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A self-proclaimed troublemaker in his youth, Chris Benavente considers himself extremely lucky to be his own boss and to have the opportunity to utilize his talent for making high quality, hand-crafted musical instruments. Born in Los Angeles, CA, the Benavente family moved to Oregon in 1984 "Just in time to keep me from doing something stupid that could land me in jail”. Currently residing in Grants Pass, OR, Chris now thanks his parents for the move to an environment with a slower pace and fewer distractions. “It's probably a good thing that nothing ever happens here due to how much time I have to devote to the business”. While initially attracted to building guitars care of a high school wood shop class, Chris made stops molding fiberglass, building custom entryways, and working as a CNC machinist before arriving at his true calling…building basses. While some of those jobs helped give Chris an understanding of the building process, his first real lesson in luithiering came in 1995 after reading the book “Build Your Own Electric Guitar” by Melvin Hiscock. That, combined with a little fret training from a local repair person, was the extent of Benavente's initial training. Later, while in college, Chris needed a project for a CAD/CAM class, and since he had always been fascinated with fretted instruments, decided to build a set of pickup rings. After realizing that he also needed a guitar to mount the rings on, he decided to build a guitar as well! The results were so good that he decided to pursue the craft, and Benavente Guitars was born.
