Build Your Own Guitar
What you'll learn
- Make your own set of patterns
- Use your patterns to make a guitar
- Use your new skills to make one or a hundred guitars!
Requirements
- This Build Your Own Guitar course ALSO includes the Design Your Own Guitar Course (enrolled BYO students will receive a voucher code for a free place on DYO)
- To get the most out this course you should have already completed my other course, Design Your Own Guitar, as it contains essential pre-build information
- Students must obtain their own set of tools, wood and parts and create a safe workshop space before putting the course into practice
- The course should be completed before buying anything !
- It is a step by step instructional guide - all stages demonstrated by video with supplementary information and resources
Description
Welcome to 'Build Your Own Guitar'
Inside is a complete step by step video for building your very own first (or best yet) guitar. I will guide you through the entire process starting with making your own set of patterns - these are among the many secret 'tricks of the trade' that enable you to make high quality instruments - faster and easier.
I will show you how to use your patterns to make one or a hundred guitars!
This course also includes my ebook on Tools and quick-start pages:
Tools for your first guitar
Wood and Parts for your first guitar
Patterns
How hard can it be?
There are about 50-60 jobs to make a guitar - each one should take 10-20 minutes on average - it takes a certain level of commitment... and yes, it can be hard work.
If you want to be a guitar maker (or just make one for yourself) then I truly believe this is the best possible start you could get - short of actually working in a guitar workshop.
What's in it for me?
Over eight hours of video - this course is the final product of many years of building guitars, running courses and writing to create a real and accurate instruction manual.
16 years of experience teaching over 400 student to build has taught me a lot:
how to break the process down into easy chunks
the right tools for the right job
the best order to do them in for best results
the most efficient way of doing each job - saving time and wasted effort
It is my aim to pass as much of this to you as I can - and save you a lot of time and heartbreak... this course is the next best thing to being here at my workshop.
Who is it for?
To get the most from this course it is highly recommended that you have already completed my other course Design Your Own Guitar - this is why it is included here for free.
Important!
I do recommend using a pre-made fretboard for your first build but have included two methods of making your own - just in case you are determined to do it the hard way!
You can ask me any question directly - or start an open discussion with our enthusiastic students. Remember you can watch the films over and over again.
Thanks for your interest in Build Your Own Guitar - Enrol now and get my other course 'Design Your Own' FREE! or watch the free previews to get a taster.
See you in the course!
Who this course is for:
- No previous knowledge of guitar making is required
- Anyone interested in electric guitar construction
- Power tools are used in the construction process - their role is explained clearly, and all jobs are possible by the inexperienced BUT if you are not comfortable using them then this course may not be for you
Instructor
- 4.9 Instructor Rating
- 130 Reviews
- 313 Students
- 2 Courses
My name is Mark Bailey and I run my own guitar making workshop - Bailey Guitars. I have devoted my life to building guitars and I’ve taught over 400 people how to do it.
In my youth I worked in a guitar factory alongside some of the best guitar makers on the planet, including Patrick Eggle who makes some of the finest acoustic guitars in the world, Gary Levinson and Rob Williams who make some of the best electrics and Trevor Wilkinson of ‘Fret-King’ who also invented the Roller Nut.
I did my very best to learn from them and eventually set up my own company producing a range of my own designs.
The information presented here is based on the ‘Build Your Own Guitar’ course which normally takes place in my workshop here in the glorious hills of South Ayrshire Scotland.
Although aimed at complete novices, many with more experience have found our courses very useful including guitar repair technicians from shops all over the UK who want to enhance their skills, and schools and colleges with students interested in building.
I have had many requests from all over the world from folk who are unable to get here in person so it is with great pride and thanks to a great team I am now able to provide this information online and hopefully help out a lot more people - I have seen the lights go on in many people’s eyes as they discover just how do-able it is.
I always say that most guitars are made in factories and they are not populated by genius luthiers (ask me how I know). They are just normal people who turn up at nine and go home at five. Most of the jobs are quite easy and I believe anyone can do it with the right tools and a little guidance.
Some of my students have gone on make many more guitars at home and some have even started their own guitar making business. I’m not saying it is going to be easy, nothing worthwhile ever is, but my aim is to show you what I think is the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to go about building your own electric guitar at home.
“if something is too difficult you are probably doing it wrong...” - Mark Bailey