About Us

ATB Guitars is one of the premier outlets for original vintage Fender and Gibson guitars in Europe.

Our company AVT UK LTD was formed in 1998 and its founder Mike Long has been buying, selling and trading vintage guitars since his University days in the 1980's. 

Quality and an excellent reputation have assured many satisfied and repeat customers. We stand by everything we sell and the number of vintage instruments we have sold to satisfied customers is now close to 5,000.

We always carry a reasonable selection of vintage Fender and Gibson and all guitars are in stock at our premises in Gloucestershire, ready for immediate despatch, to virtually anywhere in the world by safe, trackable and insured courier. ATB Guitars has years of experience of safely packing delicate instruments and amplifiers, and has shipped without issue, drama or hassle, to every corner of the globe.

All instruments are available to view and play, by appointment only, in our showroom in Gloucestershire, UK where we have a good selection of vintage and modern guitar amps for you to try them through.


Press


musicradar - 1960 Gibson Les Paul Burst

Guitar Player - History of the Fender Jazzmaster by Mike Long

Guitarist - Rise of The Original Fender Telecaster Custom

Guitar World - Bernie Marsden’s ’59 Gibson Les Paul


Vintage Vault - Interview with Mike Long from ATB Guitars


Independent - 1960s Gibson Les Paul Sells for £150,000 After 25 Years in Cupboard


Guitar Magazine Vintage Bench Test - 1959 Fender Jazzmaster

musicradar - Bernie Marsden’s Vintage Guitar Gear is Officially Up for Sale via ATB Guitars’ Reverb Store 



Staff

Mike - Founder & CEO 

Mike has been buying and selling vintage guitars since his University days in the 80’s. After playing in a number of bands and as a solo guitarist around North Devon, he met Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick at a gig in the University halls and fell in love with his amazing collection of vintage pieces.

After leaving Uni Mike went on to work as a live sound engineer, recording engineer and producer working on studio albums, singles and live concert releases from the likes of PJ Harvey, Cocteau Twins, Blur, Spiritualized, James, Marillion, William Orbit and more.

Moving on into the 90's, Mike founded one of Europe’s leading vintage pro audio specialists, which then led to him creating the company that became ATB Guitars.

Mike’s favourite guitarists include Jimmy Page, Steve Howe, Martin Carthy and Eric Gales plus all the young up and coming blues based guitarists of the current era.

His favourite guitars are a 1957 Stratocaster and a 1958 ES-335. "I think with those two in your guitarsenal you could probably get nearly every tone you desire…"

When not running ATB Guitars Mike can often be found learning to play piano, learning to fly a fighter jet (DCS World) and collecting modern art, in a modest way.

Mike is pictured holding a one owner mint condition 1964 Gibson ES-335 TDC we recently bought from the original owner.



Dafydd - General Manager

A part of the ATB orbit since 2015, Dafydd became a fully fledged employee in 2018. 

Following a dalliance with the violin from a young age, the real musical epiphany came in the form of six strings and adolescent hormones, derailing a promising career in motorsport engineering… Soon there followed long hair and the never ending search for Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix records whilst revising diligently to the Yes album on repeat, along with a realisation that the route to happiness passes through a room filled with like minded people making music. 

“When you work with vintage guitars it's best not to get too attached. On the other hand, a 1935 Gibson Super 400 from a few years ago has left an indelible mark” 

Guitars and music being the all encompassing things that are, Dafydd can often be found in the dark back rooms of the locality mixing bands, stood in the glare of the audience with his band Chameleon or at home fettling another poor guitar player’s favorite axe. Time makes fools of us all...

Dafydd is pictured holding two mint condition 1961 Gibson Les Paul /SG Standards we had here a while ago.


David - Content Manager

David joined ATB in January 2020. 

Initially coming from a classical background on the Cello, he found the guitar when he was 14 and never looked back, drawing influences mainly from the likes of Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Steve Lukather and John Mayer.

Day to day you'll find David managing and producing content for our social media platforms, including producing all our YouTube content, product photography, and shooting our finest guitars for the annual ATB Guitars Vintage Guitar Calendar.

With so many great vintage guitars coming through the shop its always difficult to pick out a favourite, but one sticks with him: "A while ago we had a a killer 1960 sunburst Stratocaster with the most awesomely beat up look to it... It had this really thick sound that doesn't usually get associated with Strats and it was just a joy to play!"

Outside of work you can find David posting the occasional bit of film photography on his Instagram (@davidlibson) and gigging / releasing music with his band "Junomoon", and their 80's inspired brand of synth pop...

David is pictured playing a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard 'Burst' we had visiting for a short time in the shop. This one used to belong to Mick Taylor (ex-Rolling Stones).



Anna - General Assistant

Anna is the latest member of the ATB team joining us in 2023. 

A Ukrainian national, she grew up in the punk scene of Kyiv in the 90s. Surrounded by bands and genre-bending music, she hitch-hiked around Europe following the sound.

Back on planet Earth a long and successful career in commercial advertising followed, working on top-level productions spanning all the way from her home town to London. Later she moved into music videos, providing art direction and styling on videos for Lonely the Brave, Frightened Rabbit and an award-winning collaboration with Rag’n’Bone Man. 

Anna has a keen eye for vintage items, as well as their restoration and maintenance. Stemming from her love of flea markets - none more so than the Petrivka market in Kyiv that spans actual working rail tracks! - her successful website selling Soviet vintage is a testament to that.

Through this career and a year spent at TikTok in London, Anna brings a wealth of experience in social media content production and is thrilled to now turn her attention to the stunning range of vintage guitars at ATB.

“There’s nothing I love more than beautiful craftsmanship and I have loved learning more about ATB’s collection and working with such beautiful pieces, capturing them in all their glory for the world to see. Seeing the reaction of people online, and the passion they have for these guitars has been a true joy.”

An Anglophile, Anna has a wide appreciation for British music and culture. She loves British punk, ska and Northern soul, with a special place in her heart reserved for the Sex Pistols, Joy Division, New Order, Prodigy and 65daysofstatic.