About

Rich Hoeg’s journey into lutherie began in the late 1970s with little more than curiosity and a knack for figuring things out. He built his own Strat, a Tele, and even crafted a new body for Cookie’s Musicmaster bass—all without formal training. That DIY spirit landed him at Sierra Guitars in San Francisco, where he worked alongside legends Michael Tobias and Ron Armstrong. Under Tobias’s no-nonsense mentorship, Rich quickly gained serious chops in professional guitar building.

When Sierra closed its doors, Rich co-founded Westwood Custom Guitars in Oakland with Danny Ransom. After a couple of productive years, he joined Modulus Guitars, integrating his own builds while working alongside their team. Around this time, Rich and his partner Cookie welcomed twin daughters, Sammy and Joey. He balanced work with life as “Mr. Mom,” before returning to full-time production at Modulus.

From there, Rich took on production management at Chandler Guitars, where he built a custom 12-string bass for Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick, and had the chance to hang with Joe Perry of Aerosmith—just a few highlights from a colorful career. Eventually, he returned to Modulus which was now located in Marin County where Rich and Bob Weir collaborated on the design of the Blue Lighting Bolt.

In 2000, Rich launched Hoeg Guitars from his home workshop in San Francisco, where he continues to design and build handcrafted instruments with the same passion, precision, and soul that sparked his journey decades ago.