Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi, I am new here and I would like to make contact with a Luthier in the Charleston, SC area who may be willing to teach me how to build a guitar.

Bobby

Welcome to the OLF Bobby!

Hopefully someone in the Charleston area will weigh-in here and help you out.

Great to have you here.

Hi Bobby,

I know there is another beginning luthier in James Island area (and he's a member here), so he might know someone. Plus, there was a luthier I met in Summerville (Mike something-or-other, I think) who built really nice guitars. Ask around at the guitar repair shops. They'll know.

Dennis (I left Charleston 6 years ago)

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Thanks, there is a guy in Summerville named Michael F. Wentzell. He was not very nice to me over the phone. He seemed to tighten up once he found out that I did not want to buy a guitar. Maybe I caught him on a bad day. I am trying to make contact with Aquila guitars in Goose Creek. I am a custom knife maker and we almost never have that problem when someone wants to learn. We share freely.

Thanks,

Bobby

Mike Wentzell is correct. That's the guy. Go to him. Take a slice of the finest pecan pie you can find. Sit down with him. Eat the pie in front of him, smacking your lips, catching drool with your tongue, and make obscene ooooohing and aaaahing sounds. Tell him that if he is nice to you, you'll bring him a slice of pie next time.

Seriously, he may or may not be willing to teach anything about lutherie, but he does build fine guitars. I wonder if he still has the "homely" (very Spartan, plain, unadorned) Mahogany guitar that he built about 8 years ago. It was one of the best sounding guitars I had ever played. When I met him, I was still in the "I'm dreaming about lutherie" phase, and I had him work on the action of my Alvarez Yairi. So, I don't know what he says to people who want to learn lutherie from him.

Are you asking to pay him for one-on-one instruction? Or are you hoping he will just do that for free? There may be some advanced amateur luthiers (some of which may be producing excellent instruments) that would be willing to offer some free help, but I suspect most pro luthiers simply cannot afford to give away that amount of their time for free. There are a couple of handfuls of pro luthiers making great money; the rest (including some of the very best) struggle to make ends meet. Lutherie is much more of a passion than a lucrative career choice. To get an idea of the amount of time it takes to help a new builder build a first guitar with one-on-one instruction and the use of the luthier's shop, consider that the luthier schools around North America charge a couple thousand up to maybe $6000 plus materials for a session lasting from 2 weeks to 6 weeks.

Twenty years ago, almost none of the lutherie schools existed, there were only a couple of books and (as far as I know) no videos, and obviously that was before the Internet and luthier forums like this. So, you now have free and inexpensive resources available that can help you build a guitar or guitars on a "budget." (Like many, I have to laugh at the word "budget" as I have spent so much money on tools and wood that I could easily have purchased a couple of guitars from master luthiers.) If you cannot afford a luthier school or paying a pro luthier for one-on-one instruction, then you might think about purchasing some luthier training DVDs, and a good book or two. If you don't want to tool-up with the specialized luthier's tools, you can buy a "serviced kit" from one of the big luthier supply houses or from John Hall (Blues Creek Guitars) with some degree of the parts already produced. You can take it slowly, step-by-step, and ask for help here and on other luthier forums with each new operation that you want to understand. You would probably have a MUCH better chance of getting a tiny bit of free help from a pro luthier if, for example, you took a braced top with carved braces to the luthier and asked for comments (asking for 10 minutes of the luthier's time.) And, if you do that, don't forget to leave a six-pack of the luthier's favorite beverage, or maybe a whole pecan pie.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Thanks, I did get an invite from Aquila Guitars in Goose Creek. As I mentioned before, I have been a custom knife maker for 25 years and do not expect anything for free. I am skeptical when approached by a new person for the first time. I've found that most craftsmen are great guys once you get a chance to break the ice and they see that your intentions are honorable. I still would love to meet others in the area. I will probably by a guitar for one of them if they are in my price range.

BB

P.S. Please excuse my poor spelling. I tend to type too fast.
BB

You can join the "MichaelP Circle of Spellers". It is an esteemed group of highly intelligent guitar builders who's fingers often get ahead of their brain while typing. There are now, 2 members!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I was able to make the 40 minute trip to visit Bill and his wife at Aquila guitars. They are great people and make beautiful guitars. I spent more time than I wanted to. I did not want to over stay my welcome, but after started talking, the time just flew by and I stayed for a few hours.
Thanks for the encouragement and tips. It was a great day.
BB