Orfeo Magazine #18 - English Edition - Autumn 2021

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M A G A Z I N E The Classical Guitar in Quebec Joshia de Jonge René Wilhelmy Hugues Lefort Jean Rompré Laurent Saint-Jacques The schools of lutherie N° 18 - Autumn 2021 English edition

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Vicente Arias, The Forgotten Luthier

Vicente Arias is an exceptional 19th-century Spanish luthier known for the beauty of his rosettes, but his life is shrouded in mystery. How many instruments did he make?

What was his relationship with Francisco Tárrega?

We invite you to join us in our research to learn more about his life and work and to admire his achievements.

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o

orfeo From the Editor

18

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M A G A Z I N E I have always dreamed of seeing the forests of Quebec in autumn, when the maples are all dressed up in their multicoloured regalia.

I was lucky enough to take the trip this year and it was unforgettable!

And it would have been a pity, since I was passing through, not to have visited some luthiers while in “la belle province”…

Quebec has played a unique role in the rise of the classical guitar in Canada.

Through its history and its language, Quebec has unique ties with France and this connection was also reflected in the renewed interest in classical guitars in the 1950s and 1960s. At that time, the Ida Presti/Alexandre Lagoya duet had a decisive influence, which persisted thanks to Álvaro Pierri. This Uruguayan guitarist, who settled in Canada and taught at the Montreal conservatory, played on guitars crafted by Daniel Friederich and he trained a whole generation of guitarists.

Today there are two dedicated schools of lutherie in the province of Quebec alone, as well as a pantheon of quality luthiers who are distinguishing themselves internationally.

Enjoy.

Alberto Martinez

The Classical Guitar The guitar arrived in Canada in the mid-17th century and became a popular instrument over the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. From 1630 to 1850, guitars in Canada were influenced

by European guitars, but from the late 19th century, the influence was much more American. aeronautical engineer, began In the years between the two crafting guitars in Collingwood, world wars, the guitar’s repOntario. A self-taught luthier, he ertoire mostly constituted mubased his bracing patterns on sic imported from the United aeronautical principles so as to States, such as folk, jazz, blues optimise strength while using as and country. little mass as possible. He built The resurgence of the classical some thirty guitars, of which his guitar in Canada, as elsewhere last ones, with their lattice tops, in the world, was partly thanks were the most innovative. to Spanish guitarist Andrés SeThe real springboard moment, govia, whose first performance however, was the arrival of Gerin Canada was in 1937, in Monman luthier Edgar Mönch. treal.

Although there was a market in Edgar Mönch Canada in the 1950s for steelEdgar Mönch (Leipzig, 1907 stringed guitars crafted by luthEdgar Mönch at his Munich - Staufen, 1977) came from a iers, demand for good classical workshop in 1960. family of musicians. His mother, guitars did not really take off unwho was Russian, was a pianist til the following decade. and his father, German, a violinist. Having spent What triggered this change was undoubtedly Edhis childhood in Russia and Estonia, he went on gar Mönch’s decision to settle in Toronto in 1965, to study engineering at the University of Technoland his subsequent immense influence on Canaogy of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). Mönch built dian lutherie. his first guitar in an English prisoner of war camp The legacy of lutherie in Canada dates back to in 1945 as an assistant in the repair of bowed the sixties, when Patt Lister, a retired English

in Canada Julian Bream and John Williams, among others, played with his guitars.

Initially, Larrivée was known solely as a maker of classical guitars.

In the mid-1960s in Toronto, Mönch trained several renowned Canadian luthiers, including Quebecois Jean Larrivée. instruments to Mathias Mehni, a Polish luthier.

As of 1948, he lived and worked in Munich as a luthier himself. In the early 1950s, Mönch visited Marcelo Barbero in Madrid, who was to greatly influence Mönch’s work and who, in particular, taught him to make mosaic tiles for soundboard rosettes.

By the 1960s his reputation in Europe had been firmly established. Musicians of such renown as Julian Bream, John Williams and Andrés Segovia played on his instruments.

His first contact with Canada was at this time, when he shipped several guitars to his sister, Irene Panhuyzen, who lived in Toronto. The guitars easily found buyers among the members of the Toronto Guitar Society, and notably its founder, Eli Kassner.

The move to Toronto In 1964, while visiting family in Toronto, Mönch brought with him a guitar which, upon arrival, required a minor adjustment. He took it to Mundinger Music, an important musical instrument store, which had a small repair workshop. This is how he came to meet the owner, Eric Mundinger, who

immediately bought the guitar and offered Mönch a five-year contract to produce guitars exclusively for his business for that period. Mönch accepted and, one year later, settled in Scarborough, near Toronto, where he lived and worked until his return to Germany in 1971. As per the agreement, his entire Canadian production – around 85 guitars – was purchased by Mundinger. It was more practical to build them in Canada, thus avoiding the payment of duties, taxes and freight, than to remain in Germany. All of these guitars found customers in Canada and the USA. During his years in Toronto, Mönch trained several of Canada’s well-known luthiers, his nephew Kolya Panhuyzen (see boxed text) and Jean Larrivée, from Quebec. In 1971, he went back to Germany and settled near Freiburg, where he remained until his death in 1977.

Jean Larrivée Larrivée was a talented car mechanic and amateur guitarist. He and Mönch got along well together and, shortly after the latter’s arrival, Larrivée built his first ever guitar in Mönch’s workshop.

Mönch later went on to say that Jean, right from

A guitar by Mönch, made in Munich in 1954.

