Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi as an annoying newbie id like to know which luthier courses/schools you would recommend, whether in australia uk or america (I can travel)
thanks for your help!

I really don't know but I think the Roberto-Venn school is the most well known. I'm sure that there are others as well.

Al

If you can travel, our own Tony Karol's is the place to go my friend!

Serge

Yup Tony is Great guy and if you watching his recent post of student guitars you would know that he can teach what you think you need and a bunch of stuff that you never knew that you needed! But, another Canadian, David Freeman at Timeless Instruments often does a winter course in New Zealand. I drop in on David usually once a year so know him a bit and have been to his studio. He is a great guy and his students say great things about him. He is accredited as an actual school so his instruction is a proper balance of theory, history and hands on building. You can e-mail him and see when next he is in New Zealand. I think he satyed here this winter so he might be heading your way in a few months.

Good luck and WELCOME to the OLF!

Shane

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Canada

After what I've seen posted on here recently I've gotta give a vote for Tony too.. His "student" guitars are far and beyond what I'd ever expect from a class.. If they sound half as good as they look you can't lose.

Also Charles Fox, American School of Lutherie has a great reputation and Charles is an experienced builder/teacher and a really friendly guy. Paul Woolson was a student there.

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CVT Inc.
A tour of our shop (Somewhat outdated)
My Personal eBay profile. BCWoodBug

KurT,

What do you want to build, Classical or Steel String?
Some places only teach one or the other.
Whatever you choose, bring lots of $$'s, and ask lots of questions first before making a decision.

CrowDuck

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Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.

hey thanks, If i had to choose I would say steel string but id like to learn both at some stage.

what i can tell you is steer well clear of the summit school of guiatr building and repair in qualicum beach canada, i spent 6 months there, and whilst things started out OK, they where in total chaos by the time i left, at one point we had to wait 2 weeks for them to get more sandpaper, it was a shame because they were a great bunch of guys, but someone has really taken there eye off of the ball over there. i spoke to a friend who knows someone still there, and he says they currently have only 5 students left, and most instructors have quit due to being messed around for the billionth time,


if i had my chance to go to another school, i think i would check out bryan galloups school, of course there are lots of great independent luthiers teaching also, i have a friend in spain who runs 1 month classical/flamenco guitar building courses which i can highly reccomend also

paddy

Paddy thats too bad to hear. I almost went there a couple years ago but the timing didn't work with work/football.

IF anyone is looking to do repair traiing Fretworks out in Calgary AB is supposed to be top notch.

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CVT Inc.
A tour of our shop (Somewhat outdated)
My Personal eBay profile. BCWoodBug

Consider Bryan Galloup'school in Big Rapida Michigan. As a member of the Michigan Guild of Luthiers, we have our meetings at his school.
...The facilities are second to none
...His students say great things about the curriculum
...Bryan is a fantastic builder and an even greater person.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

KurT,

Considering your location, if you can't find a guitar making course anywhere in your country, my 'next best' suggestion is a kit guitar, unless, 'cost is no object'.
Travel, accomodations, meals, and school, could easlily be around $10,000, coming from New Zealand. That 'winter course' in NZ that Shane mentioned might be a good choice for you. Be carefull of those '2 week intensive' courses, unless you're 'young and healty', they're a 'grind', and not for the 'old and retired' type........like me.

CrowDuck

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Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.

I am about to start a kit guitar. but I would like to be tutored by someone who is really top notch because im sure.. that kind of training is invaluable.

I'm glad you are planning to build from a kit before you take a class. I think it's important to get a build or two in before coursework. It puts you in a better framework to understand what/why the instructor is doing what they are doing. You will go into the class with specific questions and concerns.

Good luck!

Kurt, I think a kit is a great start. then check out every book you can about guitar construction/physics. Cumpiano's Tradition and Technology is the authority on building. Read it word for word. You'll find that some methods are slightly dated and you might find different styles of building but with that in your knowlege base, you'll be well armed at a school. I wouldn't go to a school thinking they will teach you everything. I'd go with as much knowlege as you can obtain by yourself and let them straighten out any questions you might have.
That said: As Jason said, I've studied with Charles Fox exclusively so that's the only school I can recomend from first hand experience. And I highly recomend it. He has one of thoses "build a guitar in two weeks and don't get much sleep" classes. It's wonderful but your brain will be exhausted from soaking up so much information in such a short period of time. That's why I recomend doing your homework before you go.
I lived about 5 miles from Roberto-Venn in Phoenix for about 10 years. It was on my short list of places to go but they spent a lot more time on repair than they did on construction and that wasn't the road I wanted to take. Not to mention that it's a 9 month commitment to go there full time. The treat it like a college so you be in class with lots of just graduated kids. Kids with stars in their eyes thinking they will be the next Paul Reed Smith.
As others have said, the work coming out of Tony Karol's students is top notch. I don't think you could go wrong there.
One thing to make sure of is that the school is equipted for the amount of students they have. I know of several that I looked into that didn't have enough tooling so the students spent a lot of time waiting in line to use bandsaws and the like. I can't imagine anything more frustrating that being held up by something like that.
Let us know how your search goes. I think we all would like to hear your conclusions.
Good luck.

