“The acoustic guitar is an instrument which has a very rich sound, and offers infinite possibilities to the player.” Antoine Dufour said this — and then he spent twenty-plus years demonstrating exactly how infinite those possibilities are: percussive slap techniques, natural harmonics, alternate tunings, the simultaneous bass line and melody that fingerstyle virtuosity enables, and the specific combination of technical complexity and emotional directness that gives the best acoustic fingerstyle music its specific quality of being at once impressive and moving. He has a red bandana tied around the neck of his guitar above the nut. Most of the guitarists in this guide have some equivalent — a capo position, a specific pickup toggle setting, a tremolo arm adjustment — that defines their stage visual identity. Dufour’s red bandana is perhaps the most specifically documented such detail: “Many pay special attention to the red bandana/scarf tied around the end of his guitar’s neck above the nut, seen in most of Dufour’s YouTube videos — he has stated in interviews that this is used to mute the strings ringing above the nut as they would resonate after a hard strum followed by a mute of the strings.” It is a practical solution to a practical problem: when you strum hard and then mute, the strings on the headstock side of the nut continue to ring sympathetically. The bandana stops them. Every guitarist who plays percussively eventually discovers this problem. Dufour’s solution is a red bandana. His primary guitar is a Mario Beauregard “Orchestral Model” cutaway. He has more than 50 million cumulative views on YouTube. He is from L’Épiphanie, Quebec. He is forty-five years old.
Antoine Dufour was born on February 18, 1980, in L’Épiphanie, Quebec, Canada. He started playing guitar at the age of fifteen. He studied at the CEGEP (Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel) in Joliette, where his teacher introduced him to the music of Leo Kottke, Don Ross (featured at Series 2 #127), and Michael Hedges (Series 2 #125). He won first place at the Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Championship in 2006 (having placed second in 2005) and third place at the 2006 International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship in Winfield, Kansas. He is signed to CandyRat Records and has released eight albums of original material as well as live performance DVDs. He has toured extensively in Canada, the US, the UK, Europe, Japan, and Brazil. His most popular YouTube video — a cover of “Jerry’s Breakdown” performed with Tommy Gauthier using a single guitar between them — exemplifies both his technical virtuosity and his collaborative generosity. He is recognized among guitarists worldwide as a “musician’s musician.” He has a red bandana on the neck. The bandana mutes the strings. The music is extraordinary.
Background: L’Épiphanie Quebec, Guitar at 15, CEGEP Joliette, Leo Kottke Don Ross Michael Hedges, CandyRat Records, 50 Million YouTube Views
Dufour’s specific musical formation — beginning guitar at fifteen, introduced to the fingerstyle tradition through his teacher at CEGEP Joliette (Leo Kottke’s resonant, percussive approach; Don Ross’s complex percussive fingerstyle; Michael Hedges’s radical expansion of the instrument’s technical vocabulary) — is the specific generational transmission of the acoustic fingerstyle tradition from one generation of innovators to the next. Kottke established the percussive acoustic guitar vocabulary of the 1960s and 1970s; Hedges radically expanded it in the 1980s with two-handed tapping, extreme altered tunings, and the specific integration of rhythmic and melodic elements that his specific approach made possible; Don Ross developed the specifically Canadian version of this approach with his own technical and compositional contributions. Dufour absorbed all three and developed his own addition to the tradition: the specifically French-Canadian musical sensibility, the mix of “the powerful rhythms of rock, the sensibility of classical music, a funky groove and a pure folk melody” that RizMum’s profile identifies.
CandyRat Records — the American independent label that became the primary home for the YouTube-era fingerstyle guitar community — was the specific commercial infrastructure that enabled the global reach of Dufour’s music. The CandyRat studio recordings, uploaded to YouTube, accumulated over 50 million cumulative views: a commercial success in the internet era that did not require radio play, major label distribution, or television exposure. He is the specific beneficiary of the same YouTube ecosystem that transformed Phil X (Series 2 #190) from session musician to Bon Jovi’s lead guitarist — but applied to a completely different musical tradition. The YouTube fingerstyle guitar community that Dufour, Andy McKee (Series 2 #196), and their CandyRat colleagues created is one of the most specific examples of the internet’s ability to build audiences for music that mainstream commercial channels could not have accommodated.
