Valley Arts Guitars was founded in 1975 by Al Carness and Michael McGuire in North Hollywood – a suburb of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley.
Carness and McGuire ran a music store and repair shop, and their clientele included players like Steve Lukather, Lee Rittenour, Larry Carlton and Tommy Tedesco – the top ranks of the studio and touring world.
Valley Arts started building custom guitars in 1977 and this effort overwhelmed their shop by 1983, and they had to relocate manufacturing to a separate location. Relocation turned out to be providential, as a fire destroyed the unfortunately seriously under-insured retail store in 1990.
In 1992, half of Valley Arts was sold to Samick, a respected Korean builder, to allow expanded production. By 1993, both Carness and McGuire had taken spots at Gibson, who purchased the Valley Arts like in the late 1990s.
Valley Arts guitars ceased production in 2010.
