Students from all over the world come to Red Wing to learn how to repair, design, and build guitars.
Career Area: Musical Instrument Repair & Building
Program: Guitar Repair & Building
Campus(es): Red Wing
Major Details
In the one year Guitar Repair and Building program, you will experience hands-on learning as you progress from basic repairs to the step-by-step process of building your own acoustic guitar.
No previous woodworking experience or musical ability is required, but successful students are detail-oriented, highly motivated, and have the ability to sit at a workbench and stay focused on their work all day.
Beginning with the correct use of power and hand tools, you will gain an in-depth understanding of woods, adhesives, and materials related to fretted instruments. You will practice a variety of common repairs, including acoustic and electric guitar set-up, fretwork, finish touch-up, and neck resets.
In preparation for a career in the field, our students learn how to complete repairs in a timely manner with professional quality and accurately estimate the cost of parts, materials, and labor.
Build your own acoustic guitar
In the second semester, students build a flat-top steel string guitar in the Guitar Repair & Building diploma. You will have the opportunity to build a highly personalized instrument. You will select the body style, tone woods, bracing pattern, neck dimension, and headstock shape for your own guitar. You will determine exactly how it looks by choosing the rosette, binding, and other design elements.
Materials for the guitar build cost approximately $450-$900, but it not necessary to spend more than the minimum to build a very high quality, excellent sounding instrument! At the end of the year, the finished instruments are displayed and played in concert by professional musicians at the annual Student Guitar Show.
Our graduates are in high demand, working in music stores, independent repair shops, and instrument manufacturers. Many go on to our second year diploma, Guitar Development and Production.
Download the Guitar Tool List (PDF)
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Cluster/Pathway
Cluster: Manufacturing
Pathway: Maintenance, Installation & Repair
Recommended high school classes and basic job/program skills
Courses
GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Total Credits Required for this Major: 37
Cost
| Approximate Tuition/Fees: | $8,979 |
|---|---|
| Minimum Tool Cost: | $3,225 |
| Books/Supplies: | $200 |
| Estimated Total: | $12,404 |
Career Opportunities
Music Stores
Repair Shops
Guitar Makers
Entrepreneurial Opportunities
Use the MN DEED Career and Education Explorer Data Tool to learn about wages, job growth, and much more in this career field.
Outcomes
Program graduates will be able to:
Diagnose, adjust, and repair, set ups, action, and intonation.
Identify and understand parts and materials, and their use and characteristics.
Safely and accurately use hand and power tools.
Design and build a string instrument.
Diagnose, estimate costs, and perform most guitar repairs.
Perform finishing processes and touch up.
Use the math, communications, and computer skills needed in lutherie.
Highlights
Unique in length and comprehensiveness in the United States
Additional career for musicians and teachers
No previous musical or woodworking experience necessary
Instructors
Brian Boedigheimer
Brian Boedigheimer earned a diploma in Guitar Repair and Construction from Red Wing Technical College (now MSC Southeast) in 1994. He then provided service for music stores throughout the St. Croix Valley and built electric guitars for the Benedict Guitar Company. He returned to teach at MSC Southeast in 2001, and in 2003, he studied Wood Finishing Technology at Dakota County Technical College. Now with more than 20 years' experience as an instructor, he teaches full-time in the Guitar Repair and Building Program and designs and builds his own line of instruments, specializing in semi-hollow body electrics and exquisite finish work. For more about Brian, see www.bbmade.com.
Timothy Reede
Tim Reede enrolled in the Guitar Repair and Building program at MSC Southeast in 2004. He then embarked upon a career making high-end custom instruments, ranging from historic designs to guitars with modern features. He has pushed instrument design to a new level by adding elements that improve comfort and increase sound quality, such as beveled arm rests, fan frets, demi-cutaways, and side sound ports. His work has been featured in guitar shows, museums, and books. He began teaching at MSC Southeast in 2015. For more about Tim, see www.reedeguitars.com.
Benjamin Williams
Benjamin Williams graduated from Guitar Repair and Building in 2001. He worked in string instrument repair and building for many years, then returned to the college for the second-year Guitar Development and Production diploma in 2012. He gained a year of experience working at Weber Mandolins in Montana before returning to Minnesota to continue designing and making his own instruments. He builds flattop and archtop guitars, mandolins, and every size of ukulele and has a special interest in using reclaimed and domestic woods for his builds. He joined the faculty at Southeast in 2019.
Majors in the Guitar Repair & Building program
Guitar Repair and Building - Diploma