The History of Campbell Guitars & Musical Instruments

The History of Campbell Guitars

Frank Campbell

The Campbell Family came to America in the 1850's during "the clearances", when thousands of Scots were driven off their lands and forced to emigrate to other countries. Brothers Frank and Cash Campbell settled in Marine City, Michigan and crafted handmade acoustic guitars. Frank's son, John Burdett Campbell, continued the family business until moving west to homestead in Montana with his wife Ella Konig, the daughter of a German architect and engineer. John eventually relocated to Detroit and worked for the Acousti-Lectric in 1936, the world's first electric guitar factory. The company eventually went bankrupt and John turned to real estate as a career to support his wife and three sons.

John B Campbell	John B. Campbell's grandson Scott has designed and built his own electric guitars, basses, amplifiers, and speaker cabinets since 1971. He received instruction in woodworking and electrical design from his father Herbert A. Campbell, himself a skilled bagpiper and industrial designer.	Herbert A. Campbell
Scott is the last surviving male member of his family. It has served as a major motivation in preserving the family's legacy through the creation of a handful of superb instruments intended to carry on the Campbell name long after the last of the line has died out.
Quantities will be extremely limited but each Campbell guitar will be an individual and unique work of art hand crafted from the rarest woods and finest components. Their owners can be proud to be part of the Campbell family heritage by possessing an example of more than 100 years of Campbell quality and excellence.