Forty-nine brand guides to guitar, mandolin, violin, ukulele and banjo makers — and the gap between where an instrument is designed and where it is built.

For string instruments, the most useful question is often where the instrument is actually made. Several student-violin brands carry Western names on instruments reported to be made in China; the Cremona line, for example, is named for the Italian city of Stradivari but not made there. Gliga, in Reghin, Romania, is the round’s genuine European workshop.

Hawaiian-made and Asia-made ukuleles

Ukuleles split the same way. KoAloha in Honolulu and Kanile’a in Kaneohe build in Hawaii, with value lines made in Thailand and China; Kala, which originated the U-BASS, makes most models across Asia with a US-made Elite line; Cordoba is now part of the Yamaha Guitar Group.

Banjos built at home

Banjos are the exception. Deering, North America’s largest banjo maker, builds every banjo in California and owns Vega; Nechville, Huber, OME and Pisgah are small American workshops; Gold Tone designs at home and builds overseas.

Workshops and merchants

Some makers build everything themselves: Collings in Austin, Santa Cruz Guitar Company in California, Lowden in Downpatrick, Kamaka in Honolulu since 1916, and Furch, which builds its whole range in the Czech Republic with no import line. Others are open about splitting the work: Eastman says its guitars are handmade in its own China workshop, and Breedlove and Bourgeois pair a US-built line with an imported one.

How to use these guides

Each guide covers who owns the name today, where the products are made — by the maker’s own account and, where it differs, by other sources — and the brand’s visual identity. A company’s description of itself is attributed to the company, and where a business has closed we say so plainly. The table at the end gathers the essentials.

Student violins

Violin brands and where their instruments are made.

• Eastman — The hand-built strings of Eastman Music Company (founder Qian Ni), a US-based house whose workshops are widely reported to be in China, sold beside its winds and guitars.
• Stentor — The Reigate, Surrey company behind the Stentor Student line, a British brand that calls itself the world’s leading maker of student stringed instruments.
• Cremona — The student-violin line of the US importer Saga Musical Instruments, named for the Italian city of Stradivari but not made there.
• Knilling — The century-old American string brand owned by St. Louis Music (now U.S. Band & Orchestra Supplies), known for its Perfection Planetary Pegs and its St. Louis setup shop.
• Gliga — The hand-carved instruments master luthier Vasile Gliga has made since 1991 in Reghin, Romania, a town famous for violin-making — the round’s genuine European maker.
• Mendini — The ultra-budget “Mendini by Cecilio” outfits, the entry-level line of the US importer Cecilio, reported to be made in China and sold heavily on Amazon.
• Fiddlerman — The house brand of Fiddlershop, the Holstein family’s online string shop in Pompano Beach, Florida, whose overseas-made violins are set up and play-tested in its own workshop.

Ukuleles

Ukulele makers from Hawaii to Shenzhen.

• KoAloha — The Honolulu ukulele the Okami family has hand-built since 1995, its Musubi soundhole a signature, with the Opio value line made in Thailand.
• Kanile’a — The Kaneohe ukulele Joe and Kristen Souza have built in Hawaii since 1998, tied to a koa-replanting program, with the Islander value line made in China.
• Kala — The Petaluma ukulele brand that originated the U-BASS in 2009, most models made across Asia, with a US-made Elite USA line as its halo.
• Cordoba — The nylon-string guitar and ukulele maker of Cordoba Music Group, now part of the Yamaha Guitar Group, whose stable also includes Guild.
• Luna — The ornamental ukulele brand from a stained-glass artist, owned by Armadillo Enterprises, a sibling of Dean Guitars and ddrum.
• Ohana — The Long Beach ukulele brand designing vintage-style instruments in California and building them in China, with final setup back in the USA.
• Enya — The Shenzhen ukulele maker that leans on materials, building affordable wood ukuleles and carbon-fibre, all-weather instruments in China.

Banjos

American banjo workshops and their import rivals.

