A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

So this one was a big one but with all that's happening in this world I have not had a chance to post about it.

Through a very improbable/unplanned event, I ran into a guy online at a Livestream that Monte Montgomery was hosting several weeks ago with an interesting pair of guitars for sale. For those that don't know he's a fantastic acoustic player that defines category out of Austin, TX. He has been doing free livestreams from his house every couple of weeks throughout the pandemic via FB livestream since he hasn't been touring. Donations are accepted and given but not required, and it's turned into a really fun experience with a lot of regulars, and in between the music Monte takes requests and answers questions live/shares stories of the road/etc. Anyway, I've always been a fan and I own an Alvarez/K Yairi DY-62C which is the same model that Monte plays, or at least that's what his USED to be 30 years ago before he broke off several necks, wore holes through the top, etc...it's been rebuilt multiple times.

Along the way, Yairi also introduced a signature model of what Monte's guitar looks like now - called the MMY1, which is a similar cedar top/burl mahogany cutaway dread but it has a 5 piece laminated neck and sperzel tuners in tribute to Monte's aggressive playing style. It also has a very rough/unfinished top in tribute to his desire for a thin finish and his beat up 62.

I wasn't even looking for one, but I have been poking around for a long time for a 12 string just to have one. The gentleman I met at the livestream and I somehow started talking about guitars, and he shared with me a photo of a one-off custom shop "MMY112" he had personally commissioned by K.Yairi which is basically a replica of the MMY1 but with 12 strings. He had one of the MMY1's on order and wanted the 12 string as a matching set. Yada yada yada, 2 weeks later they were at my house and my GAS fund a lot lighter. The unfinished top really makes both of these LOUD and resonant guitars. One "feature" that I wasn't super keen on at first was the fact that the guy who bought these had Monte sign the top - and while i'm not a big fan of signature guitars, I guess if the signature belongs to the namesake himself then I can live with it.

Some PRON. The one with the 2 guys is Wendell ( the guy I bought them from ) and Monte the day he signed them at the shop in GA where he got them. The picture of the 3 is my DY62C sandwiched by MMY love.

Congrats! Great story & I love the looks of the guitars!

One question: You introduced the guys but which guy is which???

Beautiful guitars by the way.

mickey wrote: ↑Wed Apr 21, 2021 11:05 am One question: You introduced the guys but which guy is which???

Beautiful guitars by the way.

Thanks! And to clarify, the guy on the left is Wendell ( the seller ) and Monte is on the right. I'm guessing this was somewhere around 2004/5

Awesome guitars. Congrats

stunning wood. Bet they sound great too.

What’s wrong with Wendell for selling a one of a kind pair like that?

Congrats on the purchase, now don’t be a Wendell!

Chocol8 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:51 pm What’s wrong with Wendell for selling a one of a kind pair like that?

He was a super nice guy and had an amazing collection of guitars, mostly Yairi's and he had more than one one-off custom. I didn't even realize you could order custom builds from Yairi, but you still can today - starting at about 4 grand and up though.

His main reason for selling off some gear was that his wife passed a few years back and he just isn't into playing as much since. We also came to somewhat of a gentleman's agreement that I would purchase them and keep them together as a pair, and that I was not buying them to flip ( which I am definitely not ). Monte himself was even in on the conversation and had espressed interest in checking out the 12 string again some day if our paths ever cross. If I ever got rid of it he would probably be the guy who would end up with it if he wanted it

This also reminds me of the passing of our friend @fullonshred - he was a Monte fan too and both of us used to watch the livestreams from time to time. He would have liked to see these, hopefully he's up there watching in peace.

Damn, he looks way too young to have lost a wife.

Chocol8 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 21, 2021 5:05 pm Damn, he looks way too young to have lost a wife.

The photo was from the early 2000s, but yes - her passing was not expected and early even so. We had much in common related to Scouting, and our enjoyment of guitars and music, and other things too. I didn't ask for details of his past but he did raise his kids as a single parent for many years and that's a hard thing to do, much respect to him for that. Always nice to meet people like that with all the other crap surrounding this world.

Great looking pair of guitars. Congrats. I love cedar top guitars.

Beautiful guitars but that back is incredible.