Guitar making in the magical surrounds of South Africa's Garden Route - make your own guitar and experience the indescribable sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when you hold your own hand-made instrument and play those first chords...
Under the expert guide and supervision of a professional luthier ( a maker of stringed instruments) you will, within 16 days, appreciate just how attainable an undertaking this is and how much feel-good there is to be derived from it.
Most especially, as you hold this "feeling" in your hands for the rest of your playing life, your instrument with all its detail and fine finish, from carefully selected wood, will be a testament to YOUR creativity and achievement.
Things to know about the guitar making course
- Three people maximum per course.
- You will be making the guitar.
- No pre-prepared kits are used.
- Woodworking skills and working with machines are advantageous, but not absolutely necessary.
- You do not have to bring anything, all tools and materials will be supplied.
- You will be guided with certain tool techniques and machine operation, tool sharpening. You will be exposed to a host of different skills and methodology.
- Course includes all timbers/tonewoods, strings, machine heads, nut and saddle, personaliesed name on headstock, side dots, bindings and sound hole inlays, truss rod.A hard case can be purchased/ordered for your completed instrument.
Guitar making Course Outline
The Guitar Making Course
The objective of this course is to give the opportunity to someone who would like to make an acoustic guitar. The reasons for wanting to do this may vary, but this course has been structured to give people with various skill levels the opportunity to achieve the satisfaction of building their own acoustic guitar which should have a value of anywhere between R30000.00 to R35000.00.
What will we be making?
We will be making an acoustic guitar from scratch. The course will offer three choices:-
- Grand Concert, steel string - This shape having more curve in the centre bout, is more responsive to a lighter touch and is well suited to home recording. It is generally a good all rounder, fitting into any mix.
- Dreadnaught, steel string - This shape traditionally has a larger sound box and usually produces a more assertive sound. It is normally the choice for the more traditional player.
- Classical - nylon string - For the discerning classical guitarist - an immediately appealing richness in sound, with a naturally, less reverberation.
The Duration
The course will be 16 full days in the workshop, where from the humble beginnings of the raw wood, you will build an acoustic guitar each step guided and explained to allow you to complete a quality instrument.
The Wood
The wood used will be traditionally some of the best tone woods used in guitar making. The soundboard will be made of Spruce, the back and sides will be Indian Rosewood and the neck will be made of Mahogany.
The Finish
The finish will be nitrocellulose, which will result in a semi-gloss satin finish with a warm luster. You will learn how to apply this finish and will be able to repeat it in any environment, even in a small low-tech home workshop.
The Components
The components you will be fitting to complete the guitar will be high quality. The tuners are Grover with an 18:1 ratio, the strings will be Elixir Nanoweb and the nut and saddle will be bone. These quality components add a well rounded finish to your new hand made instrument.
Total Price: R39,500
Includes:
- Guitar Making Course
- Hands On fully experiential guitar making course
- Wood and all components
- Lunches on course days
Note:
Only a maximum of 3 students per date will be accepted, to ensure individual attention.
All students/participants must arrive in George South Africa 1 day prior to the course date selected.
Course days begin at 8:00AM .