Lutherie Letourneau Luthier Interview 1 Background

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https://luthiers.com/laurent-letourneau-luthier-interview-1-background/

Lutherie Letourneau Luthier – For those who don’t know you yet, can you tell us about your background? Did you go to a luthier school? Did you train with established luthiers? And, if it’s not indiscreet, what did you do before starting this adventure? Were you a musician before becoming a luthier ? Or were you doing something else ? And, by the way, do you still find time to play music with your work as a luthier?

My path is made of a self-taught apprenticeship, neither lutherie school, nor training with colleagues. I spent about twenty years adjusting, repairing and making instruments before starting my own business.

During this time I was working as a librarian.

I have always been interested in the guitar, perhaps more in the object than in the practice.

I am more of a bass player than a guitarist, even if I play less and less since I opened the workshop.

I continue to learn, especially by exchanging as much as possible with my colleagues.

Apart from creating custom instruments, we know that you do all kinds of repairs and maintenance of guitars and basses, can you also take care of other types of plucked and bowed instruments?

From time to time, I have ouds, banjos, resonator guitars, ukuleles in my workshop…

I don’t take care of the quartet, there is a luthier who does that very well not far from my place.

Lutherie Letourneau Luthier – Can you tell us about your current flagship models? Do you have a range that you do regularly ? Do you also make unique custom models ? How did you proceed to make them ? What were your choices and your creation process ? What kind of musicians are they for ?

I make a range of guitars and basses based on my own designs, but also completely custom models.

The guitar range is composed of the Venise, Orwell, Moebius and Volfoni models, and the bass range of the Malon, Maben and Montparnasse models.

These are instruments that I make to put in stores, to sell on websites such as luthiers.com, to exhibit at fairs or to sell directly at the workshop.

They are entirely customizable, wood, tuning fork, hardware, pickups…

They are reinterpretations of classic models or designs that have marked me.

But my tastes and my influences evolve, and I try to make my line evolve, to modernize it and to simplify it permanently.

I also try to accentuate the use of local woods, or at least species that are not endangered, in my fabrications.

I avoid buying tropical species in critical condition, trying to make do with the stocks I have built up, and to argue, to praise, to guitarists, the qualities of “other woods”. It’s quite a complicated job!

Besides that, I make custom guitars and basses.

It can start from a drawing, an idea, a simple discussion, it’s open.

Of course, it has to be technically possible and I have to be able to make it!

I am currently working on a new bass and an archtop is about to be released.

I collaborate in the same way with amateurs and professionals.

Each one has its expectations and its imperatives. I try to meet them as best as possible.

Lutherie Letourneau Luthier – Computers have become a part of everyone’s daily life, no matter what profession you practice. Do you use particular tools in the field of lutherie? Can you tell us about them ?

I work with pencil and eraser.

I would love to master vector drawing software, but I’m far from it!

Lutherie Letourneau Luthier – Those who know you know that you are a big fan of beautiful woods, how do you help your customers to choose the woods of their future guitar according to the sound they have in mind ? Are you able to find wood easily in your network ? If so, can you name some of your suppliers ?

I pay attention to the aesthetic and sound expectations of my clients, and then I propose solutions, trying to keep away from any dogmatic vision.

I am learning (and still learning) from new collaborations, from discussions with my peers…

My networks range from suppliers like Madinter, Espen, to some of my fellow workers, with whom we try to mutualize our purchases.

There is a huge choice of aftermarket parts. Do you work with regular suppliers or are you always on the lookout for new suppliers who can offer you something new? Do you have any examples to give us?

Most of the time, I work with well-known suppliers of hardware, such as Schaller or Gotoh.

But I try to keep a constant eye on new products.

Lutherie Letourneau Luthier – When you can’t find the parts you want from your aftermarket suppliers, do you sometimes create parts yourself or use specialized craftsmen? Can you give us some examples?

I have some of the parts I design made, like the tailpieces I install on my Venise and Orwell guitars.

I work as much as possible with local craftsmen, whom I can meet and with whom I can discuss my problems.

How do you choose the pickups for your electric instruments according to the requests of your customers? Do you have any secrets or habits in terms of wiring? Have you ever had very particular requests, or requests that seemed strange to you from certain clients who had particular needs?

Since this year, my instruments are equipped with Growl Pickup, made in France by Sébastien Gavet and Godefroy Maruejouls.

This also allows me to make specific pickups for certain orders, in terms of sound and design.

I also have a bass, for sale on this site, a Maben, built with Road Runners pickups.

I prefer local handcrafted products!

Lutherie Letourneau Luthier – Varnish… Nitrocellulo, P.U (polyurethane) or French polish? What are your choices and why?

Lots of oil!

I like the mat, satin side, the material touch.

But I also do nitro, especially when I make colors.

How do you help your customers to choose their electro-acoustic sensors?

I recommend the ones I have already experienced.

If they choose a system that I don’t know, it will be an opportunity to discover.

And I exchange with my fellows.

How do you help your customers to choose the fingerboard wood for their instrument in relation to the sound they want to obtain? Can you tell us about the impact of this choice in relation to the other woods used in the construction of an instrument?

We choose the fingerboard according to the sound but also to the visual aspect and the feeling.

Lutherie Letourneau Luthier – Are you also interested in building amps and effects? And, if not, are you going to go in this direction like many other luthiers? Or do you prefer to leave this part to others? (If you know names of friends who are in this field, can you name some? 😉 )

I am not interested in building amps or effects.

I don’t have the skills to do that.

I leave it to others, who do it very well, like Gilles Ferrand from IT-11 Audio.

Do you have any advice to give to future young luthiers? Can you give them advice on training? Do you know of any specialized schools?

The Itemm, in Le Mans, provides training in lutherie. There is a school in Canada, in London.

It seems to me that some luthiers provide training.

The profession of luthier is a profession that requires an important material investment to start its activity. What would you advise a young luthier to buy to start ? The minimum required ? And, the maximum to be in a comfort of work ?

Some machine tools, essential for woodworking, a jointer, a planer, a router, a grader.

Secondly, you can make a lot of tools yourself.

There are specialized suppliers, often very expensive.

A nice workshop, a varnish booth,… there is always a need for something extra!

You can contact Laurent from Lutherie Letourneau
using the contact form on his personal page on Luthiers.com here :

https://luthiers.com/listing/lutherie-letourneau/

We also invite you to follow him on his various social networks:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lutherieletourneau
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lutherie_letourneau/
Website: http://lutherie-letourneau.fr