Manchester Guitar and Bass Building Academy

Manchester Guitar and Bass Building Academy Guitar Bass Build Grand Re-Opening in 2025
Brand new workshop & new range of courses available soon.

Guitar Maintenance and Pedal Building Courses
A Range of Guitar Building Courses for you to enjoy
In our new workshop coming soon!

Here is the second Part, and it's a big second part! ๐ŸŽธ 10 Photo collages for your browsing delight! I bring you Jeff's V...
24/04/2025

Here is the second Part, and it's a big second part! ๐ŸŽธ 10 Photo collages for your browsing delight! I bring you Jeff's Version of a Strandberg Varberg built at Guitar Bass Build!
I am looking forwards to welcoming customers again if you fancy making your own musical instrument!

Revolutionary guitar designer Ola Strandberg who is most well know for the Boden Guitar shape and I would say is the fat...
23/04/2025

Revolutionary guitar designer Ola Strandberg who is most well know for the Boden Guitar shape and I would say is the father of the modern ergonomic guitar design.

This instrument is a Varberg and it is the most complex guitar you can build. Over my career I have built countless instruments and this instrument by far has the tightest margins and has to fit together with zero errors and be 1mm perfect!

It is my favourite of all of Ola Designs and it really pushed me when making this by hand with Jeff in 2017.

Tomorrow I will bring you the build process of this guitar so you can check out how mad it was, if you want to join me to build your own guitar then get in touch and we can make the magic happen and you can create the musical instrument you have always wanted to make.

Thanks James

Guitar Breakdown - Ebony top and fingerboard - Swamp Ash Middle section - Mahogany Back Section - Roasted Flamed Maple Neck Endura Profile - Tan Bridge - Seymour Duncan Special order replica of an Alan Houldsworth pickups - Individual volume and tone pot.

Jamie Knaps built this own unique hollow body Surfmaster on one of our courses in 2014 we built all the templates from s...
23/04/2025

Jamie Knaps built this own unique hollow body Surfmaster on one of our courses in 2014 we built all the templates from scratch as it was impossible to find blue prints back then.

Mahogany Body - Flames Maple Neck & Top - Ebony Fingerboard - Gotoh fixed bridge through body stringing - Schaller Vintage Style Machine Heads - TV Jones Humbucker in the bridge and in house wound P90 in the bridge - Electrics volume with a Q-knobs Chicken K**b and three position toggle switch.

If you want to create a guitar of your own or use our pre-made templates to create your own unique model there is nothing like building a guitar with us, you will get to undertake the whole process under our expert tutelage and create a instrument made by you just for you.

10 Days Left on our Crowdfunder Link in stories

I hope that I will be able to help you create your guitar in the near future ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

This guitar is truly one-of-a-kind! Ed and I handcrafted this beauty back in 2016, before the days of specialized jigs, ...
08/04/2025

This guitar is truly one-of-a-kind! Ed and I handcrafted this beauty back in 2016, before the days of specialized jigs, tools, and other advancements that have made guitar building so much easier.

Building a guitar by hand is an incredibly rewarding experience, and I encourage anyone interested to try it out at one of our courses. If you were to build your own guitar, would you prefer to do it by hand or with a CNC machine?

๐ŸŽธ๐ŸŽธSecond Part of Ed's Completely Nuts Custom Build!๐ŸŽธ๐ŸŽธ๐ŸŽธSwamp Ash Flamed Maple Top & Neck Ebony Fingerboard ๐ŸŽธThe intricate...
07/04/2025

๐ŸŽธ๐ŸŽธSecond Part of Ed's Completely Nuts Custom Build!๐ŸŽธ๐ŸŽธ

๐ŸŽธSwamp Ash Flamed Maple Top & Neck Ebony Fingerboard ๐ŸŽธ

The intricate design of the instrument presented substantial challenges during construction. To achieve the required depth and internal component space, both the top and body needed routing from both sides. This was especially critical for the top, as its internal routing directly impacted the depth of the electrical parts, any routing errors could lead to misaligned or malfunctioning electronics.

The multi-stage finishing process was complex, Initially, a faux binding technique was applied to both the top and headstock face, creating an elegant visual border that accentuated the instrument's contours.