• Deering — The family-owned San Diego workshop that is North America’s largest banjo maker, builds every banjo in California, and owns Vega and the Goodtime line.
• Gold Tone — The founder-owned Florida folk-instrument maker whose banjos are designed at home and built overseas, then set up in Titusville.
• OME — The Boulder, Colorado workshop of fine handmade custom banjos, with a heritage that traces to 1960 and the earlier ODE company.
• Nechville — Tom Nechville’s American-made banjos built around the patented Heli-Mount, a one-piece cast frame replacing dozens of parts, now made in Oregon.
• Huber — Steve Huber’s Tennessee banjo shop recreating the prewar Gibson Mastertone tone, whose proprietary tone rings are sold to builders across the trade.
• Pisgah — The founder-owned North Carolina shop building open-back old-time banjos by hand from native Appalachian hardwoods, on solar power.
• Gold Star — The affordable prewar-Mastertone-style banjo that is a house brand of Saga Musical Instruments, the California importer, and Asian-made.

Guitar and mandolin workshops

Collings, Santa Cruz, Lowden, Cole Clark, Kamaka, Godin and Eastman.

• Collings — The independent, privately held Austin guitar and mandolin workshop, US-built since 1973, that keeps its whole line American-made.
• Santa Cruz Guitar Company — The independent California maker, led by founder-luthier Richard Hoover, handbuilding a few hundred acoustics a year.
• Lowden — The independent Northern Irish acoustic guitar maker founded by George Lowden, building in Downpatrick, with the Sheeran line a collaboration.
• Cole Clark — The independent Melbourne guitar maker working native Australian timbers, mostly Australian-built with an honest new dual-national entry line.
• Kamaka — The family-owned Honolulu ukulele maker, handcrafting in Hawaii across four generations since 1916, home of the pineapple ukulele.
• Godin — The family-owned Québec maker behind Seagull, Norman and more, doing its woodwork in Canada and its final finishing in New Hampshire.
• Eastman — The American-headquartered instrument maker, transparent that its guitars are handmade in its own China workshop, from a violin-shop lineage.

The second line

Bourgeois, Breedlove, Alvarez, Warwick, Duesenberg, Furch and Larrivée.

• Bourgeois — The Lewiston, Maine acoustic maker whose USA flagship is joined by a Touchstone line built at Eastman’s China workshop, through a 2019 partnership.
• Breedlove — The Bend, Oregon guitar maker, owned by Two Old Hippies, splitting a USA-built line from an imported Asian line.
• Alvarez — The American-owned guitar brand whose standard line is imported from China while its premium Alvarez-Yairi line is handmade in Japan.
• Warwick — The German bass maker owned by Hans-Peter Wilfer, building premium instruments in Markneukirchen and importing its RockBass line from China.
• Duesenberg — The German Art-Deco electric guitar brand of Göldo Music, manufactured in Croatia and finished in Germany.
• Furch — The family-owned Czech guitar maker that builds its whole range in the Czech Republic, with no import line at all.
• Larrivée — The family guitar maker founded by Jean Larrivée in Toronto in 1967, now building its whole line in Oxnard, California, after closing its Canadian factory.

The other strings

Deering, Huss & Dalton, National Reso-Phonic, Northfield, Scott Cao, Recording King and Alhambra.

• Deering — The independent, family-owned California banjo maker, handmaking in Spring Valley since 1975 and holding the Vega, Goodtime and Tenbrooks marks.
• Huss & Dalton — The independent Staunton, Virginia workshop building banjos and guitars by hand, all in the USA, since 1995.
• National Reso-Phonic — The independent San Luis Obispo maker of tricone and single-cone resonator instruments, hand-built in California since 1989.
• Northfield — The US-owned mandolin maker, based in Marshall, Michigan, that builds primarily in its own Qingdao, China workshop as one integrated team.
• Scott Cao — The founder-owned violin maker whose top instruments are bench-made in California and whose student lines come from its China workshop.
• Recording King — The revived 1930s Montgomery Ward catalog brand, now owned by The Music Link, designed in America and openly manufactured overseas.
• Alhambra — The independent family Spanish classical and flamenco guitar maker, building in Muro del Alcoy, Spain, since 1965.

Maker or merchant

Saga, Kala, Jay Haide, Dusty Strings, Camps, Pisgah and Mule.

