Hi, I’m Oliver, founder of Quinn Guitars. I am a guitar maker, repairman and setup technician.
I work in a small but wonderful shop known as the Mile-End Guitar Coop, in Montreal, Canada.
I take pride in crafting high precision, well set up instruments for musicians to have as a tool for their profession and I believe it is my responsibility to ensure that my clients get the best instrument possible, based on their needs and playing style, or the most out of their current instrument.
I began my career by studying Sound engineering and studio recording. There, I learned about the importance of things sounding good at the source; no amount of mixing or production will make something sound good if it doesn’t sound at least decent at the start. This is why I decided to learn guitar making, I was convinced there was a way to control how an instrument will sound, and wanted to master this aspect to make the best sounding studio guitar possible.
I studied instrument making formally for the 3 first years after moving to Montreal, Quebec, where I learned about guitar related woodworking, design, acoustics and finishing. I quickly became fascinated with the level of precision it takes to make a good instrument. During those years I also honed my skills pertaining to setups, fretwork, repairs, electronics and finish touch ups by working in some of Montreal’s premier instrument sales and repair shops. Through these experiences, I discovered the importance of having a well set up instrument, not only does this have a direct impact on the sound of your instrument, it is also directly correlated to the pleasure a musician will have while playing it. An improperly set up instrument can be uncomfortable and unpleasant to play.