Linda Manzer crafted this guitar, named Pikasso, for Pat Metheny. © Brian Pickell.

the outset, worked swiftly and accurately, would always think his work through and, depending on the task at hand, would often suggest ways of mechanising the construction process with the aid of templates and tools.

In the seventies, Larrivée was known solely as a classical guitar builder, whereas throughout

those years he was also making his first forays into steel string models. His first acoustic guitars were based on the classical model, albeit with stronger bracing, but Larrivée would later shift toward X bracing and become increasingly focused on steel string guitars.

Larrivée’s training in classical lutherie is still

KOLYA PANHUYSEN – MY MEMORIES I was a school teacher when I met my uncle Edgar in 1964 during a family visit to Toronto.

What we had most in common initially was chess, even though I was already singing and playing along on the guitar.

Not long after that, however, inspired by Mönch’s passion for lutherie (he also made lutes, mandolins and balalaikas), I became an avid observer in his workshop; I made my first guitar in 1967 and two more the very next year. I remember thinking at the time that it was “a very agreeable hobby”.

I went back to teaching for a few years, until one morning while on a beach holiday in Mexico: I woke up that morning with the absolute certainty that building

clearly visible in his acoustic guitar models. He was not content to merely emulate Martin, which is what so many American luthiers were doing; his guitars had rounded shoulders, a narrow waist, a wide lower bout and a personal design.

Most Canadian acoustic guitars have retained these characteristics ever since.

guitars was my destiny. I then completed a two-year apprenticeship under Mönch. He was a perfectionist and taskmaster, and I wasn’t gifted with any natural talent at all.

I remember Jean Larrivée once shaking his head while watching me work on one of my early guitars, and saying “Kolya, if you had to build guitars for a living, you would starve to death.”

The prediction never came true: fifty years and some 450 guitars later, here I am, a few kilos heavier but still happily making guitars, near Stuttgart in Germany, and I have passed on the art of lutherie to Matthias Hennig and Stefanos Poligenis. The legacy continues.

Larrivée’s appetite for technological innovation, his open-mindedness, his willingness to share his secrets and his extremely talented acolytes, like William “Grit” Laskin, Linda Manzer, Sergei de Jonge, David Wren and Bruce West, to name but a few, made Canada a country where worldclass lutherie could thrive.

From mid-September to mid-October, the forests display their most breathtaking colours, chiefly in areas with an abundance of maple trees. © Nestor Martinez

Joshia de Jonge Her guitars are a fusion of traditional methods, contemporary design and modern techniques such as sandwiched tops, lattice bracing and neck twists.

Her highly personal lattice bracing is inspired by her father’s research.

Various moulds used for building her guitars.

You are the daughter of a noted luthier, Sergei de Jonge, but whereas he is known mainly for his steel string guitars, you are making exclusively classical guitars; why is that?

Joshia de Jonge – Yes, but I’m not making Spanish style guitars, because I don’t use soleras and so on: I build guitars the German way.

I started making guitars very young and I have always preferred the classical size, classical shape and the traditional mosaics. It was more me. I like the tradition of the classical guitar and I like French polish.

The Spanish way of construction is not for me at all. I much prefer to work with the neck and body separated. I would not want to carve the neck or do the French polishing with the guitar already assembled.

How were your first guitars?

J. de J. – I started building guitars when I was thirteen, following my father’s model.

But my father was always changing things a lot, exper-

imenting and trying new bracings. At that point, I was making a more traditional guitar, Ramírez style, with seven-strut bracing.

And now you prefer lattice bracing, don’t you?

J. de J. – Yes, but it’s not the typical lattice; it’s based on a pattern my father created, which I subsequently modified. This lattice bracing gives my instruments powerful projection and a fine balance between the strings.

I am also making double-tops, with Nomex sandwiched between the layers.

I use a really thin layer of spruce, a layer of Nomex, and a layer of cedar. You can also do cedar-Nomex-cedar, or any other combination.

I really like trying new things: different solutions, experimenting with them, and also finding my own way. Guitarists playing in big venues are

Double-top soundboard under construction with the Nomex layer already glued in place.

Attaching the fingerboard once the neck has been crafted.

Joshia uses modern equipment for certain tasks.

Her first anniversary model: maple for the body, top of laminated white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) and fretboard of ironwood (Ostrya virginiana). © David Irvine

looking for loud guitars: even though they are using microphones more often now, the traditional way is to play without amplification. The doubletop guitars are ideal for that; the player doesn’t need to work as hard to get the volume.

With my double-tops I’m aiming for something in-between, delivering a modern sound while still keeping the sweet kind of sound of the singletops.

I can offer my clients a single-top or a doubletop, but the lattice bracing remains the same.

We’ve seen in one of your guitars that you are using a tornavoz; why is that?

J. de J. – Yes, I’m just starting with that. The guitar you’ve seen is maybe my third one with a tornavoz. I’m still experimenting, but I really liked the sound of the first two.

What is your anniversary model?

J. de J. – It’s a double-top, with a tornavoz and an expressly designed rosette. The tuning machines are specially made by Rodgers with a design that matches the rosette.

The first anniversary model was made of European maple and a white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) laminated top. The fingerboard was made of ironwood (Ostrya virginiana), a local wood from my husband’s nearby farm. The guitar was all white!

The woods you prefer?

J. de J. – I am drawn to the darker woods for back and sides, so I generally use Indian rosewood, Brazilian rosewood, African blackwood or African ebony.

