Portrait
Benoit Bonten is a French luthier working from his own workshop in Aveyron, in the south of France. He specialises in violas and cellos.
His route into making began in Buenos Aires in 2001, where he spent most of his time in the workshop of Omar Nigrelli, studying restoration first and then making. In 2008 he became assistant to Gonzalo Bayolo in Santiago de Compostela before setting up on his own. His violas are built at body lengths that suit players of different sizes, and every instrument leaves the workshop with his own certificate.
His violas are played by soloists and chamber musicians in France and the United Kingdom.
Benoit makes some of the best small violas we have ever encountered. They are extremely comfortable to play, which matters more on a viola than on anything else, and they sound fantastic without the usual trade-off. The projection is remarkable for the body size, and the tone holds up whether the instrument is being used in a quartet or as a solo voice. At his price point they are a must-try, and he remains one of our favourite French viola makers.
Elsewhere
Compare instruments against each other, and against an antique, in a blind test with studio audio. No labels until you have chosen.
Where are Benoit Bonten instruments made?
In Livinhac-le-Haut, France. Every instrument is then set up and checked in our own London workshop before it reaches a player.
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