Monty’s Guitars pushes the boundaries of guitar artistry. Their expertise spans from meticulous repairs to crafting bespoke instruments and innovative pickups.
With a client list boasting legends like Dave Gilmour and Radiohead, they’ve earned a reputation for excellence. We’re about to uncover the secrets behind their success and learn how they help musicians achieve their unique sonic visions.
Monty’s Guitars
Monty’s Guitars, a Cheltenham-based collective of luthiers, musicians, and coffee enthusiasts, is led by Matt Gleeson, a veteran luthier with over 20 years of experience.
Trained by legends like Charlie Chandler and Brinsley Schwarz, Monty’s team thrives on a spirit of collaboration, good humor, and a shared passion for music and the art of instrument making.
A Range of Quality Products
Our regular readers will have seen their popular Monty’s Instrument Food in our Best Guitar Cleaners and Polishes roundup, and they also make the Montypresso Relic Wax for darkening rosewood and aging open-grained woods.
Pickup Range
Their range of hand-wound pickups is extensive, and models include the Monty’s OverSpun PAF Humbucker Pickup Set and the ’72 CuNiFeWide Range Humbucker Set.
In the UK, their reputation for excellence and high quality has meant that many pro players now use their products, and major retailers, including Andertons, stock their pickups.
What got you into Guitar, and how did you end up where you are now?
I have Marty McFly and Back to the Future to blame for getting into Guitar. I remember watching BTTF 1 with my Grandma one Christmas, sitting right up close to the TV watching Marty play Johnny B Good and from then on it was it one way ticket for me.
How did I end up where I am now?
Who and what are your biggest Guitar influences?
That’s a tricky one, there’s quite a few. I grew up listening to a mix of things, classic rock, pop, blues, jazz, but bands like Radiohead, Incubus, Nirvana, NOFX and Bad Religion, made the biggest impact.
I’ve been in a very fortunate position to be in a world where I get to hear and work with some really impressive players and they always introduce me to new stuff and give me a kick up the arse to get back practising.
What is your favourite part of the Guitar setup/building process?
My favourite part of the setup process is when the customer comes to pick up their finished guitar and try it out for the first time and you always know if you’ve got it right because they drift off into their own little world for a little bit and get lost in playing.
My favourite part of a Guitar build … I love the planning process when you’re literally putting ideas down, mixing different things together, seeing what will work there are usually quite a few crazy ideas which never get any further, but I find this is the most fun time for me. The build itself is more of just a process, doing one thing after another to get a consistently perfect result.
How should potential new clients prepare when buying Guitars or products from you? Are there any questions you feel they should ask beforehand?
The most important things are, where do you wanna get to? What are you aiming for? And what are you not getting from your guitar and rig? Once I know that then we can start plotting a route to get them sorted out.
How would you describe your style/work?
A blend of order and chaos, led by my ears!
The main thing is when it comes to the work we keep even the most complicated things simple and straightforward by using well-worn processes.
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made while learning your craft?
I have made so many mistakes over the years! I truly believe that they’re kind of a blessing in disguise, you don’t succeed or fail you succeed or learn.
That said the biggest mistake I have ever made and the Workshop, and the thing that wakes me up at 3 in the morning in a cold sweat still was routing the hole for a pick up in a brand-new natural Gibson L5 in the wrong place!
I’d made the measurements and lined it up perfectly, but when I actually put the template onto the Guitar, I lined it up with the back of my measurements rather than where it should’ve been and I ended up with a hole underneath where the Bridge would go.
Fortunately, the customer was incredibly understanding, I held my hands up and admitted my error immediately and I ended up repairing it re-spraying it and the customer was really happy with the result.
When working on anything mistakes will happen, we are human after all, but being honest and open with the customer is vital, never try to cover something up, fess up and make it right.
Why should musicians buy from you?
Musicians should come to Monty’s if they want something the first and foremost sounds great and has been designed and built with over 25 years (ouch!) of real experience with the best guitars in the world, both new and old.
The inspiration for everything that we make at Monty‘s comes from the workshop and always has a real life practical application. All our products have been road tested on stages and in studios all over the world by folks who really know their onions!
Do you have a personal favourite Guitar type/style?
I have a kind of love triangle of three guitars. A Gibson 335, Back to the Future has a lot to answer for (I realise he was playing a 345 that hadn’t actually been released in 1955, snore I know).
A Telecaster, I’ve always been a Jonny Greenwood obsessive! and a Jazzmaster because they are just so comfortable to play, sound killer and the tremolo makes everything sound shimmery, and who doesn’t like a shimmer?
What do you feel when you hand over the Guitar/Bass to its new owner, and do you ever wanna keep them instead?
There’s nothing better than seeing someone pick up their guitar or bass and falling back in love with it, that’s the best feeling. Making a guitar that was gonna be put into storage or sold and turning it back into being a favourite is always gonna be a killer feeling.
Do I ever wanna keep them?? All the time. I’ve been really lucky to have some incredible instruments pass through my hands, and I have said quite a few times, if you ever think of selling this, please tell me first.
What do you want your legacy to be?
If I can have left the world sounding a little better, with people knowing more about how to get the best out of their guitars, I’ll be happy.
More Information
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