Sydney Guitar Making Course

Build your own custom guitar from raw materials,
no premade kits,
no prior experience required.

Weekly classes, pay as you go per week,

OR

Intensive options – 1:1 or small group courses

Operated by one of Australia’s leading guitar makers.

Instructor – Steve Toscano

Steve’s passion for creating instruments by hand started when he was 19yrs (2003) of age making solid body electric guitars. Looking for more of a challenge he later discovered the Australian Guitar Making School and studied the art of acoustic guitar construction under the tutelage of master luthier Strato Anagnostis. He quickly became addicted to the art and ‘never left the workshop’ – along the way learning what makes a fine, responsive and outstanding instrument, before further developing his skills and a thorough understanding in modal tuning and resonant frequencies from luthier and guitar designer: Trevor Gore.

Steve’s focus is on Classical, Flamenco and Acoustic guitars blended with modern techniques and aspects to make a responsive, aesthetically pleasing, and tonally exquisite hand crafted guitar.

In recent years he has become a world renown luthier for not only his fine hand made guitars, but also for consulting and guitar design services to other luthiers and guitar factories around the globe.

View Steve’s website here:

Toscano Guitars and Sydney Guitar Making Courses

Guitar Making session times are:

Monday 6 – 10pm
Tuesday 6 – 10pm (Electric guitars / bass only)
Wednesday 11am – 3pm
Wednesday 6 – 10pm
Thursday 11am – 3pm (Electric guitars/bass only)
Thursday 6 – 10pm
Saturday morning 10am – 2pm
Sunday morning 10am – 2pm

Also 3 week Intensive courses in July and January each year

The Sydney Workshop is located at:

Unit 11, 37a King Rd. Hornsby, NSW, 2077

(Sydney)

0467 647 936 If Steve doesn’t answer he is likely on the tools so leave a message.

The Sydney school offers 8 classes a week:
Acoustic, Classical, Flamenco, and Electric guitar making.

These weekly classes run 46 weeks of the year, places are typically booked out many months in advance.

For the average student who has no prior woodworking experience it takes
25 – 30 (Acoustic)
or
15 – 20 (Electric Guitar / Bass)
sessions to complete in the Sydney weekly guitar making course.

There is also short intensive courses held at times throughout the year, as well as “Luthiers Sessions” short half day courses on a variety of luthier topics.

PLUS the option for short 1:1 intensive guitar making course over 2 – 4 weeks.

The School contains:

Laguna machinery
Veritas, Lie-Neilsen, and Stanley Bailey hand tools
6x Benches with Dawn Vices
A stash of master grade tonewoods:

Some of the timbers available include: Rosewood, Snakewood, Cocobolo, Ebony, Zebrawood, Tasmanian Blackwood, Tasmanian Myrtle, Honduras Mahogany, Maple, Walnut, Spanish Cypress, plus aged old growth Spruce and Cedar soundboards.

Instruments YOU can make:

Acoustic Steel String guitar: 00, OM, styles with or without cutaway, either Falcate or “X” braced.
Classical or Flamenco guitar: Traditional fan bracing, Radial bracing, or Lattice bracing with carbon fibre.
Electric solid body Guitar: Many ‘off the shelf’ designs to choose from, or design your own shape and style. Bolt on necks only. Carved tops, multiscale, and composite materials only allowed within certain parameters and only for repeat students who are already experienced with basic hands on guitar building.

Cost is $150 per 4hour class session, for this you get your own bench, access to all tools / machinery / plans / timbers, and expert tuition to guide even the complete novice every step of the way to make your fine instrument.