The last few years, from an aesthetic point of view, have been an absolute carnival of possibility when it comes to guitar design. At the risk of sounding optimistic, we’ve seen genuinely breathtaking, highly refined designs take huge chunks of real estate back from the looming shadow of corporations like Gibson, Yamaha, and Fender.
From Aristides Guitars and Abasi Concepts to Godfrey Guitars and other independent builders, modern companies on a smaller scale are packing punches the big dogs above couldn’t even comprehend. Take, for instance, one of our most recent obsessions – Millimetric Guitars.
_
Florian Schneider’s beautiful-yet-brutalist take on guitar has been catching eyes all over the world with completely symmetrical bodies, minimalist single-cuts, emboldened baritones, and more. But his most recent design, the S-4, had our jaws completely on the floor.
Check it out in full here – originally inspired by the Danelectro 1451 (although technically the Silvertone version), the S-4 takes cues from things like the Ernie Ball St. Vincent signature model and Gibson’s Explorer and Firebird shapes as well, making for something wholly unique. It’s also a somewhat subtle take on the hybrid-scale, taking advantage of a new headstock design that doubles as an homage to Ken Parker – the lowest string sits at 27″, with the lowest at the standard 25.5″, which we think is brilliant. Oh, and it has proprietary P-90 pickups, which for our money, are the absolute best of both worlds.
If only we could get our hands on one down here in the United States without having to participate in increasingly painful trade charades. There will always be people who will try to stay ignorant, but facts are facts – if you’re living and buying in the U.S., you’re the one paying these tariffs, even as the producer of goods.
Don’t take it from us – take it from companies on the inside like NOKILL Pedal Co, who recently shared that their boards went up from $40.00 USD for 10 units to $100.00 USD, or from JHS‘ Josh Scott, who shared how the new fees translated to uncertainty in builds, shipping, and future products.
But what’s it look like from the Quebec? Thankfully, Florian of Millimetric Instruments answered a few questions for us, including just that. It turns out, he’s actually a pretty big math rock fan, and while you read, check out Poque‘s self-titled debut from last year, a band he played some pretty loud guitars in:
FB: The first Millimetric Instrument in your production line was the MG6, an ambidextrous, almost entirely symmetrical guitar that players could string however they wanted. But it was also inspired by bands like Shellac and Jesus Lizard – in what ways, if any, did 90’s math rock and noise rock influence the design?
Florian: The MG6 was very very influenced by the Obstructures guitar model, which is build and played by Matt from the band New Brutalism, a noise rock trio from Alabama. A lot of my influences and vision was clearly shaped by the noise rock scene, even the sound of instruments is aiming for that sound. It’s pretty funny because when i first discovered shellac and jesus lizard i really had a hard time to Get that music, it took a few years for my tastes to evolve and to comprehend that music, but once i got it its changed everything for me and it is still a big part of how i see and enjoy music, the sound and also the ethics of that scene, it drives a lot the way a see my brand. Rip to the one and only Steve Albini, you will be forever missed.
FB: What were some of your favorite bands from that era? Did you see any of them live?
Florian: I loved a lot of bands from that era, Shellac and Don Caballero or Young Widows and Botch were and still are some of my favorite bands and still shape the way I see and play music. But also Three second Kiss and Uzeda/Bellini and ZU in Italy, Chevreuil, Room 204, and Pneu in France. I was born late 80’s so I came to age of listening and appreciating this scene pretty late 90’s and early 00’S. Fortunately i saw most of these bands live at some point, i lived in Paris for a few years and was fortunate enough to be able to go to see a lot shows during that time, it truly felt like a golden era as tickets were still fairly cheap and we didn’t had to deal with this Ticketmaster nonsense and robbery.
_
FB: You’ve worked on six-strings with several different scale lengths, from the snappy, PRS-friendly 25″ to the unthinkable 30″ – do you ever design seven or eight string guitars?
Florian: I plan for a 7 string model and maybe 8, i love baritones, that’s what i played for few years in my previous band Poque, and its a lot of fun to be able to handle low parts and guitar parts at the same time. I think every guitar player should try to play one.
FB: A few months ago, you blew our minds with the newest Millimetric model, the S4. Can you tell us more about the project that inspired it?
Florian: The S4 took around 5 years to finish, i originaly made a trade with my friend Kosta for a Silvertone 1451 and i redid a body copy/revisiting for him. And the way i made the picguard on it sparked the idea for a new offset, the top slanted part of it then got my thinking about a lot of new visual elements. It took a while because i was so busy with orders that i barely had time to spend developing the final desgin and templates. But I’m pretty proud of it now and can’t wait to build some more in 2025!
