The first brand was Norman, back in 1972 in a little village called La Patrie. Godin guitars are still made there today (the town’s population are practically all hired by the company!) and there are now a few more locations around Quebec where Godin guitars are manufactured.
Godin use a high volume of reclaimed wood from Canadian forests, and are hand-made to a large degree. Talk about a success story?
Mayones - Poland
Contemporary hard rockers everywhere love Mayones guitars. Fashioned in Gdansk, Poland, Mayones have been crafting exceptional and unique guitars since 1982. Blending traditional luthiery with cutting edge technology, Mayones build incredible instruments that, crucially, use their own designs, not copies of golden-age classics.
Mayones offer a large amount of variable options in terms of timbers, finishes and hardware, and each instrument is a unique creation. Whether you want a more traditional rock axe or an outlandish, multicoloured masterpiece, Mayones are world-class builders.
Maton - Australia
What do Tommy Emmanuel and Josh Homme have in common? Probably not tons, but they do both play Maton guitars. There are now lots of Australian acoustic guitar brands out there, but Maton were one of the first on the international map. This is largely thanks to Mr Emmanuel, who is generally agreed to be one of the greatest living acoustic guitarists.
Maton use their own designs, local Aussie timbers and specially developed electronics to please the world’s most demanding professionals. Based in Melbourne, Maton have been building guitars since 1946!
Nik Huber - Germany
Whenever I think of Nik Huber guitars, one word keeps springing to mind: ‘sumptuous’. These hand-crafted guitars are just delicious, with an obvious focus on the crafting of the timbers. It’s a strong point, particularly since Huber himself is a 4th generation woodworker: you can just feel the dedication and pride that goes into each instrument build.
The company is small and dedicated, building around 350 guitars a year. Slow and steady seems to be the way with Nik Huber guitars, and the effort clearly pays off, since these are really some of the best electric guitars I’ve ever put my hands on.
Larrivee - Canada
Alongside Robert Godin, Jean Larrivee is the builder putting Canada on the map for acoustic guitar fans. Instead of Quebec, we are now across in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Jean and his staff of only 25 have been building 8 guitars a day since the early 90s.
Before that, Larrivee built in smaller numbers, focusing on nylon string guitars initially.
Today, the team remain as they were, will Jean still building into his 70s!
Strandberg - Sweden
Ola Strandberg has caused something of a revolution in guitar building. Or, if not that then definitely a renaissance in the world of headless guitars. Previously derided as a cringe byproduct of the 80s, headless guitars are back largely due to Strandberg’s innovations.
Designed by a non-guitarist, Strandberg are all about ergonomics and practicality. The game-changing Endurneck may cause initial eyebrow raises, but to try one is to love one, and that’s from personal experience!
This intensely innovative brand are now the preeminent headless brand, recognised and played by forward-thinking guitarists everywhere.
Cole Clark - Australia
Australians definitely love their acoustic guitars! We’ve seen Maton already, and I also want to shine a light on Cole Clark, a brand who have their own vibe entirely.
The focus on Cole Clark guitars is to be the best sounding acoustic guitars on stage, even more so than when they are unplugged, so to speak. Everything about them is geared around the live performance sound: there are intricate electronics onboard - custom developed and made by Cole Clark themselves - which utilise a face sensor and 6 piezos to capture the sound of the fundamental note, the harmonic overtones and the body resonance of the guitar. Let’s just say that it works superbly!
Cole Clark have their own body shapes, and utilise native tonewoods such as Bunya and Tasmanian Blackwood in their builds.
And yes, Cole Clark are the brand who make the acoustics with the full-on humbuckers!
Hagstrom - Sweden
It’s back to Sweden now, and this brand bring heritage and attitude to their styling. Hagstrom have been major players in the guitar game since the late 50s, and actually began as an accordion brand! What is it that Tom Waits said? “The definition of a gentleman is someone who can play the accordion but doesn’t”?
Anyway, Hagstrom bring their own innovations to the table (the H-Expander truss rod, ‘resonator’ composite fingerboards) and their Gibson-inspired designs like the Super Swede and the Ghost-endorsed Fantommen bring a freshness to familiar favourites.
Jose Ramirez - Spain
It may be a fairly easy thing to guess that one of the greatest makers of classical and flamenco guitars is from Spain, right? Ramirez are one of those names that everybody knows and reveres, as makers of some of the finest ‘Spanish guitars’ in history.
Ramirez have been in the game since 1882, and are now five generations into the family business.
In some ways, they are like the Fender of the classical world, because so many other companies have adapted (more or less copied, if I’m being frank) their designs and bracing patterns. Still, from a small workshop in Madrid, the Ramirez family continue to hand-make some of the world’s greatest nylon string guitars.
It’s a Big World, Baby
These few selected brands are just a smattering of the international guitar building talent out there in the world. It’s certainly not all about the big brands, as great as they are. If you travel a little way outside the main thoroughfield, you can quickly be rewarded with some exceptional, unique and very interesting instruments.
From Sweden to Spain, Poland to Australia, the world is full of great guitars. Find some of the very best of these at your local guitarguitar.
