Official Luthiers Forum!

Sylvan Wells at Wells Guitars puts on a great two week course during which you take part in all phases of construction and walk away from the school with a beautiful new instrument. I took his course earlier in the year and learned a great deal about the mechanics, geometry, and most importantly the sequences of operations by which a guitar is contructed. By the very nature of the way Sylvan builds, you will get an absolute immersion in the use of jigs and fixtures associated with guitarmaking. Many ingenious jigs and processes used in his methods. Check it out at http://www.wellsguitars.com/index.html

Alan,
I am from Greensboro myself. Right now I am in Staunton, VA but in a year I will be moving to Hillsborough, NC (just north of Chapel Hill) and setting up shop. I am by no means an expert or even very experienced but I have built a few and would work with you if you want. You would just have to wait one year. Again, let me stress, I am not super experienced but I can put them together okay, and would be willing to show you what little I know.

Homeboy

Kent Everett in Atlanta usually holds a 5-day long building class 2-3 times a year. The cost is about $750 total for the class and it involves watching (and helping) him build an upscale steel string kit guitar. I took the class in August of 2005; it was great. He just moved and is still settling into his new shop, so he might not be offering classes for 2007. Go to his webpage and look for his phone number. He is a nice guy and it's worth it just to call and pick his brain. Good luck with whatever you choose and happy holidays.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

I have a sister in Atlanta and the cost is more what I had in mind. I will give him a call.

I highly recommend Kent's class. He is a great teacher and one of the best guitar builder's in the business.

I guess Brock has forced me to clarify...

When I said a "kit" it was more that the back and sides were thicknessed already. They still expect you to bend the sides, join the top and back, cut thr rosette etc. They also will have you thickness the top as well, since that is such an important step. It's not a kit in the sense of what you get from StewMac or LMI. It's just that they have most stuff like bindings, linings, tailblock and neckblock already cut.

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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."

I guess I was thinking a kit meant joined tops, bent sides, channels cut for the rosettes, precarved neck...

I guess we were envisioning different things.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

In my classes I use a number of items dependant upon the students skill level. I don't use kits as you come to my class and much like the others that teach we like to do as much by hand as possible.
   I will admit to using preshaped necks but do show how one is made. This is more for time consideration as there are so many things one needs to digest in the 7-9 days alotted for the class.
     The important thing is that a class can take your skills to a whole new level . I still take classes as there is more than one way to build these things and I want as much info on them as I can get.
john hall
blues creek guitars