Lutherie Listings
Instrument Building and Repair Programs
To locate a specific program, use your "find" (ctrl. f) command.
Marc Adams School of Woodworking
Franklin, IN, Aug. 18-24. Tuition: $1,500/week. Ages:
18 and up. Requirements: Basic skills with hand tools such as chisels
and planes. Enrollment size: 10 per class. Music styles: All. Accomodations:
cabins.
Students will learn the start to finish process of the
craft and art of musical instrument construction. Joining, assembly
and sound control will be covered in detail. By the end of the seventh
day, each student will have completed their own handcrafted acoustic
guitar that is strung and fully playable. Instructors: Frank Finocchio.
Contact: , 5504 E. 500 N., Franklin, IN 46131-7993.
(317) 535-4013. Fax: (317) 535-1713. Email: marc@marcadams.com.
Web: www.marcadams.com.
Augusta Heritage Workshops
Guitar and vocal: July 15-20; dulcimer Apri l22-28;
blues and swing July 8-13; Irish July 29-Aug. 3; bluegrass and dance
Aug. 5-12; Cajun/Creole and old-time Aug. 5-12; Augusta Festival Aug.
10-12; old-time and fiddlers' reunion Oct. 21-28. Tuition: $345-$355/week.
Ages: 16 and up. Enrollment size: 6-18 per class.
Weeklong intensive workshops in the traditional arts.
Taught by recognized master artists on the campus of Davis & Elkins
College. Guitar week features five masters of the guitar who will
teach a variety of styles and techniques. Other weeks will have some
guitar instruction in specific styles including Irish, Cajun, blues,
and bluegrass. Appalachian dulcimer construction. Instructors: TBA.
Contact: Augusta Heritage Center/Registrar, Davis
& Elkins College, Elkins, WV 26241. (304) 637-1209. Fax: (304)
637-1317. Email: augusta@augustaheritage.com.
Contemporary Guitar Making
Healdsburg, CA, Feb. 12-17; May 21-26; Aug. 20-25;
Nov. 5-10. $1,000. Requirements: some familiarity with tools and materials
is useful. Enrollment size: limited.
Contemporary Guitar Making covers the guitar's acoustical,
structural, and aesthetic design factors as well as voicing, materials,
construction methods, tooling, shop design, and other critical topics.
For your convenience, our neighbors at Luthiers Mercantile International,
Inc., offer you special discounted prices on their wide selection
of tools and materials while you're here in Healdsburg. Instructors:
Charles Fox.
Contact: Charles Fox, 449 Allan Court, Healdsburg,
CA 95448. (707) 431-7836. Email: charlesfox@prodigy.net.
Finocchio Guitars
Easton, PA, Flattop and classical: March 5-11, April
2-8; June 4-10; archtop, July 21-27. $2,500, flattop, classical; $3,500,
archtop. Ages: 18 and up. Requirements: familiarity with using chisels
and hand planes. Enrollment size: 6. Music styles: All. Accomodations:
motel/hotel.
Build a guitar in seven days. Instruction includes correct
use of hand tools such as chisels, scrapers, and hand planes, sharpening,
bending sides, rosetting top, making of internal braces, tap tuning
of top and back plates, neck fit, body geometry, and setup procedures.
All materials and use of hand tools included. Instructors: Frank Finocchio
and Dale Unger (archtop).
Contact: Frank Finocchio, 20 S. Maple St., Easton,
PA 18042. (610) 258-2268. Fax: (610) 258-2268. Email: frank@finocchioguitar.com.
Web: www.finocchioguitar.com.
Bryan Galloup's Guitar Repair and
Construction School
Big Rapids, MI, June 25-Aug. 17; Aug. 27-Oct. 19.
Tuition: call for details. Housing is included. Ages: open. Enrollment
size: 6.
The school offers a diverse range of programs from one-day
seminars to six-month residential apprenticeships. Instruction covers
all aspects of guitar construction and repair. Instructors: Bryan
Galloup and others.
