Maingard Guitars

At the tip of Africa, in a wild and beautiful place called Scarborough, lives Marc Maingard in his unique self-built home. Marc is a luthier of fine repute as well as being an accomplished musician, entertainer and composer. Marc was born in Durban, South Africa, to French immigrant parents, and traces his family lineage to 1350. It is a legacy of craftsmen musicians, lute and viol makers to the French court.

In his early years Marc received formal piano and violin training. Playing in the Natal Youth Philharmonic, he later took up the guitar and performed as a professional musician in South Africa and Europe. Unable to have his guitar repaired in the early 70′s forced Marc to attempt the work himself. He subsequently flourished as a repairman and for the last 40 years has devoted himself to guitar construction and restoration. To further hone his skills, Marc apprenticed himself to a cabinet-maker, studying, among other things, marquetry and french polishing. This, combined with a year making violins and cellos, set the foundation for his developing talent. While in the USA he worked with Santa Cruz guitar company making acoustic guitars and later with Jimmy d’Aquisto perfecting his jazz instruments. He also spent time with Martin, Gibson and Ovation and is now their sole authorized repair person in South Africa. For three years Marc performed in Spain and took the opportunity to refine his current line of Concert guitars.

As he completes one guitar in four weeks, excluding varnish, they fall in the exceptional range. Each instrument begun has been assigned the wishes of the client and carries this personality throughout the process. Marc is an old-world craftsman and each top is graduated and tuned by hand to give maximum resonance and sustain. Likewise it is voiced to assure that the balance and tone remain consistent or altered to accommodate the needs of the client. It is the intent of Maingard Guitars to present the player a sophisticated instrument with well-developed, complex overtones and harmonics that will mature, inspire and challenge the guitarist throughout a lifetime.