Official Luthiers Forum!

I started the hobby a dozen years ago with the help of a few books, woodworking experience but limited tools and money. For the first guitar I spent half my time in the shop and half on the internet. At the time a lot of luthiers were starting to document their building process on their web sites and I found it really helpful to see all the different ways people were skinning the cat. The other thing that was helpful throughout the first 4 or 5 guitars was the generosity of professional builders - some through the forum, others kindly responding to emails. From most builders, if you asks a specific and intelligent question you'll receive an excellent and generous response. But you can't start and email relationship with a pro and expect them to talk you through building a guitar when you don't even know where to start.

Which is why I think you should take a course. If you've got the time and cash it's going to be worth every penny. You've received some excellent recommendations here (one on one with Sylvan Wells would be like packing a year's apprenticeship into 10 days, I imagine). Here in Canada I think that Sergie de Jonge also offers short, intensive courses.

You won't regret it.

Phil

I am from that group, I used the internet, John Mayes DVDs and several books to get the 1st few guitars completed. Having retired from a skilled trade, a life time of model airplane building and having a friend that had built a few instruments to ask questions gave me the confidence to build. That said it would have been great to have taken some training as it would have helped shorten the learning curve by being pointed in the best direction.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

I spent a week at Vermont Instruments, with George Morris, a LONG live-in week with late nights, but it was amazing. Small class, there were 4 of us, so we had a huge amount of attention, and George builds a guitar alongside, to be able to demonstrate everything himself first. Not only left with a beautiful guitar, but George was incredibly generous with helping us to make our own tools & jigs, to be able to keep working at home once we were done. The process literally started with everyone drafting every piece of their own instrument from scratch, from shape and profile, to all bracing and scale, and finished with French Polishing it. The emphasis is on simplicity of tooling, and avoiding the use of expensive specialized equipment. When I got home, I sold about half the stuff (all "necessities") I had bought on EBay and replaced it with my far superior homemade tooling. I had built two guitars before, the course probably took 10 years off of my learning curve, and saved me more than it's cost in mistakes and unnecessary tools. Another thing to consider is that while I built my first two from books, and cosmetically they were OK, there is nothing like having someone really expert help voice 4 or 5 guitars with you to start you on getting the sound right. Don't know about other courses, but mine was SO worth the time and expense.

I have Cumpiano's book. It's what the main resource I'm using for this build. I've read through it completely once, and then once before the section I'm about to work on, and then once more after I messed that up to find out what I missed or misread.

It's a great resource for sure. However, I'm the type of learner who leans better in a class room / lab environment. The whole tell me how to do it, let me ask questions, show me how to do it, let me ask questions, and then watch me do it, correct when I'm wrong works well for me.

It is a bit more than I normally would spend, but since my wife would be up there and I would have bought a plane ticket up there anyway, It's not too bad.

I am breaking into my Cadillac ATS-V fund. But it's not like I NEED a new car....

I am also from the self taught, now a full time builder road of hard knocks ... my engineering background helps some, but it was more a state of mind and a willingness to take it slow, and build up some chops as I went along. The ability to see things and how they work or how they can be done is something that is hard to teach ... your mind either works that way or it doesnt.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I'd rather build guitars than own a Caddillac any day. Can't haul lumber in one of those.
If you can afford it I can't see a thing wrong with some one on one instruction. And it's true some of us learn better one way than another.
I tend to do well with written instructions, but I've always been known as a Book Worm. I also tend to "do" a task about 50 times in my head before I ever actually do it. And I still make mistakes sometimes. The cool thing about that is that when I do, I never make that mistake again.
Good luck with your classes. I hope you have great fun and learn loads!

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Don't underestimate the two week crash course, no matter who you use. I retained everything from the course I took, and was able to go home and replicate the process in my home shop environment, and was able to even do some things a little differently that better suited my personal sensibilities.

And I applaud the folks who just used books, the internet, and their brains. I did that with electric guitars, up to making some pretty complex neck-through multilaminated builds, but I believe the two week course took YEARS off the learning curve I would have faced making acoustics from scratch all by myself. And I'm sure I would have spent MORE than the cost of the course along the way.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Well,

That was totally worth it. Charles passed on a great amount of knowledge, technique, and confidence. I can't wait to start on my next guitar.

Not me playing, it was one of the other students. My playing doesn't do it justice. Currently the guitar is being shipped back to my home, and the wife and I are taking a break in Oregon's wine country. I'll have more/better pictures up and hosted here in a few weeks. (guitar is sans finish right now.)

