About Us
From Origin to Present Day
ZETA Music Systems was founded in the late 1970s by Keith McMillen and Richard McClish in California, USA. The company emerged during a time when electric violins were gaining traction, particularly in genres like jazz, rock, and experimental music. By the mid-1980s, ZETA gained significant recognition, largely due to jazz fusion violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, who popularized their 'Jazz Fusion' model. This model became iconic and established ZETA as a leader in the electric violin market. The company was revitalized beginning in 2012 when it was acquired by Steve Carlson, a veteran in the musical instrument industry. Carlson, previously known for founding Flatiron Mandolins and working with Gibson Guitar, brought his expertise to ZETA, relocating its operations to Belgrade, Montana. Under his leadership, ZETA resumed production and expanded its offerings, maintaining its reputation for quality and innovation. ZETA Violins production team, based in Belgrade, Montana, consists of skilled and passionate luthiers led by Carlson, who bring decades of expertise to crafting high-quality electric stringed instruments . . . worthy of the 'ZETA' name.
Meet the ZETA Team
the pursuit of performance excellence
Steve Carlson
Raised in Boulder, Colorado, Steve moved to Bozeman, Montana to study Architecture at MSU in 1972. His passion for banjo playing led him to opening a music store, “The Backporch Pickin’ Parlor” in 1976. At that time there were numerous quality guitar brands available; Martin, Mossman, Gurian, Taylor, as well as quality banjo brands; Ome, Stelling and Deering. The Pickin’ Parlor became well known throughout the northwest for the many high quality instruments in stock, and people would drive all the way from Seattle and Denver just to pick on, and from, the banjo selection . . . but there was no such thing as a quality mandolin available . . . which was quite frustrating for Steve. In the summer of 1977 Steve and his wife Maxine went to their first bluegrass festival, the Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival at the Adams County Fairgrounds in Henderson, Colorado.
It was at that festival that Steve came upon a card table vendor setup with two little mandolins that sounded just great. Steve thought these mandolins would be a great addition to the Pickin’ Parlor and he immediately bought both of them, taking them back to Montana. Over the course of the next year Steve had sold and reordered about 10 of these mandolins and then the maker, Chuck Morrison, informed Steve that he would not be making any more mandolins. It was just not profitable for him to continue.
Helen Beausoleil
With over 20,000 instruments having passed through her hands (give or take a few hundred), Helen is what you might call an expert . . . and of course, that would be an understatement. You might ask – an expert at what? And the answer would be, just about everything. She has probably detailed more instruments in her lifetime than anyone alive. And while you’re pondering that, consider this . . . she’s been detailing musical instruments for 40 years, and she’s still smiling. WOW! Her expertise in sanding and detailing, taping and scraping, building and repairing is simply marvelous.
Helen began her career in musical instrument building with the Flatiron Mandolin Company back in 1985. Her first job with Flatiron was sanding A5 and F5 mandolins. Her keen eye soon led to scraping binding and all other aspects of detailing white-wood instruments. The move from mandolins to guitars at the Gibson guitar plant placed Helen at the head of the sanding department. While she was sorely missed in the mandolin department, certainly the guitars could not have been in better hands.
Matthew Broughton
Matt's journey began in North Carolina, born to a career Marine. His childhood was a tapestry of moves, from the East to the West Coast, the Midwest, Germany, and finally settling in Montana. An Eagle Scout, Matt's adventurous spirit flourished with the final move to Bozeman in 1989 when his father retired.
At Montana State University, Matt pursued a biology degree, which paved the way for a seven-year tenure as a research and teaching associate in the Entomology Department. There, he delved into the fascinating world of plant-insect interactions and the development of plant-derived organic pesticides.
A life-altering snowboarding accident marked a turning point for Matt. What began as casual musical dabbling evolved into the creation of The Bridger Creek Boys in 2005, a beloved southwest Montana bluegrass band that has since performed over 1,700 gigs. Matt's passion for the genre inspired him to establish and manage The Bozeman Bluegrass Festival for 11 years at the Emerson Cultural Center.
Amidst his musical pursuits, Matt found love, tied the knot, embraced farming life, and welcomed two children. Together with his wife, he co-owns 3 Fiddles Farm, an organic vegetable market farm established in 2009.
During the pandemic, while perusing mandolincafe.com, Matt stumbled upon a post by Steve about staff shortages. As a self-proclaimed mandolin tone enthusiast with a deep appreciation for fine instruments-particularly those crafted by Flatiron and Gibson--and armed with knowledge gleaned from countless lutherie YouTube videos, Matt seized the opportunity. He connected with Steve and, in 2023, joined the ZETA team, crafting intricate piezoelectric bridge pickup components, buffing instruments to a showroom gleam, and building mandolins alongside Steve. Matt's passion runs so deep that he dreams of tapping wood and carving tone bars, forever chasing the perfect sound.
