Metalworks Institute – Student Built Guitar

Two of our current students, Tyler Marshall from the Audio Production & Engineering Diploma Program, and Semhan Aydin from the Professional Sound & Business (Studio Production Major) Diploma Program have recently built a guitar; the first of what they hope will be many.

Semhan and his wife considered the idea of building their own instruments before they moved to Toronto from Turkey so that Semhan could attend Metalworks Institute. They then moved in with Tyler who was equally passionate about the idea and brought his background in electromechanical engineering to the project. The three put their heads and hands together to create their first instrument.

They had an outside company cut the wood neck and body with a CNC machine using a telecaster design and then finished the rest themselves. They admit to facing many challenges but developed their own solutions to each one. When I asked them about installing the frets – always a challenging aspect, they said, “It was the first time we did frets, and we were kind of panicking, and then the joy came.” A feeling that any artist can certainly relate to.

Part of the joy of having a school full of artists is that even in the moments between completing the work of a demanding course load, students will find more time to create.