Jean-Noël Rohé – 2015

Description

Jean-Noël Rohé studied lutherie in Great Britain at the Sherwood College in Newark with Tony Johnson and Roy Courtnall. In 2004 he was awarded with the title “Un des Meilleur Ouvrier de France”, which is an award that honors the greatest craftsmanship in France of a certain field. Jean-Noël stands in the tradition of French guitar makers like Daniel Friederich and Dominique Field. Currently he has a waiting list of eight years and builds 10 guitars each year. Jean-Noël is without a doubt one of the most sought-after luthiers of this generation.

The construction is made with double sides which is a feature that is quite common in the French luthier tradition, Jean-Noël makes this craft in the most splendid way possible. Double sides make the structure a bit more firm which allows the luthier to build the soundboard a bit thinner, that often yields a responsive instrument, like this one.

This instrument was made in 2015 and features a spruce top with Indian rosewood back and sides. Jean-Noël’s guitars are famous for having a crystal-clear tone that players can form and shape with their own technique and this one is no exception. Trebles with a long lyrical sustain paired with fundamental firm basses create a true concert guitar in the highest class possible. When inspecting the visual aspect of the instrument one can just drown in the details which are so meticulously thought out by the guitar builder. The rosette features a complex and bewitching pattern that truly shows the skill of the craftsman. Furthermore, when Jean-Noël looked for inspiration to create his design of the head shape, he looked all around the city of Strasbourg and eventually found a gothic arch in an old building that he took inspiration from and the design is just a timeless masterpiece. Even the tuners are of the absolute highest class, hand engraved Schellers that are a joy to use.