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Electric Guitar Building Courses

Guitar Tech Courses offer, what we think is one of the best electric guitar building courses. Here's a few reasons why? Small classes Experienced and Qualified instructor Fantastic value for money Carefully selected and quality build parts Individual tool sets for students Clear course materials Huge sense of achievement A guitar we hope you won't be able to put down Check out our guitar building courses. Make a provisional booking or get in touch with us. If you're thinking of attending a building your own guitar course then this is the course for you.

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Guitar Tech Courses Website Relaunch

We've been working relauching our new website for a few months now. We've listened to you and taken on board all your constructive feedback and incorporated this into our new website. The GTC site is now easier to navigate, has a simpler layout and all the course information including booking can be found on a single page. We hope you like the new look. Of course, we never stop improving our website, just like our guitar courses, so if you have any feedback for us just drop us an email. Thanks, GTC

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Guitar Set Up Courses

Here at Guitar Tech Courses we’ve talked a lot about what it takes to make a guitar and how to really get to know your instrument. However, even the best made instrument needs work doing before it is ready to play. Our professional guitar set-up course covers this at length. We show you how to adjust your truss rod, adjust the action height, radius the saddles and accurately intonate both electric and acoustic guitars. We will not only show you how guitars are made, but why they work the way they do and the importance of finding the settings that work. Perhaps the most important thing you will get from these courses is confidence. Confidence in yourself, and confidence that your instrument will respond the way you need it to. This course will show you how to fully Pro Setup any guitar, with specific and key set-up points that you will take away with you. Above all, what the guitar set-up course allows you to do is turn a guitar into your musical instrument, and that’s a priceless gift.

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How to Get a Job as a Guitar Tech

As a kid there’s a point in everyone’s life when they dream of being a rock star - the fame, the money, the adulation, the trashing hotel rooms without being expected to clean up afterwards, it’s not hard to see the appeal. But the guy with the massive hair and the electric guitar is only the front end of a huge operation that includes everyone from the drummer to the front of house staff, and a crucial but often overlooked part of that operation is the technicians that keep everyone’s instruments in top condition. The guitar technician might not seem as glamorous as the people out on the stage, but they are a vital component, keeping the show going night after night, knowing perhaps even more than the musicians about what’s going on behind the scenes. Learning the Basics If this sounds like the job for you, it’s easy to get started as well. Plenty of colleges will do vocational training courses, including electronics and woodwork that’ll give you the grounding in the materials and techniques that you’ll need when you’re tuning up an electric guitar. Courses like our own build-a-guitar course can also give an invaluable insight into just how those instruments work. Don’t think this an option for people who like the rock’n’roll lifestyle but don’t want to learn to play either. To know how a guitar has to work it you need to know how to work it yourself. You don’t have to be Jimmy Hendrix, but a solid command of the basics is a must. Getting a Foothold From there it’s a matter of finding your first jobs. Help out your friend’s bands, keep an eye out at clubs and libraries

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How to become a guitar technician

Behind every great guitarist there’s a great guitar technician. The guitar technician doesn’t just know how to play and tune the instrument, they know it inside out. They understand the materials, the construction and how it all fits together. As a guitar technician your job is to make sure that your musician’s guitar is strung, tuned, primed and set up ready to go the moment they step onto the stage. Between shows you have to make sure the guitar is correctly stored and maintained. Basically you are to that guitar what those guys in dark suits and sunglasses are to the president. I’m not saying you should take a bullet for your musician’s guitar, but don’t be surprised if they expect you to. Aside from the showbiz side of the job, you can also find plenty of guitar techs working in music shops, tuning and finishing guitars so they’re immediately ready to play when you hand them over to the customers. It’s a job that takes a lot of training, but there’s also plenty about it that can’t be taught, that you’ll have to figure out for yourself on the job. Study the Guitar First and foremost, the job of a guitar technician is to understand how every single part of a guitar works, both individual and as a whole. There’s no better way of understanding how something works than putting all the individual pieces together yourself, so taking a guitar building course is a great way to learn the mechanics of a guitar inside and out. Build Contacts When it comes to the music industry there’s no way of getting recruited more effective than the word of mouth. Use social media and introductions to

