Francois R. Leonard

François Régis Leonard is a French luthier trained at the Newark School in England, where he spent five years mastering traditional handcrafting techniques. His experience includes collaborations with Lakewood Guitars in Germany and work alongside respected makers such as Tobias Berg and Michel Brück. Now based in Brittany, he builds 6–8 classical guitars per year, known for their harmonic richness, clarity, and refined craftsmanship. His approach combines acoustic research with an aesthetic pursuit of simplicity inspired by Georges Sand.

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About the Luthier

François Regis Leonard was introduced to the arts at a young age by his father-in-law, a passionate admirer and specialist of the composer Hector Berlioz. He began playing the guitar and quickly developed a love for this intimate and nuanced instrument. In 1995, he enrolled at the Newark School of Violin Making in England, where he remained for five years. Working closely with members of the quartet and numerous instrument makers, he learned a wide range of techniques in an environment that valued handcraft over machinery. In addition to classical guitars, he also builds other instruments such as the dulcimer and the Swedish nyckelharpa.

In 2000, he began a five-year collaboration with the Lakewood guitar workshop in Germany. Thousands of pieces of wood, whose physical and acoustic properties he could test, became the basis for his later research and expertise. During these years in Germany, he reconnected with his friend Tobias Berg, whom he had met in Newark, and worked alongside him. He also learned the meditative and subtle pad-varnishing techniques from Michel Brück, the German violin maker.

After spending several months in Lyon, where he had the opportunity to present his instruments at the Chamber of Crafts, he moved to Lorient in 2006.

For several years now, annual meetings with acousticians have further shaped his approach to sound. It has become more personal—physically, through the measurement of densities and deformations of different parts of the instrument, and aesthetically, through a pronounced appreciation for harmonic presence and clarity. He also exchanges ideas with violin maker Dominique Field, whose precision, approach, and aesthetic he greatly admires.

Since settling in Brittany, François Regis Leonard has been building six to eight guitars each year, hoping that his “creations” will flourish in the knowledgeable and sensitive hands of musicians.

He is especially fond of a quote by George Sand, which reflects his philosophy in guitar making: “Simplicity is the most difficult thing to achieve in this world; it is the ultimate limit of experience.”