World Class Guitars

& Servicing
 
 
Welcome

At Melville Guitars you will find a master luthier whose work stretches far beyond Brisbane. From a small craftsman’s studio in Kenmore, Chris Melville produces exquisitely handcrafted guitars, and offers the same standard of excellence to his repair and service customers.

Guitar Repairs & Servicing
Repairs & Service
Repairs & Service
Chris Melville, guitar builder in Brisbane, working on one of his instruments

Hand-built guitars

by a master craftsman…
Melville Custom Guitars
Custom Guitars

What’s your guitar capable of?

Melville Guitars has been established on a reputation for excellence.  Whether he’s building his own guitars or working on guitars that come into the workshop, Chris Melville has only one mode of operation: the job has to be done properly. He doesn’t want to make it sound just a bit better than it did before.

“For me personally, it’s all about extracting 100% of what I believe is available from the instrument”

For Chris, that begins with a critical assessment of the instrument and a good understanding of what the player is wanting from it. Since the player is the other half of the instrument, getting that ‘fit’ right is one of the keys to excellence in repair work and custom building. Get in touch below and make a time to talk. There is no charge for an initial consult, but available time is determined by current works in progress.

Get in touch

What’s your guitar capable of?

 

Melville Guitars has been established on a reputation for excellence.  Whether he’s building his own guitars or working on guitars that come into the workshop, Chris has only one mode of operation. The job has to be done properly. He doesn’t want to make it sound just a bit better than it did before.

“For me personally, it’s all about extracting 100% of what I believe is available from the instrument”

For Chris that begins with a critical assessment of the instrument and a good understanding of what the player is wanting from it. The player is the other half of the instrument, so getting that ‘fit’ right is one of the keys to excellence in repair work, and custom building. Get in touch and make a time to talk. There is no charge for an initial consult, but available time is determined by current works in progress.

Chris Melville, guitar builder in Brisbane
Get in touch
Chris Melville examining a guitar body
Chris Melville shaping a guitar body
Chris Melville sanding

Guitar Repairs & Service

Melville Guitars is a fully equipped luthier’s workshop, and provides all manner of guitar repairs and services.

Chris is known in the industry for his exacting standards and pursuit of excellence. He enjoys the challenge and problem solving of repair and restoration jobs but also the satisfaction of revealing the true sound capability of any guitar, banjo, mandolin etc.

‘Hearing’ the full potential in an instrument and knowing exactly how to extract it… is the skill of a master luthier.

His broad application of knowledge, skill and experience has made Chris Melville the first choice of musicians, collectors and enthusiasts, Australia wide.

What is your guitar capable of?

Guitar Repairs & Service

Melville Guitars is a fully equipped luthier’s workshop, and provides all manner of guitar repairs and services.

Chris is known in the industry for his exacting standards and pursuit of excellence. He enjoys the challenge and problem solving of repair and restoration jobs but also the satisfaction of revealing the true sound capability of any guitar, banjo, mandolin etc.

‘Hearing’ the full potential in an instrument and knowing exactly how to extract it… is the skill of a master luthier.

His broad application of knowledge, skill and experience has made Chris the first choice of musicians, collectors and enthusiasts, Australia wide.

Guitar Repairs & Servicing

Tony McManus

It is without doubt one of the very finest instruments I’ve ever seen. The neck feels great, fingerboard width is perfect. The design is restrained beauty itself……what can I say? Except it sounds incredible too. I’m not great at the flowery descriptions of how an instrument sounds but there is a sustain, depth and clarity to this guitar which is just out of this world… I’m so happy! 

Tommy Emmanuel

“ Both of my Melville’s are incredible! I’ve played a lot of instruments from all over the world and your guitars are definitely world class. ” 

Alesa Lajana

“ Above all, you know an instrument is special when you play a single note and all you want to do is sit and listen to it ring out into the world, and as me and my sound engineer discovered, you’ll be waiting a while for it to finish ringing out. What a privilege it is to play such a special instrument. I will always be very grateful.

Lucas Michailidis

“ I am astounded by the level of craftsmanship you bring to the making of guitars and marvel at your ability to tirelessly tend to every detail. My new ‘000’ is a magnificent instrument which consists of the perfect playability, comfort, aesthetic and richness of tone- it is simply a joy to play. I am ecstatic at the fact that I have finally found an instrument that will enable me to get on with the business of making music. Many thanks “

Karin Schaupp

“ Chris Melville’s guitars have a full, warm, singing tone and fantastic colour response. They are extremely well balanced with an even response throughout all registers. Harmonics and sustain are exceptional and the guitars record beautifully. They are very comfortable to play and the finish is perfect. Chris’ customer service is excellent and his attention to detail is second to none. “
Listen & Watch

Some kind words

from Melville guitar players…

Tommy Emmanuel

“ Both of my Melville’s are incredible! I’ve played a lot of instruments from all over the world and your guitars are definitely world class. ” 

Tony McManus

It is without doubt one of the very finest instruments I’ve ever seen. The neck feels great, fingerboard width is perfect. The design is restrained beauty itself……what can I say? Except it sounds incredible too. I’m not great at the flowery descriptions of how an instrument sounds but there is a sustain, depth and clarity to this guitar which is just out of this world… I’m so happy! 

Alesa Lajana

“ Above all, you know an instrument is special when you play a single note and all you want to do is sit and listen to it ring out into the world, and as me and my sound engineer discovered, you’ll be waiting a while for it to finish ringing out. What a privilege it is to play such a special instrument. I will always be very grateful.

Lucas Michailidis

“ I am astounded by the level of craftsmanship you bring to the making of guitars and marvel at your ability to tirelessly tend to every detail. My new ‘000’ is a magnificent instrument which consists of the perfect playability, comfort, aesthetic and richness of tone- it is simply a joy to play. I am ecstatic at the fact that I have finally found an instrument that will enable me to get on with the business of making music. Many thanks “

Karin Schaupp

“ Chris Melville’s guitars have a full, warm, singing tone and fantastic colour response. They are extremely well balanced with an even response throughout all registers. Harmonics and sustain are exceptional and the guitars record beautifully. They are very comfortable to play and the finish is perfect. Chris’ customer service is excellent and his attention to detail is second to none. “
Listen & Watch

Meet the luthier

“I have now been building and repairing guitars full time for 30 years and have pretty much seen, played, repaired, poked and prodded most of what is available. For me, the combination of building and repairing go hand in hand. I love the problem solving and variety of repair work, and I get the privilege to work on and learn from, instruments that are iconic in guitar history.”

“Some people have begun playing an instrument at age 7. Me, I was building things!”

This is Chris Melville of Melville Guitars playing one of his 000 model acoustic guitars
ABout Chris Melville