Devoted to amplified music, Design & Harmonie produces high-tech acoustic-electric instruments. The company, based in Marciac, France, combines composite materials with new technologies to produce unique sounds and designs.

All D & H instruments are constructed from a hollow composite material, with carbon-fiber necks, ebony fingerboards and pegs, Despiau bridges, and Corelli strings (alternatives available on request), and the pickups and electronics have been developed in conjunction with ArtCan 14. The instruments come in a wide variety of colors with optional rib decorations, and personalized models are available upon request.

Two violin styles, available in four-, five-, and six-stringed models, are crafted to produce slightly different sounds. The Fusion D & H model is designed for jazz and traditional music (country, Cajun, Celtic, Arabic) and has rich acoustics. A top-range FWF transducer equips this instrument with a dynamic sound. The Striking D & H model is built for the pop or rock musician. Its acoustics provide an even tone between all strings, and a fuller, more aggressive sound. Equipped with the Oliver Pont OP 105 transducer, this violin may be better suited for the stage.

D & H’s basses are quite lightweight, and are designed to provide the same warm sound as their wooden stand-up counterparts. Both four- and five-stringed models are available.

D & H instruments are not yet distributed in the United States, but are found readily in Europe. (Instruments can be shipped world wide and insurance is available. Shipping and packing expenses are additional.) Fans include violinists Regina Carter and Pierre Blanchard, who describes the D & H sound as "amazingly natural." And Christophe Cravéro, a French jazz violinist, declares the instruments "as good in the studio as on stage. I don’t have an endorsement contract with D & H; I just play their instruments because they are the best."

For more information, visit www.design-harmonie.com or call (33) 05 62 66 61 77.

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