Belman was a company based in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

that made

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s. They have recently shut down, thus leaving only a few of their last guitars out there. Their bodies are made of exotic timbers which are often embellished with well-figured tops. It is possible that the recent closing of Belman guitars will cause an uprise in the cost of a well-maintained model.

History

Belman guitars were handmade in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia from 1994 to 2007. Tony first built a guitar as a school project with classmate Craig Manger in 1982. They subsequently collaborated in a guitar repair business and began also making custom instruments. They officially formed Belman Guitars in 1994. The name coming from combining their surnames; Bel(l)-Man(ger). Belman experimented with various exotic Australian timbers and colouring effects. They also hand-wound custom pickups. The company eventually relocated to their first full factory in

Thomastown Thomastown (), historically known as Grennan, is a town in County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is a market town along a stretch of the River Nore which is known for its salmon and trout, with a number of ...

, Victoria. They initially offered 4 models, three guitars in the Double Cutaway, Hornet and Albatross, and a bass model, and over 18 variations were available based on these. Belman stopped producing early in 2007.

History

See also

Further reading