If you take a moment in Savannah to stop and listen, the sweet sounds of success can be heard emanating from the Benedetto Guitar workshop.

On a cold morning several years ago, a young guitarist performed on a sidewalk in the Latin Quarter of Paris, cadging euros from tourists with a fairly fluent rendition of Django Reinhardt’s “Nuages.” When we told him where we were from, he detonated with delight. “Savannah? Savannah! Yes! Yes!” he said. Gleefully, he pointed to the name inscribed on his instrument.

“Benedetto!” he exclaimed. “Le meilleur du monde!” (“Benedetto! The best in the world!”)

It’s hard to beat advertising like that. Such exuberant praise, however, flows regularly these days toward Bob Benedetto’s little shop, tucked away on an obscure side street off of Waters Avenue. Benedetto Guitars is known far and wide— even on the perfumed boulevards of the City of Lights—for the exquisite craftsmanship of its instruments. There’s hardly a jazz player alive who doesn’t know, and cherish, the name.

The care that goes into its guitars has paid off for the company, which launched in Savannah in 2006. Even in 2008—a year when companies like General Motors, once seemingly as permanent as the Alps, began to melt away—sales were brisk at Benedetto.

“The secret is you don’t compromise quality for anything,” says Howard Paul, the company’s president and CEO. “We’ve got a great name and we’re not going to screw it up by cutting corners.” His employees, he explains, “are passionate about what they do. That’s why they’re here.”

Known since the 1970s for his hand-carved archtop instruments, Bob Benedetto first began life in the Bronx, where he was born into a family of artists and musicians. By the late 1960s he had found his calling and not long after, he found his wife Cindy, who, for the past 30 years, has been a partner in her husband’s success, expertly promoting and documenting his work.

Benedetto’s guitars, endorsed by such jazz greats as Kenny Burrell and Bucky Pizzarelli, have appeared on countless recordings, videos and soundtracks over the decades. Played on concert stages and jazz festivals around the world, his instruments are even featured in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.

Between 1999 and 2006, Benedetto had a licensing agreement with Fender Musical Instruments, but after his work was complete with the giant of guitar producers, he began to look south.

Paul, a longtime executive at Chatham Steel, was instrumental in bringing Benedetto Guitars to Savannah several years ago. A professional guitarist for decades, he first met Benedetto in 1996 when he asked the master luthier to fashion a guitar for him. Soon they became friends and, after the Fender deal closed, when the artist was looking for a place to set up his own, self-managed shop, Paul knew just the place.

“We looked at several cities across the Southeast. Bob wanted to come someplace warm,” explains Paul. But the company eventually ended up in Savannah, he says, “both because of the quality of life and the ease of starting a business here.”

“Savannah has proven to be a perfect place for us. We enjoy the advantages of living in a relatively small town; it’s easy to get on a first-name basis with the people who get things done in the community.” At the same time, they are pleased that the city’s cosmopolitan side brings the world to their doorstep. “People around the world know about the city. They want to come here and live.”

Benedetto is also enthusiastic about his new home. “Savannah has just been a great fit,” he says. “People have made us feel so welcome here. Every time you turn around, the economic development folks are offering to lend us a hand. People have shown us genuine hospitality.”

In Savannah, Benedetto produces a broad line of professional instruments, fashioned from materials from around the world. Those lucky enough to take a tour of the modest space are greeted like a member of the family by a staff of artisans who truly love what they do.

There are 22 employees working at the shop; 14–15 of them work in the production end of the business, producing about 40 guitars per month. The

9,000-square-foot facility is divided into buffing, finishing, and assembly departments and a rough mill. Tucked in a corner of the facility is Benedetto’s private workshop, filled with the body molds, clamps and palm planes the guitar maker has been using in his craft for 40 years. A pioneer in the use of exotic wood veneers, Benedetto was also a leader in the modern movement away from superfluous bindings and inlays on archtop guitars.

It is thanks to a reputation for an unwavering dedication to true craftsmanship that Bob Benedetto became what he is today and, according to Paul, it is this same reputation that will carry the company through these perilous economic times. “I think a lot of the really big-time investors are sitting on the sidelines right now,” he explains. “Instead of spending millions on really big-ticket items like houses, they’re more willing to spend $40-50,000 on something like high-end art collectibles. Really, in the grand scheme of things, our guitars aren’t that expensive for these folks. There’s only one Bob Benedetto, so when they get a chance to buy our unique guitars associated with his name, it’s a good deal for them.”

The trend these days, says Paul, isn’t confined to artsy guitars. “Lots of high-end consumer goods are doing well now. Fortunately, since we’re a small, flexible company, we can take advantage of that; it’s enough to carry us these days.”

Benedetto, too, likes where the company is heading. Savannah, he said, has played no small role in its success.

“We don’t count on a lot of local traffic,” he said, “so we really don’t need to be in a huge city. We’ve found a nice niche here. We’re not going to get greedy and try to grab other markets. We’re secure. We like what we’re doing here.”

His fans around the world clearly agree.

