Larrivée History

(Sources include Larrivee's website, WikiPedia, and Larrivee customer service emails.)

• 1967: An old house in Toronto, ON, Canada
• 1968-71: Basement of Jean’s Townhouse in Toronto, ON, Canada
• 1971-72: Above the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, ON, Canada
• 1971: First steel-string guitar
• 1972-73: Storefront on Mount Pleasant in Toronto, ON, Canada
• 1973-75: Portland Street Shop in Toronto, ON, Canada
• 1975-77: Dwight Street in Mimico, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 1976: 8 people, 25-30 guitars/month
• 1977-82: Esquimalt Shop, Victoria, BC, Canada
• 1977: 14 people, 4 guitars/day

• 1982-92: 267 E. 1st Street Shop in North Vancouver, BC, Canada
• 1983: First solid-body electric
• 1984: switched from hot lacquer to catalyzed modified polyurethane finish
• 1989: First use of CNC
• 1991: 11,000 sq ft, 35 people, 25 guitars/day

• 1993-98: Victoria Diversion shop in Vancouver, BC, Canada
• 1993: 50/60/70 series introduced with large sound holes, 383 built
• 1995: switched from polyurethane to McFadden UV polyester finish
• 1996: 50 people, 20 guitars/day
• 1997: 60 people, 40 guitars/day
• 1997: D-Lite, D-03 introduced

• 1998-Present: Cordova Street Factory in Vancouver, BC, Canada
• 1998: 33,000 sq ft in Vancouver, 100 people, 60 guitars/day

• 2001-Present: Yarnell Place Factory in Oxnard, CA, USA
• 2010: switched from McFadden UV polyester to a new dual-cured finish (partial catalyzation with cobalt & peroxide, and UV light)
• 2010: went to a stacked heel with the -03 series, then reintroduced the -02 series with stacked heel, and went back to one-piece necks for the -03 series

Ongoing discussion on the Larrivee Guitar Forum

---

---