One passion, one place!
At last, an event devoted exclusively to guitar lutherie! In keeping with their philosophy of promoting music making, and following the huge success of the luthier component of the SIMM, the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal and the SIMM launched the Montreal Guitar Show in 2007. Their aim: to spread the word about these artists and artisans—true stars in the eyes of guitarists—who devote their lives to this amazing instrument, and to offer all guitar fans the ultimate event for coming together, all in a perfectly suited venue. A venue where they can admire, try out and purchase the most beautiful guitars handcrafted by the world’s greatest luthiers. A tour of the world of lutherie, with Canadian, Quebec, Argentinian, American, Hungarian, French and German guitars… nothing less than guitar heaven for all guitar aficionados!
Right from its opening days in 2007, Canada’s biggest guitar show surpassed all expectations, as confirmed by the long line-ups of fans eagerly waiting to discover the musical and artistic masterpieces inside. In fact, we welcomed five times more visitors than anticipated! And no doubt that these same people will be back next year with others in tow! Because the MGS is much more than a mere exhibition; it’s a show that makes you feel as if the instrument of your dreams, before your very eyes, was designed specially for you… and better still, you can buy it! Yes indeed, these veritable works of art—acoustic, classical, archtop, gypsy-style or electric—crafted by dozens of the greatest lutherie artisans are also available for purchase!
A close-up of the guitar
All you have to do is feast your eyes on any creation of Mario Beauregard, Bill Comins, Rick Davis, Michael Greenfield, Peter Hopkins, Michael Lewis, Linda Manzer, John Monteleone, Tom Ribbecke, Jean Rompré or others, and you will understand how it is that all guitarists are totally fulfilled at the Show! Add to that the free mini-concerts, the free workshops on all aspects of the guitar—the ABCs of lutherie, best ways to choose a guitar, choosing your wood, putting on strings—hosted by top luthiers or guitarists, and the shows, and you’ll have some idea of the sheer joy experienced by guitar fans! Also awaiting discovery are the superb guitars in the Ste-Cat permanent guitar collection, a unique collection that offers a helping hand to the most promising young musicians in the form of free guitar loans. At each edition of the Montreal Guitar Show, at least two luthiers are randomly chosen from among the participating luthiers and each asked to make a high-calibre guitar bearing the Ste-Cat cat logo.
This world-class show would not be possible without the invaluable advice and support of the famous luthiers and great guitar lovers who sit on our advisory committee: Mario Beauregard, Bill Comins, Rick Davis, Sergei de Jonge, Charles Fox, Oskar Graf, Michael Greenfield, Peter Hopkins, Michael Lewis, Linda Manzer, John Monteleone, Tom Ribbecke, Ervin Somogyi and Jeff Traugott.
Guitar fans or amateur musicians, we’ll be waiting for you from July 2nd to July 4th 2010 ! In the meantime, visit our regularly updated website to find out which luthiers will be participating in the Show and about the activity program, or to reserve your hotel stay at a competitive price. And for the heads-up on the Montreal Guitar Show, subscribe to our Newsletter.