Depending on the woods, I laminate the back and sides to avoid cracks. I don’t need to laminate Indian rosewood, because it’s very stable. I like the results I get laminating the hard woods with Spanish cedar: it makes the back and sides lighter; it gives off a lovely smell; and I also like the sound better.

I place the grain of the two woods in the same

Another anniversary model with African blackwood body. © David Irvine

direction, so they move in the same way. I also love maple, but it’s less popular.

For the tops, in my case, demand is evenly split between spruce and cedar. I like western red cedar and Engelmann spruce, but my favourite is European spruce. The one I use comes from Switzerland.

The repeating pattern in her rosette’s mosaic is composed of 43x30 pieces; one of the most complex and difficult to execute.

Do you spray lacquer or prefer French polish?

J. de J. – Initially, since Larrivée was spraying lacquer, my father was also lacquering and so I did it, too. But once I started getting into classical guitars, I wanted to learn the traditional way of finishing them. I talked to Cyndy and Jeff Elliott first, and then I spent time with Geza Burghardt, who taught me French polishing. Now, I’m convinced that French polishing sounds better on classical guitars.

What about your twisted neck?

J. de J. – The idea comes from Eric Sahlin. It’s to do the twist on the neck and keeping the fingerboard at a uniform thickness throughout. As a consequence, the twist gives the saddle an even height.

Both details are very nice, aesthetically, and the players say that they feel better with the position of the hands and comfort in the arms.

I don’t give too much radius to the fingerboard; I prefer to keep my guitars as traditional as possible.

What other special features are there on your guitars?

J. de J. – My rosettes are quite unusual because the wood thickness used for the pattern is

0.3 mm. The head shape is my own design; the twisted neck is not my idea, but I do it in my own way. The general shape is more German than Spanish, I think. Edgar Mönch was German; my father is Dutch… I was born in Holland and we moved to Canada one year later but somehow, I feel a strong connection with Holland and with our family there. To make my mosaics, from start to finish, takes two months. I have to prepare the material, make the 43 sandwiches… it’s a long process but I really like to do it.

My guitars are a fusion of traditional methods, contemporary design and modern techniques such as sandwiched tops, lattice bracing and neck twists.

Are you running guitar-making courses now?

J. de J. – Yes, my husband Patrick Hodgins and I have just started organising courses. My father was teaching guitar-making for more than twenty years. I assisted him for many years and now that he is slowing down, it’s time to start offering courses here.

How many guitars per year?

J. de J. – I don’t build so many guitars per year; between four and seven. I do like to think that each guitar is special!

The completed rosette comprises nearly 30,000 minute pieces of wood! © David Irvine

The landscapes of Quebec change from day to day, with the yellows, reds and oranges taking over from the soft green.

René Wilhelmy With more than forty years’ experience, this self-taught luthier divides his time between guitar-making and teaching technical classes at the École de Lutherie-Guitare Bruand.

Morency model, 2018: cedar top, Honduras rosewood back and ribs.

“My first guitars were based on Ramírez guitars.”

Did Edgar Mönch’s influence stretch as far as Quebec?

René Wilhelmy – Here in Quebec, given the special relations that we have with France, it was the Presti and Lagoya duet, who came regularly, who had the greatest influence on the classical guitar scene in the 1960s-1970s. Since Ida Presti died in 1967, it was Alexandre Lagoya, above all, who trained a whole generation of Quebecker guitar-

A very well-equipped workshop.

ists. Naturally, Andrés Segovia and Julian Bream were very well-known, but Lagoya was teaching guitar in Montreal and he was a French speaker.

I was a teenager back then and I was learning to play the guitar but since I liked Renaissance music, and especially the Elizabethan repertoire, it was a lute that I first found myself wanting to build. I did make a lute, inspired by Bream’s one, adapted to guitar strings and able to withstand the tension.

My first guitars were based on Ramírez guitars because many teachers and guitarists were playing on them. That was when guitars had a scale length of 664 mm, but it was not long before I switched to 650 mm.

How did you start out as a professional?

R. W. – I was lucky because at the time there were fewer luthiers working and I could get in di-

“Since 1985, I have experimented a lot with the bracing, the profile of the braces, the soundboard behaviour and flexibility.”

rect contact with all the conservatory teachers.

Their advice stood me in very good stead, as did my examination of their instruments.

That was how I met Álvaro Pierri and saw the guitars of Daniel Friederich. From the 1980s onward, the greatest influence on my guitars was the French school of Bouchet and Friederich. That was when I started making my guitar heads with a stylised lance as a tribute to Friederich.

How have your guitars developed?

R. W. – As of 1985, I experimented a lot with the bracing, the profile of the struts, the soundboard behaviour, flexibility, etc.

Around the mid-1990s, I swept aside everything that I had learned and started my Morency model, using a little carbon fibre in some of the braces, reducing the fan, grouping its struts more in the centre, and I opted for a radial layout of braces on the sides.

I have found that the slender carbon fibre reinforcements offer greater stability, less warping in the top and improved sound. This allows for a fairly thin soundboard and I feel that these supports prevent the guitars from “growing old”; they age better. Moreover, carbon is incomparable; you can achieve lighter weights and faster sound transmission than with wood.

Highly original bracing: upper bracing in the X configuration and fan with parallel and radial struts reinforced with carbon graphite. © René Wilhelmy

A bridge that works like a suspension system.

Headstock with the stylised lance in homage to Friederich…

…and laminated at the back.

“I am convinced that choosing quality materials is of vital importance in guitar lutherie.”

