2018 Bertrand Ligier SP/CSAR

This 2018 Bertrand Ligier is a classical guitar with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides, built in the Languedoc region of southern France, with aged CSA rosewood from Dominique Field's private stock.

A Plantilla Inspired by Fischer, Rubio and Simplicio

We're very pleased to be working with this fine maker, and this is an impressive concert-level guitar in every regard. This is Bertrand's newest body design, the fruit of many years of research. Having studied many master guitars, he focused on three makers he greatly admires - Paul Fischer, David Rubio and Francisco Simplicio - and while the plantilla may be suggestive of them, it is unique to Ligier. The bracing of the top is also new, with seven bars, and for this top in particular, to maximize flexibility, it is also fitted with a crossed bar under the bridge. Like all his guitars, it has double sides, here with an inner layer of mahogany (normally he uses cypress). The doubled sides make the body stiffer while keeping it light, directing more vibration to the soundboard - which improves projection (especially in the concert hall), deepens and strengthens the basses and gives rounder, more focused trebles. Body and neck are built separately and joined at the end of the process ("French mounting"), and the resulting sound is beautifully lyrical, loose and open - even for a new spruce guitar.

CSA Rosewood with a Dash of Sapwood

Bertrand is known not only for his quality of sound but also for his remarkable woodworking. His inlay work shows an attention to detail that is second-to-none, and his intricate, perfectly executed rosettes have become a hallmark. The pore-filling and French polish have a mirror-like sheen that is perfectly consistent over the whole guitar - a maker with a great sense of style and real virtuosity in the delivery. Materials are also first-rate, this one built with a stunning set of aged CSA rosewood for the back and sides that he obtained from Dominique Field's private stock. The back's multi-colored texture is highlighted by a central dash of lighter-colored sapwood for contrast. And it sounds as good as it looks - it has precise balance and supreme clarity between voices, with a sophisticated voice: a very pronounced fundamental and highly controlled overtones. Overall an incredibly satisfying instrument on all counts, and we recommend his guitars to players of any level, from the advanced student to accomplished professionals.

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.