Testimonials
Cary Lewincamp
" I have been waiting for over 40 years to actually construct my own guitar. What a wonderful experience it has been to spend that time at the Australian Guitar Making School with Strato and to come home home with a guitar that exceeded my expectations!
There are many aspects to the whole experience......
There's the superb teaching and patient guidance in which Strato extracts the very best out of you.
There's the camaraderie of sharing this experience with your fellow makers who come from all walks of life and bring to the classes their stories of why they are making a guitar. Some for themselves, some for their children or partner, but all exuding an expectant enthusiasm to complete their project.
And for myself........To have a break from the rigors of everyday life and to completely immerse myself in choosing timbers and then designing,planing,sanding, shaping, glueing and polishing these raw bits of wood into an instrument that I'll bring proudly to the concert stage will remain one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling experiences in my life.
I've already had two offers from people who would like to buy the guitar.
My reply has been ....
Do yourself a favour, give Strato a ring and go and make your own.
There is nothing more rewarding for a player to constuct their own instrument!!! "
Thankyou Strato
Best wishes
Cary Lewincamp ( Solo 7 string Guitarist/Composer )
www.cary.com.au
Matt Semmens
I have been a professional guitarist since 1996 and have been playing Classical guitar for about 25 years now. I found out about The Australian Guitar Making School through one of my students and have now built 7 guitars and have started on number 8.
The guitars being made at the school in my opinion are some of the best instruments I've heard and played...including mine!! So much so that i now perform on my own guitar and my Simon Marty guitar lives in its case.
Cameron
As a professional self-employed person I was seeking an interest away from the stress of my busy life and enrolled in Strato’s classes 3 years ago. I had no interest in woodworking when I started and didn’t know the difference between a chisel and a hammer.
These classes have taught me me fine woodworking and have provided a social and recreational outlet which has proved to be an excellent antidote to the pressure of a professional career.
The guitars are aesthetically pleasing and acoustically lovely. The classes are professionally run and Strato’s knowledge from 20 years as an instrument maker is passed on in a way that anyone can understand. The class environment is friendly and supportive and I have been fortunate enough to make several good friends from the classes and social events. The skills learned are easily generalised into other forms of woodworking.
I recommend these classes without reservation.
Paul Lambert
Strato’s course is Hands on , you do the work with the Support of a Craftsman, there is plenty of opportunity and freedom to make your Instrument truly unique. I’m Hooked and on My Forth Instrument, a very fulfilling experience.
Padi O'Neill
My name is Padi and I have been a guitarist for over 45 years. As Ive grown older and more experienced my tastes in instrument have got more specific. Thus I started to become more involved in the repair and upkeep of my Guitars. Then I decided to build an electric guitar – which I did and I still perform with that guitar. The one guitar I had missing from my collection was a classical guitar. The type I really wanted was a Spanish made classical with a cutaway and a LRBaggs dual pickup. Its value was about $6000. I treated that dream as ‘pie in the sky’.
2 of my friends then said that had built their guitars at AGMS. They let me play their guitars and they were amazing. I rang Strato and he accepted me into his school. I totally enjoyed the building process especially in a classroom situation. I also really enjoyed Strato's flexible attitude. Nothing was too hard and no mistake could not be repaired.
However when my guitar was finished it felt as though it had been blessed by Angels – It is a beautiful instrument to play but it is also a beautiful instrument to hear. The reason I am so confident in this statement is that other guitarists when they play it, cant put it down.
I can highly recommend you seriously consider building your guitar at AGMS
Garry Petrisic
In the end a guitar of reasonable quality was born. I named it "Stratovarius" in honour of Strato who had shown a great deal of patience and understanding when confronted with some pf my weird ideas. He was always always willing to come to my aid. When ever I felt a little vunerable and lacking in the skill and finesse required for certain build steps, he was always there to guide and councel me. He gave me the boost of confidence to go on to complete the instrument. It was his constant enthusiasm and drive that pushed me forward. I did not want to disappoint him and strove to produce an instrument that would reflect the quality of his mentorship.
