Frank Brothers Guitars: Hand-Built Tone Machines From Toronto

There are guitar companies, and then there are guitar companies where the people whose name is on the headstock actually build the instrument. Frank Brothers Guitar Company falls firmly into the second category. Founded in 2014 by brothers Tim, Nick, and Jon Frank in Toronto, Canada, this small-batch workshop has earned a devoted following among serious players and boutique dealers worldwide — not through advertising or distributor deals, but through the guitars themselves.

We carry Frank Brothers at High Voltage Guitars because they represent exactly what we look for in a boutique instrument: original design language, meticulous construction, and tonal depth that justifies every dollar. If you have not played one yet, this guide will walk you through what makes these guitars different, what each model is designed to do, and how to figure out which one belongs in your hands.

A Legacy of Craftsmanship: The Frank Family

To understand Frank Brothers guitars, you have to understand the Frank family. Grandfather Philip Frank was an acclaimed violinist who performed with Arturo Toscanini's NBC Symphony Orchestra and recorded with the Stradivarius known as the Duke of Windsor. Father Jim Frank was an award-winning recording engineer whose credits include Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Bob Seger, and the Guess Who. Music, instrument quality, and the physics of sound have been in this family's bloodstream for generations.

Tim and Nick Frank are identical twins who started repairing guitars as teenagers. Nick gave Tim a copy of Dan Erlewine's guitar repair book, and they were off. Their first original build happened at a canoe club on Ward's Island in Toronto, working out of a backyard shed with a bandsaw and a drill press. By their third build, the design that would eventually become the Arcade was taking shape. They moved the operation to a proper workshop in Toronto's east end and launched Frank Brothers Guitar Company in 2014. Older brother Jon joined to manage the business side and has been keeping the peace between the twins ever since.

Today the company operates out of 21-B Carlaw Avenue in downtown Toronto with a small, growing team. They build two to three guitars per week. In 2025 alone, they produced 138 total instruments. Every guitar that leaves the workshop is inspected by the same people who built it.

The Design Language: Alternate-Reality Classics

Frank Brothers does not copy old American guitars. They use them as a jumping-off point. Tim Frank has described their inspiration as vintage import guitars from Japan, Australia, and Europe — brands like Hagstrom, Eko, Guyatone, and Teisco — which were themselves stretched, re-interpreted versions of Fender and Gibson designs. The Franks took that concept of the alternate-reality classic and pushed it further, adding their own construction innovations along the way.

The result is a catalog of guitars that feel immediately familiar and completely original at the same time. Players who pick up an Arcade for the first time often describe a sense of recognition that they cannot quite explain — it has the ergonomic logic of classic designs, but none of the visual clichés. Guitar Player magazine described the Arcade as a design that looks fresh without being jarring. That is a harder thing to accomplish than it sounds.

Several construction details set Frank Brothers apart from both the vintage market and the boutique competition. The extra-deep neck tenon on the Arcade family provides exceptional resonance and sustain transfer between neck and body. Their blended heel eliminates the dead zone where most set-neck guitars lose upper-fret access. Every screw on a Frank Brothers guitar lives in a threaded brass insert, so the instrument can be serviced indefinitely without ever stripping a hole. Thin nitrocellulose lacquer on the body and satin nitro on the neck. These are decisions that reflect a long view on what a guitar should be.

The Lineup: Six Models, One Standard

Frank Brothers currently offers six models, all fully customizable at the time of order. Here is a breakdown of each, along with the key specs that define what each guitar is designed to do.

The Sonar

The Sonar is Frank Brothers' California-inspired model and their most approachable entry point. Alder body, roasted maple bolt-on neck, 25.5-inch scale, and a 9.5-inch radius put it squarely in Fender territory from a playing feel standpoint. The body has deep forearm and ribcage contours. Fullerton-inspired appointments — including options for a Mastery vibrato and a chopped T-style bridge — reinforce the West Coast sensibility. The asymmetrical pointed horns and three-on-a-side back-angled headstock are unmistakably Frank Brothers. The Sonar is the most accessible guitar in the lineup and a genuine workhorse for players who want a bolt-on feel with boutique execution.

The Radar Deluxe

The Radar Deluxe is Frank Brothers' mahogany set-neck model with a 24.75-inch scale and 12-inch radius, which puts it closer to Gibson territory in terms of feel and response. Kalamazoo-style parts appointments give it a vintage single-cut character. If the Sonar is the Fender side of the Frank Brothers catalog, the Radar Deluxe is the Gibson side — warmer in the low end, slightly more compressed, and with a feel that works naturally for players coming from humbucker territory. 

The Arcade Family

The Arcade is the guitar that put Frank Brothers on the map and remains the center of gravity for the entire company. Set-neck construction, 25-inch scale, 12-inch radius, carved top and back, extra-deep neck tenon, and the blended heel. The body sits somewhere between a compact ES-335 and an SG in feel, but looks like neither. Four variations exist in the Arcade lineup.

Arcade One: The solid-body flagship. Mahogany back with maple top options, three-ply binding, and a tone that has been described as having the sustain and warmth of a classic set-neck without the heaviness. Pickup options range from P-90s to PAF humbuckers depending on the build.

Arcade Thinline : The chambered version of the Arcade One, with an optional F-hole. Adds some air and acoustic resonance to the base Arcade formula without crossing into semi-hollow territory. A good choice for players who want a slightly lighter weight and a bit more bloom in the note.

Arcade Signature: Features an inverse chambering design that blends semi-hollow and solid body tones. Double-bound body. This is the guitar for players who want the Arcade's sustain and attack alongside some acoustic complexity in the note. The most versatile model in the family.

Arcade Ultra Light: The full semi-hollow with a solid spruce center block for extra resonance and acoustic charm. Double-bound, with a body depth that ranges up to just under 2.4 inches. Built for players who want something closer to a jazz box or an ES-335 in terms of resonance, but with Frank Brothers' original design and construction standards.

Who Is Playing Frank Brothers

The Frank Brothers roster reads like a guest list for a very serious gear conversation. Trey Anastasio of Phish plays Frank Brothers. So does Clay Cook of the Zac Brown Band, James Bay, Cory Wong, Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies, Eli Maiman of Walk the Moon, and David Ryan Harris, who tours and records with John Mayer. Session and touring players for Vulfpeck and Lou Reed have also been spotted with Frank Brothers guitars.

This is not a roster built on endorsement deals. These players found Frank Brothers and chose them. That distinction matters. When a touring guitarist who plays through world-class gear every night decides to build a custom guitar with a small Canadian workshop, that is a vote of confidence based purely on what the guitar does.

How to Order a Frank Brothers Through HVG

Almost all Frank Brothers guitars are built to order. The process starts with selecting a model and then working through an extensive list of options: body wood, neck wood, fingerboard material, nut width, neck carve depth, pickup selection, finish, hardware color, binding style, and more. Frank Brothers' website includes a configurator that generates a price and an estimated build timeline based on your selections.

As an authorized US dealer, High Voltage Guitars can walk you through that process in person or remotely. If you have never ordered a custom guitar before, we can help you think through which options actually matter for your playing style versus which ones are cosmetic. We have done this enough times to know the decisions that players later wish they had made differently.

Build times vary based on order volume but typically run several months. Frank Brothers builds two to three guitars per week across all models, and demand has been consistent. If you are planning to have an instrument ready for a specific date, reach out to us as early as possible.