His competitive achievements — first place Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Championship 2006, third place International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship Winfield 2006 — document the specific context within which his playing was evaluated by the guitar community: as technical competition, in which his approach was found to be among the best in the world at the specific moment when the YouTube fingerstyle community was coalescing around the CandyRat label and its specific aesthetic.
The Rig: Antoine Dufour’s Guitars and Gear
Guitars
Mario Beauregard “Orchestral Model” Flat Top Cutaway (Current Primary Guitar): Antoine Dufour’s current primary guitar is a Mario Beauregard “Orchestral Model” flat top with cutaway — documented in the tuto-guitar.com profile: “Currently, his primary instrument is a Mario Beauregard flat top ‘Orchestral model’ cutaway.” Mario Beauregard is a Québécois luthier — a Canadian guitar builder whose instruments are known for their exceptional construction quality, tonal complexity, and the specific warmth and projection of the Quebec-tradition acoustic guitar making. The “Orchestral Model” body size (slightly smaller than a dreadnought, similar to a 000 or OM body) provides a balanced tonal response across the frequency spectrum — neither as bass-heavy as a dreadnought nor as bright and light as a parlor guitar — that suits the full-range tonal requirements of Dufour’s percussive, harmonically complex fingerstyle approach. The cutaway provides upper-fret access for the highest melodic lines that his compositions require. The choice of a local Quebec luthier as his primary instrument reflects both the quality of Beauregard’s work and the specific cultural connection to his home province.
The guitar’s construction details — top wood, back and sides, bracing pattern — are not specified in the available documentation, but Beauregard’s instruments are typically made from high-quality tonewoods with traditional construction approaches refined for contemporary performance requirements. The flat-top design (as opposed to arched-top) provides the specific acoustic projection and sustain appropriate for the percussive playing that Dufour’s music requires: the guitar body needs to resonate fully when struck, not just when the strings are plucked.
Stonebridge 23CR Signature Guitar (Earlier Primary, Signature Model): Before the Beauregard relationship, Dufour’s primary instrument and signature model was the Stonebridge 23CR — “Stonebridge guitars and Stonebridge 23CR (his own signature series)” per the RizMum profile. Stonebridge is a Czech guitar manufacturer known for high-quality acoustic instruments with traditional construction and tonal character. His signature model — the 23CR (where “23” likely refers to the body shape designation and “CR” may indicate cutaway) represents the specific guitar configuration he developed with Stonebridge for his specific playing requirements. The Stonebridge signature model remains part of the Stonebridge catalog as a testament to his relationship with the company.
Duane Noble Harp Guitar (Specialty Instrument): Dufour plays a Duane Noble Harp Guitar — documented on his official gear page and the Guitar Journal profile. The harp guitar is an extended-range acoustic instrument with additional bass strings (below the standard six strings) that provide sub-bass resonance not available on a standard six-string guitar. Duane Noble is a luthier specializing in harp guitar construction; his instruments are known for their tonal quality and playability. The harp guitar’s additional bass strings allow Dufour to extend his bass line range below the standard guitar’s low E, adding depth and resonance to the bass lines that underpin his melodic compositions. The harp guitar is used for specific compositions that require this extended range.
Red Bandana Above the Nut (Practical Muting Solution, Signature Visual): The most specifically documented non-instrument element in Dufour’s guitar setup is the red bandana/scarf tied around the neck above the nut: “Many pay special attention to the red bandana/scarf tied around the end of his guitar’s neck above the nut, seen in most of Dufour’s YouTube videos — he has stated in interviews that this is used to mute the strings ringing above the nut as they would resonate after a hard strum followed by a mute of the strings.” This is the specific practical problem that any percussive guitarist who strikes the strings hard faces: the length of string between the nut and the tuning machines can resonate sympathetically when the string is plucked and then muted, producing a short, unwanted sympathetic ring from the headstock side. The bandana’s fabric touching the strings above the nut absorbs this resonance. It is cheap, reliable, replaceable, and instantly identifiable as a Dufour visual marker. It is, in its specific practical functionality, a perfect solution.
