RDG by Roger Daguet Interview
NAME: Daguet Roger
NICK NAME : Roger “the engineer”
LIVING IN : Moret sur Loing, France
TRAINING & BACKGROUND: none but BTS bureau d’étude + CNAM 5 years
PLAYING: I used to play guitar/bass/organ/loud noise.
NAME OF YOUR HIGH SCHOOL BAND : Guerilla theater / les enculés (… sorry for the name , we were young and kind of “punk”)
LUTHIER YOU ADMIRE THE MOST: Philippe Dubreuille / Frank Cheval
INSTRUMENT YOU DREAM TO HAVE ONE DAY: Jimi Hendrix, Donald Roeser and John Cipolina fingers.
LAST ALBUM YOU BOUGHT : Daliborovo Granje-Hainin
LAST MUSIC SONG YOU PUT IN YOUR CAR: “Walk don’t run” by the “Pink Fairies”
LAST SHOW YOU WENT TO : The Slift with Etienne Jaumet
MOST IMPRESSIVE INSTRUMENT YOU EVER HAD IN HAND: an OUD by Kervorkian (greek luthier)
MOST STRANGE RESTORATION OR REPAIR YOU HAD TO DO : Vincent HRD Comet 500cc
The purpose of the guitar… the kind of music his futur owner want to play.
Over the years, it happened that people asked me for a lot of replicas of rare vintage guitars and basses, such as “Epi crestwood deluxe” , “Mosrite 63” …
My company philosophy… good question… making the best vibrant and musical instrument I can, as long as I can…
That’s a subject for a book…
I would say that wood and building design are equally important, since 10 years I started making my pickups, I know now that a sensitive pickup can make a huge difference.
When someone asks for an instrument, we first discuss the kind of music he likes and wants to play, then we prepare an agreement form.
This is a kind of document where every detail of the instrument will be detailed, shapes and sizes of the neck, selection of woods and pickups according to the purposes of the instrument, finishing… everything…
As I said a bit previously, I like to discuss with the customer in order to get a quite precise idea of him and what he wants, we talk about music, personal history of the customer, his likes and dislikes on instruments, the way he plays… things like that…
It generally leads to several propositions, general shapes, wood species and pickup types, I always do my best to help the customer to choose the most effective choice to fulfill his goals.
When we agree on everything I make a quotation and give an estimated delay, the customer places the order, pays a part of the price and I start the making. I keep the customer updated all along the making process by mails with photos of every significant step until the delivery.
The actual delays is around 5 to 6 months
Yes I have some : Nick royal from the Hellacopters , Vigilante carlstroem from the Hives, peter Greenberg from DMZ/BARENCE WHITFIELD and the SAVAGE, Deniz tek from Radio Birdman, Jean and Remy Fossat from the SLIFT, Brian Molko from PLACEBO, Lionel Raynal aka “The Reverend” and, shame on me, some more I don’t remember….
I don’t really know, I started so long ago (1974, I was 14 yo), in those days it looked like just a handful of french luthiers were making electric guitars, the jacobacci brothers were the most renowned and about the only ones…
Later I found that most of the other countries (Germany, USA…) were a lot more organized, with schools, associations, even syndicats… it seems today French luthery is blooming everywhere…
You can buy my instruments directly from me and play some at home.
Next years I will attempt to go to the Beffroi guitar fair near Paris.
We also invite you to follow him on his various social networks:
In the coming weeks, as for others luthiers for plucked string instruments, luthiers for bowed string instruments, amps & effects makers, wood & supplies dealers, lutherie events, jobs, schools & teachers subscribers on our site, you will be able to follow our series of mini-interviews dedicated to the fascinating world of luthiers.
See you soon…
If you are passionate about the world of luthiers, join us!