2024 Michel Bélair "Hommage à Daniel Friederich" CD/IN

This 2024 Michel Bélair "Hommage à Daniel Friederich" is a classical guitar with a cedar top and Indian rosewood back and sides, made in Montreal, Canada, after Daniel Friederich's 1999 guitar No. 763.

An Homage to Daniel Friederich

This special model is an homage to the work and art of Daniel Friederich, a true master who forever transformed the modern classical guitar. Over the course of six decades, the development of his craft set new standards for the traditional concert guitar, and his status as a guitar builder has reached legendary proportions.

Built After Friederich No. 763

This guitar is based on a 1999 Daniel Friederich (No. 763), representative of Friederich's late style. Not only does Michel own the original guitar, he also has a copy of Friederich's personal notes for it, written during the building of the original in 1999 – precious, detailed information about matters such as wood density that would otherwise have been impossible to know precisely.

The soundboard is a piece of 15-year-old master-grade Western red cedar with exactly the same density and grain spacing (and, by luck, the same color!) as the original, which helped achieve as nearly as possible the same deflection, stiffness and frequency as the original top. As on the original, the Indian rosewood sides are laminated internally with mahogany, and the neck is Honduran mahogany. All the detailing is true to the original, including the carved headstock and all the inlays, purflings and rosette, faithfully reproducing the aesthetics of Friederich's unique and classic style. It is also fitted with the same Rodgers tuning machines as used by Friederich.

Sound

The sound is powerful and responsive, with rich basses and thick trebles and a distinctive velvety, silky tone. Michel pays particular attention to the decay and overall sustain of the sound: the sustain on this guitar is quite impressive, and the decay is very linear and predictable, making the instrument very consistent and balanced at either end of the dynamic range.

Players and Friederich Fans

Fans of Friederich will love this instrument. In fact, one of Friederich's great champions – Scott Tennant – has been playing a Bélair guitar, and several other top players have been awaiting Bélair guitars, including Thomas Kirchhoff, Dale Kavanaugh and Aniello Desiderio.

Michel Bélair: A Concert Guitarist Turned Luthier

Michel Bélair is a Canadian luthier based in Montreal. He developed his passion for the guitar in his early teens, which eventually led him to study guitar at McGill University, where he earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in guitar performance under the tutelage of Alvaro Pierri. He then studied with Roberto Aussel in Paris. Michel has excellent skills as a player – his playing has been recognized with prizes and awards at various international classical guitar competitions – and he fully understands the perspective of the instrumentalist, which has had a big influence on his work as a guitar maker.

Two Original Friederich Guitars

As a performer, Michel played two original guitars by Daniel Friederich (no. 557 and no. 763), and both of his teachers, Alvaro Pierri and Roberto Aussel, also played Friederich guitars for most of their careers. This long-term exposure to – and appreciation of – Friederich's instruments inspired Michel to develop his "Hommage à Daniel Friederich" model. He also builds his own traditional and double-top models.

GSI and the "Hommage" Model

Michel pays particular attention to the decay and overall sustain of the sound. GSI is proud to be the exclusive dealer in the USA for Michel's "Hommage à Daniel Friederich" model.