American craft / Australian home
Knaggs guitars unite master-built performance with the freedom to create an instrument that feels entirely personal.
ExploreFrom experience to independence
The road to Knaggs.
Founded in 2009 by designer and luthier Joe Knaggs and marketer Peter Wolf, the company brought together a deeply experienced team around a deliberately focused approach to guitar making.
- Before 2009
Mastering the craft
Joe Knaggs develops his reputation as a designer and luthier at PRS, including leadership of its Private Stock work and the creation of influential instruments.
- 2009
Knaggs is founded
Joe Knaggs and marketer Peter Wolf establish Knaggs Guitars around a shared belief: experienced builders working at a human scale can make truly individual instruments.
- Maryland
A focused workshop
In Greensboro, carefully selected woods, modern processes and traditional hand skills come together under an experienced senior building team.
- Today
Made for players
Influence, Chesapeake, Signature and Creation instruments extend Joe’s design language—from performance-focused guitars to unique commissioned works.
The story of Knaggs
A new chapter in American guitar making.
Joe Knaggs, a former PRS Master Builder, founded Knaggs Guitars with the intention of offering musicians something more personal and customizable. After years of perfecting his craft at PRS, where he built some of their most iconic instruments, Joe left to start his own brand.
He wanted to create guitars that were not only exceptional instruments, but offered more room for individual expression—something that felt truly personal to the player.
A signature in every detail
Purfling without precedent.
A signature feature of Knaggs guitars is the intricate custom purfling—the decorative edging around the body and neck. Unlike the standard purfling found on most guitars, Knaggs offers distinctive designs using varied colours and materials, making every guitar visually individual.
Available in Australia
Knaggs guitars in stock.
In detail
Made to be seen up close.
Knaggs are known to be works of art, from the timber choice to the pure craftsmanship.
Personal by design
Your preferences, built into the instrument.
Knaggs offers a high level of customisation - from neck profiles and body shapes to finishes - giving players the opportunity to create an instrument tailored specifically to their preferences.
Combined with Joe’s PRS background, this focus on individual specification creates guitars that blend exceptional craftsmanship with a genuinely personal touch.
PurflingNeck profilesBody shapesFinishes
Four expressions of one philosophy
Find your way into Knaggs.
Each family has a distinct feel and purpose, but all share the same attention to material, response and detail.
Influence
Shorter-scale, set-neck instruments including the Kenai, Chena and Keya families. Familiar foundations are reshaped through Knaggs’ own contours, hardware and construction language.
Chesapeake
Longer-scale designs including the Severn and Choptank. Their names, like most Knaggs models, draw from North American rivers.
Signature
Artist-developed instruments shaped through close collaboration with players such as Steve Stevens, Eric Steckel and Doug Rappoport.
Creation
One-of-a-kind commissions interpreted by Joe Knaggs from a customer’s theme, interests and chosen model configuration—functional art that is never duplicated.
Made in Greensboro, Maryland
Discover the range
