Athens Luthier Academy

I get many requests to teach the art of practical instrument repair. With much thought, we have decided to take applications for a single intern to learn the art and business of guitar construction, repair, and vintage restoration.

We are looking for the one intern who intends on making a living at this profession, has a natural aptitude for this type of work, and who already knows how to play the guitar at an intermediate or better level. We want someone who is focused, and relates with others well. They should be dependable, observant, patient, and have the drive to finish everything they start.

This is not your typical school where one instructor will teach a generalized overview of the basics to several students. The one intern we will select will have instructors with over 40 years of experience, to teach every detail of making a living at repairing and restoring guitars and all related instruments. If you are selected you will have your own bench space and will be thrust into the workings of a full blown, professional repair shop. Once you begin you will immediately start with basic set up and fret work and by the end of the course you should be skilled at things like professional refreting, neck resets, finish repairs and full refinishing. Other skills you will be mastering are: guitar electronics, trouble shooting and rewiring, all structural repairs, headstock fractures, cracks, binding, bridges, etc. You will also learn much about vintage instruments, such as; when it is appropriate to refinish a collectable guitar and when it is not, what you can do to improve its value and what not to do. Many times what you don’t do to a guitar is as important as what you do.

One aspect that is not usually covered in many of the schools, and is very important to the luthier who is making a living at instrument repair, is how to estimate a job and how to communicate that to the customer. This is something that takes time to learn and can make or break you on a given job. By the end of this course you should be comfortable looking at a guitar and making a fair and correct estimate of the time and cost to perform the required repairs or restoration.

For more information, and to discuss details, please contact us by email or phone.

baxendaleguitar@att.net - 706.546.1116