D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 8
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SEAN KOCHEL GUITARS:
DESIGNS MIRROR HIS BIRTHPLACE
e merit of originality is not trendiness; it is
sincerity. Sincerity is what distinguishes the guitars
of Potomac's Sean Kochel from others made from
machines or factory lines.
"ey are not cookie-cutter stamped," says Kochel,
born and raised in Shelby. "And there is definitely
quirkiness to my guitars." Originality is what his
customers clamor for.
"e thing that resonates for people who have
bought a guitar from me is that, unlike buying a
guitar from the music shop, one of mine, they say,
feels as if it already has a soul inside of it." e soul
of which is bred with a distinctly Montana tinge.
"I feel as if the guitar helps them be even better
musicians, because it already has a soul and local
character built in. at is a contrast to a 1972
Fender guitar, which takes decades to find its soul."
In Kochel's universe, innovation inspired by
Montana is imparted to the instrument. It could be a
guitar nut made from the boiled down bones of an elk;
it could be a guitar neck that traces itself back to an
old growth Montana poplar tree; or it could be wood
salvaged from an 1860s immigrant-built homesteader
barn or an 1890s railroad icehouse.
"People like to connect with something that is
part of our history." Indeed, there are those who
support Kochel because they like art and talent
that is quirky, eccentric, provincial, and mirrors his
birthplace.
"ey support me because they know I'm shaping
their guitar neck in my shop with a file, and that I'm
doing it all by hand in my shop. ey know I'm carv-
ing the guitar bodies with a chisel. ere is no truer
sound, and it helps give their music a distinct and
unique sound."
Kochel has succeeded in originality because he,
admittedly, is too stubborn, too entrenched in his
ways to imitate or compromise.
"I just sent a guitar to Brazil," says Kochel. "I
even made a guitar for the number one musician in
Botswana. ings are good."
Listen to Sean Kochel
play Delta Blues
www.distinctlymontana.com/blues181
DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL
