Shuker Luthiery Courses
Guitar and Bass building courses
Instrument Maintenance Courses
Upcoming Courses
Maintenance Course
28th November 2023 – space
7th March 2024 – space
May 2024 – tbc
1-2-1 Build course
19th February 2024 – fully booked
April 2024 – tbc
October 2024 – fully booked
The Guitar & Bass course is based around tried and tested designs, and it aims to provide the student with expert tuition. Concentrating on vital guitar making skills with the main objective of constructing a professional quality instrument in a short period of time.
No experience of woodworking or guitar making is necessary and I’ve designed the course so that students will be using hand-tools (as far as possible) that can be easily and cheaply obtained, so you can continue your new hobby at home. The course runs for five days, Monday to Friday, but can be split into two sessions if required. The course is run at my workshop in the peak district. Accommodation is available locally if required and there are many things to do and see in this beautiful part of the country, great surroundings for you to build your first instrument. An excellent local inn is 5 minutes walk from the workshop and can provide accommodation, meals and the essential refreshments after a hard days work!!
1-2-1 Build Course
The one to one course is provided for people who want to design and build a more advanced instrument. It is possible to build either a guitar or bass and the course is designed around the individuals wants, eg. you may want to build a Jazz bass from swamp ash with a flame maple top, a maple neck with a bound fingerboard. Theres more emphasis on finishing and it is possible to lacquer your instrument in a polyester gloss, sunburst or solid colour. Specialist builds are possible such as though neck instruments and thinline bodies, if you have an idea about what you’d like to build please email me. The 1-2-1 course is normally also 5 days but can be longer or over additional sessions, all depending on the complexity of the build.
As with the introductory course, no experience in woodworking or guitars is necessary as you’ll be guided through each process. I have taught students ranging in age from 12 to 75 and all have gone away with a completed instrument they will treasure for the rest of their lives, as well as learning many new skills.
As I mentioned before, each course is designed around the student and what they want to build, this is so we make maximum use of the time and i can plan so that parts are glued at the end of the day ready for working on the following day, etc. We will give advice on what is possible to make and whats not suitable.
From £1750
Maintenance Course
GUITAR & BASS SETUP / MAINTENANCE COURSE
We have been running these courses for a number of years now and they have been well received. They give a good insight into the basic adjustments you can make to your instrument so you know its playing as well as it can do. We start at the point when a manufactured guitar is completed… so first job is fretwork so we level the frets, crown, polish which is the starting point of getting your guitar or bass set-up.The adjustments to the truss rod, intonation, action, electrics, etc.
The cost for this course is £120, a deposit of £40 is required when booking and the balance a week before the course commences.
Please email for more details but we can accommodate guitars (both acoustic and electric), basses as well as some traditional instruments. Always a good idea to bring a couple of instruments to work on (and your packed lunch!)
These courses are usually run on a saturday, 9:30 – 4:30.
£120
The courses are run in Derbyshire, in the heart of the Peak District. The area provides plenty of places to stay and eat, we are well catered for with the surroundings being a busy tourist location. Pubs, B&Bs, hotels, holiday cottages,camping and caravan accomodation. There are many places to visit whilst here, Chatsworth Estate, the Castleton Caverns and local markets as well as the peaks themselves which true walkers and mountain bikers paradise!
Thanks so much for your patience, kindness, hospitality – and for the benefit of your expertise. I really appreciate it. I’ve literally ended up with the bass of my dreams.
Just to quick email to thank you for saturday, really enjoyed the course and feel better equipped to do set-ups on my other guitars.
Just a quick thank you for last week, now that I’m back at my desk, for the bass build course last week. The bass sounds incredible when plugged into the amp at home. Given that it is based loosely on a precision, I was not surprised to find out that it sounds quite like one – but what a precision! It sounds like the most amazing precision ever.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge yesterday, I really learned loads! Thanks again and best wishes
This is a BIG thank you for your course last week. I really enjoyed it, and I am totally satisfied with the whole experience.