Hands-On Acoustic Guitar Making
Hands-On Electric Guitar & Bass Making
Contemporary Guitar Making
Setup, Fret Work & Basic Repair

HANDS-ON ACOUSTIC GUITAR MAKING

HANDS-ON GUITAR MAKING Steel String Duration: 2 weeks Class format: Each student creates his or her own instrument as each step is discussed and demonstrated. Enrollment is limited to two students. We work long hours, Monday through Saturday each of 2 weeks. Some lutherie or woodworking experience is a plus, but not required. Please email with any questions, or call to speak with us personally. By application. Tuition: $4500 plus materials

The craft of guitar of making is a rich collection of methods, techniques and skills that can take a lifetime to acquire and refine on one's own. Because few of us have a lifetime to put it all together, ASL offers this unique two-week opportunity to construct a fine quality guitar while learning the guitar making methods used by today's most creative and successful luthiers.  

OVERVIEW

HANDS-ON GUITAR MAKING provides the perfect setting and means to do your best possible work and learning, whether you're a guitar-making novice or a seasoned luthier.

 

 

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

You'll learn a logical, integrated approach to the craft - a synthesis of today's most effective practices and techniques - some as old as forever and some as new as tomorrow. These methods are key to optimizing the quality, efficiency and creativity of your work. They're the logical place to start as a beginning luthier and they're essential for achieving today's extremely high standards of excellence.

You'll learn how to build a guitar of any size and shape without fixed molds and other specialized forms. Working from the raw materials, you'll create the parts, construct the sub-assemblies, assemble, shape, trim, sand, seal, set up and finally play your guitar, learning each phase of the process in turn, in real time at your workbench. The hands-on class experience is designed to prepare you for steady advancement in your continued self-learning.

WHAT YOU'LL BUILD

Steel String
You'll select from among several body styles, such as the 00, OM, Small Jumbo, Dreadnaught, etc, which cover the range of today's most popular models. While its bracing pattern will remain true to CF Martin's brilliant X-brace design, modern design elements such as narrow neck profile, compound radius fingerboards, rigid rims, and removable necks bring this traditional instrument into the present and optimized for today's fingerstyle emphasis.

WHEN YOU GET HOME

Making a guitar here means nothing if you can't do it again on your own. Your work space at ASL is a model of compact efficiency which is designed, along with the time-saving jigs and fixtures that you'll use here, to be easily reproduced by you at home. You'll return home with a clear understanding of both what's needed to build your next guitar and how to do it.