     Though Roberto-Venn is heavily weighted toward building guitars,
the director has been expanding the repair section of the class over the
past few years. I believe most builders would agree that having a solid
grounding in repair work is an enormous plus when building instruments.
Many excellent builders attended Roberto-Venn. Steve Anderson, Mike
Baranik, Michihiro Matsuda are just a few of the names you will recognize
among their graduates.
     The course is actually five months long ( 4 months building, one
month repair)and is fairly intensive. Like any other school it has
strengths and weaknesses. The facilities are rough hewn, and the tools
are well-used. In general the place is just barely clinging to the ground on
the edge of the desert in South Phoenix and for me, I thought that was
great. Clint Eastwood would have learned how to build guitars in a place
like this - Lee van Cleef lurking in the shadows. The culture of the place
is fairly appealing too - there are no pretenses. This is a school to learn
how to do what you went there for and you'll succeed or fail by your own
devices. I believe that everyone from my class that really wanted to get a
job somewhere in the field of luthery did so - something like 2/3rds of a
class of thirty. The rest never really gave it a shot and/or weren't willing
to make the sacrifices necessary to get off the ground. Hell, I wanted to
move to Montana or Alaska after graduating. That plan almost worked
but the job fell through at the last moment and I bit the bullet and took a
job in Boston, MA - JUST ABOUT THE LAST PLACE IN THE WORLD I
WANTED TO LIVE!!! Now, I've been here three years and I am the only
repairman in what must be one of the busiest shops in the Northeast at
one of the best guitar stores in the country. It has been a rewarding
experience. There's not a single high end builder whose guitars haven't
been on my bench. My shop is crowded with the finest guitars from the
best manufacturers and I get to work on lots of great vintage instruments
     I went to RV hoping to learn how to build guitars and then find a new
career. What happened next wasn't quite what I expected but was an
opportunity I would have been foolish to let pass by.
     Oh yeah - you've got to be able to survive some pretty **** hot
weather. It's a dry heat of course...
    Great desert hiking. LanceK38849.3070949074

blankyukonarizona38833.3798611111

If you want to take a semester of school, you can't beat Robbie O'Brien's class at Red Rocks College in Denver Colorado. I would highly recommend his CD's as well (both steel and classical)...which you can purchase via
http://www.lmii.com

Yes, Robbie O'Brian does have a great class. Two, in fact: classical and steel string. Great class, great guy, and dirt cheap.

Mike

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Well, I guess Karen and Mike are getting A's this semester! Thanks for the compliments folks.

Never attended R-V but I've spent a fair amount of
time there (they've been a T-shirt customer for
several years) and I have a good relationship with
John Reuter, Chris Olson and other instructors
there. Like Yukon (hey dude!) said it's a bit tobacco
road and situated in the lovely 3rd world atmosphere
of South Phx but the quality of the student
instruments is excellent and over the years I've
gotten to know quite a few graduates (add Rich
Mermer to the list, he went back in 1984) and all
have had generally good reviews.
If you're looking for indoor classrooms, AC/Heat and
like being coddled it's not for you but if if you don't
mind sitting at a picnic table or a carpet-covered
bench while you carve braces it's a good place to
learn.
I'd say the logistics of needing to attend full-time is
it's biggest drawback.

if youre looking for one on one classes with a whole different atmosphere, contact Adrian Gunella in Argentina(do a google search for adrian gunella).
Adrian builds using mostly hand tools,which, for me as a beginner was great coz i knew i wont be able to afford al the machinery that is often involved in the building process.
also knew i wont be able to hold back on my enthusism for a year or two untill i gathered enough money to buy all those things.
so i thicknessed and joined using only planes,
bent on a hot pipe, cut binding ledges with a chisel...
i couldnt have asked for a better experice on a professianl level , and the three months i spent in salta where without a doubt the finest three months ive ever had in my life!

also, youd might like to contact Gerald Gillet in Autralia, i know two aussie luthiers to whom he helped greatly.

i must have e mailed over 150 luthiers world-wide when i was doing my search for luthierie school, so if you need any more info feel free to PM me.

good luck!

Udi.

Kurt,
I have never seen better #1 guitars than the ones that come from the expert tutelage of Tony Karol - If I could I would apprentice him! In a heartbeat! Toronto is a nice city too as far as cities go.
Cheers
Charliewood

Hi all,

Well first off, I must say an overwhelming thanks to all those who I have never met, talked to on the phone, or even tradeed emails with who think I am doing a (more than?) adequate job of helping people who want to learn to make guitars. I must admit it si a real joy to see the look on someones face the minute the strings are finally on, and the first chord it struck, breathing life into what was a bunch of wood only months earlier.

All should know and understand that my course, as it may be, is fully geared towards people within a reasonable commute to my home shop near Toronto one day a week (its one on one). So each student will take about 10-12 months to complete the project.I cater to the 9-5 crowd, as it seems no one else does or ever did - Years ago I would have loved to go to Serge Dejonge's or David Freeman's course, but it was in no way possible for me to leave my then full time employment and family for 5-6 weeks with no income, just to further what was then a hobby. So I did what most of you are doing, kept plugging away at the day job, in order to buy tools and wood to keep making guitars, learning and making (+ fixing) mistakes as I went.

So , Kurt, its not impossible that come the fall (thats when I will have some openings, but likely day slots only - which would most likely work best for you anyway) you could shack up somewhere near here, and pop around every day while the kids are at school to make sawdust.

Again, thanks to all for the most kind words. Brethren we are indeed.

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

[QUOTE=TonyKarol]Years ago I would have loved to go to Serge Dejonge's or David Freeman's course,[/QUOTE]

Since Tony mentioned it, I'll second Sergei de Jonge's course.

Warren

There is an extremely fine and gifted luthier right in New Zealand - Laurie Williams. He makes really beautiful instruments, and uses a lot of Kauri and Ancient Kauri etc. You should give him a call and see if he offers any courses or maybe he knows of something local to you.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."