Monkton Guitars services the novice and the expert

By Liam Easley

“Wash your hands before you play a guitar,” read the front door sign at Monkton Guitars in Broomfield.

The real estate office turned guitar store came prepared with different rooms that once served as offices. That stroke of luck made it possible for Monkton Guitars Owner David Williams to sustain social distancing during the pandemic.

Williams opened the store in April 2019. Before then, Monkton Guitars spent 29 years as an online business, although the physical store was always something Williams desired.

“I always dreamt about having a [guitar] store,” said Williams. “And to be honest, my son took his life at college, and that sort of pushed me over the edge to quit my corporate job and open a store.”

Williams’ dream began long ago, back when he got his first guitar. There was no story to that guitar outside of him visiting the nearest music store. It was a classical guitar, and like everyone else at the time, he bought it because he needed it for lessons. Later down the line, he ventured into electric territory, buying an off-brand blues, hollow-body guitar.

“My first electric guitar was a Japanese [guitar] with two-pickups,” he said. “It looked like a Gibson ES 335, but it certainly was not.”

With influence from Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, two of his favorite guitarists at the time, the now high school-age Williams joined a blues/rock band. It was around this time when he became interested in vintage guitars. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Williams collected and sold old guitars, but it never became a business until he launched Monkton Guitars in 1989.

While still in college, Williams studied engineering, but he had a side interest in music promotion. During school he worked as a promoter, and he even booked several concerts. In fact, he almost went down the path of a booking agent. Between the years 1977 and 1978, Williams booked The Band, Jackson Browne, Doc Watson, Little Feat and several other high-profile acts.

“When I graduated, I was dealing with one of the major agencies in New York,” Williams said, “and they were going to offer me a job. So, I said, ‘what can I make?’ And they said ‘well, it would be similar to what you could make at the counter at McDonalds.’”

Williams ultimately decided not to pursue promotions after he earned an engineering degree. After bouncing around the country working at various companies, he settled at CenturyLink. He eventually retired as a product director in 2019, which allowed him to open the brick and mortar Monkton Guitars store.

David Williams. Photo: courtesy Monkton Guitars

At Monkton, Williams tried to make it easy for anyone to start lessons. He pointed out that it is easier to learn the basics now compared to when he first started playing. At the time when he first picked up the instrument, electric guitars were not built for beginners. Thick strings and poorly crafted instruments were common. However, beginner electric guitars are more accessible today, and at his shop, instruments for both beginners and professionals are available.

With an inviting atmosphere, Williams stocks his store with less name brands, but more brands that make guitars for a lesser price. To add to the welcoming environment, the walls are filled with original, vintage Fillmore and Fender posters and ads, as well as black-and-white photos of his favorite guitarists.

“I built a store that’s a little nostalgic,” Williams said. “It’s a little old-school, kind of like what guitar stores used to be.”

During the pandemic, Williams and a friend who repairs guitars offered a curbside drop-off service to people who needed their instruments fixed. According to Williams, interest in guitars increased with the introduction of stay-at-home orders. However, many found that their old guitars were no longer functioning the way they used to. This offered a new source of revenue for the store.

If you are interested in mastering the six-string, visit Monkton Guitars between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday.