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"ARE YOU EXPERIENCED" Well we all know what famous iconic guitarist penned that moniker on a guitar song, of course, it was "Jimi
Hendrix". In our industry you'll be asked time and time again that very same thing. While all of our courses will
give you a lot of experience, our "Journeyman" one year program will give you the "MOTHER LODE" of experience!
Without a doubt the most complete, comprehensive, program available anywhere. I would suggest that you familiarize yourself
with all of our other programs at this point to get a thorough understanding of what is taught in each one because you will
learn all of that and then some! The "Journeyman" program is an accelerated long term program designed to give you
life skills and a career opportunity like no other course can. Before I delve in to all the exciting and life changing things
you will learn I want to take a minute now to explain a few things. Other programs, while some are good, will try to convince
you that you will be a "MASTER" Luthier after attending their program. What does that mean? Well I am not really
sure. Does it mean you will have have people running about, taking care of your every whim or perhaps
you will be treated like royalty? I think not! You will be a "MASTER" when you think so! So for the next twenty
- thirty years you will be a "JOURNEYMAN" and dont ever forget it! A journeyman is someone who is on
their way in a career choice that has "EXPERIENCED" almost everything imaginable in their chosen field. A respected,
experienced, professional that has the confidence and most importantly the ability to do the job 100% accurately no matter
what the challenge. If you seek this knowledge and experience and have the passion for stringed instrument's then read on
because it doesn't get any better than this!
The "Journeyman" one year course What to expect
As I mentioned already you will learn everything listed in all of our courses, taking you up to this point. Let me
explain in detail now what you can expect from us and what we will expect from you. Repairs Fretwork: You will complete at LEAST
"25" complete re-frets. Bound necks, un-bound necks, finished necks, Basses, Guitars and other stringed instruments Wiring: You will learn and memorize almost every wiring diagram imaginable. You will re-wire
dozens of configurations from memory. Active, Passive, Acoustic... Acoustic Repairs: Broken necks, Cracked tops,Binding repairs, Holes, Re-finish .... Nut Fabrication: You will make no less than "20" Nuts for many stringed instruments.
Bone, Corian, Micarta, Graphite and more Saddle and
Bridge Fabrication: Here you will learn to fabricate saddles and bridges for several types of instruments. Compensated saddles,
Acoustic Guitar Bridges and much more Finish Work:
Lacquer finish, Oil finishes and touch ups of all kinds
Tools Understanding the tools used to be creative is just the beginning. Tool safety is crucial to create
a safe and fun work environment and is a must. Along with this you will learn how to set-up and maintain most basic shop tools
used in our industry. Lets take a look at what tools you will become proficient with. Table saw: Set up and maintenance Re-saw Band saw: Bookmatching wood for tops and backs Bandsaw: Cutting out Body blanks, Neck Blanks ... Drumsander: Used for thickness sanding Edge sander: Most used tool in the shop Jointer: Used to create seamless body joints Pattern sanding: Used to duplicate Bodies and Necks from templates
Hand tools Routers:
Small and large Angle grinder: Used for contours Spindle Sander: Oscillating sander used for quite a few tasks in the shop Belt sanders: Many uses Chisels: Braces etc.. Finger Planes: Used
for arch-top carving Dremel tool: Inlay and much more Compressors: Finish work and shop tasks Spray Gun: Very important and imperitave to have a good working knowledge of Many other tools on a daily basis
Building
In this one year course I
would expect nothing less for you to aspire to build as many Instruments as possible. Keep in mind that you have to learn
all the basics first, but I would expect the building to look something like this: First Build: Bolt-on Electric Guitar or Bass. Start to finish, you will hit the ground running Second Build: Set-neck Guitar or five-six string Bass Third Build: Tenon-neck Guitar. This is where the fun begins! Fourth Build: Acoustic Guitar: Non-cutaway, cutaway possible if your up to
the task Fifth Build: "Archtop"
The ultimate in Guitar Building. The "Holy Grail" of them all! Yep, you can do this!
Of course you don't have to make that many guitars but you can and probably will.
Keep in mind that all of your builds will be from raw lumber, we buy it, cut it, plane it and get creative with it. With every
build you will of course have the expense of the wood, parts, electronics and so on. We offer parts and electronics at a wholesale
price to our students, we do not profit from your supplies and needs. This helps the student quite a bit and as always you
are welcome to bring your own wood and accessories.
What else is there? In addition
to all that I mentioned so far, our one year "Journeyman" program has expanded to offer you the following things: Amplifier Building: Wow, you will make a tube amplifier and study with our professionals
MONO/MONO or in other words one on one! Incredible but true. You will really build a tube amplifier from scratch. No distractions,
just you and our professional instructor for at least one full week. No cost to you. All parts included! Incredible but true! Inlay program: You will receive one on one instruction from our professionals above and
beyond your regular inlay classes. Design, cut and create the inlay of your dream, well, within in reason. Remember you are
doing the work. Several days of personal instruction. What an experience! All materials included. The "NAMM EXPERIENCE": NAMM is the Holy Grail of Music conventions. This is
where every manufacturer of musical products display their goods. Music store owners congregate to NAMM to place orders and
see all the new products offered. We may be displaying as well but you the "Journeyman" will have the chance to
take in this spectacular event! I would recommend that you google NAMM CONVENTION to get a full understanding of what I am
talking about. You will have the chance to meet and greet with "Superstars" in every musical field. An amazing adventure,
and no cost to our "Journeyman" students. Bob
Benedetto: We will make the trip to visit Bob's shop in Savannah Georgia. This is a full blown production shop and several
graduates of our programs are employed there as well. GREAT EXPERIENCE! Gibson Nashville: We will take a trip to Nashville Tn. to visit the Gibson Plants. This is an amazing tour and not
open to the public. They have in the past treated us like royalty there. They also employ many graduates from our programs
in production, engineering and the custom shop. No out of pocket expenses, we foot the bill!
"Journeyman" has a nice ring to it, doesn't
it What we expect Passion, pure and simple!
I hope this information provided has answered most of your questions, but if
not please give us a call or send an email. Dreams can come true and were living proof of it!
John Marshall
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