Anthony Coafield
Making a guitar at the Australian Guitar Making School is one of the most satisfying things I have ever done. I had a fantastic time making my guitar and couldn't be happier with the look or the sound of it. Strato has given me the bug and I look forward to coming back and experimenting as we make more guitars.
Mick Stone.
I have just finished my second acoustic guitar at the Australian guitar making school,a jumbo acoustic made from European maple and European spruce with a mahogany neck and gold mother of pearl inlay.I still cannot believe I have hand made two guitars.To play a guitar that you designed ,shaped and carved yourself,is something special.They both sound great and I cant wait to start another course with Strato and make a classical guitar,I really miss my Wednesday nights at guitar making, I met some great people from all different backgrounds and careers who like me love music and guitars,I'm turning my garage into a guitar making workshop and feel confident I will make my own quality guitars.Strato's a great teacher and I cant reccomend this experience highly enough.
Alan Davidson
Although I have a day job, I have always wanted to be a guitarist. I've been trying for over 30 years. All this time I've wanted something better to play than the guitars I could find and /or afford. All that has changed! I now have the guitar I always wanted - and I made it myself!! - with help and instruction from the craftsman Strato. I'm now on my 4th guitar, and I'll be surprised if I ever stop.I was recently sitting in a large music store in Brisbane, surrounded by top end guitars from all the best known factories in Australia and the USA. I started playing, and when my thumb hit the base strings I wondered "where's the base response?" I soon realised that the guitars I have played and heard which have been made at the AGMS are truly high performance guitars.If you want to make a truly good guitar I can only recommend you talk to Strato. He will guide you down the path of building a guitar that satisfies your aesthetic wishes combined with a great balanced sound and playability that suits you.
Peter Clamp
Just a few words of thanks for the excellent instruction I received at the Guitar School. Having made three guitars I guess it speaks for itself that I was totally satisfied with the experience. The quality of the instruction, the wide selection of quality woods and materials was a feature of the school. The completion of your own guitar is a most rewarding experience both in terms of the appearance and tonal quality of the instrument. Another rewarding aspect of the school is the social interaction between the many and varied people that undertake this form of instruction.
Peta Evans-Taylor
I’ve always been intrigued (being a singer/songwriter/muso) as to what a makes a guitar tick. So I was very excited to be accepted into Strato’s college. I had no previous knowledge of wood or wood tools. I was surprised at how easy Strato made it look and no matter what mistakes I made, Strato’s extensive knowledge allowed me to fix it. I’m proud to say I have finished one steel string which sounds way better than any of the guitars I have bought from the music shop, and am now on my second which is a nylon classical. Doing these classes is a great challenge, you forever learn new things, it’s a great stress release, you can work at your own pace, and best of all you get your very own self-handmade guitar at the end.
xx Peta Evans-Taylor
Roger Johnson
“The guitar school is a fantastic initiative on Strato’s part. His tuition, guidance and expertise is top standard and all delivered in a friendly social atmosphere, where I had the privilege of making new friends from all walks of life.
Strato’s contagious enthusiasm for exploring the possibilities,learning new techniques,etc., is spread to all who attend the school. His devotion is evident by these qualities and his constant networking and organising guest guitarists and/or makers , musicians - generally interesting people, for social and instructional events. It is a very fulfilling experienceto have built a musical instrument and I dare say we are all better for it having been achieved .
I would thoroughly recommend the course to anyone who can spare the time.”
Derek Dowding
My wife enrolled me in the course to rekindle my interest in music: - as I hadn’t picked up any of my guitars for some time.
I explained to Strato that I wanted to build a song writer’s finger-style guitar so I opted for a ‘000’ design. I also specified that I wanted a “darker” sounding instrument to compliment the tone of my singing voice. Strato suggested the materials to use and the bracing design, etc.
The build progressed and the knowledge I gained throughout the process was worth every penny. I met some nice like-minded folk, shared lots of coffee and cake and observed other interesting instruments being made. At the end I had my finished guitar and was thrilled with the result. Strato was insistent that I had the instrument I wanted.