Pickups and Amplification
K&K Trinity System (Internal Pickup System, Primary): Antoine Dufour uses the K&K Trinity System — documented in the tuto-guitar.com profile: “K&K pick-ups (Trinity System).” The K&K Trinity System is a combination pickup system that blends internal microphone (condenser mic inside the guitar body) with K&K’s proprietary Pure Mini transducer (a contact pickup mounted inside the guitar at the bridge plate). The Trinity System’s specific character: the internal microphone captures the air inside the guitar body (the resonant, spatial quality of the guitar’s acoustic sound), while the Pure Mini transducer captures the vibration of the top (the physical, tactile quality of the string’s energy transferred to the guitar’s top). The blend of these two signals — adjustable through a separate mixer — produces a more naturalistic, three-dimensional acoustic guitar tone than either a pure microphone or a pure transducer alone can achieve. For the percussive playing of fingerstyle virtuosos like Dufour, the K&K system’s ability to capture both the guitar’s resonant body sound and the specific attack of percussive techniques is essential.
DiMarzio Black Angel and Black Angel Piezo Pickups (Radial Engineering Documentation): The Radial Engineering artist page documents Dufour using “DiMarzio Black Angel and Black Angel Piezo pickups” alongside the Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre acoustic preamp. The DiMarzio Black Angel is a soundhole magnetic pickup (fitting in the soundhole without permanent installation, using the magnetic field of the guitar’s steel strings) combined with the Black Angel Piezo (a piezoelectric transducer providing the specific bite and attack of piezo pickup response). The combination of the K&K Trinity System (internal mic + transducer) and the DiMarzio Black Angel (magnetic soundhole pickup + piezo) gives Dufour multiple pickup options for different performance contexts and tonal requirements.
Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre Acoustic Preamp (×2, Driving Both Systems): The Radial Engineering documentation confirms that “Dufour relies on two Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre acoustic preamps to drive his” pickup systems. Running two Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre preamps — one for each pickup system (presumably one for the K&K Trinity and one for the DiMarzio combination) — provides separate preamplification and EQ for each pickup signal before they are mixed or routed to the amplifier or PA. The Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre is a professional-grade acoustic guitar preamp with DI output, designed for the specific requirements of passive piezo and internal microphone pickup systems. Its ability to handle the high impedance output of piezo pickups (which require a specific input impedance to sound natural) makes it the appropriate preamplification stage for the multiple pickup systems Dufour uses.
Phil Jones Amplifier (Live Amplification): The tuto-guitar.com profile documents Phil Jones amplifiers as Dufour’s live amplification. Phil Jones Bass (PJB) — known primarily for bass amplifiers but producing guitar and acoustic amplification as well — makes compact, high-fidelity amplifiers known for their exceptional clarity and extended frequency response. For acoustic fingerstyle guitar, the amplifier’s ability to reproduce the full frequency range of the instrument (from the sub-bass of slap techniques to the harmonic overtones of natural harmonics high on the neck) without coloration or compression is as important as raw volume. Phil Jones amplifiers are known for this quality.
Eventide Space Reverb Stompbox (Primary Reverb Effect): Dufour uses the Eventide Space Reverb — documented on The Guitar Journal and Equipboard. The Eventide Space is a professional-quality reverb pedal offering multiple reverb algorithms (hall, room, plate, shimmer, and several ambient/otherworldly options) at exceptional quality. For acoustic fingerstyle guitar, reverb is the primary spatial effect — adding the dimensional quality that distinguishes live acoustic guitar in a reverberant space from the dry, studio-close-mic’d sound. The Eventide Space’s quality and variety of algorithms provide the specific spatial dimension that suits Dufour’s compositions, from intimate room reverb for delicate passages to larger hall settings for more expansive sections.
Spider Capo (Specialized Partial Capo): The tuto-guitar.com profile documents a Spider Capo as part of Dufour’s standard gear. The Spider Capo is a partial capo — unlike a standard capo that raises all six strings equally, the Spider Capo can be configured to capo specific strings while leaving others open. This allows specific open-string/fretted-string combinations that create unique resonant tunings and harmonic relationships unavailable with a standard capo or standard tuning. For a fingerstyle composer who exploits alternate tunings, harmonics, and the specific resonant sympathies between open and fretted strings, the Spider Capo’s ability to create novel partial-capo configurations provides additional compositional tools.
Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze Medium Strings (Primary String Choice): Dufour uses Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze strings in medium gauge. The Aluminum Bronze formula — alloy of aluminum and bronze — produces a specific warmer, clearer tone than standard phosphor bronze or 80/20 bronze strings, with less pronounced high-frequency brightness. For the full tonal range of fingerstyle guitar — from the warmth of bass slap notes to the clarity of high harmonic bells — the Aluminum Bronze’s balanced response across frequencies suits Dufour’s compositional approach.
