A bit about Daro.
Daro Guitars is a custom guitar brand operating in a small workshop based in Portugal, specializing in handmade custom electrics.
Our instruments take cues from classic and also not so conventional guitars of the ’60s and ’70s, reimagined with good build quality and attention to detail. A balance of character, reliability, and individuality. From solid-bodies to hollow archtops, every Daro guitar is crafted one at a time, tailored to the player, and built to last.
Behind every Daro is the builder Daniel Rodrigues, who has spent over a decade shaping, repairing, and refining guitars.
Guitars and music were Daniel’s first true passions — the only ones that stayed with him throughout his life. For years, they remained a hobby while he studied and worked in other fields. Around 2012, he discovered that people were actually making guitars for a living as independent builders, and that there was a wealth of information about luthiery out there. It felt like a spark — and from that day, he couldn’t stop.
He began sketching and learning how to build the guitar he knew he’d never be able to buy. With a little help from his father’s genes (and tools), he built his first one in 2014. It was special — but, thankfully, far from perfect.
In 2018, Daniel left his web development job and joined the Guitar Rehab team in Lisbon — a place of accumulated knowledge, where Adriano Sérgio (the founder), Luís Alves, and many others who passed through there since 2003, taught him about building, repairing, wood, tools, electronics, and much more. Days were now spent repairing instruments, building new ones, and talking to musicians about what made their guitars special — and honestly, having a blast. He still is.
That experience shaped what Daro Guitars are today — their quality and the care they receive, guitars that feel familiar yet entirely new. Hearing from repair customers about what they had to say about their instruments, and inspecting both the oddballs of the past and the classics that shaped music history as they passed through those workbenches — all of this is pure inspiration that continues to feed into every Daro build.
Daro instruments are highly customizable within the core design of each model. The build/order form on each model page shows the available options, and if something isn’t listed, it’s just a matter of getting in touch — I’m sure we can make it happen.
A guitar is just a guitar. But we craft instruments meant to be special and with everything set to be inspiring — One of a kind, that you’ll watch being created from start to finish. One that will have your preferences built into it. One built with honest care and selected quality materials. One that will feel great, look inspiring and more importantly, sound rich. At the end of the day, it will still be a guitar… but it will be your guitar! ✌🏻
