{{Infobox university , name = Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery , established = 1975 , type = Private , city =

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, country = United States , website
www.roberto-venn.com
} The Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery is a private, for-profit school focused on guitar repair and construction and located in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. It has graduated over 1200 students in its over 35 years of operation.

History

The idea for a guitar making school grew out of a 1968 Glendale Community College course in guitar making taught by Carl Samuels. This course led to an apprenticeship program that John Roberts started back in 1969 called the Juan Roberto Guitar Works. Before this, Roberts found himself in the jungles of

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, flying airplanes for a wood import company. Much of the rosewood and mahogany used at the school was collected with the help of the

Miskito Miskito may refer to: * Miskito people, ethnic group in Honduras and Nicaragua ** Miskito Sambu, branch of Miskito people with African admixture ** Tawira Miskito, branch of Miskito people of largely indigenous origin * Miskito language, original ...

Indians and shipped to Phoenix, where Roberts began his guitar making endeavor. John Roberts died in the summer of 1999. Robert Venn (1926–1991) joined with Roberts in 1973, and brought custom electric guitar making expertise to the guitar partnership. Venn was one a handful of guitar makers in the 1950s and 60's to wind his own pickups and use wooden pickup covers aesthetically matched with the highly figured hardwoods he used in the body and neck of his instruments. Venn built or repaired for fine guitarists such as Phil Baugh, Maurice Anderson, Tom Morrell,

Bud Isaacs Forrest "Bud" Isaacs (1928–2016) was an American steel guitarist who made country music history in 1954 as the first person to play pedal steel guitar on a hit record. He is known for his playing his innovative technique on Webb Pierce's 1954 re ...

Norm Hamlet Norm Hamlet is an American steel guitarist and a member of Merle Haggard's The Strangers band for the past 49 years.Terry Downs: ''The Strangers'', http://www.terrydownsmusic.com/Archive/strangers_article.pdf, n.d., downloaded May 6, 2012.The Stee ...

, and

Tiny Moore Billie "Tiny" Moore (May 12, 1920 – December 15, 1987) was a Western swing musician who played the electric mandolin and fiddle with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in the 1940s. He played with The Strangers and Merle Haggard during the ...

William Eaton William Eaton or Bill Eaton may refer to: * William Eaton (soldier) (1764–1811), United States Army soldier during the Barbary Wars * William Eaton (athlete) (1909–1938), British long-distance runner * William Eaton (guitarist), American luth ...

apprenticed with John Roberts in 1971. He wrote a business plan for a guitar making school in 1974, while acquiring an MBA degree from the

Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford GSB) is the graduate business school of Stanford University, a private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective business schoo ...

. The plan became the blueprint for the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, which Roberts, Venn, Eaton, and Bruce Scotten incorporated and founded in 1975. Eaton added new elements of stringed instrument design and innovations, creating multi-stringed, one-of-a-kind instruments at the school since 1976. Eaton is the director of Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery.

External links

Official website
Music schools in Arizona Buildings and structures in Phoenix, Arizona Educational institutions established in 1975 Schools in Maricopa County, Arizona 1975 establishments in Arizona Private universities and colleges in Arizona