Official Luthiers Forum!

You are 20 -- give it a shot.

Something think about:
The vast majority of "Lutherie" performed professionally is Repair work, not building new instruments. This means that the bulk of these jobs are in Repair, not building... When you think of Lutherie, do you associate this with a career of Musical Instrument Repair... or do you want to Build new?

I think there are a couple different ways to do it.

If you want to go the tech school route -- find one that offers an actual course work leading to an AA or something like this in Repair. There are only a small handfull of these in the USA -- so be prepared to go to them. Red Rocks is one, Red Wing is another, and I am sure there are a few more... but only a few. You can later supplement this with some week courses if you wish, but don't start with those expensive 1-Week "Luthier courses".

Another route I would suggest looking at a well reputed mom and pops Music store that is known for it's repair work (And for its lengthy backlog) -- see if you can do some part time work starting with doing setups and learning from the master repair guy.

If you do Route #2 -- consider buying a couple books and buying a couple garage sale beaters to practice doing setups and repair work. Do "Free" setups for all your friends guitars.. Get a feeling for the time and energy required for this. Learn the basics of fret levelling and crowning, nut and saddle making, and neck relief adjustments... then go have a talk with the guitar shop folks and see if you can pick up some moonlight work.

Good luck on your quest.

John

That 30,000.00 is highly exaggerated. If you believe you will jump into this business making anywhere near that you are being mislead by wherever you found that info on luthier salaries. Just being very honest here.

dang. How much does the usual repair guy at sam ash make?

Go in and ask John but he's been doing it for as long as I know. Way back when it was Thoroughbred Music on Hillsborough Ave. He's not a Luthier but a Repairman/ Tech. Charley at the Music Center builds electric basses.
Have you checked the PM I sent you ? It has my contact info there.

At the very least, by the time you can clear $30,000 being a luthier, you won't be in your 20s anymore...

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

Another option is to write to a local pro and see if they would willing for you to spend some time with them to see if you actually like it - be prepared to pay for this time, but it might be better to give this a try before committing to an expensive full time course. I was lucky to work with a great pro for 2 hours a week! and actually build a complete guitar and have stayed on since as its a great source of knowledge. Paying for this is not a problem for me, as I am using his time and tools, and I dont have to shell out a huge amount in one go, just on a weekly basis.

I actually tried to "Apprentice" with a local pro right after College while I was trying to figure out employment -- even to the point of working for free.... The local guy wouldn't even consider it. He was backed up over a year on jobs, but didn't want to have anyone else to worry about in his workshop but him. (and I was pretty handy with a Soldering iron and with files...)

I think it would be worth it to ask the question... but be prepared for them to reject you out of hand, especially if you are totally inexperienced (for example, don't know how to make a nut and saddle, operate a soldering iron to make a good solder joint, or change strings on a Floyd Rose...)

Now, if you can show them that you know the right way to re-wire an Electric or change strings on a Floyd or make a good nut and saddle from scratch... you may be able to get your foot in the door.

Good luck

John

I'm not a professional luthier - and I've learned everything that I know about building guitars (a fraction of what the pros and experience luthiers on this site have) from the generosity of the pros on this site, the books I've purchased, etc. If I were looking at this as a career I'd spend the six months and $$ and get the best education in luthiery that I could.

But one thing I do know - that the only thing that makes any sense in making life decisions about careers and vocations is to follow your passion. I'm 45 and have never been unhappy about a decision that led me closer to something that I knew in my heart was something I was passionate about. The only real mistake is to follow a path that you know isn't right for you, but you do it anyway because it's "safe" or it's someone else's expectation.

Go for it!! - if it turns out not to be for you, you'll know soon enough (and if so, at that point you'll have a different passion anyway).

I found out some pro's don't like to share their info either. Afraid you will eventually steal some of their future business. Now i said some. Not all are like this. Many love to share.

You may be able to hook up with a experienced guitarmaker near you .
offer to pay him/her for some time if need be.

The Galloup school is a good one.
I'd go there if I were just getting into this for the first time.

Mike

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Mike Collins

The Charles Fox school is excellent. I took it in 2006, and still ask him a few questions from time to time via email, which he always gets back to me on. He takes YEARS out of the learning curve.

I think its like any walk of life, you just need to call around and find someone who is of the willing kind and be totally honest about your ambitions etc. I was lucky in that I will only ever be an amateur so pose no threat (as well as it being unlikely to be able to catch up 20 years experience and 200 guitars!

The help advice on even the simplest of techniques prooves to be invaluable and even more importantly i found that there is a huge amount of encouragement and support when things go wrong to keep you focussed and on track.