Students in lutherie school can build a variety of instruments depending on the program. Here we see a budding luthier rough carving the back of an archtop guitar in preparation for running and vicing.
As many of you know, I have operated a school of lutherie for over 40 years. It all started when I took control of the Guitar Hospital repair shop from my friend Dan Erlewine in the mid ’80s. The establishment was already offering short-term training to select individuals, and, at first, I focused on teaching repairs, which was the prime area of interest for most students. Since then, my school has grown from working with one student at a time to a peak of over 20 students in a single term.
Our training options eventually segued into ground-up builds of both electric and acoustic guitars, and grew from a single-month session to two-month and six-month training programs. To date, we offer enrichment classes, extra-curricular seminars, and expanded graduate classes that, in total, can run up to a year in length. Like all trade schools, our classes constantly shift and change with the times, and, in many cases, our research has developed technology and techniques that keep our school relevant and up to date.
Surround a person with like-minded people and inspiring topics, and they will blossom.
So, what does it mean to be enrolled in a program such as mine and how does it prepare you for the guitar industry? Let’s start with the name of my six-month Masters Program. This title, by no stretch of the imagination, means you will be a master luthier after six months of training. The name came from a questionnaire I sent to many top luthiers asking what topics a student should be able to cover and what skills they would want to see from a potential employee. Then, I took that information, kicked it up a few notches, developed a reasonable curriculum, and founded the Master Class.
What would a day in the life of a fledgling luthier look like once enrolled in our program? First, the name of the game with any trade school is safety, safety, and safety. We are dealing with jointers, band saws, and routers—all of which could certainly cause harm if not monitored appropriately. Then there are the solvents, finishes, and exotic woods that could all be irritants (or worse) if the proper precautions are not taken into consideration.
After safety is covered, students can fully consider what classes they want to take and what their personal lutherie goals are. For those who already have a job in the industry, they could choose the longer sessions. However, for many students the much shorter à la carte session—which can be taken over time–—is the way to go. Retirees looking for a second career generally opt for the longer sessions, grinding through the program and getting back to work.
To stay current, trade schools constantly adjust their programs so students are up to speed with current trends. Nylon-string crossover guitars have become very popular in recent years, so we added it to the program to round out the flattop guitar program.
And, as with all trade schools, vocational rehabilitation is always part of the picture. We collaborate with many departments nationwide, retraining people for a career in lutherie. Additionally, we work with the U.S. military to offer our knowledge and education to disabled veterans, or those taking advantage of the post-9/11 G.I. Bill. This has become a popular way for veterans to jumpstart a career in lutherie.
It’s the younger students who need to put a little more thought into how they are going to make the most of their training dollars. There are many who have already gone the university path and now want to focus on something they feel more passionate about. Many of these students end up going back to school, focusing on business-related classes once they see a clearer path for their future. I also see students arrive here fresh out of high school that are right-brain thinkers. If you plug these students into the wrong environment, they may never flourish. I have seen this time and time again. But surround a person with like-minded people and inspiring topics, and they will blossom.
For me, after four decades of operating a trade school and watching students maneuver their way through the world of lutherie, I have come to understand that my student body can take many forms. However, the bottom line is this: Choosing the correct training program is key for success, and there’s no one training class that’s right for all. Each student has to figure out their own goals, and then my school will provide the path to achieving it.
- Red Wing: Inside Minnesota State College's Guitar Repair and ... ›
- Guitar Shop 101: The Guitarist's Essential Toolkit - Premier Guitar ›
- Dave Rusan: Building Prince's Cloud Guitar - Premier Guitar ›
- How to Become a Acoustic Guitar Builder with Luthierie Training - Premier Guitar ›
- How to Become a Acoustic Guitar Builder with Luthierie Training - Premier Guitar ›
- Reader Guitar of the Month — Deadhead's Dream - Premier Guitar ›
- Inside a Luxurious Vintage Acoustic - Premier Guitar ›
Resistance to digital amps might just be futile at this point. Many tunes you hear—and an increasing number of live gigs—feature a bit of faux-tube tone somewhere in the mix. But while the sound of pro-level modelers can be nearly indistinguishable from their analog counterparts in a mix, the feel and simplicity of a real amplifiers remain appealing and even indispensable to many players. That said, modelers that make usability, convenience, and price priorities can convince even die-hard tube users to see what’s on the other side of the fence. IK Multimedia’s TONEX ONE is one modeling device that might make the cut. It’s likely the smallest, most portable modeler out there. And at $179, it’s easily the most affordable.
Big Tones, Tiny Controls
The TONEX ONE isn’t designed to put a million different options at your feet, and that economy may be the unit’s strongest feature. It features several different modes, but the primary operating mode allows you to either switch between two different models, or simply use the unit as a stompbox. Each model can be an amp, an amp and cab, a pedal, or a pedal driving an amp and cab. Judging by how deep the online repository tone.net is for user-created presets, the options are nearly endless, which speaks to the already sizable user base. It’s a little strange to consider a modeler in a package this small with so few controls. There’s a large main knob that controls volume and gain (when you’re in ALT mode), and above that are three illuminated mini knobs that control the 3-band EQ, gate, compression, and reverb. You can also plug your headphones directly into the pedal, which makes it a dynamite silent practice amp.
My experience with modelers is that high-gain tones and clean tones are relatively easy to achieve and typically very good. After unboxing the TONEX ONE, I loaded up a slightly dirty Vox-style amp to evaluate the edge-of-breakup tones. I paired the pedal with humbuckers (with a coil split option), Stratocaster single coils, and P-90s in a T-style solidbody. With each one, the Vox-style amp was punchy and clear but could also range to very nice higher-gain sounds. Naturally, each version of a modeled amp offers different gain structures, so it pays to experiment. Combining the humbuckers in a PRS SE DGT with a few hot-rodded Marshall emulations and the growl offered tones nearly as good as those from much more expensive modelers. In a blind test, I’m not sure I could hear—or feel—much of a difference. As I explored further and fine-tuned things a bit more, the ToneX One felt more alive in my hand,s and sounded much less shrill in the top end than other digital solutions I’ve encountered.
One of the most obvious tone fixers in a modeler—and maybe one of the most underutilized—is the EQ section, and kudos are due to IK for placing those controls at the fore. Being able to adjust the most immediate tone-shaping options without having to dig through menus or touchscreens is a pleasure.
There are many possible uses for the TONEX ONE. It can serve as a high-quality direct solution on your pedalboard, a portable recording interface, and a plug-and-play practice solution when high volume is a no-go. One handy setup I tried was disabling the cabinet emulation in the pedal and then plugging into the effects return of a combo amp, in this case, a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I immediately imagined many backline amp headaches being a thing of the past. You can always plug directly into a flat-response cabinet or PA system too.
Because it has such a small footprint and streamlined controls, harnessing the unit’s full potential, and accessing all the different modes, takes a bit of effort. You can store 20 different presets within the pedal and assign them to any of the three active slots (two for dual mode and one for stomp mode). And although doing this on the fly is handy, I found it much easier to program the presets via the easy-to-use desktop editor.
The Verdict
TONEX ONE benefits from a rather singular focus and its biggest advantage is that it’s not shrouded in unnecessary layers of tweakable options. You can simply load up a base sound or two, drop it at the end of your pedalboard, and go.The included software allows you create your own models and makes swapping presets easy. I did find the multitude of modes, and their color-coded indicators, a bit confusing at times, but IK’s documentation was very clear and got me through any trouble spots. The TONEX ONE would serve well to those who want to explore digital modeling but still hold on to their analog pedalboards, and at $179 it’s a steal.
If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