Contact: Bryan Galloup's Guitar Hospital, 10495 Northland
Dr., Big Rapids, MI 49307. (616) 796-5611 or (800) 278-0089. Fax:
(616) 796-3837. Email: bryan@galloupguitars.com.
Healdsburg Guitar Festival
Healdsburg, CA, August 16-19. Tuition: TBA. Ages:
open. Enrollment size: TBA. Music styles: bluegrass/country, blues,
Celtic, classical, fingerstyle, flamenco, flatpicking, jazz, traditional
folk. Accomodations: motel/hotel.
Performers, guitar makers, teachers, students, and guitar
aficionados convene in the California wine country for an intensive
weekend of guitar-making workshops, player workshops, and seminars
focusing on guitar construction.The festival features evening concerts
and the Gallery of Guitars, where more than 100 premier luthiers display
their custom instruments for viewing, playing, and sale. Instructors:
TBA.
Contact: Leslie Hall, Luthiers Mercantile International,
PO Box 774, Healdsburg, CA 95448. (707) 433-1823. Fax: (707) 433-8802.
Email: lmi@lmii.com.
Web: www.lmii.com/services.htm.
Leeds Guitarmakers' School
Northampton, MA, Ongoing. Tuition: Varies from $175
for one-day tutorials to $12,650 for the 16-week comprehensive program.
Ages: adults. Enrollment size: 6.
A wide range of instruction in all aspects of guitar
making is available, from one-day seminars in French polish techniques
to comprehensive training in guitar construction. Advanced classes
in classical guitar construction. Instructors: Alan Chapman, Ed Diehl,
Brad Nickerson, Ivon Schmukler, Steve Warshaw.
Contact: Ivon Schmukler, 8 Easthampton Rd., Northampton,
MA 01060. (413) 582-0034. Email: leeds@crocker.com.
Luthier's Workshop
Concord, MA, August-exact dates TBA. Tuition: $500.
Ages: 18 and up. Requirements: familiarity with small hand tools.
Enrollment size: five maximum.
Students build a steel-string or nylon-string guitar
from a kit. A playing guitar can be completed in nine days. Instructors:
Thomas Knatt.
Contact: Thomas Knatt, Luthier's Workshop, 83 Riverside
Ave., Concord, MA 01742. (978) 287-0464, (877) LUTHIER.. Email: tknatt@ziplink.net.
Midwest Guitar Repair and Building
School
Kirkwood, MO, Continuing. Approx. $500/week; R&B
$500/month. Ages: 16 and up. Requirements: Desire to learn. Enrollment
size: 5. Music styles: All. Accomodations: private.
Students work one-on-one with a luthier to learn steel-string,
classical, or electric guitar repair and construction in an ongoing
residential program. Instructors: Michael Boggeman, Sasha Radicic,
and Keith Burns.
Contact: Michael E. Boggeman, 238 Meacham, Kirkwood,
MO 63122. (877) 453-8119. Email: info@www.midwestguitar.com.
Web: www.midwestguitar.com.
National Guitar Summer Workshop
New Milford, CT; Seattle, WA; Nashville, TN; Sarasota,
FL; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Toron June-Aug.
June-Aug. Tuition: $600-$700 includes R&B. Ages:
12-100. Enrollment size: 8-12.
One- to four-week sessions offer a highly intensive,
hands-on, in-depth look at guitar playing. Classes are set up as tutorials
and are open to all skill levels. New Milford, CT: June 30-July 6,
July 8-14, July 16-22, July 24-28, July 29-Aug. 4, Aug. 6-12; Austin,
TX: July 8-13; Nashville, TN: July 15-20; Toronto, CAN: July 22-27;
Seattle, WA: July 8-13; San Francisco, CA: July 15-20; and tentative
dates: Los Angeles, CA: June 25-30; Sarasota, FL: June 17-21 or June
24-29. Instructors: Past instructors have included Seth Austen, Pierre
Bensusan, Ed Gerhard, John Knowles, Leo Kottke, Adrian Legg, Preston
Reed, and Martin Simpson.
Contact: Dave Smolover, Box 222, Lakeside, CT 06758.
