Tony Zemaitis

In 1957, after completing national service, Zemaitis began building a few basic guitars in order to learn about construction, soundhole shapes, tonewoods, and string length.

In 1960, having realized that musicians needed simple and light instruments, he began selling his guitars at prices which covered the cost of materials, and by 1961, after being mentioned in the music press, Zemaitis started to be approached by leading players.

[citation needed] In 1970 Zemaitis began experimenting with placing a metal shield on the top of the guitar body to eliminate microphonic noise through the pickups.

His first metal-top guitar prototype was purchased by Tony McPhee; the second was built for Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones (who was in The Faces at the time).

In the 1980s Zemaitis launched a "student model" guitar that could be upgraded when the player could afford it, but this proved to be too popular and time-consuming.

[citation needed] In 2007, American economist-turned-fraudster Al Parish bought an acoustic guitar made by Zemaitis and owned by George Harrison for $150,000.