FB: What were some of the challenges, if any, of adapting a multi-scale design? Did the multi-scale come first, or the idea for the new headstock? Did it affect how difficult it was to make a bridge for the guitar?
Florian: This model had many new things for me, the multiscale and headtsock were the biggest ones. I think the headstock idea was there first, i always wanted to design a 6 in line headstock. It was obviously influenced by Ken parker, although i always thought the parker headstock would look better reverse and with the keys inside the ”swoosh” rather than on the outside. I’m pretty happy with it. The multi-scale came later on, at first i wanted to do a regular scale but with the fret at an angle, I still want to try that but i don’t think it will do well in people’s mind!
FB: You design almost everything in house – did you learn anything new while prototyping new MMFB
pickups?
Florian: These pickups are soooo good sounding, one of my favorite style of pickup, trully a Humbucker for people who hate humbuckers (like me). They tought me that there is a reason why some pickups aren’t as available as others because some of them are a lot more complex to make! I came up with a nice solution for that model to be attached to a baseplate (most of the older ones were epoxied because you can’t put a screw in the bobbins at they use bar magnets in the bobbins and not under.) But it’s always fun to have a little design challenge like that.
_
FB: In the promo shots, the S4 has some playful little red and yellow accents around the controls, pickups, etc. Will people be able to customize those? Were the colors in the promotional design part of the original design or did you come up with it along the way?
Florian: I got a 3d printer a few years back but i really only got deeply into it for colors in the last year as I discovered a avery nice matte filament that prints super well and doesn’t look cheap. Gloss filament tend to look very cheap and doesn’t look super clean. The new covers uses end plugs and it screamed to be used with colors, especially to have one color for the neck and another for the bridge. And in the end i just wanted a very playful looking guitar for the prototype to show people what could be done.
FB: Saying the S4 represents a departure for Millimetric seems extreme, but perhaps an evolution – now
that it’s out, are you already sketching out ideas for the next guitar?
Florian: I have a few models in the works, but they are still in just on the paper stage, fine tuning shapes and details. I’m also designing an accessories line with a pedalboard and some guitar stands (kind of like the compass stand i designed years ago but updated). I am also toying with the idea of a sister brand to Millimetric for more vintage inspired instruments, i always wanted to play with vintage codes like binding, relic work and other fun details like that, but it doesn’t really have its place to me for the moment in Millimetric. So i might give that a go soon, if i can find the time.
_
FB: Now for the fun stuff – do you have any guiding philosophies when it comes to debating quality versus cost?
Florian: I think as a small builder the focus should be on quality, that is the most important part of a boutique instrument. But again since my music taste and ethics was shaped and influenced by the diy noise rock scene of the late 90’S early 00’S, i really want my instruments to be the most affordable as possible, I will never try to have prices that are completely crazy, i think what i charge for an custom instrument made by one person is more than fair. And i would like for that to stay that way. I don’t see business growth as something important. As long as i can live and pay the bills with a little bit a fun here and there I’ll be happy. People constantly chasing getting bigger and more present will for sure hit a wall at some point and quality will for sure decrease.
FB: The U.S. recently announced tariffs on imported goods from all around the world, and many U.S.
consumers don’t have a grounded perspective on how these tariffs can affect manufacturers, let alone their own shopping carts. In your experience, what kind of challenge would this pose to builders like Millimetric? *
Florian: I will (and by the time i answer has) have dramatic effect for small builders like me, i think I will loose some work, if guitars cost more to the customer (25% is about 1k more). For now tariffs have been paused and my instruments are under USMCA so i can still ship them without being more expensive. *
FB: Business can be tough, and some say it’s only getting tougher. What keeps you motivated?
Florian: I love doing what i do, i feel very lucky to be able to live off Millimetric, i would never have thought it would be possible. Like everything it is not easy every day, but i can’t complain too much as I work from home and get to make guitars for a living :)
*(These questions were originally asked in October 2024, hence the parenthetical inserts.)
(Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for more music, check out our Bandcamp compilations here. If you like us, or possibly even love us, donations are always appreciated at the Buy Me A Coffee page here, but if you’re in a generous mood you can also donate to folks like Doctors Without Borders, the PCRF, Charity Water, Kindness Ranch, One Tail at A Time, Canopy Cat Rescue, or Best Friends Animal Sanctuary that could probably use it more – click on their names above to check ‘em out if you’re so inclined. Thanks again!)