1976 Daniel Friederich "Meantone" CD/PF

Daniel Friederich is known for his unsurpassed aesthetic as well as his beautiful and magisterial quality of tone. Many of the best players in the world play or have played Friederich, including the Romeros, Manuel Barrueco, Julian Bream, Scott Tennant, Roberto Aussel, Eduardo Fernandez, Alvaro Pierri, David Tanenbaum and many others.

This is a one-of-a-kind guitar by Daniel Friederich, made in 1976. Featured on pages 28-29 of the Orfeo magazine article on Daniel Friederich, this guitar was built to satisfy Friederich's curiosity about how an instrument could work with a meantone temperament (which was typically used in the sixteenth century and Baroque eras), which strongly favors the "pure third" interval, but limits the number of keys it can be played in (until the frets are moved to new positions). Friederich, ever the innovator, experimenter and curious builder, owned this guitar from the time it was built, until we recently acquired it in 2016. Temparaments aside, this is still a cedar Friederich from the mid-1970s, which means that its tone is like soft, fine silk, with controlled and balanced layers of overtones stacked on the crystal-clear fundamental. Friederich guitars in general have become among the most prized guitars with collectors as well as top concert artists worldwide. For both sound, and collectability, this is an extremely desirable and unique instrument by this legendary maker.

Interview: Daniel Friederich by Andrea Tacchi