About Black 35 Guitars

The Black 35 Story…

Founded in Fall of 2016

As someone who was no stranger to the world of crafting instruments, Black 35 owner and founder, Anthony Cartinella has taken his drive and vision from his former drum company, Dark Horse Percussion, and implemented his values and vision to build some of the most unique custom guitars with Black 35.

Throughout his nearly two-decade tenure with Dark Horse Percussion, Anthony has crafted custom drums for artists including: The Bouncing Souls, Eminem, The Wonder Years, The Gin Blossums, Streetlight Manifesto, The Gaslight Anthem, RX Bandits, The Menzingers, Title Fight, and hundreds of others spanning the globe. Since passing the Dark Horse torch in 2017, Anthony’s focus has shifted to crafting guitars and entering into his 25th year as a music educator in NJ.

Since its inception in 2016, Black 35 Guitars has been featured in various publications, podcasts, two successful showings at NAMM, and has built countless guitars for players globally, including renowned artists such as: Rich Fortus (Guns N’ Roses), Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance, L.S. Dunes), Brian Baker (Bad Religion), Stephen Egerton (Descendents), Gary Holt (Slayer, Exodus), James Bowman (Against Me!), Kevin Rheault (Dropkick Murphys), Tracii Guns (LA Guns), Ace Von Johnson (LA Guns), in addition to many others.

The goals and vision of Black 35 are simple: treat each player the same and strive to build the finest instruments to express one’s emotions through music, all while keeping pricing affordable.

Why Black 35?

CRAFTMANSHIP

All guitars built by Black 35 are crafted by musicians, for musicians. Upon completion, each guitar receives a final, multi-step quality check to ensure precision and accuracy.  We will not allow a guitar to leave the shop unless it meets our standard of excellence.  With all of our guitars, it is not just about the aesthetics of their unique character, but also about making sure they are at the highest level of quality and playability for any and all levels of players.

Whether you are a beginner, weekend warrior, session player, collector, or a touring musician; at Black 35, we want each and every guitar to be played, and played with pride. We want them to withstand the road and beyond, as we stand behind their playability and craftsmanship 110%.

INSPIRATION

At Black 35, our selection of color choices, configurations of body and neck design, components, and/or hardware finishes, are virtually limited only by your imagination.  We strive to bring your dream guitar to life.  We are not just another, “relic” guitar company; instead, we set out to be a fully customizable guitar shop that works with each one of our customers on an individual basis to fulfill their vision, all while keeping the ordering process simple, efficient, and concise.  If you can imagine it, we will do all we can to bring it to reality.  From cutting edge technology, to timeless techniques – your imagination becomes our creation.

FAMILY

Here at Black 35, we are family.  With each new order, our family grows; with our brotherhood spanning the continents across the globe.  Young and old, beginner to advanced, the Black 35 family is built on a foundation of honesty, trust, collaboration, and satisfaction.  We aim to help each other and to share our love of guitars.  Black 35 is so much more than a guitar company: the relationships and bonds we forge as a family are equally as important to us as creating a high-quality, long-lasting product for you.

The Black 35 Family

Just a few of our notable players that we have crafted guitars for…

Frank Iero

My Chemical Romance,
L.S. Dunes

Rich Fortus

Guns N’ Roses

Brian Baker

Bad Religion, Dag Nasty, Fake Names, Beach Rats

Stephen Egerton

Descendents

Gary Holt

Slayer, Exodus

Tracii Guns

L.A. Guns

Kevin Rheault

Dropkick Murphys

Ace Von Johnson

LA Guns

Bobby Mahoney

Bobby Mahoney & the Seventh Son

Dave Crum

Independent

Sammy Kay

Independent

Colin Poulton

Independent