2023 Bertrand Ligier SP/AR

This 2023 Bertrand Ligier is a classical guitar with a spruce top and African rosewood back and sides, built in the Languedoc region of southern France, with a 30-year-aged Swiss spruce top and a chocolate-toned rosewood back.

A New Rosette and Striking Materials

As with each new guitar we receive from him, this instrument features his latest body design, based on the accumulation of many years of constant research. In the never-ending quest to improve his work, Bertrand has once again made slight modifications to give it more aesthetic balance, and the proportions of his headstock design and purflings have been adjusted accordingly. At the bridge, the tie block is a subtle homage to Francisco Simplicio, one of his influences - but done in Bertrand's own way, with the central part in relief, almost like a carved jewel. Although "new" in many ways, the guitar is still clearly in the style of the French school: austere and complex, yet understated.

How Bertrand Ligier Braces His Tops

Bertrand always seeks to increase the acoustic capabilities of his guitars while maintaining a beautiful quality of sound. In late 2019 he made the difficult technical decision to leave the French mounting technique for the Spanish method - changing several details of his building process, including making new moulds - to improve the relationship between the neck and body, particularly the soundboard. The result is a more balanced guitar, with strong and lyrical basses and an especially improved first string; the sound is as classy as ever, with perhaps a bit more old-world charm. The bracing of the top has six full-length bars, symmetrically placed with three on the treble side and three on the bass side. In place of a center brace there is a "half" bar from the bridge to the foot, and two shorter braces fan away from the soundhole, terminating at the bridge. Two Bouchet-style braces - one under the front edge of the bridge and one just behind it - give the bridge a very flexible area to move efficiently while remaining structurally stable. Like all his guitars, it has double sides, here with an inner layer of spruce, which Bertrand chose for its lightweight quality and because it was often used for back and sides during the Romantic period (for example in the instruments of René Lacote). 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.

Swiss Spruce and Chocolate-Toned Rosewood

Beyond the sound, Ligier has become recognized for his remarkable woodworking skills - the detail in his inlay work rivals the most skilled woodworkers in the trade, and his perfectly executed rosettes are a hallmark of his work. This guitar bears his newest design, with a mosaic in the "bean" pattern inspired by Daniel Friederich's famous rosette. His French polish has a mirror-like, perfectly even sheen over the entire instrument. Great style, delivered with virtuosity. Materials are also first-rate: a beautiful Swiss spruce top aged 30 years and an exquisite set of chocolatey African rosewood for the back and sides. Tuners are Alessi H1 with ebony buttons. 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.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

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.