Luis and Clark, or L&C, is a company that sells carbon fiber stringed instruments designed by cellist Luis Leguía (Louie) of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The company's product line consists of violins, violas, cellos, double bass', and half-sized cellos.
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."
Leguía, an avid sailor, 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. 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] [2] Clark eventually led Leguía to Matt Dunham of Clear Carbon and Components, who continues to manufacture all the Luis and Clark instruments.
The instruments are all made in the United States with a 92.57% carbon-epoxy matrix.
They are designed to be held closer to the body, a result of less material used in the instruments' creation.