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Coldplay guitar techs brush up on their guitar making skills with GTC

Guitar techs and enthusiasts alike can learn how to build a custom-made electric guitar in just three days, thanks to Guitar Tech Courses, owned and run by luthier James Collins in his studio based in Winchelsea, East Sussex. Recent graduates and happy customers include Coldplay’s guitar technicians, Matt McGinn and Craig Hope. Matt says, “We went on the Strat-building course to brush up on our skills. Hoppy (Craig Hope) has lot of mending to do for Chris (Martin), whereas I needed to know more about effects and tunings, as Jonny (Buckland) never breaks anything! James was enthusiastic, helpful, and a great tutor. The course was fantastic value: we even got to keep the axe at the end.” More about the course At the end of the course, each student comes home with their signed custom-made electric guitar, guitar case and certificate. Unlike other guitar building classes, Guitar Tech Courses provide each student with ready-made high-quality guitar parts and components, so no word-working or design skills are needed. Students can choose to build either a Stratocaster- or Telecaster-style guitar, and can vary the colour, style and type of many of the guitar’s components, creating a unique instrument which is superior in sound and tone to most mass-made guitars. The structured three-day curriculum includes both theoretical and practical aspects of electric guitar making. Students also learn the details of guitar set up and maintenance, so that they can look after and make the most of their cherished instrument. The courses cost from £799. The fee includes professional tools, course materials, guitar parts and components, all of which are of the highest quality. Classes are kept deliberately small: a maximum of three students per group, so that James

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Best Gifts for Guitarists

It’s September. The Summer of Sport is finally over, kids are just heading back to school after their holidays, so naturally it’s time to start thinking about Christmas. With that in mind, Guitar Tech Courses have come up with a list of the best gift ideas for the guitarist in your life. Build your own guitar At number one of course we are going to recommend the ultimate gift for a guitarist or guitar player. Our very own course which will teach you how to build your own custom electric guitar. You can buy vouchers through the site here. Marshall Major Headphone Check out these badboys. Features include a microphone and mobile phone controller. From what we have seen, the sound quality on these headphones is fantastic and a must for any serious guitarist or lover of the Marshall brand. http://www.marshallheadphones.com/ Personalised Guitar Pick A good guitar pick is as important as having a good guitar and a good amp, and just as many musicians become emotionally attached to their instruments, guitarists often have a favourite guitar pick that they keep for good luck, or just sentimental value. So why not get them a pick that’s extra special? Shubb Capo A capo is a nifty little device that shortens the guitars strings, allowing you to raise the pitch of the instrument. Most guitarists agree that “The Shubb” is the most reliable make of capo out there for acoustic or electric guitars. It makes for a great stocking filler. A-Framed Guitar Stand Out of sight, out of mind. If your guitar-playing loved one keeps their guitar in a case or a box, the chances are they don’t play it as much as they’d like. A display

Mattessons Hank Marvin advert – Fridge Raiders

There's no doubt you could have missed the Mattessons Fridge Raiders ' Hank Marvin' advert of late. We thought we would post the video and a link for those that might be interested in which guitar is used in the Hank Marvin advert and also which song it is. Clearly Fender Stratocasters  are used in the ad... or are they?  The geeks over at Dolphin Music have spotted something about the guitar in the hank marvin advert worth reading. As for the song, well this is the classic, Apache by The Shadows. If you fancy building your own custom stratocaster style guitar then take a look at our guitar building school.

What does the guitar build kit look like?

Some of you have asked what the guitar build kit looks like. Well here it is and in two different colours.Arctic White and Trans Blue. For and extra £100 you can customize you guitar even further and choose a colour scheme. All students attending the guitar building school or guitar building classes will need to get in touch with us before the courses start to discuss their requirements.

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