swope logo
small picture of hands holding swope guitar Close up picture of hands playing a turquoise Swope guitar.

Boutique Guitars and Hardware

There's a new sound.

portrait of Chris holding a guitar

Swope Guitars officially launched on January 1, 2014. “Swope” is Chris Swope and by 2014 he had spent the two prior decades neck-deep in the vintage and high-end guitar world in repair and building. His skills were honed in the boutique world, serving as production manager and primary bass builder for the legendary Sadowsky Guitars in NYC, and in larger scale manufacturing at the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, TN, in both the Pro Shop and the Engineering Department.

Chris’ own designs are heavily informed by his love of vintage guitar history. His guitars feature his original design pickups that are, in part, inspired by many of the forgotten units found in vintage lap steels. Along the way, Chris designed and patented the Descendant Vibrato. This side of the business has expanded to include a variety of bridges and there are more designs on the horizon.

Swope Guitars have received multiple “Editor’s Pick Awards” from Guitar Player Magazine as well the “Premier Gear Award” from Premier Guitar. The Descendant Vibrato was nominated for “Gear of the Year, 2020” by Guitar.com and both the Descendant Vibrato and Companion Bridge have also received the “Editor’s Pick Award” by Guitar Player Magazine.

Back to top