Playing Style & Tone Philosophy
Antoine Dufour’s playing style is the most specifically percussive in the acoustic fingerstyle tradition of this guide — combining the bass-line/melody simultaneity of classical fingerstyle with the specific percussive body-striking techniques of the Preston Reed/Michael Hedges tradition, adding natural harmonics, slap techniques, and the specific French-Canadian musical sensibility that distinguishes his compositions from his North American contemporaries. His music is characterized by “the powerful rhythms of rock, the sensibility of classical music, a funky groove and a pure folk melody” — a combination that requires both the technical precision of classical training (to execute the complex independent voice arrangements accurately) and the physical energy of rock performance (to produce the percussive attacks that give his music its rhythmic power).
His tone philosophy is the acoustic guitar purist’s philosophy: “The acoustic guitar is an instrument which has a very rich sound, and offers infinite possibilities to the player.” The philosophical stance — the guitar contains all the tonal resources the music needs, and the player’s technical skill is the means of accessing them — is consistent with the minimalist approach documented across several guitarists in this guide (Wino Weinrich, Mattias IA Eklundh). In the fingerstyle acoustic context, this minimalism produces the specific “purity” of acoustic guitar at its most technically developed: the instrument’s full resonant range, captured by sophisticated pickup systems and reproduced through accurate amplification, without the electronic processing that electric guitar music routinely employs.
How to Sound Like Antoine Dufour
Guitar: A high-quality acoustic guitar with full tonal range — the Mario Beauregard “Orchestral Model” or equivalent quality luthier-built instrument. Flat-top construction, cutaway for upper-fret access, tonewoods chosen for balanced response. Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze medium strings for the specific warm-but-clear tonal balance. Red bandana above the nut for string muting beyond the nut.
Pickup System: K&K Trinity System (internal mic + Pure Mini transducer) for the naturalistic blend of body resonance and top vibration. DiMarzio Black Angel (magnetic soundhole) as secondary option. Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre acoustic preamp for each signal — essential for the high-impedance piezo and internal-mic signals to sound natural through amplification.
Amp and Effects Settings (Acoustic Fingerstyle Clean Amplification):
| Component | Setting | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Phil Jones Amp Volume | Moderate — room-appropriate | Acoustic fingerstyle doesn’t need to be loud; clarity over volume |
| Preamp EQ (Radial PZ-Pre) | Neutral with minor correction | Correct specific frequency peaks of the room; avoid heavy EQ |
| Eventide Space Reverb | Moderate (small room to hall) | Adds spatial dimension; adjust to the venue’s natural reverb |
| String gauge | Medium Aluminum Bronze | Balanced warmth and clarity for the full technique range |
Technique: The percussive approach — slapping the body of the guitar with the thumb or palm for bass drum sounds while maintaining melody and bass line with the fingers — requires a guitar with a responsive, resonant top. The red bandana above the nut prevents sympathetic string resonance from headstock-side strings after percussive muting. Spider Capo for specific partial-capo tuning configurations. Natural harmonics as melodic elements (touching the string lightly at specific harmonic nodes — 12th fret = octave, 7th fret = fifth, 5th fret = two octaves). Alternate tunings for specific compositions.
Influence & Legacy
Antoine Dufour’s influence on the YouTube-era fingerstyle guitar community is foundational — he is one of the primary architects, alongside Andy McKee (Series 2 #196), of the CandyRat Records aesthetic that defined what fingerstyle guitar looked and sounded like in the YouTube era. His 50+ million cumulative YouTube views document the specific scale of the audience he has built for a genre of music that commercial radio could not have accommodated. His competitions wins at the Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Championship and the Winfield International Fingerstyle Championship place him in the formal competitive tradition of the art form, providing the external validation that his YouTube numbers also supply.
His connection to Andy McKee (Series 2 #196) as fellow CandyRat guitarists who were filmed in the same studio and whose YouTube careers developed in parallel reflects the specific community within which he developed. His connection to the tradition of Michael Hedges (Series 2 #125) and Don Ross (Series 2 #127) as direct pedagogical influences — introduced by his CEGEP teacher — reflects the generational transmission of the fingerstyle approach.
