Guitar Tech School

Professional Guitar Tech Skills & Business Training — On-Site

If you enjoy working with your hands, value independence, and want income you control, becoming a guitar repair tech is one of the few remaining trades where demand exceeds supply and skill matters more than age.

This is hands-on, bench-level training in a working guitar repair shop where you’ll learn what few working guitar techs know – the correct way to do setups and repairs on guitars, bass, violins, cellos, ukuleles, bouzoukis, etc.

Who This Training Is For

This program is designed for adults who want real, practical income, not hype.

You’re a good fit if you:

• Love guitars and precision work

• Prefer skilled bench work over physical labor

• Want to work from home (or a small private shop)

• Are 55+ and tired of employer-controlled income

• Want a repeatable, in-demand service

You do not need:

• A degree

• Prior repair experience

• To open a retail store

• Business experience

What You Will Learn in 8 Weeks

You will leave our guitar tech school knowing how to perform, price, and deliver the guitar setup and repair jobs that actually make money.

Core Repair Skills

• Professional guitar setups (electric & acoustic)

• Diagnosing playability problems

• Nut and saddle work

• Fret leveling, crowning, and polishing

• Refret fundamentals

• Electronics troubleshooting & common installs

You’ll learn all the guitar tech skills needed to run a successful guitar repair business.

Business-Critical Skills

• Which jobs are profitable — and which to refuse

• How long common jobs really take

• Pricing work confidently (no undercharging)

• Managing workflow from a home bench

• Avoiding time-sink repairs that kill income

This is business training in an actual working guitar shop!

Let’s Talk About the Numbers

Here’s what a guitar tech’s math looks like in the real world.

• Average job: $120–$180

• Typical time: ~2 hours

• 3 jobs per day: ~$450/day

That’s:

• ~$2,250/week

• ~$9,000/month

• $100k+ gross annually at a normal pace

Refret work:

• ~$500 per job (with setup)

• ~5 hours of bench time

• Even 1–2 per week significantly boosts income

Six-figure gross income is realistic for disciplined guitar techs with steady demand.
It is not guaranteed, and not necessarily typical in the first year since it takes several months to build a following and to build your speed.

We show you how to work efficiently and correctly so the math actually works.

Check out this Case Study in Home Based Guitar Business

My Story

I didn’t start this business young.

I was retired, but bored. And honestly, Social Security and a small rental weren’t giving us the flexibility or security we wanted.

Although I’d been trained as a guitar tech back in the 1970s, I wanted to update and improve my skills. I spent a full year reading books and watching YouTube, but it wasn’t enough. My early years were frustrating, both for me and for my customers.

Then my background as a machinist kicked in.

I realized something important: much of what was taught ignored basic physics, logical sequences and proper measurement technique. Once I saw that, everything changed. I relearned setups, fretwork, and nut work through the lens of consistency, precision, and cause-and-effect — not guesswork.

I built a system.

As my work became more consistent, it also became more enjoyable. Customer complaints disappeared. Bad reviews disappeared, I became a five-star shop. Customers stopped shopping around and started recommending me.

That was the turning point.  Now you can skip the years of frustration and failure that I suffered and start off the right way.  Here’s how your day at Guitar Tech Academy will look like.

From Home Bench to Full Shop

For a decade, I worked entirely from home.  My guitar tech shop was a converted bedroom. I didn’t have many tools at first. Here’s what a start up kit of guitar repair tools will cost today.

After COVID, I met customers on our patio. I worked four to six hours a day, set my own schedule, and controlled my workload. Each spring, we’d buy a used motorhome, travel for a month, come home, sell it — and I’d go back to work.

In the beginning, I controlled demand simply by turning my Craigslist ads on or off.

Eventually, even without advertising, the work outgrew what one person could handle. I had a choice: retire again — or grow. I chose to open a 1,000-square-foot retail shop and begin training apprentices. But we quickly outgrew that space!  Even with plenty of competition, word of mouth was bringing more and more business.  When that one year lease was up, we moved to a 2,000 square-foot retail space.  And now, a year and a half after that move, we’re looking to expand again.

Why I Teach This Differently

As apprentices gained experience, they moved on to work independently. That meant I needed a repeatable and systematic way to train new techs quickly, thoroughly and correctly.

So I refined my system.

I studied adult education, improved my training process, and focused on what actually matters at the bench:

• Precision

• Workflow

• Job selection

• Efficiency

• Consistency

• and most important – Systems

Over the years, I’ve trained dozens of successful stringed-instrument repair techs. Many now work from home. Others run shops of their own.

I’m currently building an online course — but hands-on training will always be the fastest, most reliable way to learn this craft.

If you want to do this right — and avoid years of frustration — Guitar Tech Academy’s guitar tech school can help you do exactly that.

We’ll not only turn you into the best darn tech in your area, we’ll help you start and grow your business!  We’ll be here long after you’ve completed the course, to help with questions or problems that may arise, through Guitars Done Right.  

Why In-Person Training Matters

You can watch videos forever — and still make expensive mistakes.  Most of these “content creators” never had formal training in guitar repair, so you have to be sceptical of what they’re “teaching”.  Even professional guitar repair techs from reputable companies often don’t possess good skills.

In-person training means:

• Immediate correction

• Proper tool use

• Real guitars with real problems

• Learning what not to do

• Building confidence fast

Our guitar tech school will pay for itself many times over, all you have to do is apply what you learn.

Why Florida?

This program attracts students from across the country because:

• Warm weather, year-round

• Focused learning away from distractions

• No winter slowdown

• Learn by day, recharge by night

• Beach, parks, and attractions nearby

Many students treat this as a career reset — not just a guitar tech school.

Program Details

• Length: 8 weeks (but can be extended to 10 at no extra cost!)

• Format: In-person, hands-on

• Class size: Limited to 4 students

• Tuition: $8,000 for the full course, or $1,250 weekly

• Location: Clearwater / Tampa Bay, Florida

• Tools: Provided during training

Housing is not provided, but there is plenty of motel and short-term availability.

Ready to See If This Is a Fit?

Because class size is limited, we screen applicants to ensure this training makes sense for them.

Next step:
Submit your interest and we’ll explain:

• What a realistic first year looks like

• Whether this fits your goals

• What tools (if any) you’ll need

👉 Apply for Guitar Tech Business Training with the button below..