Richmond, VA

Thomas Rodriguez

Thomas Rodriguez builds guitars the old fashioned way, ie. by hand with no CNC or CAD, and the results are spectacular. They consistently embody the feel and soul of great vintage guitars but with modern, world-class build quality.

Meet The Models

Half Nelson

The Half Nelson model can be thought of as an "Esquire Jr". Tonally this model maintains a surprising amount of Tele twang, but the emphasis is on that classic Gibson midrange snarl. It's the kind of guitar that had us laughing out loud at how fun it is to play, how well it plays, and how amazing it sounds.

Half Nelson Standard

The Half Nelson Standard has a late 70s / Southern CA / Billy Gibbons vibe, no doubt due to the faded Sunburst finish and zebra Fralin Pure PAF humbucker in a single pickup configuration. It's really the perfect melding of Fender and Gibson both looks, tone, and feel-wise.

Buxton Special

Tommy brings this early student model design to the forefront here, adding a level of build quality that we quite honestly think few can rival. Using a combination of lightweight tone woods, excellent pickups and hardware, and precision fit and finish, the Buxton Special is without question the best modern version of the original Coronet design we've come across.

Buxton

The Buxton model finds Thomas tackling the rare, and often under-appreciated, late 50s Epiphone Crestwood. Using a combination of lightweight tonewoods, top-shelf pickups and hardware, and precision fit and finish, the Buxton is without question the best modern version of this style we've come across.

Full Nelson MPH

The Full Nelson MPH is an extraordinary mash-up of an early 50s Fender P-Bass and a Strat. Yes, that's a very cool thing. From the minds of Matte Henderson and Thomas Rodriguez.

Pterribird

The Pterribird makes no secret about its influences and we have zero beef with that. More than a simple mashup of a Tele and a Firebird, Thomas has included plenty of thoughtful details that make this a really cool, really unique build.