Established by Vinny and Joey, Fodera Guitars started with as a partnership of luthier and player. With his hands-on knowledge of how good bass guitars felt and sounded, Joey’s pro-player perspective was the perfect complement to Vinny’s talent at creating custom hand-made electric guitars. Together, they set out on a mission to build distinctive, handmade instruments that played effortlessly and allowed artists to achieve tonal nuances unavailable from any other instrument on the market. They developed Fodera as a premium custom brand, something that had not existed in the 80's.

Throughout the years, the Fodera team remained relatively small; consisting of approximately 5 people up until 2009 when Jason DeSalvo came on as a Partner. That year, Jason invested in the company, which allowed both production to expand and the team to grow to about 15 people to serve the demand from around the world. Initially a customer and friend, Jason saw an opportunity help Vinny and Joey restructure their business and invest in the company. Since then, Fodera has expanded from a smaller ‘mom and pop’ shop to larger scale production, and the company that Vinny and Joey started evolved into what is now known as one of the most highly sought after custom instrument brands in the world. Jason transitioned into retirement in December 2019 and will always be our honorary partner and friend for life.

Laura Fodera, Vinny's daughter, has been working along side Vinny, Joey and the team since 2009 in different capacities around the shop learning the in’s and out’s of business. Laura, who was the shop manager, has transitioned into Partner / CEO during this time. Looking to carry the brand into the future, Laura’s entrance has officially made Fodera Guitars a family business. 

Our current team is more motivated than ever to carry on the dream that Vinny and Joey started, continuing the ideas, innovations, and identity so that future generations have access to Fodera’s for years to come.

Fodera Guitars has been located in Brooklyn since it was founded in 1983. Originally located in a humble shop on Avenue O, Vinny Fodera and Joey Lauricella made their early mark in the music scene handcrafting instruments.   

In 1990, Fodera moved to an expanded space in Industry City where we reside to this day. Our current space has gone through a few iterations to accommodate the growth of the company, but our core values remain the same: to handcraft the highest quality instruments we can, with the finest materials we can find. 

As a team of luthiers, craftsmen & artists, Fodera has resisted the urge to outsource labor for mass production, and instead we look to preserve the original methods of crafting instruments by hand.

Throughout the years Fodera's lineup has evolved with each iteration, however, the foundation has remained the same: handcrafted custom instruments.

At the start of the company, Vinny and Joey focused on what the guitar market lacked at the time. With the large brand names being so dominant in the guitar and bass world, producers of custom instruments were few and far between. They pushed the envelope of what is possible in the world of bass.

After establishing a strong catalog of custom options for many years, Fodera introduced the Standard line in 2011. Many customers inquired regarding a lower priced instrument that would be more accessible. Since then, that line has expanded into more avenues including standard offerings on guitars, classics, standard specials, with much more to come.