# Marc Beneteau & The 12th Fret



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I see The 12th Fret has finally got hold of a guitar by my favourite builder.
http://www.12fret.com/new/Beneteau_Marc_Concert_Cutaway_pg.html

Yummy!

Peace, Mooh.


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## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

If I lived anywhere near the Fret I would be there for a test run. Very nice!


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## suttree (Aug 17, 2007)

that's purty


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I've always liked his sense of proportion, design, balance, and level of bling. Above that, his guitars always sound so wonderful. The Fret's description of him and his guitars is right on. 

Peace, Mooh.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I have a very simple 1979 Beneteau that plays and sounds like a dream. I can't imagine what his new ones must be like!

Matt


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Matt...I used to be acquainted with a guy with a very early small body Beneteau which played like a dream and was loud. Probably similar to the age of yours. Mine date from '95/'96/'98, before his prices climbed out of my reach. He now commands prices more in line with the industry, and what he deserves. There was one at Folkway in Guelph last time I was there which sounded a lot like my '95. 

Peace, Mooh.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

I had Marc build me an OM to my specs back in 1999 . I don't live too far from Marc and I spent a fair bit of time with him in his shop talking guitars and motor bikes ( he drives and restores English bikes for himself ) . Which leads to a bit of a story here , bear with me.....

I have a fellow not too far from me that restores horse buggies and on a visit to him one day he told me of how a close relative that lived in northern NB and ran a small lumber mill had passed away so while he was there to visit he found a bunch of birdseye maple that had been cut and stored in this one building for about 25-30 years and because he had his pick-up truck he brought this wood home and used it for a restoration of a buggie . Well I mentioned that I was going to have a guitar built and asked if he had any left and he did have one nice piece I thought might work well for a neck . I was over to see Marc the following week and showed him this piece of wood ( he was in his garage working on his Norton ) and he carefully looked at it and got his measuring tape out . He told me that if he did a 3 piece back there was enough wood for the body and he was somewhat excited to do a guitar in birdseye because he had never done one before . Shortly after he cut the pieces and called me to tell me that it was exceptional wood and was going to look and sound fantastic because of the quality plus the age from it sitting some 30 years . I wanted the body stained in a nice amber and the rest of the theme was to be pretty much ebony trim and fret board . Well needless to say this guitar is one of a kind and Marc was really excited when he called me to tell me to come and pick it up . Not only was it a birdseye maple , it is a "quilted" birdseye , the like I nor Marc has seen then or since . With the ebony stain and Marcs perfect multi coats of laquer polished to a blinding gloss the wood actually moves and is like a hologram of sorts , it's so deep .
I know....long story but I thought I would share how Marc after building for years at that point still gets excited building guitars and takes so much care to make sure the customer is happy with the finished product . He builds all his guitars in the basement of the century brick house he lives in and will not hire any help to speed up the building of his guitars , he says he has to be the only one so he knows it is right . He puts a piece of himself in each guitar and takes great pride in every one of them too . That 12th Fret description is bang on , Marc is one of the most laid back and humble persons you could hope to meet . He deserves to have his guitars sold at prices other top luthiers are getting and it's good to see he is getting the recognition he deserves . 
I'll try to get some decent pics but I don't know how it will show . I've had several offers to sell but I won't , it's too special . Check out his web site http://www.beneteauguitars.com/

BTW , the fellow that gave me the wood was in awe at how the wood could have such a glass finish to it and how it looked so good :food-smiley-004:


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

Great story nitehawk!


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Great story indeed! 

One of the benefits of a custom build is sometimes you get to see the wood before it's cut. My flame maple Beneteau baritone was sitting on his shop floor as a split piece of log. The end result is fantastic.

Peace, Mooh.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

Mooh said:


> Great story indeed!
> 
> One of the benefits of a custom build is sometimes you get to see the wood before it's cut. My flame maple Beneteau baritone was sitting on his shop floor as a split piece of log. The end result is fantastic.
> 
> Peace, Mooh.


Marc has the uncanny ability to know what a great piece of wood is Mooh . On one of my visits he was showing me how by tapping a piece of wood he can hear if it's what he wants for a particular guitar and how it will sound . I also learned how all the bracing , wood types all come together to give each type of guitar a certain sound , it's really an interesting art and takes a lot of knowledge that I'm sure is developed out of years of building guitars . I find looking at the fine work inside my guitar just as interesting . All the bracing is sanded clean with no barbs , no gobs of glue . It's easy to see how a true craftsman like Marc takes pride in his guitars . I feel somewhat honored that my guitar was Marc's first creation using birdseye maple and how pleased he was with the finished product , Marc was as excited about it as I was :smile:


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

Here are a few pics of mine I just took . I'ts not a sunny day and these don't really capture the wood but it gives you an idea . The black binding is not plastic BTW , it is ebony wood strips .


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Thanks for the pictures, very nice! (My baritone is bound in ebony too, the others in maple and rosewood.) The birdseye looks surreal!

Peace, Mooh.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

Post a couple of yours Mooh , like to see them . 

It's hard to get the 3-D effect of that birdseye to show but the light and dark areas move as you change the angle of the guitar . It's almost hypnotic lofu


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Sure, as soon as I figure it out. 

Peace, Mooh.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I noticed that Marc's site has been recently updated (it always was pretty good) with details of his new dread' and other stuff. Tony McManus has been playing one too and is pictured there. 

Peace, Mooh.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

Mooh said:


> I noticed that Marc's site has been recently updated (it always was pretty good) with details of his new dread' and other stuff. Tony McManus has been playing one too and is pictured there.
> 
> Peace, Mooh.


