Montgomery Guitars

I have been playing the guitar a little more recently.  This has mainly come from a need to do so for the church praise band.

To date I have been playing an Avalon Silver Series belowing to one friend or an Ibanez something-or-other from another friend.  While I appreciate the graciousness of these guys to let me loose on their guitars I was thrilled when I got my own instrument.


And it is no ordinary guitar.  This guitar was hand built by my brother.  He has been building guitars as a bit of a hobby recently and the one I now have is the second off his production line.  It is 100% solid wood.  It has a Spruce top and Indian Rosewood back and sides.  The fingerboard is ebony.  It has a beautiful tone.

As I primarily play in church there was a need to install a pickup.  In choosing a pickup I wanted one that performed well live on stage with minimal chance of feedback.  It also needed to capture a least some of the natural tone and be fitted in a non-destructive way.  I know nothing about these things so took advice from several quarters.

From the outset though I wanted an LR Baggs setup.  That partly came from recommendations and also, admittedly, I just like the feel of their company and the look of their products.

Originally I wanted the LR Baggs Anthem system which looked like it could capture the guitar tone very well through their tru-mic setup.  It probably could but I was put off for a couple of reasons.  One, the preamp just wouldn't fit into the body of the guitar given the shape and bracing used.  Two, microphones are more prone to feedback.  But to be honest the main reason was just that it would not fit.

To cut a long story short I bought the LR Baggs M1 Active system which you can see just sits in the sound hole.  In fact the only drilling or cutting required was for the strap jack which would have been necessary for just about any pickup.

The LR Baggs M1 Active is designed to give a balanced string and body signal so it should give a mic'd up sound without the mic.

First impressions are good but I need to try it in the church setting to understand if it will be ok.  I bought it from Matchetts in Belfast who gave great service.

I'm really thankful for this guitar.  It's production was a labour of love for my brother.  I don't think I have received any physical gift that required so much work and craftsmanship.  It is truely unique.  My prayer is that it will be used to glorify God who gave the gift of music, made the raw materials and gifted the luthier to put it all together!