For a number of years, the Samick corporation was the phantom builder of instruments for a number of other trademarks. When the Samick trademark was finally introduced to the U.S. guitar market, a number of consumers thought that the company was brand new. However, Samick has been producing both upright and grand pianos, as well as stringed instruments for nearly fifty years.
The Samick Piano Co. was established in Korea in 1958 by Hyo Ick Lee. By January of 1960, they had started to produce upright pianos, and within four years became the first Korean piano exporter. One year later in 1965, the company began manufacturing guitars, and by the early 1970s expanded to produce grand pianos and harmonicas as well. In 1973, the company incorporated as the Samick Musical Instruments Mfg. Co., Ltd. to reflect the diversity it encompassed. Samick continued to expand into guitar production. They opened a branch office in Los Angeles in 1978, a brand new guitar factory in 1979, and a branch office in West Germany one month before 1981.
Throughout the 1980s Samick continued to grow, prosper, and win awards for quality products and company productivity. The Samick Products Co. was established in 1986 as an affiliate producer of other products, and the company was listed on the Korean Stock Exchange in September of 1988. With their size of production facilities (the company claims to be cranking out over a million guitars a year, according to a recent brochure), Samick could be referred to as modern day producer of House Brand guitars as well as their own brand. In the past couple of years Samick acquired Valley Arts, a guitar company known for its one-of-a-kind instruments and custom guitars. This merger stabilized Valley Arts as the custom shop wing of Samick, as well as supplying Samick with quality American designed guitars.
Samick continues to expand their line of guitar models through the use of innovative designs, partnerships with high exposure endorsees (like Blues Saraceno and Ray Benson), and new projects such as the Robert Johnson Commemorative and the D'Leco Charlie Christian Commemorative guitars.
Samick Company History courtesy Rick Clapper; Model Specifications courtesy Dee Hoyt.
In 1998, Samick decided to overhaul their entire line. They brought in Greg Bennett, who has been in the guitar industry for over twenty years, to create a sense of continuity throughout the entire line of guitars. In 2001, they stopped their previous line of guitars. In 2002, the Samick company was purchased by Jong-Sup Kim, and they introduced an entirely new line of guitars with Greg Bennett on every headstock, which is smaller as well. By combining Samick and Bennett, there is over seventy years of experience in guitars. The new line of guitars are called "Greg Bennett Design by Samick." In 2006, the Samick headquarters in the U.S. moved from City of Industry, CA to Gallatin, TN.
In addition to their acoustic and electric guitars and basses, Samick offers a wide range of other stringed instruments such as autoharps, banjos, mandolins, and violins. For more information, contact Samick directly or visit their website.
Instruments currently produced in Korea. Distributed by Samick Music Corporation in Gallatin, TN (previously located in Southern California). Samick has been producing guitars since 1965 and has been importing guitars into the U.S. since 1981.

SAMICK Electric Guitars Models

SAMICK HF-650 (BLUENOTE) Image

SAMICK HF-650 (BLUENOTE)

- single rounded cutaway bound hollowbody, arched maple top, raised black pickguard, 2 f-holes, maple back/sides/neck, 22-fret bound rosewood fingerboard with abalone/pearl block inlay, adjustable rosewood bridge/trapeze tailpiece, bound bl...

SAMICK DS-100 Image

SAMICK DS-100

- offset double cutaway hardwood body, bolt-on maple neck, 25.5 in. scale, 21-fret maple fingerboard with black dot inlay, standard tremolo, 6-on-a-side tuners, chrome hardware, white pickguard, 3 single coil pickups, volume/2 tone controls...

SAMICK AV 1 Image

SAMICK AV 1

- single cutaway Les-Paul style nato body, bolt-on neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay, two humbucker pickups, three-per-side Grover tuners, two knobs (v, tone), three-way switch, chrome hardware, available in Black, Vintage S...

SAMICK TA-630 DLX TR Image

SAMICK TA-630 DLX TR

- contoured alder body, flame maple top, rosewood fingerboard with white dot inlay, TM2 tremolo, gold hardware, pearloid pickguard, 3 single coil lipstick tube pickups, available in Trans. Red finish, disc. 2000.

SAMICK BS VG Image

SAMICK BS VG

- offset rounded cutaway alder body, bolt-on maple neck, 25.5 in. scale, 22-fret maple fingerboard with offset black dot inlay, vintage-style tremolo, 3-per-side die-cast tuners, black hardware, 2 humbucker pickups, volume control, 3-way se...