James Henley
James "Stoney" Henley was born into an Air Force family, a life that meant relocating six times across the globe before he was 18--each move shaping his resilience and adaptability. From bases in Oklahoma to Alaska to Okinawa Japan, he grew up surrounded by discipline and structure.
James ended up settling in Bozeman, Montana. There he discovered his true calling as a stonemason, where his steady hands and meticulous eye found purpose and satisfaction in crafting precision stonework. Today, James is a successful artisan in Bozeman, known for his flawless masonry that graces homes and public spaces, a testament to a life of movement . . . now grounded in the mastery of his craft.
In 2015 Montana's winter, not the most conducive to outdoor masonry, played a role in Steve's success convincing James to give working at ZETA a try. Ten years later James's 'temporary' stint at ZETA has turned him into a production enthusiast . . . making bodies, necks, fingerboards . . . basically all ZETA parts. He is a key component to our success and quality.
Phil Maynard
Phil is the founder and luthier at Rimini Guitars, the business he started in 2020 after working for 12 years with Dan Roberts at Roberts Stringworks in Belgrade, Montana.
Phil spent his teenage years learning the custom car painting trade in Helena, Montana.
Jamie Carlson
Jamie, born and raised just north of Bozeman, grew up in a world that seemed to revolve around musical instrument production. Even on weekend visits to her grandparents ranch, much of the time was spent in the welding shop, fabricating tools for making instruments. So while manufacturing things may have seemed the ‘norm’ to her, perhaps it might not be her ‘calling’. That was her thought until 2002, when she went to work for the ‘Weber Mandolin Company’ when she was 17. While working at Weber, under the thoughtful guidance of Helen Beausoleil, Jamie found she not only enjoyed the hands-on work of detailing mandolins, but she excelled at it.
During her teenage years Jamie learned to crochet. Her time spent at Weber seemed to strike the entrepreneurial chord in her, and as her skills in crocheting advanced, interest in making crocheted items for friends, relatives and customers took on a life of its own. Aware of her keen eye for detail work, her father Steve Carlson coerced her into learning to solder the ZETA wiring harnesses. She does a great job for ZETA and enjoys the change of pace from her full-time gig of home-maker.
Natalie Padilla
Originally from Montana, Natalie began fiddling at the age of 3 under the instruction of her mother, acclaimed fiddler & composer Nancy Padilla; soon after, she began classical violin lessons. Texas style fiddling and bluegrass have played a large part in Natalie’s playing and upbringing as a musician. She has won numerous fiddle contests over the years, at local, state and national competitions. Natalie attended the University of Northern Colorado, receiving a bachelor’s degree in classical violin performance. While in Colorado, she was introduced to Irish music by Blayne Chastain and has been hooked ever since. In 2011, Natalie and Blayne released “Fiddle and Flute,” a traditional Irish music album; it was reviewed that...
“Their musical sparring is a delight and at the end you are wishing they would just go another few rounds!”
Natalie currently lives in Frisco, Colorado, where she has a teaching studio and performs regularly with orchestras around the Denver metro area. Natalie was chosen to be a violinist with the prestigious National Repertory Orchestra last summer, and is currentlyAssociate Concertmaster of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra.
James Schlender
James, a native of Montana, grew up in a home filled with the sound of guitar and mandolin being played by his father, a traditionalist in the old-time styles. At the age of 9, James’ parents encouraged him to join the Dillon Jr. Fiddlers in Dillon, MT. James loved it, and took to it like a fish to water.
While learning to perform old-time and Texas-style, James started entering a few fiddle contests and it quickly became obvious he was born to play the fiddle. Two and a half years after starting to play, at age 11, his parents took him to Weiser, Idaho to the National Old Time Fiddle Contest to gain some experience. He amazed everyone by winning a National title in his age group, the Jr. Jr. Division. Two years later, he won again in the 13-17 age group.
At age 12 the Schlender family moved back to Bozeman and James began playing classical music in public school. At about that same time he discoverd his passsion for improv playing in the bluegrass and swing style. At age 14, James and his dad formed a 6-piece swing band called the ‘The String Jumpers’, and James honed his chops in the swing and jazz genres throughout his high school years. As a senior in high school, he earned concert master status at the Montana All-State Orchestra.
Upon graduation, James was offered a full music scholarship to attend the University of Miami. While there, he performed with the likes of Chick Correa, Bobby McFerrin, Pharell Williams, Mark O’Connor, Bruce Hornsby, Joshua Bell, Edgar Meyer, Kenny Loggins, Take Six, and others. James currently plays in a progressive acousitic band called ‘The Wynwoods’, and is preparing to move to Nashville.