He works using a mould, starting with the ribs and then adding the soundboard. © René Wilhelmy

“In the 1980s, I was influenced by the French school of Bouchet and Friederich.”

I have been gluing X bracing under the upper soundboard for the longest time now. I find that this X bracing better controls some areas under tension from the neck. And yet, since the X braces are left open, the soundboard retains full mobility. I prefer this configuration to the classical system of transverse bars.

Another feature on my guitars is the curved shape that I give the top’s lower bout, arched only laterally and only as far as the sound hole. Longitudinally, the top is left flat.

Do you use the Spanish construction method for your guitars?

R. W. – That’s somewhat trickier to explain… My method is a combination of North-American and Spanish techniques. I work inside a mould, starting by creating the perimeter of ribs and then I add the neck, top and back.

The ribs are lined. I have tried numerous different woods, but my preferred variety for the inner layer is mahogany.

I am convinced that laminating the sides increases the instrument’s power; it also offers more leeway for using different thicknesses, retaining richness of timbres.

The neck is also laminated and I attach it to the body with a Spanish heel. Then I glue in the linings for the top; they have grooves, a bit like Friederich’s ones, and I bond them with the grooved part facing inward.

Next, I glue the soundboard, from the top side,

Travel guitar of his own design.

“For the body, my preferred wood is Brazilian rosewood but Honduras rosewood is a good substitute.” before flipping the mould over and closing the guitar by adding the back.

And what can you tell us about your bridges?

R. W. – They vary depending on the wood used, but I try to stay at around 18 to 20 grams at the most. I view the bridge like a butterfly: there is the core and then there are the wings. I take particular care with the core-wing junction, to ensure that they work as a suspension system.

This is one of the areas that we can work on for any final soundboard tweaks. In my case, that final adjustment has always proved the best way to achieve balance between one guitar and the next. Furthermore, since I always work with carefully selected woods, sharing the same characteristics, the quality of my guitars is constant.

What are your preferred woods?

R. W. – Initially I worked mostly with red cedar for my tops, but for the last fifteen years or so I have also been using spruce. I have found a good supplier with a top-quality spruce from Germany and Austria, and I have bought a good stash of it.

For the body, my preferred wood is Brazilian rosewood. Honduras rosewood is a good substitute if necessary; offering less warmth, perhaps, but just as good for sound projection.

I don’t put a twist in my guitar necks, but I do like to make the fingerboard slightly radiused. It is subtle but more comfortable for the guitarist.

I am convinced that choosing quality materials is of vital importance in guitar lutherie. The better the cut, the wood quality and the seasoning, the greater the chance of success.

The rosettes on his guitars often feature “pistagne” marquetry. © René Wilhelmy

Segovia’s first concert in Canada was in Montreal in 1937. A view of the city today at nightfall.

Hugues Lefort He learned his craft in André Brunet’s lutherie classes in Montreal and, for the last few years, has been splitting his time between his work as a luthier and his job as a teacher at the École de Lutherie-Guitare Bruand.

A stunning mahogany veneer adorns this head.

“I build my guitars using the Spanish method, starting with the top and neck on a solera.”

When did everything start?

Hugues Lefort – When I was 18-19 years old, I learned to play the guitar and the lute and I was very interested in how they were made but never thought that I had the wherewithal, never thought that I could be capable of making an instrument. At that time, I met André Brunet, who suggested that I attend his lutherie course. In fact, I had a mandolin in poor repair and André recommended that I learn to restore it myself.

So I started taking lutherie classes alongside my music studies, but I quickly became very immersed in lutherie and I began to believe that I would actually be able to make myself a lute, although in the end I stayed on to make classical guitars.

How did you get started as a professional?

H. L. – That all happened gradually. First of all, I worked with an organ builder and I was more focused on the cabinetmaking aspects of the work. Later, André Brunet hired me at the school as a trainer and in parallel, I started doing a bit of this and that in a workshop that I had set up at home: mandolins, acoustic guitars and classical guitars.

Heel carved from a single piece of cedro.

What are your guitars like today?

H. L. – I build them using the Spanish method, starting with the top and neck on a solera, and that is what I teach at the school.

I have always been classical, very classical; my

Guitar made of cherry wood (Prunus serotina), a local wood from Eastern Canada.

At the behest of pianist-guitarist, he made a rosette inspired by the keys of a piano.

Guitar necks being prepared.

preferred instrument is a Torres with its fan bracing. Today I am still faithful to that same foundation, but I have had to adapt somewhat to demand; this is the ongoing dichotomy of our profession.

If I had my way, I would keep on making the same instrument, which I love, but the market is pushing me toward more powerful instruments.

I have lightened my fan bracing a little and added a couple of slim transverse struts; one strut in front of the bridge and one behind. This enabled me to further thin out the soundboard, but not as much as one could with lattice bracing. If my bracing were to be described through comparison, it could be likened to the bracing by Kohno or Sakurai.

I don’t use carbon either; I love the sound of wood. I am afraid of taking things too far and losing colour or timbre.

What other distinctive features are there on your guitars?

H. L. – I am aiming for unadorned beauty, refined lines. I want to avoid overloading my instruments.

I prefer to be guided by the woods that I am using and bring out the best sound that they can offer.

All of the luthier’s choices colour the end result, down to the tiniest detail, whether structural or aesthetic.

And your rosettes?

