Sète luthier Maïk Chaland-Berthier combines artistic disciplines to design his guitars

Maïk responds to orders from musicians but also works on his own projects. Midi Libre – W. N.

The first guitar he made from scratch, in which he inlaid clouds and a wooden moon. Midi Libre – W. N.

The 25-year-old luthier makes guitars, mostly from French wood, in his Prismatic Guitars workshop in Sète.

Behind his glasses, Maïk Chaland-Berthier's eyes sparkle. “Look at me how beautiful it is”, he says while contemplating the wood of one of his guitars. A wonder that continues when the 25-year-old luthier begins to talk about his job: “What's magical is to take a piece of wood and end up with something that sounds” .

As you will quickly understand, the young man is passionate. To the point of having set up his apartment above his workshop on rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau. “In the morning, I drink my coffee with my feet in the wood shavings”, smiles the friendly Sète native, after giving a tour of the property. In addition to the stringed instruments of different sizes and shapes decorating the premises, many other guitars are stored in the back. Including the very first one that Maïk Chaland-Berthier made from A to Z.

Working with French wood

An unusual guitar, inlaid with clouds and a wooden moon, which he designed during his training as a luthier. “It was made from Grenoble walnut and Alpine spruce”, explains the man who is keen to use French wood as a priority for his instruments. Although he admits to having some exotic species that belonged to the former luthier who worked there, he does not intend to buy any more once the stock is gone. “We are lucky in France to have fruit woods like walnut, apricot, plum… which allow us to have very balanced guitars”, insists this craftsman. Who easily speaks of wood as a “miraculous material”.

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Before becoming a violin maker, Maïk Chaland-Berthier had practiced woodturning. From his handyman father, he got his passion for manual work and from his family, his love for music: “I've always gravitated towards that”. As a teenager, he formed a rock band with his friends. And began to maintain his guitar. After leaving high school, he decided to train in quartet violin making (violin, viola, cello, double bass). But he quickly turned to guitar making which, according to him, offers a “greater freedom”. He graduated in 2022 and decided to open his own workshop, Prismatic Guitars, in Sète, where he grew up. With, always, this desire to try new things.

“I like to cross the arts”

Like with this first client who asked him to make a moon in the soundhole of the instrument. Or like this guitar he is currently working on for which the client asked for a link with Jamaica. To do this, Maïk Chaland-Berthier does not hesitate to surround himself with other artists and craftsmen: “I like to cross the arts. In the Baroque period, instruments were often illustrated. It was very beautiful and even if I like raw wood, I also appreciate bringing a personalization”.

In addition to customer orders – mostly professional musicians who come for his “expertise” -, he works on more personal projects. He plans to create, for example, a stained glass window – “maybe in amber” – inside a guitar. He also aims to make electric guitars soon. Great projects for this enthusiast who, through his job, assures that he participates in “a cycle of art”: “My guitars are inspired by what I see and the musicians use them to inspire people”.

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