Marigaux, also known as SML (Strasser-Marigaux-Lemaire) is a French manufacturer of high quality woodwind
musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
s.
Marigaux is considered one of the world's best oboe-makers. The company has made a line of woodwinds that has also included clarinets, saxophones, flutes and bassoons.
History
Strasser Marigaux & Lemaire was founded January 12, 1935 by three partners: Charles Strasser, a businessman who was born in Switzerland; Jules Marigaux, an instrument maker who trained at
Buffet-Crampon
Buffet Crampon SAS is a French manufacturer of wind instruments based in Mantes-la-Ville, Yvelines department. The company is the world market leader in the production of clarinets of the Boehm system. Its subsidiary, Buffet Crampon Deutsc ...
, where his father was "premier ouvrier," and Lemaire. After the death of Lemaire many years ago, Strasser and Marigaux bought their partner's shares and the company became known as "Strasser-Marigaux." Marigaux died in the early 1970s, leaving Strasser the sole owner of the company. Strasser then sold SML (it continues to use these initials) to a holding company—Strasser-Marigaux S.A..
Strasser Marigaux began its activity in Paris with manufacture of
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
s and
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
s. Production of
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
s and
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
s was started in a workshop located in
la Couture-Boussey
La Couture-Boussey () is a commune in the Eure department in northern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in ...
, in the
Eure
Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Selmer anymore" and would "... devote itself entirely to the improvement of the oboe and the clarinet".