Daniel Friederich – 1965

Description

Daniel Friederich was born on the sixteenth of January 1932. Although he had a strong desire to play the guitar, he lacked money. But at the age of 23, Friederich solved this dilemma by building his first guitar himself: a copy of a Simplicio guitar. Daniel’s guitar teacher and excellent guitar maker, Christian Aubin, was a great help to him. After building tools and gaining some experience in guitar making, Daniel Friederich showed his fifteenth guitar to Robert Bouchet. Since then, Robert Bouchet has inspired his work, and Daniel Friederich has personally developed some of R. Bouchet’s ideas throughout his career.

For decades, Daniel Friederich was one of the most important and respected active luthiers in the world. After a long and successful career, he stopped making guitars in 2015 and sold all his tools. Today, he is undoubtedly one of the most respected and admired guitar makers in history. It is not easy to put into words the feeling that one experiences when holding one of the rarest and most beautiful guitars built by arguably one of the most respected luthiers in history.

This 1965 Daniel Friederich guitar is an absolute rarity. This model is so rarely seen that it has almost become a legend. Besides his three main models Concert, Récital and Arpège, Daniel Friederich also offered a so-called “Flamenco” model. Sometimes with wooden pegs, sometimes with machine heads, with or without Golpéador, and even in the three versions of his classic models: Concert, Récital and Arpège.

This particular instrument from 1965 is a gorgeous Récital Flamenco model. It is very lightly built, responsive and very pleasant to play thanks to its well-shaped neck. Despite the use of cypress and the designation as a Flamenco model, this guitar remains a true Friederich with its celebrated tonal ideal: warm, dark, full, with textured trebles and a unique rich timbre that no words can do justice to. Of course, it also has the spontaneity and lightness of the cypress, and this blend makes it a versatile and bewitching instrument.

This guitar is now in an expertly restored condition. Apart from some repaired cracks, two top braces have been faithfully replicated and replaced. The bridge was apparently modified at some time previously and has been restored as close to the original as possible in our workshop, retaining all the original parts. It is an instrument full of history and has a lot to tell and a lot to offer.