Hello,
Welcome everyone to my new site dedicated to the fine art of guitar making by the Chicago area guitar makers and manufacturers of the past and present. There are many wonderful sites dedicated to the guitars of C.F.Martin & Co and Gibson but none dedicated especially to my own personal favorite the Larson Brothers Carl & August of Chicago IL.
To briefly introduce myself I am a guitar maker from the Chicago area that specializes in vintage style guitar making & restoration. The instruments that I build are steeped in 1920s & 1930s tradition, the golden age of guitar making. And especially the instruments of The Larson Bros. I will attempt to keep the flame alive as we continue to unravel and explore the mysterious world of the Larson Brothers and their amazing creative force. As well as introduce you to my own hand made creations.
Please visit my website
www.montuoroguitars.com
ABOUT LUTHIER
Larson Brothers Guitars and Structural Design
Larson Brothers guitars, marketed under a variety of names such as Maurer, Euphonon, Stahl, Stetson and Prairie State, are legendary. Yet there were so few of them built that many guitar aficionados and many vintage guitar dealers have seen only a few if any. The few guitar experts who have encountered a reasonable quantity of Larson Brothers instruments recognize that these are extraordinary instruments built notably differently than any other maker. Martin and Gibson guitars are often very fine factory built instruments, but in no way do they compare sonically to a Larson. In much the same way as a D’Angelico or D’Aquisto is an exceptionally hand built arch top, the Larson’s sense of structure, sonic identity and hand craftsmanship sets them apart from any other guitar maker.
I am one of very few luthiers alive who has had the good fortune to be exposed to a substantial quantity of Larson brother’s instruments. As a meticulous craftsman I have for many years studied the structural and cosmetic details of Larson instruments. Over the course of restoring well over 300 of these exceptional instruments I have amassed a depth of knowledge and intimate familiarity with the subtleties of the Larson building theory and now have undertaken to apply these observations to my own hand built instruments. The guitars I am now building are not only cosmetically similar to Larson’s; they incorporate the unique concepts of structure that truly set the Larson instruments apart. There are many fine craftsmen building guitars today, but very few of them are built like a Montuoro guitar, built in the tradition of Larson Brothers guitars, some of the finest steel string acoustic guitars ever made.
Sincerely
Frankie Montuoro
