NEWS/NEWSLETTER 8.07

Wilco and "Sky Blue Sky"

I am pleased to announce that Jeff Tweedy is playing his Montuoro Guitar on the new, expanded version of "Sky Blue Sky". Check out "Please be patient with me" on the DVD segment that comes with the record. Jeff is playing solo at home. Although he does not play my guitars live, I am honored that Jeff chose my guitar for this segment. The Wilco boys have been very supportive of me over the years, and I greatly appreciate that. Make sure you go out and buy this record. For me personally it's their most inspirational work thus far. A band that's constantly pushing forward. http://www.wilcoworld.net

"The World Report"

Hello and welcome! Owning your own business is a labor of love. Trying to put a monetary value on your work as an artisan is a tough thing to do. In today's world the number of options that lie in front of us is endless and intimidating. In the modern era of the guitar, it's downright daunting. The competition is overwhelming. It is just as important for a luthier to have a distinct voice and style as it is for a musician. The reality that lies beneath all of it is, of course, no luthier will ever be able to satisfy everyone's taste.

That leads me to the main statement of this newsletter. I was recently watching the BBC World News. There was a fascinating segment on the illustrious Italian suit maker Brioni. The suits made by the Italian designer go anywhere from €4,000 to a whopping €24,000 (translating to $5,500 to $33,000). All suits are made completely by hand the way they always have been, with an approximate time of 21 hours start to finish. Not bad money for your time.

The instruments that are made at Montuoro Guitars are also completely hand crafted from start to finish (except it takes far more then 21 hours to complete an instrument!). This makes it possible for me to only build 12 to maybe 15 guitars annually. I am a one-man operation. Every aspect of the instrument is painstakingly done by hand. The time spent on each piece can be overwhelming depending on the level of ornamentation etc.

In the case of Brioni's suits, trying to convince people to spend that amount of money can be hard. It takes a refined sense of taste and style to want to spend $33,000 on a suit. But, believe it or not, it's even harder to get someone to spend $5K to $10K on a contemporary guitar. With the world's supplies of vintage instruments fading into the darkness, being gobbled up by investment firms and the 2% of people in this world that seem to have that kind of money, the air is quite thin when asking $10K for a guitar. The reality is that if it's vintage there truly is only so much of a supply available. And the asking price for such instruments is not going down anytime soon.

I personally have always been a fan of vintage things. For me it helps to reflect on the times in this world when making things by hand was truly treasured. When people were every ounce of what they did. If you were an inlay artist for example you were that explicitly. It was an overwhelming passion. And it meant that most of your existence was spent perfecting that. In modern times, with CNC machinery and China consuming the manufacturing of most everything, there is little room for the artisan to survive. With the sad state of the world's economy its really no surprise at all. A luthier has no choice but to compete with the prices garnered by manufactured items.

I would like to say that it, of course, is not all about the money. Some people devote their lives to manufacturing money - a true artisan generally does not have that skill. They are blinded by the beauty before them and the aspirations to excel in their craft. They desire to leave something behind that will hopefully inspire others to do the same, sometimes at the risk of barely keeping their head above water. This of course is nothing new.

I truly pride myself in what I do, and believe me - you don't get into guitar making to become rich. You are sure to be left disappointed. The thing that I have come to realize after watching that BBC segment is this: you as the consumer or collector need to ask yourself, "Am I going to shop at the Mens Wearhouse, or am I going to have Brioni make my suit?" Brioni's are the same standards that Amati & Stradivari strived for throughout their careers as makers. Maybe it's apples and oranges...or just an Italian thing.

Best,

Frankie Montuoro
Sicilian/Luthier/Dreamer
8.07