2012 Bertrand Ligier SP/IN

This 2012 Bertrand Ligier is a classical guitar with a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, built in the Languedoc region of southern France, and the very first Ligier guitar GSI ever received.

Our First Guitar from Bertrand Ligier

This was our first guitar from the young and talented Bertrand Ligier. We recently re-acquired it, and it is a delight to see and play - it has been played in beautifully for half a decade and has developed remarkably in its beauty of tone.

By this point Bertrand had decided to focus his creative energies exclusively on European spruce soundboards (he had built with cedar in the past) - this guitar being made with a very fine top from the Swiss Alps, braced with an asymmetrical fan system. It has double sides (the interior layer being of cypress) with a combined thickness of 4.5 mm, and the back is designed with a structure composed of five crossed rods. Reinforcing the back and sides this way gives an optimal transfer of energy from the strings to the soundboard and the neck - and with it better projection, deep and sturdy basses, and rounded, focused trebles. And, most interestingly, the neck and body are made separately and joined at the very end of the process - so-called "French mounting". The resulting sound is beautifully lyrical, loose and open.

Appearance and Condition

Its look comes from Bertrand's studies of the great master guitars of past and present: one can see hints of Bouchet in the headstock, Friederich in the plantilla and Field in the rosette, yet the guitar as a whole is uniquely Ligier. Tuning machines are Alessi. Although a "used" guitar, it is in excellent condition with barely any signs of wear.

We're very pleased to be working with this fine young maker, and this is an impressive concert-level guitar in every regard. We recommend it to players of any level, from the advanced student to accomplished professional.

Orfeo Magazine article on Bertrand Ligier

Bertrand Ligier and the French School

Based in southern France, Bertrand Ligier is considered one of the best makers of the new French generation. Since we have been working with him, his work has constantly evolved with each guitar to reach higher levels of craftsmanship and musicality that are now internationally recognized. His attention to aesthetics and his keen sense of sound place him in the tradition of the French school that begins with Robert Bouchet, followed by Daniel Friederich, Dominique Field, Jean-Noël Rohé and now Bertrand Ligier. Indeed, both Dominique Field and Jean-Noël Rohé have played an important role for Bertrand through their helpful advice and continuous support of his work for many years.

A Workshop in Connaux, near Avignon

Before turning to the guitar, Bertrand studied art history and then trained as a cabinet-maker, with apprenticeships in the south of France and in Spain. He works in Connaux, a village between Avignon, Nîmes and Uzès, in a former silkworm house that he renovated himself into his workshop. With a growing wait-list and increasing international demand, we are pleased to have US exclusivity with this fine maker, who provides us one instrument per year.