2026 Thomas Dauge SP/AR

This 2026 Thomas Dauge is a classical guitar with a spruce top and African rosewood back and sides, built near Bordeaux by one of the new generation of French makers - GSI is his exclusive dealer in the USA.

Spanish Masters Meet the French School

This guitar combines aspects of the old Spanish masters (who inspired the beginning of Thomas' guitar-making journey) with several elements that have now come to define the French school, especially its younger generation. In particular, it has a sturdier, stiffer (and slightly heavier) box, achieved by adding a series of mahogany strips along the interior of the sides (similar to Dominique Field's approach) and by using 3 tall horizontal back braces and two longitudinal braces in addition to a wide and thick center brace. One immediate effect of this design is to direct more of the guitar's vibration to the soundboard, which both improves volume and influences the character of the sound.

Bridge Placement and Bracing

Another interesting detail is that Thomas (like Daniel Friederich) has moved the bridge proportionally closer to the soundhole. This allows him to place the 12th fret a few millimeters above the neck-to-body joint, for noticeably improved playability in that part of the neck, as well as making enough space on the fingerboard for a full 19th fret under all 6 strings. This bridge placement is supported by his bracing system - a modified 7-fan system with a long, thin bridge patch - and by his take on the Spanish-style "treble stiffener": instead of just one slanted brace below the lower harmonic bar, there is an additional brace below the 3 treble fans, shortening their lengths from both ends.

Sound: Husky, Overtone-Rich and Clear

The resulting sound quality is absolutely amazing - it has a big (almost "husky"), overtone-rich firmness in every note. Rather than producing partials that scatter uncontrollably and "blur out" the fundamental of each note, the overtone content is packed densely and evenly within every note across the register, retaining great clarity to each fundamental. This hearty and thick sound makes playing legato a breeze, thanks to the excellent sustain and clear separation. It also has great dynamic range and responds beautifully to the slightest adjustments in hand position and attack. Sound- and playability-wise, this is a strong concert guitar that could be played in any professional setting, solo or ensemble, in any venue regardless of size. On top of all this, it is meticulously built with great class and style from well-selected and well-cut materials - a guitar that combines great lyrical beauty with a big, robust sound to satisfy the needs of any modern concert and recording artist.

Photos of this guitar taken just after completion

Orfeo Magazine article on Thomas Dauge

Thomas Dauge: From Libourne to the French School

Thomas Dauge was born in 1979 in Libourne, a small town in the Bordeaux region of southwest France. As a teenager he became passionate about music and the guitar in particular, and in 1998 he began building his own instruments. His first attempts were folk and gypsy jazz guitars, but he very quickly moved towards classical and flamenco guitars, and eventually decided to specialize exclusively in classical guitars. He opened his workshop in 2006 after 8 years of self-taught guitar making - during these years he studied in depth the work of Daniel Friederich in the musical acoustics laboratory in Paris. Today he works in Lugon-et-l'Île-du-Carnay, near Libourne, and GSI is his exclusive dealer in the USA.

Spanish Roots, French Innovation

His first instruments were essentially Spanish-inspired (Torres, Santos Hernández, Miguel Rodríguez), but he gradually worked towards a more personal style influenced by developments pioneered by the French school. Although he is now undoubtedly part of the new generation of French makers, he continues to draw on his experience and knowledge of the old Spanish masters he admires so greatly, and the fusion of these two worlds gives his guitars a unique place in international guitar making today.

Thomas cites restoration work as a deep influence on his style. He has repaired guitars by many historically important luthiers (including Friederich, Ignacio Fleta, Manuel Ramírez and Miguel Rodríguez), making technical records of each for his own analysis - which has reinforced both his conviction about the universals of good guitar making and his understanding of how each maker's particulars shape a personal style.

Woods, Measurements and Musicians

Thomas chooses his woods with the greatest care, according to cut, density, flexibility and texture, and adapts the flexibility of the bracing to each soundboard. For him, one of the essential points is good management of the structural stresses on the soundboard, and the records he keeps of his measurements and their results have allowed him to develop, empirically, a very personal sound - his main goals being maximum musicality, balance, sustain and polyphonic separation. He values artistic exchanges with guitarists as an essential part of his development, and counts many professional players among his clients, including concert artists Fernando Millet and Aurélien Colas.