Click here to see the full issue of Orfeo.There are few things more potentially derailing to a rising artist’s career than imposter syndrome, that nagging sense that you’re just not good enough to warrant a seat at the table. In addition to some beautiful photos the issue includes a copy of Friederich’s early catalog, a discussion of his many experiments and the detailed logs he has kept of each guitar he has built, as well as an article on the cabinetmakers of Faubourg Saint-Antoine (where Friederich got his start as a woodworker) and much more. Above all, one must educate the inner ear and develop an acute ability to listen, as each note of the guitar is a great chord with the superimposed harmonics forming each sound.”ĭaniel Friederich has just been featured in the latest issue of the French classical guitar magazine Orfeo, and it is truly a beautiful homage to this great luthier. One needs to study the various aspects of acoustics and musical theory. To make a career as a luthier, one must be fired by a total and enduring passion for it.

It takes me more than two hundred hours to build one guitar. It will still be art for a long time, in spite of laboratory experiments. There are no great secrets, but there are a hundred components and a hundred parameters to master, to respect and to control. The guitar works as a complete harmonic unit and all its elements must be combined, like in a painting. When a guitar is finished, my ear quickly tells me if the result is successful. Since 1970, I have been making only ‘Concert’ guitars with a serial number and year of making on the label. The ‘Arpege’ model has no inlay work on the bridge, the purfling are less elaborate but the general design of these models is the same. This was the most expensive and advanced, with carved head, specially designed machine-head, high quality wood, and purfling.Ģ) The ‘Recital’ and ‘Arpege’ models, less expensive with no serial number on the label, with more standard (or experimental) fan strutting and machine head, good quality wood. (On the whole, modern guitars seem more difficult to play than those made thirty to fifty years ago, although they do give more vigor, contrast, color, sustain, and have more timbral and dynamic possibilities).ġ) The ‘Concert’ model, with a serial number on the label. Since about 1973, I have increased the weight and the guitars have more sustain, and a richer, sweeter sound, but they are still easy to play. My earlier guitars were relatively simple, pleasant to play, and the sound was quite explosive. I was awarded a silver medal for the sound of my guitar and a gold one for the craftsmanship. In 1967, I anonymously entered a competition in which the jury included both Fleta and Bouchet.

I completed fifteen guitars before I showed one to Bouchet in 1960. It was a very simple copy of a guitar by Francisco Simplicio.Īubin helped me he had already made a copy of his own Torres, and had spoken to Robert Bouchet about the construction method. I realized that I could not possibly afford to buy a good guitar so I decided to make one for myself. I built my first classical guitar in 1955 because I was learning to play the guitar and my teacher, Cristian Aubin, said that I needed a better instrument.

The elegant and graceful body shape, allied with the distinctive headstock featuring a raised central design, make Friederich guitars easily recognizable. Over the years, his technical experiments, combined with his experience and acute construction methods, have led to a precise and well-balanced instrument, possessing great power and richness. In 1960, he became a full-time maker in his Paris workshop. Daniel Friederich was influenced by the legendary French luthier Robert Bouchet and has established himself as one of the most respected and influential luthiers in the world.

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