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 Richard Osborne, maker of the best flat back mandolins, bouzoukis and octave mandolas I've heard, carved top mandolins and even some guitars now appearing (hence the new website). Richard is now offering acoustic guitar making evening classes based on construction methods in the same style as 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.rohanlowe.co.uk Classical guitar maker and friend, making beautifully inlayed guitars inflenced by Torres.
www.spanishguitar.org.uk
Pablo Requena, classical and flamenco guitar maker based here in the
Star Brewery. Also stocking many spanish made guitars covering a broad price
range. Pablo also runs an evening class.
Festivals
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.
www.ullapoolguitarfestival.com Ullapool guitar festival.
www.bathspa.ac.uk/igf/ Bath International Guitar Festival.
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.art-music.co.uk New guitar shop specialising in Baritones (including Benjamins in the nearish future).
www.acousticmasters.com Guitar players website featuring Eric Roche with pictures of Eric's Benjamins.
www.ultimaguitar.com Italian guitar based site who did a feature on me recently.
www.acousticmagazine.com New 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.
Players (see my Players page for details of and links to some better known Benjamin owners)
www.thomasleeb.com Thomas is an Austrian guitarist now based in California. He and Eric Roche were musical sparring partners for many years. Thomas plays in an exhilarating percussive style and I recently had to glue together one of his guitars after a particularly enthusiastic drumming session. His extraordinary new album 'Upsidedown' is my favourite guitar recording of recent months and I've got a feeling will remain so for long time. Thomas recently took a prototype 'Percussion' model guitar to test out for me, more details soon.
www.clivecarroll.co.uk Clive's mind moves at a speed unobtainable by most of the population and is also pretty good at pool, not to mention the guitar.
www.richardsmithmusic.com I had the great pleasure of meeting Richard and his wife Julie when they played here in Lewes recently (Sept. '06).
www.johnfahey.com American primitive guitar.
www.nomadland.com Michael Hedges.
www.jonimitchell.com Joni was a big factor in why I carried on playing acoustic music despite the teenage lure of the electric guitar.
| Jumbo | Jumbo Orchestra Model (JOM) | Orchestra Model (OM) |
| Treble 0 (12 fret) | Double 0 (14 fret) | Terz (high tuned) |
| Baritone Models | Nylon-String Models coming soon! | New & Future Models |