LINKS

Here are some links to friends and other useful contacts on the web.

Guitar making friends

www.spanishguitars.co.uk Stephen Hill, classical and flamenco maker of world repute and one of my teachers. Stephen has moved from Lewes to Spain and is now offering month long Spanish guitar making courses.

www.osborneguitars.co.uk Based almost next door to me! Richard Osborne, maker of acoustic guitars and carved and flat back/top mandolins, bouzoukis and octave mandolas. Richard is now offering guitar making evening classes and month long courses based on construction methods in a similar style to mine.

www.vihuelademano.com Alexander (Sasha) Batov. Sasha makes the most incredible fluted back viheulas, baroque guitars and viols, I've never seen work like it, his site's worth a look even if you'll never play period instruments, you'll be amazed.

www.loweguitars.co.uk Lewes based Classical guitar maker making beautifully inlayed guitars influenced by Torres.

www.spanishguitar.org.uk Pablo Requena, classical and flamenco guitar maker based just outside Lewes. Also stocking many Spanish made guitars covering a broad price range. Pablo runs an evening class and courses in Spanish guitar construction.

www.edenguitars.co.uk Steve was Pablo's apprentice for several years and recently set up on his own nearby.

Festivals and Events

www.lewesguitarfestival.co.uk Festival of the guitar based here in Lewes, featuring word class musicians every year, usually in the first week of August but having a year off in 2008 (and possibly permanently unfortunately).

www.ullapoolguitarfestival.com Ullapool guitar festival - I will make it up there one year!

www.acousticsussex.org.uk Acoustic, Folk and Roots music gigs around Sussex.

Luthier's supplies

www.lmii.com Luthier's Mercantile International.

www.stewmac.com Stewart Macdonald lutherie supplies.

www.alliedluthierie.com the guys that used to run LMI.

www.luthierssupplies.co.uk Dave Dyke, the one and only.

Guitar related sites

www.acousticmasters.com Guitar players website featuring Eric Roche with pictures of Eric's Benjamins.

www.acousticmagazine.com UK acoustic guitar publication.

www.guitarcds.net All your guitar CD needs!

www.amazingnails4guitarists.com Midge fits and shapes nails as well as selling repair and DIY kits online.

www.luthierdirectory.co.uk UK luthier directory run by 'ToneTech'.

www.guitarbench.com Website featuring an in depth interview with Nick Benjamin.

www.stephensonamps.com Mark Stephenson makes some very nicely designed 'power-scaled' electric guitar amps - I hope to get hold of one soon!

Players

These are some of either my favourite or some of the most influential (in my eyes) solo acoustic guitar players.

See my Players page for details of and links to some better known Benjamin owners.

www.johnfahey.com American primitive guitar, quirky and unique!

www.nomadland.com Michael Hedges. Michael was, in my opinion, probably the strongest acoustic guitar music composer and player we have had.

www.jonimitchell.com Joni was a big factor in why I carried on playing acoustic music despite the teenage lure of the electric guitar.

www.prestonreed.com Preston was one of the main originators of the currently very popular 'Percussion' or 'Percussive' guitar style - his influences certainly included Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke and John Fahey, combined perhaps with contemporary composers such as Steve Reich but he was probably the first person to link hitting the body of the guitar with two handed fretting and sounding techniques to produce very textural compositions. Michael Hedges' earlier pieces that combined such elements, such as 'Ariel Boundaries', started the process but Preston consolidated the main elements now used by so many players.