Matthew Hill is a native of Los Angeles who has been resident in Scotland since 1994. He holds a BMus (Hons, 1st class) in composition from Napier University in Edinburgh and a MMus in Organology (the academic study of musical instruments) from the University of Edinburgh. He is currently completing his PhD in Organology there and his main area of research is early (pre 1937) electric string instruments.

Current research projects include making a reconstruction of an 1890 electromagnetically activated acoustic guitar by an American naval officer George Breed and making a copy of the 1931 Rickenbacker "Frying Pan", the first solid-body guitar with an electromagnetic pickup (pictured right).

A regular contributor to international exhibitions and conferences, in July 2007 Matthew presented a paper on the 1931 Rickenbacker “Frying Pan” at the American Musical Instrument Society meeting at Yale University and in the summer of 2006 he co-curated the "Brother Musician, Listen to a Miracle!" exhibition at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California.

He is also curator of the John C. Hall collection of musical instruments at Rickenbacker International Corporation in Santa Ana, California.

In addition to academic pursuits he has enjoyed a varied musical life that includes being a Nashville session player, art music composer and rockabilly doghouse bassist.