Welcome to the website of Nick Benjamin, acoustic guitar maker.
Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.
Luthier Nick Benjamin produces small numbers of high quality
handmade steel string acoustic
guitars, frequently made to order but with some guitars available ready made.
Made in a small one person workshop and
sold direct to provide an individual and personal
instrument designed with simple beauty in mind and tone and playability foremost.
Nick Benjamin's guitars have been used professionally by many players including;
Eric Roche, Newton Faulkner, Stuart Ryan, Thomas Leeb, Clive Carroll,
Richard Durrant, Nick Pynn and Alex Kabasser.
Pickup fitting for all acoustic guitars is also a specialty (when time allows!).
*CLICK BELOW TO ENTER THIS SITE'S OTHER PAGES*
\/ OR SCROLL DOWN FOR LATEST NEWS \/
| Jumbo (J) and Midi-Jumbo (MJ) | Jumbo Orchestra Model (JOM) | Orchestra Model (OM) |
| Treble-0 (12 fret) | Double-0 (14 fret) | Terz (high tuned) |
| Baritone Models | Nylon-String Models | New & Future Models |
*Latest News 11th May 2009*
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE!
After the majority of my making career so far having been spent building
guitars mainly
to individual custom order I have decided to start producing a certain proportion
of my guitars not to order.
As my waiting list extends this will hopefully allow me to offer the possibility
of a quicker purchase for players
who do not need a full customisation service and would also perhaps like to
'try before they buy'.
The ready made guitars will initially be about a third of my output
and will be made exactly in the same way
and to the same quality as my custom built guitars - the only difference being
that I will determine their
specification rather than someone else! Many of these guitars will be simply
adorned work-man-like instruments
designed to suit performing musicians but I will occasionally produce more
elaborate ready made instruments
if I am inspired by some particularly beautiful timbers which fall into my
hands!
The new ready made guitars will be factored in to
my future waiting times and
no one who has already placed a custom order will have their waiting time
increased by the production of these guitars!
<>
CURRENT WAITING TIME
I am now taking orders to be started in the first half of 2011 and completed
7 or 8 months later.
This means that WAITING TIME for custom built guitars ordered
now is around 2 & 1/2 YEARS.
click for CURRENT PRICES
<>
FOR SALE
Several guitars will be up for sale in a few months time
- watch out for details!
<>
New guitar soon underway for KAKI KING.
Watch out for something unexpected!
<>
Check out ALEX KABASSER's YouTube channel for some new
videos featuring his Benjamin Percussion model guitar!
http://de.youtube.com/user/alexkabasser
<>
CLIVE CARROLL's new album 'LIFE IN COLOUR' is now
out and features his new
BENJAMIN ORCHESTRA MODEL GUITAR on several tracks, including;
'All This Time', the octaves melody on 'Oregon', 'The Gentle Man' and 'The
Boatman'.
www.guitarcds.net
<>
Details
of my new NYLON-STRING MODELS now up! I have recently
built a prototype nylon strung guitar which I will be keeping as a sample
for the next few months for anyone interested in trying it out. Available
to order now in both twelve and fourteen fret versions.
Left: Nylon-String prototype.
Right: New 'Midi-Jumbo' model.
The first example of my new Midi-Jumbo (MJ) model guitar has been on show at the Hub Centre in Sleaford, Lincs and was pictured in 'Guitarist' (UK) magazine's February edition with a close-up of the 'Scoop'.
<>
WORK IN PROGRESS GALLERY
<>
WOODGALLERY
Choose the wood for your guitar!
<>
and.....GALLERY OF PAST AND PRESENT GUITARS
<>
Come and say hello on my new MYSPACE!
www.myspace.com/benjaminguitars
<>
REPAIRS
I am not doing any repair work at the moment but am still usually happy to
do pickup fitting.
Please get in touch with my good friend Richard Osborne at www.osborneguitars.co.uk
for general repairs.
K&K Pure Western Mini pickup systems now in stock plus others to order.
Full range of LR Baggs pickups and preamps always available to order.
HEADWAY SHIRE KING acoustic
amps now available from Benjamin Guitars.
The best amps I've tried - warm and clear at the same time with a
great dynamic range.
Have a look at my Pickups page for details of the
SK120 and SK60.
SCHERTLER AMPS also available - great mini PAs for
acoustic instruments!
<>
BENJAMIN GUITARS GOES WIND POWERED!
I have recently switched to ECOTRICITY
<>
I
completed a new guitar for CLIVE CARROLL last year. After many years of subtle
and not so subtle offers of a guitar Clive finally asked me to make him a
new instrument which will hopefully make a nice contrast and companion to
his beloved Bown. We settled on an Orchestra Model in Sitka and Honduras Rosewood
with a neck to Clive's normal specifications and construction to allow the
super low action Clive likes and give a familiar but expanded tonal response.
Clive used his new guitar for several tracks on his new album 'Life in Colour', including; 'All This Time', the octaves melody on 'Oregon', 'The Gentle Man' and 'The Boatman'.
Sorry about the blurry picture - should have used a flash - or is it just the speed of Clive's fingers!
Benjamin guitar player NEWTON FAULKNER has gone from strength
to strength in the last year with his debut album 'Hand Built by Robots' going
to number one in the British charts last summer with a nomination for a Brits
music award to top it all off! You can see Newton using his
BENJAMIN guitars at all the main festivals this year, including; the Isle
of Wight Festival, Glastonbury etc, etc! I am currently making
Newton a BARITONE guitar which will be his fifth Benjamin guitar!
www.newtonfaulkner.com
www.myspace.com/newtonfaulkner
Benjamin
guitar user STUART RYAN, acoustic columnist for Guitar Techniques magazine
and all round top fingerstyle wizard, has recently been appointed
as 'Head of Guitar' at the BRISTOL INSTITUTE of MODERN MUSIC, the new sister
college to the Brighton based BIMM.
I am just starting a new JOM guitar for Stuart in Lutz spruce and Indian rosewood.
Right; Stuart Ryan in the old workshop with his original Double-0
My
prototype 'Percussion' model JOM (#77) was borrowed by the superb percussion
guitar player THOMAS LEEB last year and Thomas used the guitar to record
part of his amazing last album 'Desert Pirate', you can hear #77 on 'Jebuda',
'No Woman No Cry' and 'Oft Geht Bled'.
The guitar is now in the hands of Thomas' student ALEX KABASSER, a great young player with a joyful percussive style who has already had support slots with Alex de Grassi and Andy Mckee this year!
Right: #77.
*CLICK BELOW TO ENTER THIS SITE'S OTHER PAGES*
| Jumbo (J) and Midi-Jumbo (MJ) | Jumbo Orchestra Model (JOM) | Orchestra Model (OM) |
| Treble-0 (12 fret) | Double-0 (14 fret) | Terz (high tuned) |
| Baritone Models | Nylon-String Models | New & Future Models |