I'm self taught but I can say I have had some of the questions you have now. I learned mainly from reading every book I could find. I also absorbed every magazine article I could find from guitar player articles by Dan Erlewine to guitar building articles in the Popular mechanics. I loved the old frets magazine since it had many articles on the subject. When I started there wasn't an internet. How I wish there was. There is so much info available from sites like this and others to Youtube. Now I never heard of a guitar building school back then even though I guess there were some. Info like this traveled slow back then. I used to order any catalog I could find that dealt with musical instrument parts and woods related to guitars. I found Constatines and then the Luthiers mercantile catalog that you had to pay for back then. But it was worth it. Then I found the stew mac catalogs that also had tips which was great. But I say if you can afford and have the opportunity to go to a school do it. I wish I could have....Mike

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

Books and the web (the mimf archives, recently updated, are a truly invaluable resource) taught me, but it was a long, long road that I'm only just starting on. That's how it feels, anyway. I may well take a course at some point to gain new insights - the reason I love forums like this is the new ways of doing things you can learn from both the pros and the newbies. The latter often come up with the more ingenious solutions, unbothered as they are by things like tradition.

Steve, James does two-week courses often. I'm sure he'd be glad to discuss it.

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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

Nice work! Just to clarify, this is the guitar you built in the two week course? Would love to see more pics.

Todd, don't you offer courses?

I am basically self taught. But I took a woodworking class as an elective my last semester of college and gained valuable basic woodworking skills (basically how to mill up wood and stick it together). I made a stool and a small table in one semester. It was my favorite class of all of my 5 years of college and sparked my interested in building instruments. Finally, 8 years later I took the plunge. Started out with 4 dulcimers built using a dated, crude guide book, and intuition. They turned out ok. Since then I have read many books, scoured the internet, and became good friends with a world class pro luthier, which I visit regularly. I have built two bouzoukis and I have three orders at the moment. I wouldnt be as good as I am without my good friend's advice and all the great books, and internet (this forum especially), but I think I still have ALOT to learn and would like to take a course some day.

Nice guitar, glad the class worked out.



This is exactly what I do.........

I recognize that shop! Has not changed much in 8 years. Still stay in that slightly sleazy motel down the street? Don't fail to take advantage of the offer of unlimited phone/email support. He's always gotten back to be promptly. Like Todd said, build another one right away (after you spend three months making all the cool jigs you saw)

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Well you know Todd, if you had a two week crash course, I might consider it, just to try out out all your tools and fancy gizmos, and maybe annoy you some for good measure.

Too bad, as two weeks is probably the most I can get out at one time.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

For those of you in Australia, I did the course at the Thomas Lloyd school with Chris Wynne in Melbourne. The 2 week course was intense but gratifying. I ended up with a guitar at the end and an addiction to luthiery. I don't think I could have just started on my own as I had little to no experience in a workshop. Since the course, I have built my own workshop, have sold several guitars and am now having to justify to my wife why she has become a shed widow (not always successful). Chris Wynne also holds the course in Stanley, Tasmania (with direct access to some of the most amazing tone woods) and in Lucca Italy. I would love to get to do the course in Italy, what a great excuse to travel! The course in Melbourne is held at Montsalvat an art community that has been running for about 100 years.

Some pics of Montsalvat



Each of these buildings are artist studios



It was a great environment to be making a guitar



This is the Guitar studio




I would highly recommend a course if it is in your budget. I had a blast.

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Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au

I took the same course and highly recommend it (although I am fairly certain he is taking some time off but do check with him if interested!). You wont be a luthier after but he highly motivated me and made many of the things i was afraid of trying at home seem very doable. I am starting my first home build this week. Had a whole guitar done in one week. It was awesome and would do it again if i had the chance and the cash.

I have purchased several books but I have learned more here on OLF than from the books. I would still like to get Trevor's books and John Mayes DVDs, though. I was also fortunate enough to find a couple of luthiers who graciously allowed me in their shops for an afternoon to see their tools and jigs. That was a huge help for me.

Still, if I had the time and money I would love to take a course.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

Martin: Wow, just, wow. What a cool place!

Yeah, forgot to mention DVD's...Mayes is great, and the Obrien French polish DVD was a HUGE help. I feel I have mastered the process after one instrument.

Hey Ken, how ya doin? I'll have to contact James and see what he's got going on next year - don't have the vacation available this year. I'm at the point in my building that I think I could really take advantage of a good comprehensive course.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"