(860) 567-8529. Fax: (860) 567-0374. Email: alicia@guitarworkshop.com.
Minnesota State College--Southeast
Technical, Red Wing Campus
Red Wing, MN, June 4-July 27. Tuition: Archtop Guitar
and Mandolin Construction: tuition and fees, $1,000 in-state, $1,750
out of state, plus materials and tools. Ages: 18 and up. Requirements:
Construction course requires String Instrument Repair Diploma or equivalent.
Enrollment size: 15-20.
Students in the eight-week construction course build
an archtop instrument--guitar, mandolin, or violin. Fully accredited
state college. Financial aid is available. Classes fill up--early
registration recommended. Instructors: John Reed and David Vincent.
Contact: David Vincent, 308 Pioneer Rd., Red Wing,
MN 55066. (800) 657-4849. Fax: (651) 385-6377. Email: dvincent@rdw.tec.mn.us.
Rizsanyi Guitar-Building Workshop
Pinehurst, NS, Canada, April-June; Sept.-Nov. Tuition:
$3,000 (Can.). Requirements: some basic knowledge and skill with hand
and power tools recommended. Enrollment size: five (max. and min.).
Music styles: All. Accomodations: dorms.
Learn the start-to-finish process of the craft and art
of instrument construction. When the course concludes, each student
will have a full understanding of the process and will have completed
their own hand-crafted acoustic guitar. Currently offering two eight-week
sessions per year. Instructors: George Rizsanyi.
Contact: Rizsanyi Guitars, R.R.2 New Germany, 3330
Hwy. 10, Pinehurst, NS B0R 1E0. (902) 527-0614. Email: fretboy@tallships.ca.
Web: www.rizsanyiguitars.com.
Summit School of Guitar Building and
Repair
Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada, Ongoing. Tuition: varies,
approx. $3,500 (Can.) per month, includes accomodations. Ages: 18
and older. Requirements: no prerequisites, woodworking experience
an asset. Enrollment size: three to one student/teacher ratio.
We offer intensive courses from two weeks to six months
in all aspects of guitar repair and building, plus five-day workshops
on special topics. Additional courses in recording arts and live sound.
Instructors: Mike Jarvis, former Fender repairman; Sigmund Johannessen,
builder.
Contact: Mike Jarvis/Sigmund Johannessen, 6114 W.
Island Hwy., Qualicum Beach, BC V9K 2E2. Phone/fax (250) 757-8807.
Email: luthersintl@bcsupernet.com.
Timeless Instruments
Tugaske, SK, Canada, March 5-April 20; April 30-June
15; Sept. 3-Oct.19; Oct.29-Dec.14. Tuition: $2,500 (Can.). Ages: 19
and up, or mature student. Requirements: English speaking and comprehension.
Enrollment size: 7.
Learn design and construction in Acoustic Guitar Lutherie
Training program at Timeless Instruments. Build a classical or steel-string
guitar while developing the skills and knowledge. Follow-up options
include resophonic guitar or Celtic harp construction. Design, construction,
assembly, finishing, and setup are all part of the program. This school
has been developing for 16 years. A seven-to-one student-teacher ratio
ensures good instruction during this immersion experience. Instructors:
David Freeman.
Contact: David Freeman, Box 51, Tugaske, SK S0H 4B0.
(306) 759-2042. Fax: (306) 759-2729. Email: rockpile.prairie@sk.sympatico.ca.
Totnes School of Guitarmaking
Totnes, Devon, England, Courses three times a year:
May 3-July 27, others TBA. Tuition; course: £3,200 (2000), materials:
£270 (2000). Ages: 16-65. Requirements: desire to build a guitar.
Enrollment size: 7 maximum.
A 12-week course in which students make the instrument
of their choice and leave with it finished and playing perfectly.
For both amateur and future professional makers. Instructors: Phil
Messer, Norman Reed, and James Huxley.
Contact: Norman Reed, Totnes School of Guitar Making,
Collins Rd., Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5PJ. (44) 1803-865255. Fax: (44) 1803-864649.
Email: info@totnesschoolofguitarmaking.co.uk.