H. L. – I vary them a lot; I don’t have one particular signature rosette. That’s actually one aspect that I really enjoy. Sometimes I wonder whether I shouldn’t just settle on a single design. It is very time-consuming to change rosette each time, counter-productive even, but it’s so gratifying. No reason why work shouldn’t be enjoyable!

The same is true for bending the ribs by hand: it’s so pleasant to use heat, to smell the wood and give it shape. To my mind, this traditional way of working, doing things manually, adds something quite unique.

I made a rather exceptional rosette when I received an order from a pianist who also plays the guitar. I took inspiration from the keys of a piano, and yet I still wanted to use the same traditional mosaic construction method. I paired the keyboard pattern with curved lines reminiscent of the stave that we see on sheet music.

We notice that you have also made flamenco guitars…

H. L. – I love that music. We don’t really have a market here for flamenco guitars, but if I could, I would make them all the time! What makes the flamenco guitar so beautiful, for me, is that it has remained so simple, so understated. It’s incredible how dissimilar it is to a classical guitar. First

He converted his garage into a workshop.

of all, the sound is altogether different; and then how light it has to be, in direct contrast to the modern classical guitar which has grown much heavier in recent decades: the entire guitar has to vibrate! Bringing the strings closer to the soundboard, thinning out the top and the bracing, that changes the sound dramatically; there will be less tension exerted on the soundboard.

There is no need to aim for serious sustain; the sound needs to be percussive. Really, these factors change everything because it means approaching each piece in a different manner.

And do you work with cypress?

H. L. – No, I have never used cypress; I try to keep the flamenco model local. Recently I used some cherry and walnut. Maple makes me nervous… perhaps I simply haven’t tried it enough.

In Canada, our maple is a bit soft. There is one kind of maple from the west coast that is quite popular – the big leaf maple – but I think that it gives the bass a bit of a dry sound.

In Canada we do have yellow cypress (Cupressus nootkatensis or “Nootka cypress”), which resembles cypress so much that some luthiers actually use it for making flamenco guitars.

Personally, I find it too light. For the back and sides I work a lot with Indian rosewood, a wood that I find balanced, highly stable and very beautiful; there are no surprises. I am aware that we ought to shift to other woods – that we absolutely must – but musicians are a rather conservative bunch.

Any guitars that I ever made with other varieties of wood sat for quite some time in my workshop; it’s a problem.

The major manufacturers need to make a move in this direction, as Taylor is doing, and to raise awareness among buyers.

And what projects do you have, going forward?

H. L. – I think that I have been too conventional. My plan is to extend my range of models.

I would like to build hybrid guitars (crossovers), with narrower necks, so as to reach out to acoustic and electric guitar players, but with nylon strings. Smaller guitars, too, like the nineteenth-century Martin “Parlor” model, still with nylon strings. I would like to branch out from the rigid classical straitjacket and explore other avenues.

“I vary my rosettes a lot; I don’t have one particular signature.”

Unspoiled nature in Laurentides, in the Mont-Tremblant National Park.

Jean Rompré He is one of the rare classical guitar luthiers who, taking inspiration from violin lutherie, carves the back of his instruments, so as to achieve more power and to better control the frequencies.

An impeccably referenced inventory of wood.

What brought you to lutherie?

Jean Rompré – At the age of five, I heard the sound of a guitar for the first time and I began to smile, whereas I had never hitherto been a smiler! I later took classes with a mediocre guitar and at thirteen years of age I decided that I wanted to make one.

It was 1981 and at the time there were not many books available. I made a guitar using my father’s tools; it was not a very good one but I immediately realised what I wanted to do for a living!

From 1988, as there was no official lutherie school in our system at the time, I began preparing to study engineering, but I dropped these studies upon discovering the existence of small, still nascent, schools of lutherie. One of my most influential teachers was Neil Hebert, an engineer by training and an excel-

It takes three or four days of work to carve the back.

lent self-taught luthier. He was methodical and rigorous. His teaching centred on making guitars, acoustics and the use of computers in the manufacture of instruments.

When did you become a self-employed luthier?

J. R. – I started out making repairs and adjustments for guitar dealers. Later, in 1992, I opened a small studio for manufacture and repair work in Montreal. Through word-of-mouth my clientele grew in size and prestige, and guitarists entrusted me with the adjustments and repairs of their high-end instruments. Having such internationally-renowned instruments in my hands further honed my sensitivity to acoustic and aesthetic details.

Seeing all these guitars, which luthiers made the biggest impression on you?

J. R. – My first workshop was in downtown Montreal and I would often go and seek advice from teachers, including Álvaro Pierri (teacher in 1981 at the Université

On his workshop wall, we see various bracing experiments aimed at better apprehending the guitars’ acoustic behaviour.

du Québec à Montréal and later in 2002 at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna), who played on guitars by Daniel Friederich.

Thanks to Álvaro, several local guitarists had Friederich guitars. This meant that I was lucky enough to work on some of them. Studying his guitars and reading the 1977 GAM bulletin written by Daniel Friederich and Émile Leipp proved most inspiring for me when it came to setting new standards for my lutherie.

What are the characteristics of your guitars these days?

J. R. – My main model has three distinctive features: the arched, carved back; the raised fingerboard; and the sculpted head.

The idea behind the domed backs on my guitars comes from a Simon Marty that came to me for repairs. I was

impressed by its power. Since I have a penchant for a more Spanish sound, I thought that I would make a version with a hybrid bracing system, somewhere between a Marty and a Friederich.

Then I added a small carbon fibre bar in front of the bridge to prevent the top from warping.

Another difference: I decided from the outset to carve my backs from solid wood, as is the case for quartet instruments.