The timber was then stained black, providing a rich base for the subsequent translucent red paint. This layering approach allowed the black to subtly show through the red, adding depth and dimension. The translucent quality of the red paint also ensured the wood grain remained partially visible, lending a natural element to the overall finish.

The combination of faux binding, black stain, and translucent red paint resulted in a visually striking finish that enhanced the guitar's overall aesthetic appeal.

Building a custom-designed instrument, inspired by Ed's journey, can be a fulfilling endeavour. It allows for a level of personalization and creative expression that is impossible to achieve with mass-produced instruments, as you have control over every aspect, from wood and hardware selection to body and neck shape. This results in a unique instrument that reflects your musical identity and playing style.

While building your own instrument can be challenging, it offers an opportunity to learn new skills and deepen your understanding of the craft. With patience, dedication, and appropriate resources, you can turn your dream instrument into a reality.

This was a truly intricate and complex guitar to build! Ed's completely bespoke custom instrument was a collaborative ef...
06/04/2025

This was a truly intricate and complex guitar to build! Ed's completely bespoke custom instrument was a collaborative effort, built together in 2016. I was just speaking to Ed the other day and asked him for a quick quote about his experience.

"The guitar building course was awesome! I learned so much and came away with an amazing instrument. I really did enjoy it and would love to do another one when you have a new spot set up."

This guitar is a testament to the craftsmanship and attention to detail that went into its creation. Take your time and have a good look at the photos; this is a very complex instrument that deserves a lot of admiration and appreciation. The unique design elements and intricate features showcase the level of skill and expertise required to bring this instrument to life.

30 Days Left on the crowdfunder and a lot of work ahead of me to get things set up for the upcoming reopening of the gui...
03/04/2025

30 Days Left on the crowdfunder and a lot of work ahead of me to get things set up for the upcoming reopening of the guitar school!

Tasks
Website Overhaul - I have heard you in the comments and you are right the website need to be re-worked to make pricing more prominent, More details about are required in the building course section.

New Workshop Location Know - I have seen a lot of workshops that would be suitable to run the courses from, I will should show you the prospective workshops and we can discuses them and choose one for the school.

This is our guitar building school so I will work harder now to make it the best that it can be! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ James

The Last Batch of Photo's I will be sharing from the Gibson ES-5 1595 guitars it was a pleasure to work on such a fine i...
01/04/2025

The Last Batch of Photo's I will be sharing from the Gibson ES-5 1595 guitars it was a pleasure to work on such a fine instrument and was a highlight of my career!

This last batch of photo is showing off my hard preservation work, here you can see the Argentina Cow Bone Nut I made and the very carful re-fret I did that retained the original fret nubs on the end of the binding. Thanks for trusting me with such a fine instrument. I put a lot of time in to the fretwork to get it perfect so I hope you do not mind me sharing the photos and showing off my work!

So this is it the pinacol of of my career 1959 Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster, that features Three Real 1959 PAF Pickups that ...
29/03/2025

So this is it the pinacol of of my career 1959 Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster, that features Three Real 1959 PAF Pickups that can be selected individually or all on at once and individual volume and tone for each pickup! brought this one in for a re-fret - next post see the nicest re-fret you have even seen! - and general overhaul as the instrument had gone unused for a period of time.

To me this is the holy grail instrument I have always wanted to hear! Yes PAFs are nice in Les Pauls butt they sound a whole lot better in a hollow body instrument like this and then Gibson goes and gives you three of them you can have on at one time and adjust the volumes to create some amazing sounds. Perfect ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

History this has the perfect provenance of one owner since new, it was in fantastic condition, well used well taken care of, no damage, absolutely zero replacement parts when it came in. New frets on the way out as it had been played to total destruction of the fret wire. The owner must have loved this guitar and played it all his life, all I can say is, what a fantastic guitar to have owned and played!

Thank you every one and if you feel like showing this great guitar some love in the comments that would be awesome!

Address

Unit 11 Lord Byron Square
Manchester
M502XH

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 7pm
Tuesday 10am - 7pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 7pm
Friday 10am - 7pm
Saturday 10am - 7pm

Telephone

+447853344785

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