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Has anyone taken the Shuker luthier course?


Dragonlord
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[quote]We run two courses, where students can build a complete guitar or bass in 5 days. The first course is for up to five students and you can choose to build one of five instruments. We start completely from scratch with the bare timber and you'll learn all the processes involved with making your own guitar.

The courses are run in Derbyshire, in the heart of the Peak District, accomodation and meals are available.

The second course is a one-to-one course where the student can indulge in a more complex build. These courses are all designed around what you want to build, whether a through neck bass or finishing work.

A rewarding week is guaranteed![/quote]
(from Jon's site)

I'm intrigued. Has anyone done it? How much did you have to pay? (yeah, I know I can contact Jon about pricing etc, and probably will, just wanted to hear from others who have possibly taken the course)

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[quote name='BassBod' post='82265' date='Nov 1 2007, 04:00 PM']I did - made a 5 string "super J" in 5 days! PM me for details, or I'll post more later when the kids aren't running around....

BB[/quote]
Please give more details in public whenever you have the time, as this seems to interest others as well. How much were you involved in the build and how much was Jon? Are you satisfied by the result? If he had built it on his own, how much better do you think it would have been and in what ways? Are you now confident that you could build another bass on your own if you wanted? What was the upcharge compared to what he would have charged you if he built it on his own?

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Lots of questions...here goes.

I wanted to learn about the build process, rather than make "my" definative bass - and that's exactly what I got to do. I learned that to do a professional job takes a lot of skill - but also a lot of "jigging". Knowing how to work wood in a reliable and repeatable way takes experience and understanding. I was set up with each process, and basically left to get on with it. I'm not very confident with routers, but John made sure I knew what to do, and took over if I bottled out...the most dangerous bit was probably cutting the fret slots.

The design is a cross between a standard J and John's downsized version. There isn't much difference between this and a "standard Shuker" other than I did most of the work! Apart from a few scrathes and dents...of course. The finish is a simple satin to save time, and the bridge and tuners were re-used from a previous bass. I even had to solder the active circuit board together, once John had placed the components in the board.

Wood choices and laminates were "improvised" from what was available. But there was a lot of choice (bocate fingerboard?).

[attachment=3226:DSCN0760.JPG][attachment=3227:DSCN0763.JPG][attachment=3228:DSCN0767.JPG]



I can't really comment on the cost - it was four years ago, and I'm sure John is a lot busier these days. At the time his workshop was in Clay Cross. If anyone is really interested then do contact John - its a great way to spend a week.

BB

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