The Chicago School of Guitar Making

Specialties

We are the only school in Chicago where you can learn how to build and repair guitars from a professional luthier. We also offer classes in tube amplifier building. We began teaching classes in 2005 and have more than 1000 alumni.

Our curriculum includes classes in Acoustic Guitar Building, Guitar & Bass Setup, Guitar Electronics Repair, Fret Work, Advanced Guitar Repair, Electric Guitar Design & Theory, Electric Guitar Building, as well as Tube Amplifier Building for both instruments and hi-​fi. Our classes are offered either as weekly evening classes or weekend seminars.

We offer classes year-​round, and students can receive a Certificate of Completion for every class they complete.

Our school is located in the home of Specimen Guitar Shop where we have over 5000 sq. ft. of shop space. Ian Schneller, owner of Specimen and the school, has been building custom guitars, amps, and horn speakers and repairing instruments and tube amps in Chicago for more than 25 years.

History

Established in 2005.

The school is part of our shop — Specimen Guitar Shop — where we have been building and repairing instruments and tube amps for more than 20 years. For years we received hundreds of resumes from people desiring to learn how to build and repair guitars and amps. We recognized there were no opportunities for people to learn this craft and felt there was a great need for a school like ours.

We offer courses covering different aspects of guitar repair, from basic setup to advanced repair. These courses are structured to teach students the essentials of guitar repair and design and provide a good groundwork for anybody interested building their own custom guitar. Students ready to embark on this adventure can enroll in our Guitar Design & Theory and Constructive Techniques Workshops and learn how to design and build instruments entirely from scratch using raw materials. We also offer a Tube Amp Building Workshop where students can build their own Fender Tweed and Marshall amps.

Meet the Business Owner

Ian S.

Business Owner

Ian Schneller — Teacher

All courses are taught by Specimen owner/​luthier Ian Schneller who has 25 years of experience building and repairing stringed instruments, tube amplifiers and audio horn speakers. Since the school opened in 2005, Ian has had more than 1000 students take his classes.

In addition to providing expert repair service for local and touring musicians, Ian designs his own line of custom guitars, tube amplifiers and audio horn speakers. Customers include: Franz Ferdinand, Wilco, Andrew Bird, The Hives, Deerhoof, Low, Tortoise, Death Cab for Cutie, My Morning Jacket, Rise Against, Califone.