• Saga Musical Instruments — The California import house that designs and imports a whole stable of brand names, from Blueridge to Kentucky, without its own factory.
• Kala — The family California ukulele company, Hawaiian-inspired and designed in Petaluma, with its instruments mostly made across Asia.
• Jay Haide — Ifshin Violins’ in-house line, designed and set up in El Cerrito, California, with the instruments themselves made overseas.
• Dusty Strings — The family Seattle workshop building folk harps and hammered dulcimers by hand since 1979.
• Camps — The family classical guitar maker in Porqueres, near Girona, building every instrument in its own Catalan workshop since 1945.
• Pisgah — The North Carolina banjo maker building open-back banjos from native Appalachian hardwoods in a solar-powered shop near Asheville.
• Mule Resophonic — The Saginaw, Michigan maker of hand-built steel-body resonator instruments, founded by Matt Eich.

At a glance: who owns the name and where it is made

Taken from each guide’s fact panel, as of October 2026. Ownership and production change; follow the link for sources and detail.

Brand	Origin	Owner	Where made
Alhambra	See guide	See guide	Spain
Alvarez	See guide	See guide	China + Japan (Yairi)
Bourgeois	See guide	See guide	USA + China (Touchstone)
Breedlove	See guide	See guide	USA + Asia (split)
Camps	See guide	See guide	Spain (own workshop)
Cole Clark	See guide	See guide	Australia (mostly)
Collings	See guide	See guide	USA (all)
Cordoba	California (~1997)	Yamaha Guitar Group	Asia
Cremona	See guide	Saga Musical Instr.	China (rep.)
Deering	California (1975)	Deering family	USA
Deering	See guide	See guide	USA (all)
Duesenberg	See guide	See guide	Croatia + Germany
Dusty Strings	See guide	See guide	USA (Seattle)
Eastman	US brand	Eastman Music Co.	China (rep.)
Eastman	See guide	See guide	China (handmade)
Enya	China	Independent	China
Fiddlerman	USA (2012)	Fiddlershop	China (rep.) / FL setup
Furch	See guide	See guide	Czech Republic (all)
Gliga	Romania (1991)	Gliga family	Reghin, Romania
Godin	See guide	See guide	Canada + New Hampshire
Gold Star	See guide	Saga Instruments	Asia
Gold Tone	Florida (1993)	Rogers family	Overseas
Huber	Tennessee (2000)	Steve Huber	USA
Huss & Dalton	See guide	See guide	USA (all)
Jay Haide	See guide	See guide	Overseas (set up in CA)
Kala	California	Family / independent	Asia + USA (Elite)
Kala	See guide	See guide	Asia (mostly)
Kamaka	See guide	See guide	Hawaii (all)
Kanile’a	Hawaii (1998)	Souza family	See guide
Knilling	USA (1922)	St. Louis Music	Set up in St. Louis
KoAloha	Hawaii (1995)	Okami family	See guide
Larrivée	See guide	See guide	Oxnard, California
Lowden	See guide	See guide	Downpatrick
Luna	Florida (2005)	Armadillo Enterprises	Asia
Mendini	See guide	Cecilio	China (rep.)
Mule Resophonic	See guide	See guide	USA (Saginaw)
National Reso-Phonic	See guide	See guide	USA (all)
Nechville	See guide	Tom Nechville	USA
Northfield	See guide	See guide	China (Qingdao) + US setup
Ohana	Long Beach CA (2006)	Independent	China (setup USA)
OME	Colorado (1960*)	Independent	USA
Pisgah	N. Carolina	Founder-owned	USA
Pisgah	See guide	See guide	USA (Asheville)
Recording King	See guide	See guide	Overseas (stated)
Saga Musical Instruments	See guide	See guide	China / Asia
Santa Cruz Guitar Company	See guide	See guide	USA (all)
Scott Cao	See guide	See guide	California + China (tiers)
Stentor	UK	Independent (rep.)	China (rep.)
Warwick	See guide	See guide	Germany + China (RockBass)

Frequently asked questions

Are Cremona violins made in Cremona, Italy?

No. Our guide explains that Cremona is the student-violin line of the US importer Saga Musical Instruments, named for the Italian city but not made there.

Where are Deering banjos made?

In California. Deering, a family-owned San Diego workshop, says it builds every banjo there.

See also our harp brand guidelines.

Part of our Audio & Music brand guidelines. See also all collections.