THE HISTORY OF BLANCPAIN

ART DE VIVRE
OUR WOODS ARE NO LESS
ATTRACTIVE THAN THE MOST
VALUABLE EXOTIC WOOD.
in the world thanks to the intense presence,
the warmth and the fullness of their sound,
as well as through a kind of ergonomic elegance
verging on perfection.
Being self-taught with no frame of reference
needs a lot of perseverance. Never give
up, keep working at it, try and try again –
these are some of the principles that converted
the former teacher into a maker of
musical instruments.
Jeanmichel took a major step in 2004
when he went into partnership with Céline
Renaud and registered JMC Guitars as
a trademark. School was now over and he
was going to live, and live off, his dream.
The lessons of discovery would fully apply,
because as a craftsman it wasn’t enough just
to make musical instruments, however per-
INTEGRAL SOUND
fect; he had to bring something new in
order to advance the discipline of sound and
harmonies.
Thus was created the Soundboard, crafted
from Risoud spruce. In solidarity with the
values shared by the guitar-maker and the
forester, the workshops promote the merits
of the local wood. “We want to give up
using exotic woods that are the result of systematic
deforestation. Our woods are no less
attractive than the most valuable exotic
wood. There’s no need to look elsewhere
for what we have at hand.” Céline and
Jeanmichel agree how pleasant it is to realise
that happiness isn’t somewhere else.
If that be true, Lorenzo might not, after
all, be the last gardener of the Risoud forest.
■
For Jeanmichel Capt, sound is a global vibration and not only a harmony for the ear.
It might be a strange way of understanding sound, but it intrigued the instrument
maker, tickled his imagination and opened a line of research that ended in the Soundboard.
This sound-transmission enclosure reflects the sound of instruments and voices
through the resonance of spruce-wood, with a remarkable effect of presence.
Although the idea is simple, the JMC Soundboard is an alternative that produces a
complete sound. It generates an omnipresent sound so that the listener hears a sound
of great consistency from anywhere in the surrounding space.
Thus with the Soundboard, stereophonic becomes an irrelevant concept, because
the sound is in the environment. It creates all the dimensions of a harmony so the
listener feels wrapped in music. By thinking beyond sound as “directional” this enclosure
is an ideal substitute for the conventional loudspeaker.