Inside the Wearside guitar factory making instruments for stars of Oasis, the Stone Roses and the Charlatans

A new Wearside guitar factory has welcomed a wave of orders, crafting instruments for the likes of Tim Burgess from The Charlatans, former Oasis guitarist Bonehead and Stone Roses bassist Mani.
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Business partners Keith Robson and Mark Lamaq only opened their Cloud 9 Guitars workshop earlier this year, but they have already racked up a number of orders for their hand-made guitars, as well as creating pieces for collaborations with some of the country’s most well-known indie musicians.

The pair have transformed an empty unit in Beatrice Terrace, Shiney Row, to create workshops where they build guitars completely from scratch, starting from £600 for their C9 range through to bespoke, high end classical guitars.

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Keith and Mark have worked in the music industry for decades, working for some of the biggest brands and factories in the world, but have combined their talents to create an independent business that only uses North East or British materials.

Cloud 9 Guitars factory has opened in Shiney RowCloud 9 Guitars factory has opened in Shiney Row
Cloud 9 Guitars factory has opened in Shiney Row
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Each piece, which is made from woods including mahogany, maple, rosewood and ebony, and all its components, down to the intricate metalwork, is made by the pair.

Over the years, they have already worked with some of the biggest in the business and their new venture has already attracted the attention of Tim Burgess from The Charlatans.

They have created a series of striking yellow and black guitars based on the distinctive jacket Tim wore in the band’s How High video in the late 90s, which will be auctioned off in aid of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, a cancer research centre based in Manchester.

Cloud 9 Guitars Ltd hand built British guitars in Shiney Row. Directors Mark Lamaq and Keith Robson.Cloud 9 Guitars Ltd hand built British guitars in Shiney Row. Directors Mark Lamaq and Keith Robson.
Cloud 9 Guitars Ltd hand built British guitars in Shiney Row. Directors Mark Lamaq and Keith Robson.
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The fundraising is inspired by former Oasis guitarist Bonehead who recently had cancer, with a bass version of the guitar also being made for Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Mani.

Keith, who specialises in hardware, said: “I’d put out a random tweet on a Saturday night that we were in the process of setting up, which got picked up by Tim. We’ve hit the ground running, but we have a really quality product, so we believed we would.”

Mark, who has 35 years’ experience as a production specialist, said: “We really saw a gap in the market for the regular guitar player who’s on to their second guitar but doesn’t have £3,000 to spend.

"A lot of guitars are made in places like Korea and China where they can produce around 100,000 low end guitars a month, but by the time that’s shipped and marked up, the customer ends up paying seven times the cost price.

Cloud 9 Guitars Ltd hand built British guitars in Shiney Row.Cloud 9 Guitars Ltd hand built British guitars in Shiney Row.
Cloud 9 Guitars Ltd hand built British guitars in Shiney Row.
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"We decided to go straight to the customer, to deliver a product at the same cost, but much better quality, with full traceability supporting UK business. We’re merging traditional craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technology.”

As much as possible, such as the paints, are sourced from the North East, or in the wider UK if it can’t be found locally.

The pair can produce around 30 guitars a month and have plans to open an on-site bar and retail space, where people can come along, listen to live music and get a feel for the guitars.

Cloud 9 is open for business and is appointment only for people interested in ordering a guitar.