Luis and Clark, or L&C, is a company that sells

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

stringed instruments designed by

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

Luis Leguía (Louie) of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

. The company's product line consists of violins, violas,

cellos The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, ...

, double bass', and half-sized cellos.

Conception

Luis Leguía’s extensive career as a

led him to a critical realization: he had never encountered a cello that could project adequately over an orchestra or a grand piano. Inspired to create his ideal instrument, Leguía embarked on a unique journey. Leguía, an avid

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

, was on his

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

one day in 1989 when he heard a resonant humming sound and noticed that the sound of the waves against the

was louder than it was against the wood. Struck with the realization that he could create his ideal

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, he constructed three prototypes by hand in his basement, the first with

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

and the other two with

. After five years of experimenting, he approached carbon fiber expert Steve Clark, head of

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

's Vanguard Sailboats, to form the company "Luis and Clark" in 2000. Clark eventually led Leguía to Matt Dunham of Clear Carbon and Components, who continues to manufacture all the Luis and Clark instruments.

Instruments

The instruments are all made in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with a 92.57% carbon-epoxy matrix. They are designed to be held closer to the body, a result of less material used in the instruments' creation.

References

External links

* {{official website, luisandclark.com Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States