Internal Links:
- Andy McKee, Dufour’s CandyRat label-mate and fellow YouTube fingerstyle pioneer at #196
- Don Ross, one of Dufour’s three primary pedagogical influences introduced by his CEGEP teacher at #127
- Michael Hedges, whose radical expansion of fingerstyle vocabulary directly influenced Dufour’s approach at #125
- Jesse Cook, a fellow Canadian acoustic guitarist who occupies similar territory at #198
Frequently Asked Questions: Antoine Dufour Guitars & Gear
What guitar does Antoine Dufour play?
Dufour’s current primary guitar is a Mario Beauregard “Orchestral Model” flat-top cutaway — made by the Québécois luthier Mario Beauregard. Previous primary: Stonebridge 23CR (his signature model with Czech guitar manufacturer Stonebridge). He also plays a Duane Noble Harp Guitar for compositions requiring extended bass string range. His official gear page confirms: “Antoine plays Beauregard Guitars” and “Antoine plays a Duane Noble Harp Guitar.”
What pickup system does Antoine Dufour use?
Dufour’s primary pickup system is the K&K Trinity System — a combination of an internal condenser microphone and K&K’s Pure Mini transducer, blended through a separate mixer. He also uses DiMarzio Black Angel (magnetic soundhole pickup) and Black Angel Piezo combinations, documented in the Radial Engineering artist page. He uses two Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre acoustic preamps to drive these pickup systems, providing separate preamplification and EQ for each signal path.
What is the red bandana on Antoine Dufour’s guitar neck?
“The red bandana/scarf tied around the end of his guitar’s neck above the nut, seen in most of Dufour’s YouTube videos — he has stated in interviews that this is used to mute the strings ringing above the nut as they would resonate after a hard strum followed by a mute of the strings.” When a guitarist plays percussively and then mutes the strings, the portion of string between the nut and the tuning machines continues to resonate sympathetically. The bandana’s fabric absorbs this unwanted resonance. It is a practical solution that has become Dufour’s most recognizable visual signature.
What are Antoine Dufour’s primary guitar influences?
Dufour’s primary documented guitar influences — introduced by his teacher at CEGEP Joliette — are Leo Kottke (percussive, resonant acoustic guitar virtuosity), Don Ross (Series 2 #127, complex Canadian fingerstyle), and Michael Hedges (Series 2 #125, radical technical expansion of the acoustic guitar vocabulary). The RizMum profile also lists Andrew York, Steve Howe, Stephen Bennett, Andy McKee, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Agustín Barrios Mangoré, and Tárrega as influences — spanning classical guitar (Barrios, Tárrega), jazz (York), progressive rock (Howe, Petrucci), and contemporary fingerstyle (McKee).
What is CandyRat Records?
CandyRat Records is an American independent record label specializing in acoustic and contemporary guitar music. It became the primary home for the YouTube-era fingerstyle guitar community in the 2000s and 2010s, signing Dufour, Andy McKee, and other guitarists whose YouTube performances (recorded in the same studio setting) accumulated millions of views and built global audiences for instrumental acoustic guitar. The CandyRat studio aesthetic — consistent lighting, camera work, and acoustic setting — created a recognizable visual brand for the label’s artists.
What is the Eventide Space Reverb and why does Dufour use it?
The Eventide Space is a professional-quality reverb stompbox offering multiple algorithms — hall, room, plate, shimmer, and several ambient options — at the quality level associated with studio rack reverb units. For acoustic fingerstyle guitar performance, reverb is the primary spatial effect, adding the dimensional quality of a naturally reverberant space to the guitar’s direct pickup signal. The Eventide Space’s quality and variety allow Dufour to tailor the reverb character to the specific venue and composition.
What are Antoine Dufour’s competition achievements?
Dufour won First Place at the Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Championship in 2006 (after placing Second in 2005) and Third Place at the 2006 International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship in Winfield, Kansas. The Winfield competition (officially the Walnut Valley International Fingerpicking Guitar Contest) is the most prestigious acoustic fingerstyle competition in the world; placing third in 2006 (behind only Doug Smith in first and Don Alder in second) established Dufour’s position among the best acoustic fingerstyle guitarists in the world at the moment the CandyRat/YouTube community was developing.
