Samick

Samick is one of those guitar names whose importance is larger than the logo on the headstock. The company began in South Korea in 1958, started guitar production in 1965, expanded into Indonesia in the early 1990s and became a major manufacturer not only for its own brands but for many other companies. With Samick, the manufacturing story can be as important as the model story.

MODEL SEARCH

Know the model number?

Enter a full or partial model number or model name. The brand is added automatically.

OVERVIEW

What to know quickly

FOUNDED Samick Musical Instruments was founded in 1958; the company dates guitar production to 1965.

GLOBAL FACTORY STORY Samick completed its P.T. Samick Indonesia joint venture in 1992 and became a major global OEM manufacturer.

GREG BENNETT Avion, Royale, Ultramatic, acoustic and bass families became some of Samick’s best-known later guitar lines.

Do not confuse brand with factory. A guitar built by Samick for another company is not automatically a Samick-branded model, and the Samick logo alone does not tell you which factory or era produced it.

IDENTIFY YOUR GUITAR

Which Samick do you have?

Samick’s catalog spans acoustics, solidbodies, hollow bodies, basses and Greg Bennett designs. The full model number, country marking and headstock branding are the useful starting points.

Find the complete model number. HJ650, LW-015, AV-3, RL-3, UM-1 and other codes point to very different families.
Record the country of manufacture. Korean and Indonesian production both appear across the broader Samick story.
Separate Samick from Greg Bennett branding. Some instruments foreground Greg Bennett Design while remaining part of the Samick product family.
Photograph labels, headstock and neck plate. Acoustics, hollow bodies and electrics place identifying information in different locations.
Do not use OEM rumors as identification. Samick built for many outside companies, but the individual guitar still needs model-specific evidence.

SERIES & CURRENT / HISTORICAL GUIDE

The name spans several generations

Greg Bennett electric Avion, Royale, Ultramatic and related Current regional pricing varies Designed value / mid-level electric families

Samick acoustic LW, SW, SF, OM and other acoustic families Current and used regional market Beginner to step-up acoustics

Artist / hollow body HJ-series and Artist-series examples Mostly used in the U.S. Jazz / hollow-body territory

Older solidbody / bass Numerous Korean and Indonesian series Used-market only for many models Era-specific; exact model required

Samick remains active, but current guitar availability and pricing vary by country. Its Korean direct store still lists Greg Bennett Avion, Royale and Ultramatic models in 2026.

USED VALUE GUIDE

The used market is where Samick becomes a research project

Guitar Center showed 44 used Samick guitars in late September 2026, including electrics, acoustics, classical guitars and hollow bodies. Ordinary acoustics can sit near $100–$300, while cleaner Artist/HJ hollow-body models can approach $500 or more.

COMMON ACOUSTIC Often roughly $100–$300 used.

COMMON ELECTRIC Frequently around $150–$400 depending on model and era.

ARTIST / HOLLOW BODY Often around $350–$600+ when clean and correctly identified.

Match the exact model number before comparing prices.
Check country-of-origin markings instead of assuming every Samick is Korean.
On hollow bodies, inspect neck angle, binding, top/back condition and electronics access.
On acoustics, check bridge lift, neck angle, saddle height and top distortion before pricing repairs.
Treat “same factory” claims as context, not proof that two guitars are identical.

CURRENT USED MARKET

See what the market is doing now

A generic Samick search mixes cheap acoustics, Greg Bennett electrics, hollow bodies and older specialty instruments. Add the model code and country whenever possible.

Search Samick on Reverb Current and historical Samick / Greg Bennett instruments ↗ Used Samick at Guitar Center Current U.S. used inventory and condition grades ↗

COMPARE

What else lives in this neighborhood?

Samick is best compared at the model level. The larger historical comparison is with other high-volume Asian manufacturers whose factories also built instruments under multiple outside brands.

COMPARE WITH Cort · another major Korean-rooted global guitar manufacturer and OEM story

COMPARE WITH Washburn / Epiphone-era imports · useful model-by-model comparisons where factory history overlaps

COMPARE WITH Ibanez / Yamaha value tiers · practical player comparisons for specific used instruments

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Before you buy—or price—one

OEM mythology. A Samick factory connection does not make two different branded guitars identical.
Greg Bennett naming. Some sellers list only Greg Bennett and omit Samick, which can hide useful comparables.
Country changes. Production origin can change by series and period.
Thin documentation. Old catalogs and surviving labels may be more useful than generic serial-number websites.
Repair-to-value ratio. Structural acoustic work or major fret repair can quickly exceed the value of an inexpensive example.

HISTORY & COMMENTARY

One of the names behind a lot more guitars than its own

Samick’s official timeline begins in 1958, adds guitar production in 1965, a U.S. branch in 1978 and the Indonesian manufacturing joint venture by 1992. The company also describes a long history of building instruments for outside brands.

That makes Samick unusually important to used-guitar research. The useful conclusion is not “same factory, same guitar.” Manufacturing history gives context that can guide the next identification step, while the instrument itself still supplies the evidence.

WHAT PLAYERS LIKE

Why a Samick can be worth picking up

Used-market value. Many Samicks remain inexpensive relative to their construction and features.
Huge variety. Solidbodies, hollow bodies, acoustics, basses and Greg Bennett designs all appear used.
OEM research interest. Samick helps explain how many late-20th-century import-guitar brands were manufactured.
Greg Bennett designs. Later lines gave the company clearer model-family identities.
Availability. Dozens of examples still circulate through ordinary U.S. used channels.

CURRENT RETAIL & REFERENCE

Samick · Corporate History Official 1958 founding, 1965 guitar-production and Indonesia timeline ↗ Samick · Current Guitar Site Current guitar categories and Greg Bennett context ↗ Samick · Korea Guitar Store Current regional Samick and Greg Bennett listings ↗ Used Samick at Guitar Center Current U.S. used-market examples ↗

Current-market observations were checked September 29, 2026. Samick guitar availability and pricing vary substantially by region.