Classical guitarist Paul Galbraith, in collaboration with luthier David Rubio, invented the instrument in 1994.
David Rubio's protégé, luthier Martin Woodhouse, innovated the design and continues to build Brahms guitars.
Galbraith originally conceived it specifically to perform Johannes Brahms' Theme and Variations, Op.
Other adopters include Joseph Ehrenpreis, Everton Gloeden, Luiz Mantovani of the Brazilian Guitar Quartet, and Galbraith's former students Redmond O'Toole and Matthew Korbanic, and Alf Wilhelm Lundberg.
In November of 2020, Joseph Ehrenpreis released "New Music with Brahms Guitar, Vol.