Where It Began
A solo on “Beat It”. A life changed.
I’m Stuart Brett, the maker behind Mediterranean Blue Guitars in Malta. I hand-build custom electric guitars and carry out professional setups and repairs.
I was 14 years old when I heard Eddie Van Halen's solo on “Beat It” by Michael Jackson. That moment defined everything that followed. I picked up a guitar and never really put it down.
I always wanted to learn how to build a guitar, with the idea that I would be able to build exactly what I wanted. I studied at the Guitar Institute in Turnham Green, London for a year. Whilst I was there I started messing about, modding my guitars and changing the set-up etc. It was a great experience. I joined a local band to help with money whilst I was there. I then spent 15 years gigging professionally with the same group, which I just joined to "Get some extra cash", before family life brought me to Malta.
My lutherie journey began under local Maltese luthier Andrew Manicaro, who taught me how to build my first guitar — a purple flame-top super strat with Bare Knuckle pickups and Hipshot hardware. I was hooked immediately. Not just on the building, but on the idea that I could make something that felt exactly right, something that felt like home.
"Mistakes and mishaps are part of the process when building entirely by hand. What separates a craftsman is not avoiding them — it is how you deal with them."
Build Philosophy
How I build
Every body and neck is my own design
I do not clone other guitars. If you want an exact copy of something, buy the original. Apart from some classic shapes, my body shapes and headstock are original designs — the wave-form headstock connects every instrument to the island it was born on.
Necks are hand-carved and oil-finished
This is where much of the difference between a Mediterranean Blue guitar and a factory instrument is felt immediately. The necks are carved by hand, so each one is individual. A matt oil finish is applied to the neck. I find that a gloss neck finish can feel sticky and gets in the way of the playing experience.
Beautiful wood grain is never hidden
If the wood has a story to tell, the finish lets it tell it. I choose tonewoods carefully and let the grain become a feature, not something to sand away and paint over.
I take my time. Every time.
I do not rush to get to the next part of a build. Each stage gets the attention it deserves. The result is an instrument that feels settled, solid, and purposeful in every detail.
Malta
An island in every instrument.
The name Mediterranean Blue comes from the colour of the sea that surrounds Malta — that vivid, unmistakable blue that you cannot replicate anywhere else in the world.
My headstock shape is designed to represent a wave crashing over, connecting every instrument I build to the island it was born on. It is not decoration. It is identity.
Standards
What I hold myself to
I have played many guitars over the years but not many have ever felt like “Home”.
I always strive to build a guitar that would feel like “Home” to whoever owns it.
This is the standard of quality I set myself.
Instruments that feel solid, purposeful, and premium in every detail.
This is what I am working toward. Not just instruments that look good in photographs, but guitars that feel right in your hands, respond to how you play, and last a lifetime.
Want to commission a build?
Every guitar starts with a conversation. Let's talk.