SAMICK CA 2 Image

SAMICK CA 2

- double sharp cutaway heavy metal style sculpted mahogany body, set neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays, two Duncan Designed Humbucker pickups, three-per-side Grover tuners, four knobs (two v, two tone), three-way switch, av...

SAMICK FB 1 Image

SAMICK FB 1

- offset single cutaway sixties style bound agathis body, high tech Quilt top, bolt-on neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays, three-per-side Grover tuners, standard tremolo, two Duncan Designed direct mount humbucker pickups, t...

SAMICK FA 1/FA 1 M Image

SAMICK FA 1/FA 1 M

- single cutaway Tele-style agathis body, bolt-on neck, 22-fret rosewood (FA 1) or maple (FA 1 M) fingerboard, two single coil pickups, three-per-side tuners, two knobs (v, tone), three-way switch, white pickguard, chrome hardware, availabl...

SAMICK GT 1 Image

SAMICK GT 1

- Flying V-style agathis body, set neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay, two humbucker pickups, 3-per-side tuners, three knobs (2v, tone), 3-way switch, chrome hardware, available in Black or Metallic Red finish, disc. 2003.

SAMICK DCL-9500 SDQ AN Image

SAMICK DCL-9500 SDQ AN

- carved quilt maple top, abalone body binding, set-in neck, ebony fingerboard, tune-o-matic bridge/stop tailpiece, 2 Duncan humbucker pickups, volume/tone controls, 3-way selector, disc. 2000.

SAMICK LP-750 Image

SAMICK LP-750

- single cutaway mahogany body, bound mother-of-pearl covered top, set-in mahogany neck, 24.75 in. scale, 24-fret ebony fingerboard with pearl block inlay, bound mother-of-pearl covered headstock, 3-per-side tuners, chrome hardware, tune-o-...

SAMICK IC 1 Image

SAMICK IC 1

- offset double cutaway agathis body, bolt-on neck, 24-fret rosewood fingerboard, one humbucker and two single coil pickups, 3-per-side chrome tuners, three knobs (v, 2 tone), 5-way switch, available in Black or Wine Red finish, disc. 2003.

SAMICK MB 1 Image

SAMICK MB 1

- offset double cutaway Strat-style nato body, bolt-on neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays, three-single coil pickups, three knobs (v, two tone), five-way switch, white pickguard, three-per-side Grover tuners, standard tremol...

SAMICK KR-664 NM (LEGACY) Image

SAMICK KR-664 NM (LEGACY)

- offset double cutaway alder body, bolt-on maple neck, 24-fret bound rosewood fingerboard with pearl boomerang inlay, double locking vibrato, 6-on-a-side tuners, gold hardware, 2 single coil rail/1 humbucker pickups, volume/tone control, 5...

SAMICK RW 1 Image

SAMICK RW 1

- Explorer-style agathis body, set neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay, two humbucker pickups, 3-per-side tuners, three knobs (2v, tone), 3-way switch, chrome hardware, available in Black or Metallic Red finish, disc. 2003.

SAMICK LS-10 Image

SAMICK LS-10

- offset double cutaway hardwood body, bolt-on nato neck, 21-fret rosewood fingerboard with white dot inlay, vintage-style tremolo, chrome hardware, six-on-one-side standard tuners, white pickguard, three single coil pickups, volume/tone co...

SAMICK RANGER 3 Image

SAMICK RANGER 3

- single cutaway contoured alder body, bolt-on maple neck, 21-fret rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlay, strings through fixed bridge, 6-on-a-side tuners, gold hardware, pearloid pickguard, 3 single coil pickups, volume/tone control, 5...

SAMICK TR 1 Image

SAMICK TR 1

- double sharp SG-ish cutaway body style, nato body, set neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay, pickguard, two humbucker pickups, three-per-side die-cast tuners, four knobs (two v, two tone), three-way switch, available in Wine...

SAMICK BS ASH Image

SAMICK BS ASH

- offset rounded cutaway solid alder body, bolt-on maple neck, 25.5 in. scale, 22-fret maple fingerboard with offset black dot inlay, strings through-body fixed bridge, 3-per-side die-cast tuners, black hardware, 2 single coil/humbucker Dun...