Guitarists like this model for its great dynamism, balance and light timbre.

The elevated fingerboard comes from Thomas Humphrey, but I like Greg Byers’ method better. In any case, I think that guitarists

One of Jean Rompré’s mostused bracing configurations.

The rosewoods used for the backs are much harder to sculpt than the maple typical of quartet lutherie. © Jean Rompré

These days his guitars have all-over French polishing.

The raised fretboard inspired by the work of Greg Byers. find it more comfortable to play on a raised fingerboard.

The headstock is also inspired by Friederich’s guitars, which I think are not only very beautiful but also easily recognisable. The veneer on the back of the head and the V joint come from an Austrian guitar that came through my workshop.

The fingerboard is slightly twisted – lower on the bass side – and subtly radiused.

I chose the fleur-de-lis pattern for the rosettes as well as for the tuners, which I designed and then had Rodgers produce exclusively for my guitars.

What are your preferred woods?

J. R. – For the soundboards, I have a sizeable stock of wood. When I buy it, I measure the density in particular, and then, back at the studio,

He takes his inspiration for the headstock from Daniel Friederich’s guitars...

I measure the flex in each piece… and everything is numbered and ordered in accordance with these characteristics, both physically on the shelves and on a spreadsheet.

Ever since my lessons with Neil Hebert, coupled with reading Daniel Friederich’s work, I have developed a passion for measurements. It enables me, for example, to reproduce a particularly distinguished guitar and avoid “using guesswork in lutherie”, to paraphrase Friederich.

Out of the American spruces, I opt for Engelmann spruce, which I consider quite similar to the ones from Switzerland.

Our summers are particularly humid in Quebec – up to 80-85% –, and our winters are cold and dry: indoor humidity can drop below 20%. In such conditions, it would be too risky to use an

...and from an Austrian guitar for the V-joint and veneer behind the head.

His fleur-de-lis tuners are made by Rodgers.

non-domed top as it could split. It is definitely preferable to make slightly arched tops, which afford the wood some freedom to expand and contract and can adapt to these changes.

For the back and sides, I am mainly using Indian rosewood these days, but I have also worked with rosewoods from Brazil and Madagascar, and with Macassar ebony.

How do you make your guitar backs?

J. R. – The back is carved out of a solid piece, about 20 mm thick. I use small power tools to help me sand it down, especially since the rosewood and ebony used for the backs are so much harder to carve then the maple used for quartet instrument lutherie. All in all, this initial process can take four to six hours depending on the hardness of the wood. For the finishing, I use the traditional hand tools, like finger planes and card scrapers, which might take three or four days. The time spent is an opportunity to feel, analyse and think about how to work each piece.

It allows me to keep ex-

perimenting with the dome shape’s influence on the vibratory modes. Numerous studies have been undertaken regarding the violin family and I build on that to finetune my backs. Luckily, there is greater freedom and room for innovation in the guitar world: sometimes my carved backs have one or two longitudinal bars, sometimes transverse bars and sometimes both. The idea is to successfully control their frequencies.

Once a guitar is finished, do you keep adjusting the frequency?

J. R. – Yes, I occasionally tweak the struts on the inside. It is best to try out the raw guitar, before varnishing, so as to more easily adjust the frequencies.

We see that you sometimes make a tornavoz…

J. R. – This stems mostly from my hobby building loudspeakers and bass reflex technology. I make

By crafting guitars, he has kept his childhood smile.

it out of the same wood as the soundboard and incorporate this ‘cylinder’ into the soundboard at the very outset of construction. I only choose its final length once the guitar is complete, in order to adjust the body’s resonance frequency.

My tornavoz is much shorter than those used by Torres and does not hinder access to the guitar’s interior, which facilitates any subsequent repair work.

Do you also modify the bridge?

J. R. – Yes, and I have even been known to change the bridge on a guitar two or three times in search of the optimal overall response; swapping one bridge for another made of wood that is harder or softer, lighter or denser, as needed.

I leave the finishing until last so that I can work on the wings if necessary, such as when greater suppleness is called for.

What varnish do you use?

J. R. – For health reasons, I now use only French polishing on my guitars. In the past, I only French polished the top, while the rest was protected with a thin coat of polyurethane. It is so hard-wearing that for guitarists who play and travel a lot it was a further barrier to perspiration and changes in temperature.

Any last thoughts to add?

J. R. – Among the more traditional guitars, I especially like the ones made by the Spanish luthiers between 1910 and 1960, from Manuel Ramírez to Arcángel Fernández, including Marcelo Barbero, even though the latter are better known for their flamenco guitars. For me, their guitars embody the ideal in terms of balance and beauty of timbre.

We may have strayed too far with our modern, extremely powerful guitars and I wonder if we oughtn’t return to the charm of these guitars of yesteryear.

“I chose the fleurde-lis pattern for the rosettes as well as for the tuners.”

The leaves of maples, like other trees with sweet sap, contain anthocyanins, pigments that produce the magical colouring in autumn.

Laurent Saint-Jacques When he started out, lutherie was just a hobby, but now he is an experienced luthier, with a very scientific approach to the art, and he teaches at the École Nationale de Lutherie in Quebec City.

Necks are prepared for Spanish-style assembly.

How did you launch your career?

Laurent Saint-Jacques – When I started out, in the seventies, there were no courses for studying lutherie in Quebec. There were people like me who had started building guitars but without any particular training. Since I had started learning to play the guitar, the desire to turn to guitarmaking came to me via the music.

