Vintage inspired guitars handmade in England by Mike Bowes

M.B. Guitars was formed in 2020 by myself, Mike Bowes, a vintage guitar fanatic and luthier of 15+ years.

It was whilst I was training under the well known luthier Martin Sims (SimS Custom) that I saw a lot of vintage guitars coming through the workshop door for repairs, re spray work and set ups. I found myself working on some special projects over the years, working on vintage guitars and basses for the likes of Peter Frampton, Leo Lyons (Ten Years After), Norman Watt Roy (BlockHeads) to name a few. This is where my love for those classic 50's and 60's guitars started.

Over the years, I experimented with different ageing processes on my own guitars that I built to try to get an authentic looking guitar that sounded and felt like the originals, after seeing a lot of lower quality aged guitars that started appearing for sale on the market. My guitars were then sold on my website 'Operationstrat'.. (a nod to my favourite guitar!) and I received a lot of praise and positive feedback on how the guitars played, felt and looked.

I kicked things back off in 2020 with M.B. Guitars, which is dedicated to offering the very best handmade vintage inspired guitars based on the originals, built using original processes, and only the best components and parts available today.

My guitars offer an authentic look, feel and sound, which is built around the players needs.

Let's talk Guitars...

Double Cut

Single Cut

Offsets

What makes them special

See what customers are saying...

Tomo Fujita
I love that guitar very much! I was stunned by the details you are making… so light and amazing! I am really enjoy playing it. The front pickup is so great for jazz guitar! They are so well balanced. This guitar is so much fun to play, it is simply amazing! It sounds incredible!
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The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content. The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content. The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

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Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

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About M.B. Guitars

In 2008 I started out with SimS Custom/Enfield Guitars where over the years I worked on vintage guitars and basses of Peter Frampton, Leo Lyons Ten Years After), Norman Watt Roy (BlockHeads) and Dave Swift (Jools Holland Band) to name a few.

In 2020 M.B. Guitars was created. Dedicated to offering handmade vintage correct replicas. After years of experimenting with ageing my own guitars, I've honed the process of creating authentic replicas. I combine original processes and the best components available today for an authentic look and sound, built on the player's needs.
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