SAMICK UM 1 Image

SAMICK UM 1

- offset double cutaway bound flat nato body, set neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays, two humbucker pickups, three-per-side grover tuners, two knobs (v, tone), three-way switch, chrome hardware, available in Black, Purple, o...

SAMICK BTB-460 TS Image

SAMICK BTB-460 TS

- violin-shaped body, 2 humbucker pickups, 2 volume/2 tone controls, available in Tobacco Sunburst finish, mfg. 1997-2000.

SAMICK CCTS 650 BK Image

SAMICK CCTS 650 BK

- single cutaway hollowbody, bound top, solid top/back, set-in neck, 22-fret fingerboard with white split block inlay, 2 f-holes, 3-per-side tuners, tune-o-matic bridge/stop tailpiece, gold hardware, raised matching pickguard, 2 covered hum...

SAMICK DB-100 Image

SAMICK DB-100

- P-style offset double cutaway hardwood body, bolt-on maple neck, 20-fret maple fingerboard with black dot inlay, fixed bridge, pickguard, 4-on-a-side Schaller tuners, white pickguard, chrome hardware, P-style split pickup, volume/tone con...

SAMICK KJ-540 (AURORA) Image

SAMICK KJ-540 (AURORA)

- offset double cutaway alder body, bolt-on maple neck, 24-fret bound rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlay, double locking vibrato, 6-on-a-side tuners, black hardware, single coil/humbucker pickup, volume/tone control, 3-position switc...

SAMICK JZ 1 Image

SAMICK JZ 1

- single cutaway hollowbody, select spruce top, quilt maple sides and back, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with block inlay, two humbucker pickups, jazz style bridge, three-per-side Grover tuners, four knobs (two v, two tone), available in An...

SAMICK CR 1 Image

SAMICK CR 1

- double cutaway P-style agathis body, bolt-on neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with offset dot inlay, J-J pickups, white pickguard, two-per-side tuners, two knobs, chrome hardware, available in Antique Ivory, Black, Cobalt Blue, Corvette...

SAMICK ROYALE BASS RLB 2 Image

SAMICK ROYALE BASS RLB 2

- single cutaway hollowbody, arched quilted maple top, mahogany sides and back, set neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with crown inlays, two active pickups, active electronics, four knobs, chrome hardware, available in Vintage Sunburst fin...

SAMICK MH 2 Image

SAMICK MH 2

- offset double highly sculpted body with numerous points, set mahogany neck, 24-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay, three-per-side tuners, adjustable bridge, stop tailpiece, two Duncan design humbucker pickups, four knobs, three-way...

SAMICK FN 1 Image

SAMICK FN 1

- offset double cutaway J-style agathis body, bolt-on neck, 22-fret maple fingerboard with offset dot inlay, split P pickup, white pickguard, two-per-side tuners, three knobs, chrome hardware, available in Black, Cobalt Blue, Metallic Red,...

SAMICK COBRA BASS CAB 2 Image

SAMICK COBRA BASS CAB 2

- offset double sharp cutaway heavy metal sculpted ash body, neck thru body, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay, two active pickups, active electronics, two-per-side tuners, four knobs, black hardware, available in Black, Metallic...

SAMICK CD 2 Image

SAMICK CD 2

- offset double cutaway sculpted body with an arched top, multi-ply black binding, set mahogany neck, 24-fret rosewood fingerboard with offset dot inlays, three-per-side tuners, adjustable bridge, stop tailpiece, two Duncan design humbucker...

SAMICK STR-100 TS Image

SAMICK STR-100 TS

- contoured single cutaway alder body, figured maple top, bolt-on maple neck, 25.5 in. scale, 21-fret maple fingerboard with black dot inlay, fixed bridge, 6-on-a-side die-cast tuners, chrome hardware, violin-shaped white pearloid pickguard...

SAMICK RL 1 Image

SAMICK RL 1

- single cutaway hollowbody, nato arched top, nato back and sides, bolt-on neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay, two humbucker pickups, three-per-side Grover tuners, black pickguard, four knobs (two v, two tone), three-way swit...

SAMICK LB-11 Image

SAMICK LB-11

- P-style offset double cutaway hardwood body, bolt-on maple neck, 20-fret rosewood fingerboard with white dot inlay, vintage-style fixed bridge, four-on-one-side Schaller tuners, chrome hardware, black pickguard, split P-style pickup, volu...

