Roger Benedict (co-founder of the Benedict Guitar Company) began making guitars in Elizabethtown, NY in 1974, before moving to Minneapolis in 1981 to build guitars for a local manufacturer and teach luthiery at a local Technical College. In early 1988, Roger designed and built an electric guitar that featured a semi-hollow spruce body and state-of-the-art electronics. Later that year, he built a version for Jackson Browne, who named the guitar "the Groove Master" in tribute to its unique sound and playability.

Roger and his wife Laurel formed the Benedict Guitar Company in 1988 and began marketing the Groove Master in limited custom editions, adding a semi-hollow bass and the solid-body electric Benelectro to the product line. Despite high demand Roger refused to mass-produce his instruments, making only a few each month. In 1990 Roger took on Bill Hager as an apprentice. The two luthiers continued to develop new designs and ideas.

Sadly, Roger died unexpectedly in 1994. Bill, his wife Nancy, and Laurel made the difficult decision to keep the company going as a tribute to Roger and his ideals. Today, Bill and Nancy own and operate the Benedict Guitar Company in Minneapolis.