SAMICK

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.