I had a very low-quality instrument. It started out as a hobby and I was not serious about becoming a luthier. When I completed my studies in mechanics, I dabbled in lutherie somewhat naively, without any knowledge; I knew nothing about woodwork.

My first guitar was poorly-made: I understood how to put it together but hadn’t

grasped how the instrument actually worked.

The only thing I had to guide me were Irving Sloane’s three books.

What really made the difference was my subsequent meeting with Neil Hebert at the Quebec school of lutherie. He was one of the judges in a lutherie competition that I had entered and he found the quality of my work quite good. Hebert was an engineer by training. He showed us the working methods, how to use the various power tools, explained acoustics and how to calibrate the soundboards. It was thanks to him that I came to understand the science of lutherie.

A «home-grown” device for gauging flexibility.

The neck reaches across the top to end at the rosette.

The first orders came via the conservatory of music; there weren’t many quality guitars to be found and my prices were very low.

Which other luthiers have inspired you?

L. S.-J. – Many luthiers have inspired me in my work. These days it is more the contemporary luthiers because the approach to making the instruments has changed. From the 1980s onward, I was aiming for more power, as were all guitar-makers, while retaining the traditional timbre, or at least the timbre that I liked. I was observing everything that was being done and trying to work out the physics of the guitar.

I have even made Smallman-like guitars, with extremely thin tops and carbon-reinforced bracing, but I have never sold any such instrument.

I always have guitars in the workshop that I use for modifications, experimentation.

Today, my construction is very close to that of Daniel Friederich: a sturdy ring of lined ribs and

a bracing pattern featuring transverse struts; but the back is still quite traditional.

I still have a recording of Leo Brouwer playing a guitar by Daniel Friederich; for me, it epitomises the perfect sound. Later I met Álvaro Pierri, who also plays with Friederich guitars and who very kindly let me study and handle his guitar. For me, it was as if he had offered me a precious jewel; I was stressed out! The sound of these guitars has stayed in my mind, as a goal toward which I need to strive.

My linings are also laminated; I don’t like to see saw-marked linings. It offers more rigidity and it is easier to slot the bracings inside.

Luthiers tend not to have a scientific enough approach: they explain the reasoning behind their construction but do not actually prove it. Personally, I wanted to prove that laminating the ribs or adjusting the structural components gave the desired results. So I came up with a device where I could secure the guitar but leave the neck and

Magnificent wood awaiting transformation into guitars.

A guitar with ornamental inlays.

Two bracing plans used

by Laurent Saint-Jacques.

body free to move, so as to be able to measure and understand the deformations taking place.

By tensing the strings and placing an indicator on the end block, I observed that it’s the perimeter of ribs that lifts and not the soundboard changing shape. The bridge rises because the ribs rise. It’s as if there were a pivot point where the neck and body meet; the part that doesn’t move is that very junction. The guitar works like a bow; what does move are the two extremities.

What are the characteristics of your guitars?

L. S.-J. – I have remained quite traditional: I use the Spanish method, although I think that both assembly styles yield good results.

I have nothing against the use of carbon fibre; it depends on the quantity and how it is used.

I use it to stiffen the neck but not the bracing.

I always aim to keep that classical guitar timbre.

And which woods?

L. S.-J. – I have rosewood, be it from Brazil, Madagascar or the Indies…

Currently I am starting to use other woods.

I teach at the École Nationale de Lutherie in Quebec City, and we do not allow our students to use rosewood for a first-ever guitar. Youngsters are very aware of environmental issues. Local woods work just fine; the outcome is not exactly the same but we adapt them using our impact tests and we try to approximate the result that could be expected from using rosewood. We do get some very worthwhile results.

For the tops, I like light spruce and Engelmann is my go-to variety. For the body, my preference is Indian rosewood. I have also used maple, cherry, mahogany and, once or twice, cypress.

We have yellow cedar here, which is very similar to European cypress but which does not share exactly the same properties.

My penchant for Indian rosewood stems quite simply from the fact that it has the right density and is very stable.

I am constantly reassessing what I do. I am always on the lookout for the latest publications.

Early on, my bracing system was almost exactly to Daniel Friederich’s, but it has evolved over time, gradually, in order to avoid mistakes.

Sometimes I make guitars, in parallel, that deviate from my system’s beaten track.

“I aim to build a collection of vintage instruments: Panormo, Baroque…”

His references: Leo Brouwer and the guitar by Daniel Friederich.

We see that you veneer both faces of your guitar heads…

L. S.-J. – Some luthiers, those who carve the neck from a single block, do it to add strength, while for others it is merely ornamental. It is difficult to gauge whether or not it changes anything; I have never done experiments on that.

What is important to understand is that the energy comes from the string and that if we lose that energy in places that play no essential role in producing the sound, then we risk a less powerful output, and the length of sound will be affected by it, as will the timbre. That is where things get complex! It is hard to know whether it is a good thing to have a very rigid neck, which will conserve all of the energy for the soundboard.

Like the Australian guitars with their incredibly strong construction designed to focus the energy solely on a gossamer-thin soundboard.

Every component is important in the construction of a guitar. I hesitate before altering anything because I tell myself that I might regret the result, and so I always keep two or three guitars in the workshop with which to tinker when I want to experiment.

Have you ever added a tornavoz?

