Technician Program

Our Technician Program is designed for working technicians who want to take their craft to the next level, but whose demanding schedules don’t allow for a long training session. It’s also for repairmen or music stores who want to sharpen their skills for better serving their customers. And it’s a great introduction to Lutherie: a way to get a jump-start prior to one of our more advanced classes.

"I've carefully laid out this program to cover the most useful information in a short training session. We cover the everyday ins and outs of a guitar’s work... the most-requested, moneymaking repairs.“
— Bryan Galloup

Our Buzz Feiten Class is always scheduled to follow the Technician Program. This gives you the opportunity train in this unique tuning and intonation system during one block of time. We strongly recommend that you consider this opportunity. Please note that free housing is not provided for the Technician Program or Buzz Feiten Class.

The Technician Program covers the following topics detailed below: Neck Design, Fretting, Setup, and Maintenance.

Neck Design Before you start, it’s important to understand guitar neck design and how the truss rod and fret compression affects a guitar’s tone and overall playability. We cover truss rod designs used from the earliest Gibson single-action to a modern 2-way truss rod. With these topics covered, you’ll have the foundation to make correct decisions when fretting your customers’ instruments.
Topics covered:

• How the neck works
• How the neck affects tone
• Truss rod operation
• Martin T-bar truss rods
• Martin O-beam truss rods
• Gibson single-action truss rods
• Imported aluminum U-beam truss rods
• Double-action truss rods
• Neck relief and back bow

Fretting In this segment, we will focus on fretting techniques and procedures. Also you will be introduced to the fret jig, which simulates string tension on an unstrung guitar to allow faster, more accurate fretwork.
Topics covered:

• How to build a fret jig
• Flattening fret boards
• Refretting bound fret boards
• Compression fretting
• Hammer-in fretting
• Gluing in frets
• Routing fret slots
• Dressing frets
• Adjusting truss rods
• Repairing loose frets
• Selecting fret wire
• Replacing pearl and plastic inlays

Setup and Maintenance One of the most useful and challenging subjects of the program. Every repair job requires some amount of setup to enhance or maintain top performance.
Topics covered:

• Electrics
• Troubleshooting before setup
• Neck evaluation
• Truss rod designs
• Making bone nuts
• Back-filing nuts and bridges
• Fitting and replacing intonation saddles
• Identifying fretboard radius
• Setting up tremolos and locking nuts
• Choosing proper string gauge
• Acoustics
• Troubleshooting before set-up
• Fitting bridge pins
• Replacing and refitting bridge saddles
• Making bone nuts
• Identifying fret board radius
• Choosing proper string gauge