Yes he keeps it updated and has a few new models available , a dreadnaught for one . 
I talked with Marc a while back on building me another . Maybe I should stop by and see him :smilie_flagge17:


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Wow, Nighthawk, what a gorgeous guitar! Mine was bought used and well worn, but I love it anyway. There is something that is just fundamentally "right" about the combination of mahogany, spruce and rosewood. I'll try to post a pic this weekend if I can. BTW, I figured out how to post a url link, how do you post so a picture shows up on the forum?

Matt


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## rwe333 (Feb 18, 2006)

Marc's incredible.
Props to the 12th Fret as well...


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## Grenvilleter (Dec 22, 2007)

Marc built me a guitar in 1985. A spruce over IRW dread. Last one he made before moving to SW Ontario.
I still have it and play it on occasion. The bottom end in that guitar is certainly worth honorable mention and his inlay work was 2nd to none as well.
"Rosy" has been good to me and after 20 yrs of pounding her with medium gauge strings, she now sits in semi-retirement with a set of extra-light coated strings.
I exercise her every month or two. I made the decision for a number of reasons but mainly decided there were cheaper guitars that I could pound on a daily basis and risk damage or theft to at gigs or festivals.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

Grenvilleter said:


> Marc built me a guitar in 1985. A spruce over IRW dread. Last one he made before moving to SW Ontario.
> I still have it and play it on occasion. The bottom end in that guitar is certainly worth honorable mention and his inlay work was 2nd to none as well.
> "Rosy" has been good to me and after 20 yrs of pounding her with medium gauge strings, she now sits in semi-retirement with a set of extra-light coated strings.
> I exercise her every month or two. I made the decision for a number of reasons but mainly decided there were cheaper guitars that I could pound on a daily basis and risk damage or theft to at gigs or festivals.


I'll bet Marc wouldn't mind you sending that guitar back to him for a set up and going over . I think he likes to see guitars he built several years ago to study how they have stood up over time . Shoot him an email , I'm sure he'll be glad to hear from you .


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Can't see myself retiring mine. When I got the first one I thought I'd keep gigging with my other guitars but I eventually sold them and only (acoustic) gig with the Beneteaus and sometimes the Houses. 

Get that guitar tweaked by Marc, there won't anything wrong with it that he can't fix. His repairs and set-ups are sublime.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Mike MacLeod (Nov 27, 2006)

*Beneteau guitars*

A client of mine is just having his undergo a re-fret and some adjustment and set-up after about 25 years. It's just finishing up now and I played it yesterday. Another Beneteau I played belongs to my singing coach, Cathy Miller. Both guitars were amazingly full sounding guitars with overtones everywhere. Even up, down and across the fingerboard. 

A few years ago I convinced Marc to send me a guitar for my store. It sold within 24 hours of it's arrival.

Marc is one of the 25 top builders in the country. 

An interesting thread might be to try to find the "top 25" builders in Canada. (it might also by extension be a list of the top 25 in the world.)


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## Grenvilleter (Dec 22, 2007)

As I mentioned, there were various reasons "Rosy" was getting a rest. When I bought her, there were many things I didn't know about myself when playing.
For instance, I sometimes "hook" my little finger on my right hand on the 1st E string if I'm flatpicking a complex piece or passage for stability. Subsequently, over the years, I found the pickguard does not extend the additional 1/4 inch up under the 1st E string and result is I was wearing a grove in the soundboard from my finger rubbing there.

I could replace the pickguard but, the top has aged to a nice patina everywhere except under the pickguard. Another larger clear pickguard may look "odd" ? ?
There also was some excessive ( in my current opinion) fret leveling done to it and I've never liked the "feel" since.
The beautifully inlaid fingerboard is getting divots from the years of playing.
I now (again, knowing myself better) find string spacing a touch narrow at the nut.

Yes, I could refret, replace the pickguard, ignore the divots, or,build them up or, replace the inlay into a new fingerboard. Not too much I can do about the string spacing as I don't think there is room to widen out the trouble strings but I would have to look /measure carefully to go for additional 1-2/64" space somewhere.

ATM, I just like to take her out on occasion to remind me what a real guitar is suppose to sound like. :smilie_flagge17::smilie_flagge17::smilie_flagge17:

Perhaps I'll try to figure out how to post a photo if anyone is interested ?


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

I would contact Marc and discuss the issues you have with "Rosy" . You might be surprised what he can do for you and I'll bet it won't be to expensive . Why not put her back into usable condition . :banana:


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## Grenvilleter (Dec 22, 2007)

I may do that sometime. "Rosy" will probably become a family heirloom bequeathed on to a family member when i'm done with her. 
Right now, all my spare cash is spent in a fledgling business venture in the form of a music store. 
The bad fret job I paid for on "rosy" enticed me to learn many things about guitar repair and set-up.
Yea...Rosy taught me many things about me. She really deserves to get the royal treatment.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

Grenvilleter said:


> I may do that sometime. "Rosy" will probably become a family heirloom bequeathed on to a family member when i'm done with her.
> Right now, all my spare cash is spent in a fledgling business venture in the form of a music store.
> The bad fret job I paid for on "rosy" enticed me to learn many things about guitar repair and set-up.
> Yea...Rosy taught me many things about me. She really deserves to get the royal treatment.


Just for the sake of it get in touch with Marc and tell him what you need done as i'm sure he'll be interested and give you an idea of cost . 
http://www.beneteauguitars.com/

Let us know when you do get a chance to get Rosy a refurb job . :banana:


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