Luis_and_Clark

Luis and Clark

Luis and Clark

Add article description

This article is about the line of musical instruments. For the American explorers Lewis and Clark, see Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Not to be confused with Lewis & Clark.

Luis and Clark, or L&C, is a company that sells carbon fiber stringed instruments[1] designed by cellist Luis Leguía (Louie) of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.[2] The company's product line consists of violins, violas, cellos, double bass', and half-sized cellos.[3][1]

Conception

Throughout Luis' extensive career as a cellist, Leguía claimed he never found a suitable cello that could project over an orchestra or a grand piano, sparking the creation of "Luis and Clark."[1]

Leguía, an avid sailor,[1] was on his catamaran one day in 1989 when he heard a resonant humming sound - and noticed that the sound of the waves against the carbon fiber was louder than it was against the wood. Struck with the realization that he could create his ideal cello, he constructed three prototypes by hand in his basement, the first with fiberglass and the other two with carbon fiber.[1] After five years of experimenting, he approached carbon fiber expert Steve Clark, head of Rhode Island's Vanguard Sailboats, to form the company "Luis and Clark" in 2000.[1][3] Clark eventually led Leguía to Matt Dunham of Clear Carbon and Components, who continues to manufacture all the Luis and Clark instruments.[4]

Instruments

The instruments are all made in the United States with a 92.57% carbon-epoxy matrix.[1] Due to their carbon fiber construction, they are much lighter than their wooden counterparts, immune to changes in weather, and highly resistant to damage.[5]

They are designed to be held closer to the body as an attempt to reduce fatigue, a result of less material used in the instruments' creation.[4][3][6] The company has stated that the instruments' sound is most important, and the durability and resistance to climate are "happy side-effects."[1]

References

  1. [1]
    "Meet Luis, Stephanie, and Caroline Leguia of Luis and Clark in Milton - Boston Voyager Magazine | Boston City Guide". Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  2. [2]
    "Luis Leguía: Cello". Boston Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
  3. [3]
    "Luis and Clark - The Instruments". Luis and Clark. Archived from the original on 2007-03-06. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
  4. [4]
    Coleman, Sandy (2005-10-30). "Break from tradition sounds even sweeter". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
  5. [5]
    "Carbon Fiber - Zoltek". ZOLTEK™ Carbon Fiber. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  6. [6]
    "United States Patent 6,284,957". Patent Storm. 2001-09-04. Archived from the original on 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Luis_and_Clark, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.