About
Thierry André is a professional luthier and father of a young family based in St-Jean-Port-Joli Qc, Canada.
In 1998, he set up his first workshop in Montreal in an industrial building occupied by a community of artists, and began a career as a luthier which today proves to be one of the most influential and unique in America.
Through his work, André takes full ownership of the making of the guitar instrument:
-Under his hand, the guitar retains all its acoustic vocation and its historical quality, and yet its composition is constantly renewed, displaying formal, aesthetic, and distinct acoustic research.
His expressive language mixing drawing, sculpture, 3D shaping, will have among other things created new techniques for assembling rounded bodies for the guitar:
-Playing on the entire object rather than on its degree of ornamentation, André validates the idea that the making of a stringed instrument constitutes an act of creation in its own right.
Sun, Moon, and Vibrations is a blown-up version of my early round-back creations, and intermixes both contemporary guitar making with primitive lutherie techniques : - Its Poplar soundbox is carved-out from solid wood, in a fashion reminiscent of some old-world instruments like the Tar, the Sarod or the Pipa. - 2019
The Clara archtop is a traditional x-braced 16.5" archtop guitar. It features a neck humbucker that is suspended from the inside of the guitar, attached to its neck block. Its controls are also set into the tailpiece, giving priority to its acoustic function and structural integrity. - 2020
" The guitar is a lot like us – Body, neck, head, shoulders, waist, and so on. In its wood is also inscribed:
Time, climate, terroir & lineage. In our image, each piece of wood tells a story.
- When I build a guitar, I open myself to this encounter. This is always new.
For this, the resulting work has its own light. "
Thierry André
By presenting his work alongside his international peers (Canada, United States, Germany) he received feedback from players and encouragement from luthiers giving him the full pulse of his work, inviting him to share his unique perspective on guitar making.
Trained first at the Institute of Crafts of Quebec by André Brunet ('92-97), then apprenticed to Fred Carlson in California (2004), Thierry André is a many time artistic grant & prize recipient, notably with the CMAQ Jean-Marie Gauvreau Prize (2020), the CFCMA Fine Crafts Distinction Award (2022). and his recent nomination as part of the iconic Archtop Foundation’s -The Blue guitars- Collection for 2025.
"You know I think so highly of you and your stunning, inventive, impossible work.
Truly, it’s a special gift to have you in the profession, thank you for building instruments!"
Ken Parker