Meet Miles Manglos | Luthier, Guitar Player, and Music Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Miles Manglos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Miles, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
When I was a kid, my favorite things to do were building things and exploring my creativity, whether it be with toys such as Legos, Kinex, or video games that have some sort of level creator, music editor, roller coaster creator, etc. I was pretty shy and didn’t talk much, partly because of my stutter, but I always felt happy and in my element when using that part of my brain, and I enjoyed sharing my creations with family and friends.

As a teenager I got really into music and learned to play guitar. Shortly after, I started tinkering with the guitars I had. That’s when I got into learning guitar tech skills such as fretwork, soldering, and a little woodworking. I loved playing guitar as much as tinkering with them and setting them up to play like much more expensive guitars.

As an early 20-year-old, I discovered a local music store in the city I had recently moved to, called The Musicians Woodshed, who happened to not yet have an in-house guitar tech. That is when my career as a guitar tech/luthier officially began. I was earning money from working on guitars regularly, which allowed me to purchase more tools to do more complicated jobs. I was also teaching music lessons there and working at pizza restaurants on the side while I slowly built my guitar-tech business.

I didn’t do well in public school, but when it came to learning things I was passionate about, I realized I had an inherent ability to self-learn. Sound engineering was another aspiration of mine. I graduated with a recording arts certificate from a school called Media Tech Institute in 2010. I didn’t directly pursue sound engineering as a full-on career, but I eventually built a reputable home studio and took on many clients and created many great, memorable records. I always viewed my studio business as supplemental though, and eventually chose to transfer more focus into Wolfcreek Guitars.

I think the most important skill in this type of work is resourcefulness– the ability to teach yourself things on the spot and how to find answers to complicated tasks. It’s what allowed me to gradually build confidence as I would constantly hone and master my craft over the years to the point I felt I could take on just about any job by myself. Even if I messed up a guitar, I convinced myself I could always just fix it. I repeatedly assured myself that I could fix anything if I had just tried hard enough, therefore there is no job I should be afraid of taking on.

7 years into my guitar-tech career, I decided I would set out to build my first guitar from scratch. Just a couple planks of dimensioned lumber and other raw materials. I had built my own jigs, fixtures, and workbenches before, but “fine woodworking” was yet another skill I had to learn and hone. I enjoyed the process so much that I immediately started building another one, this time for a close friend of mine. That was my first official commission. I then became convinced that I had a shot at building really nice guitars for people as part of a living. After my first 4 builds, I went and successfully registered “Wolfcreek Guitars” as a trademark.

Today, after building nearly 20 guitars and with all the knowledge, skills, and robust tools I had acquired over the years, I decided I want to start passing on my knowledge by putting together a small school for other aspiring luthiers. Now today I offer the “B-Y-O-G(Build-Your-Own-Guitar)” courses for anybody with or without experience of building or working on guitars so that more people can experience the same joy that I do making things in the workshop!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I set out to build guitars because I loved building things in general. I also have very high standards for quality. I wanted to build not only unique, one-of a kind guitars but also guitars that are the best sounding, best feeling, and easiest for anybody to play. I have a habit of obsessing over the finest details, which I believe is evident in the work I do.

I have succeeded but also failed countless times in many different ways. I make many small mistakes, but also sometimes big mistakes. I love to pioneer and create new things, new ideas, new designs, so making mistakes is simply part of it. I do my best to take it all in as learning opportunities, take notes, and practice more. It’s a chance to hone problem solving skills, develop patience and challenge the ego.

It does take a specially motivated type of person to do this kind of stuff, but it is also one of the most awarding things to experience when you create something in the end that you are truly proud of after hundreds of hours of hard work, obsessing, dreaming, sometimes crying, and especially to the point where others are willing to pay you to build something truly unique and one-of-a-kind for them, just because of how much they like and appreciate what you create. I can’t imagine ever wanting to stop what I do!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love the hill country here. Hamilton Pool, Reimer’s Ranch, the Greenbelt, etc are some places I enjoy going. Unless I’m going to a show I prefer to stay out away from the city. Classic introvert!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My Mom for her relentless support in everything I do, my dad for his belief in my abilities to succeed, and my brothers for introducing me to music and most of the things I love to do. I’m lucky to have grown up in an incredibly supportive family.

Website: https://WolfcreekGuitars.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wolfcreekguitars/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WolfcreekGuitars

Youtube: https:// https://www.youtube.com/@wolfcreekguitars

Other: Demo of myself playing a short tune I wrote and recorded with a couple instruments I built–

A goofy video from my how-to series for building guitars–