SAMICK DELTA BASS DB 5 Image

SAMICK DELTA BASS DB 5

- offset double cutaway body, mahogany and walnut core with a flame maple top and back (FM) or a mahogany core with walnut back and front (WA), five-piece maple and rosewood neck NTB, rosewood fingerboard, two-per-side tuners, isolated set...

SAMICK DS-410 Image

SAMICK DS-410

- similar to the DS-100, except features 21-fret rosewood fingerboard, 2 single coil/humbucker pickups, available in Black, Metallic Red, Sunburst, or White finish, disc. 1999.

SAMICK ROYALE BASS RLB 3/RLB 4 Image

SAMICK ROYALE BASS RLB 3/RLB 4

- single cutaway hollowbody, arched quilted maple top, mahogany sides and back, set neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with crown inlays, two active pickups, active electronics, four knobs, chrome hardware, available in Black (RLB 4) or Vin...

SAMICK AV 2 Image

SAMICK AV 2

- similar to the AV 1, except has a set neck, available in Trans. Red, Trans. Blue, or Cherry Sunburst finish, disc. 2003.

SAMICK BS SH Image

SAMICK BS SH

- similar to the BS VG, except features tune-o-matic bridge/stop tailpiece, 2 single coil/humbucker pickups, volume/tone (push/pull coil tap) controls, 5-way selector switch, available in Black (BK), Raid Red (RA), or White (WH) finish, dis...

SAMICK MCA 1 MINI COBRA Image

SAMICK MCA 1 MINI COBRA

- double sharp cutaway heavy metal style sculpted mahogany body, bolt-on neck, rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays, three-per-side tuners, stop tailpiece, adj. bridge, single humbucker pickup, two knobs (v, tone), chrome hardware, availabl...

SAMICK CD 3 Image

SAMICK CD 3

- similar to the CD 2, except has a High Tech quilt top, available in Trans. Black Cherry finish, 25.5 in. scale, mfg. 2004-present.

SAMICK FB 2 Image

SAMICK FB 2

- similar to the FB 1, except a quilted maple top and a Floyd style locking tremolo and nut, available in Trans. Red, Trans. Blue, or Trans. Black finish, disc. 2003.

SAMICK FA 2 Image

SAMICK FA 2

- single cutaway Tele-style bound alder body, quilted maple top, bolt-on neck, 22-fret maple fingerboard, two single coil & one humbucker Duncan Designed pickups, three-per-side Grover tuners, two knobs (v, tone), five-way switch, white...

SAMICK JB-420 (JAVELIN) Image

SAMICK JB-420 (JAVELIN)

- offset double cutaway contoured alder body, bolt-on maple neck, 34 in. scale, 21-fret rosewood fingerboard with white dot inlay, vintage-style fixed bridge, 4-on-a-side tuners, chrome hardware, white pickguard/thumb rest, 2 J-style pickup...

SAMICK LS-11 Image

SAMICK LS-11

- offset double cutaway hardwood body, bolt-on maple neck, 21-fret rosewood fingerboard with white dot inlay, vintage-style tremolo, chrome hardware, six-on-one-side standard tuners, white pickguard, three single coil pickups, volume/two to...

SAMICK CCFT 650 GS Image

SAMICK CCFT 650 GS

- similar to the CCTS 650 BK, except has rosewood bridge/gold plated trapeze tailpiece, available in Golden Sunburst finish, mfg. 1996-98.

SAMICK TR 2 Image

SAMICK TR 2

- similar to the TR 1, except has a High Tech Quilt top, mahogany body, Duncan Designed pickups, and crown inlays, available in Vintage Sunburst or Trans. Red finish, current mfg.

SAMICK UM 2 Image

SAMICK UM 2

- similar to the UM 1, except has a High Tech Quilt top, available in Trans. Red or Trans. Blue finish, disc. 2003.

SAMICK CB-630 RSBU N (THUNDER) Image

SAMICK CB-630 RSBU N (THUNDER)

- sleek offset scooped double cutaway alder body, bubinga top, bolt-on maple neck, 24-fret rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlay, fixed bridge, four-on-one-side die-cast tuners, gold hardware, P/J-style pickups, volume/tone control, thr...