His young Parisian admirer, for example, quivered with delight that frigid morning as he finished “Nuages” with a flourish on his gleaming Benedetto.

“Ecoutez la tonalité!” he exclaimed, beaming at his new American friends. “C’est

incroyable!” (“Just listen to the tone! It’s incredible!”)

Model and Make

Benedetto Guitars produces instruments in a wide range of makes, models and prices. Take a closer look at two guitars that define the company’s versatility.

La Venezia. The larger of the two, this instrument is the ultimate acoustic jazz guitar, built from aged, hand-selected European cello woods, hand-carved and graduated, with no extra adornments. “It is meant to be very violin-like in construction,” says Howard Paul. It’s lightweight, has no bindings, boasts a floating ebony bridge and tailpiece, and has no electronic pickup. With only two or three handcrafted a year, La Venezia retails for $26,500 each.

The Andy. Named after Paul’s 11-year-old son, The Andy is Benedetto’s newest model and is designed to be a travel-sized guitar capable of fitting in the overhead compartment of an airplane. Regardless of its size, the instrument’s architecture and workmanship ensure that it sounds and feels like a full-sized, professional series archtop guitar when amplified. The first instrument of its kind offered in today’s guitar market, it has a carved spruce top and maple back with laminated sides. “By using very efficient manufacturing techniques and domestic woods, we are able to keep the price point extraordinarily low for a Benedetto,” explains Paul. With about six–eight produced per month, The Andy retails at $2,475 and has been backordered since the model launched in July 2008.

Vintage Benedetto

What could complement the sweet sound of a Benedetto guitar better than the subtle notes of a fine glass of wine? According to David and Emily Miner, the owners of Miner Family Vineyards in Napa Valley, California, and the exclusive producers of the Benedetto Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon, the pairing of grape and guitar is only natural.

Dave Miner first met Bob Benedetto in the early 2000s when the expert vintner commissioned a handcrafted instrument stained in his own red wine. A year later, Miner came back to Benedetto with another innovative idea—a guitar made from the wood of a wine barrel. But the creative exchange didn’t stop there. In return for the creation of the Vinodetto guitar (as the design was named), Miner offered Benedetto a bacchanalian immortalization. The resulting wine series is as special as it is delicious. With bottles adorned in the Benedetto brand, the deep red drink was made from a vintage of the Miner Family Vineyard’s premier cabernet sauvignon. The first Benedetto Signature Series sold out quickly to lovers of perfectly crafted wine and guitars.

Now in its third vintage, the wine continues to fly off the shelf—especially in the Benedetto workshop, where cases arrive regularly and bottles are enjoyed daily. “Everyday after work, Bob and I crack open a bottle of wine, sit back and toast to Dave,” says Howard Paul. Now an investor, board member—and the host of an annual concert celebrating the Benedetto’s guitars and wine—Miner is sure to keep spirits high at Benedetto Guitar for some time.

To get your own bottle of Benedetto Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon, or to learn more about Miner Family Vineyards, visit www.minerwines.com

The Band Plays On

Benedetto Guitars isn’t the only company making sweet music in the Savannah area. The city is also home to several other renowned instrument makers creating their own unique mark on the music world from the comforts of the Hostess City.

Gretsch Guitars. Since it was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, the Gretsch Company has played an indelible role in the history of American music, selling quality guitars and drums. The company has thrived since exploding into popularity in the 1950s, when legendary guitarist Chet Atkins enthusiastically endorsed the brand. Fred W. Gretsch, the fourth generation of the family involved in running the company, moved the company to the Savannah in 1985. Today, he and his wife, Dinah, continue to create new instruments to produce “that great Gretsch sound.” 200 Governor Treutlen Road,

Pooler. 912.748.7070, www.gretsch.com

Marty Liebschner. A folk connoisseur and a historian at heart, Liebschner has spent the past 10 years creating custom-made banjos based on original 19th-century designs. Not only is he a builder, but he’s also a player, having performed vintage

American music at a large number of Civil War reenactment events. He’s also released several CDs of Americana music, using original 19th-century instruments. Pick up a copy online or at National Park Service and historic sites around the country. www.folkinstruments.biz

Randy Wood Guitars. Randy Wood has been producing top quality instruments since the 1960s. A founding member of guitar building company GTR, in Nashville, Tennessee, which later became Gruhn’s Guitars, Wood has made guitars for such noted performers as Emmy Lou Harris, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards. Wood’s shop doubles as a performance venue regularly featuring some of America’s finest musicians.

And for budding luthiers in the area, guitar-making seminars are offered throughout the year. 1304 East Highway 80, Bloomingdale, 912.748.1930, www.randywoodguitars.com

Jody Jazz. “Free blowing, great intonation [and] the best quality control,” might not mean much to the layman, but to saxophonists and clarinetists those words add up to world-class mouthpieces for their coveted instruments. Founded and managed by renowned saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist and jazz instructor Jody Espina, the company recently set up shop on Barnard Street in Savannah and is delivering expert craftsmanship to musicians far and wide. 811 Barnard Street, Ground Floor (by appointment only), 912.234.1622, www.jodyjazz.com