Interview: John Monteleone | Fretboard Journal Podcast

An hour-long interview with one of the true greats of guitar-making, John Monteleone. Hosted by Fretboard Journal publisher Jason Verlinde.

Collectors and musicians around the world have sought out John's archtop creations, resulting in six-figure price tags, a quartet of guitars at the Met (the Four Seasons), and even a song penned by Mark Knopfler (simply titled, "Monteleone"). He's also the subject of a full-length documentary, The Chisels Are Calling.

As if that isn't enough, nearly 50 of his instruments from throughout his career have been amassed for a very special exhibit at the Long Island Museum entitled "Musical Masterworks: John Monteleone’s Guitars and Other Instruments."

The exhibit runs through October 13th, 2024.
https://longislandmuseum.org/exhibiti...

From August 1-3, 2024, John also is hosting his own Art of the Guitar Festival in Stony Brook (just a mile away from the aforementioned museum). https://www.thejazzloft.org/monteleone

During our chat, we talk about his early days in lutherie, building instruments and doing repairs for Mandolin Brothers. We chat about the influence of Jimmy D'Aquisto, what inspires him today, his workshop, new models on the horizon, and more. (At around 50 minutes, John plays the uke...apologies for the crummy Zoom audio glitch.)

Big news: Our own, three-day long Fretboard Summit Guitar Festival takes place August 23-25, 2024 at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music.

Performers include Blake Mills, Colin Hay, Valerie June, Joel Paterson, Joe Henry, Jake Eddy and others. Over 80 brands and luthiers will be on-hand to field questions and let you try out new gear, includiing Collings, JHS, Chase Bliss, Santa Cruz, Taylor, Bourgeois, Gallagher, D'Addario and others.

Register now at https://fretboardsummit.org. Space is limited.

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal print edition and reserve your copy of Fretboard Journal 54: https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/pro...

This week's show is sponsored by:
StewMac: https://stewmac.sjv.io/R5jvRR (Affiliate link)
Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com
Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).

Love the podcast and want to support it? We have a Patreon page just for Fretboard Journal fans and loaded with bonus content.   / fretboard_journal