L. S.-J. – Yes, occasionally. According to Helmholtz’s formula, the diameter and length of the resonator play a role in determining the air’s frequency. It is used to lower the frequency in the air inside the guitar body, but the problem is that

we can never get down to the Low E, which has a frequency of about 82 Hz. In fact, when we analyse the sound of the sixth string, we realise that the fundamental frequency is actually absent; the body’s cavity cannot reproduce it. The body’s lowest frequency must be somewhere around an F or F#, but never down as low as E. The purpose of the tornavoz is to lower this frequency so as to produce better basses and to ensure that the sixth string has its fundamental.

I used one on a Panormo replica that I had in the workshop. Since the body was very small, I sought to lower its frequency. It worked, but I would have to experiment further to find the optimal length for it.

Do you ever make changes to the guitars after completion?

L. S.-J. – Once in a while. For the longest time, I would work on all different parts, but there are just too many parameters to oversee. Now I have made a conscious decision to only adjust the soundboard, the most important component. I leave the rest unchanged so that I have stable points of reference and then I can see how I am progressing with the soundboard. I always keep an eager eye out for new solutions. It’s one of the most gratifying things about lutherie: constantly developing and not seeking to keep churning out the same thing time and again. Luthiers are always working to improve, to master absolutely every aspect and achieve their own sound.

To refine his finished guitars, he sometimes amends the soundboard, and nothing but the soundboard.

Schools of lutherie in Quebecers are lucky: they have two schools of lutherie: the École Nationale de Lutherie in Quebec City and the École de Lutherie-Guitare Bruand in Montreal.

Quebec Open-Day poster for the Bruand school.

The people of Quebec are lucky in that they have two schools of lutherie in their province: the École Nationale de Lutherie in Quebec City and the École de Lutherie-Guitare Bruand in Montreal.

In the 1970s there was such a high demand for training in instrument-making that courses on the design and manufacture of classical and acoustic guitars for the general public came to be planned and implemented. Their beginnings were humble: André Brunet ran an initial workshop on lutherie in Montreal, in parallel to the creation of the Noroît school, forerunner of the École Nationale, in Quebec City.

Later the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, with the aim of “relaying and disseminating the cultural heritage of instrument-making and supporting artisans in their search for excellence”, launched a nationwide fine crafts training plan and established a syllabus which was to be followed by both schools.

The curriculum The Guitar Lutherie option of the Fine Crafts technical courses is a three-year programme, with two four-month modules per year. During the training course, budding artisans acquire all of the skills, theory and manual dexterity required to work as a luthier from teachers who are, themselves, professionals in the trade. Both schools, the École Nationale de Lutherie in Quebec City and the École de Lutherie-Guitare Bruand in Montreal, follow

similar programmes. Unlike schools in the USA, tuition fees are modest.

There are alternating theory and practical classes.

1st year 1st module – Given that there are no selection criteria other than the applicant’s academic records, the school assumes that students have not previously worked with hand tools or machines and that they will require a thorough initiation. Courses start will wood selection, preparation of the materials and workshop visits to luthiers so as to provide an understanding of the realities of the profession.

In the first year the students each receive an onloan tool kit containing all of the tools needed, but they are to buy the materials that they will use themselves. Students each need to cut the wood that they will use in the following modules.

1st year, 2nd module – Specialisation commences. Students move from the drawing board to design software (Autocad). The students prepare the components needed to build a guitar. Initiation to guitar construction and introduction to the acoustics of the instrument.

Note: At the Bruand school it is a ukulele that firstyear students build.

In their second year, students build their first guitar.

In Quebec City, students in their third year can make a classical or an acoustic guitar.

2nd year, 1st module – Assembly of a classical guitar. All aspects of lutherie are covered: the history of the guitar, its conceptualisation, acoustics, mathematics, design, preparing the wood, varnishing, marketing and accountability… and even the toxicity of the materials used and safety requirements!

Note: At the Bruand school in Montreal, students are given four guitar plans from well-known luthiers and may choose which to use. This year, the mostused plan was the one from Segovia’s Hauser, the guitar on display in the museum in New York. But the aim is not to reproduce exact copies; for example, the head-neck joint is not a V-joint and the shape of the body is constant across all models.

The system of the soundboard, back and body depth are adapted, however, depending on the model. The other plans are: Miguel Rodríguez with a cedar top, Fleta and Reyes for flamenco.

A student at work (Théo Blomme) in the machine room of the École Nationale de Lutherie.

2nd year, 2nd module – Manufacture of an acoustic guitar. Classes on finishing and experimentation. Guitar design and technical drawing for the instrument to be produced in the third year. Basics of maintenance and adjustments, providing the fundamentals of customer service.

3rd year, 1st module – Students use their accumulated knowledge from the previous two years to build a guitar of their own personal creation. They may choose between a classical or acoustic guitar.

Note: At the Bruand school they make a classical concert guitar.

3 year, 2 module – Students complete the end-of-course guitar and receive the last elements of instruction: starting a portfolio and rd

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practical advice for life as a luthier. Each year the schools organise an exhibition as well as a concert for the graduates, which serves to introduce their work to the wider public and to professional musicians.

The schools aim to ensure that the students acquire transferable skills. Should they subsequently decide not to pursue instrument-making, they will at least have a foundation from which to branch out into other professions. There have been students who dropped lutherie to become chefs and they are excellent!

Ed.: Our special thanks go to André Brunet from the École de Lutherie-Guitare Bruand (Montreal) and to Rémy Rouleau and Elodie Cuenot from the École Nationale de Lutherie (Quebec City).

Paris, December 2021 Website: www.orfeomagazine.fr Contact: orfeo@orfeomagazine.fr