A guitar technician maintains and repairs guitars for performances and in workshops. They may work on the road with touring bands or in fixed workshops, requiring instrument proficiency and customization skills. They also perform delicate repairs on antique and valuable instruments.
A guitar technician maintains and configures guitars for performance, as well as handling more complex instrument maintenance and refurbishment in a workshop. Some technicians prefer to focus on working on the road with touring bands, while others may work primarily in shop environments on complex restoration and maintenance projects. People usually acquire the skills for this job through apprenticeship training, where they work under the supervision of a qualified guitar technician to develop their skills. Like other technicians who work with instruments, some instrument proficiency is also required.
Guitar techs who work with bands pack instruments and equipment for events, make sure they are carefully loaded and unloaded, and set up on site. This could include stringing guitars, tuning them, and making any necessary adjustments. The guitar tech works with another team to set up and test the amplification systems, as well as the effects pedals and other equipment the musician might need while on stage.
This job requires familiarity with the musician and the musical style, as the tuning and setting process must be carefully customized. The guitar tech often needs to look at the tweak list to determine what tools the guitarist may need, and may need to configure multiple guitars to allow the musician to choose from a variety of instruments. Extra instruments may also be needed in case of equipment failure and other problems.
Technicians who work on the road also maintain instruments. This can include cleaning and polishing between events, tightening, checking for damage, and performing minor repairs. This may need to occur while on the road in one of the trailers maintained by the van. In some cases, it is possible to access a guitar workshop for maintenance and repair work, by prior arrangement with a venue. A guitar tech can spend a lot of time traveling, and it can be difficult to get time off when a musician is dependent on a specific coach and prefers not to work with others.
Other guitar techs work out of a fixed workshop. Customers bring instruments for inspection, maintenance and repair. This work can include delicate or intricate repairs to antique and valuable instruments, as well as collector’s items. Familiarity with guitars can also lead to parallel work on instrument identification. It may be necessary to return stolen property to the original owner and undertake activities such as authenticating rare guitars before they are sold at auction or donated to charity.
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