Larrivée Terms and Acronyms

This is a wiki page. That means that you can edit it. If you prefer not to do that, please post suggestions in the Discussion about acronyms on the Larrivée Forum where Forum members have suggested terms and definitions -or- add a note in the discussion page for this article For more general Larrivée information see: Larrivée Guitars

Terms and Acronyms

Acronym  / Term	Meaning
ADI	Adirondack Spruce top (example)
BB	Bubinga
BC	Bear Claw
BR	Brazilian Rosewood
BZ	Brazilian Rosewood
CE	Collectors Edition
CNC	Computer Numerical Control machine
D, DRED	Dreadnought Body Style
EI	Elephant Ivory
EIR	East Indian Rosewood
EIRW	East Indian Rosewood
EJ12	D'Addario EJ Medium (80/20 Bronze)
EXP	D'Addario EXP 17 Strings
FM	Flamed Maple top wood, bindings
FMI	Fossilized Mammoth Ivory
FWI	Fossilized Walrus Ivory
GAS	Gear Acquisition Syndrome Guitar Acquisition Syndrome
HK	Hawaiian Koa top, back and sides
Hog	Mahogany top, back and sides
IR	Indian Rosewood Infra-red
IS	Italian Spruce Top Wood
JCL	Jean Claude Larrivée
Koa	Hawaiian Koa top, back and sides
L	L (Larrivée) Body Style
LS	Larrivee Small Body
MADI	Madagascar Rosewood (example)
MAP	Minimum Advertised Price
MH	South American Mahogany
MR	Madagascar Rosewood
MSRP	Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price
MT	Mahogany Top
NGD	New Guitar Day
OHSC	Original hard shell case
OM	Orchestra Model Body Style
OMV	Orchestra Model with Venetian Cutaway
OO	OO Body Style
P	Parlor Body Style
PB	Phospher Bronze (strings)
QM	Quilted Maple top wood
RW	Rosewood
SBT	Sunburst Top
SD	Slope Shoulder Dreadnought Body Style  (Larrivée Traditional Series)
SH	Slotted Headstock
Sitka	Sitka Spruce top wood
SO	Silver Oak, Silky Oak Special Order
SP	Sapele Martin SP Studio Performance Series Strings Street Price
TSB	Full Tobacco Sunburst (term as used on the Larrivée site) Total Sunburst (back and sides included)
WAHI	West African Ivory Saddle

Tonewoods References

• Woods — Larrivée
• Bourgeois
• Breedlove

Truss Rod Wrenches

Notes from the Larrivée Frequently Asked Questions

Warning: VERY IMPORTANT

Never tighten the truss rod more than 1 full turn from the loose position. If at all possible, have a professional do the job for you.

Where is the truss rod?

Our truss rod is located on the inside of the guitar, where the neck joins the body. You can see it by sticking a small mirror (Like a woman's compact) inside the guitar and looking up under the fingerboard. There is a little hex connector there where the truss rod adjustment key fits.

How do I use the truss rod?

If at all possible, have a professional do this, or have them show you how. However, if you are set on doing this yourself, please follow these instructions.

1. If your guitar has too much front bow in its neck and you're trying to flatten its neck, tighten the truss rod (No more than 3/4 of a turn.)
2. If your guitar has a back bow and you're trying to flatten it, loosen the truss rod.

VERY IMPORTANT
Never tighten the truss rod more than 1 full turn from the loose position. If at all possible, have a professional do the job for you.

What is the truss wrench size?

We have two wrenches, depending when your guitar was manufactured. The newer style truss rod uses a wrench that is silver, shaped like an L and measures 5/32nds. The older style wrench is black, shaped like a J and measures 3/16ths.

Where to buy

Available from Cherokee Guitar Company

Two styles

Old Style (pre-2000, 40000 serial number and lower), then you will likely need the old style tool.	New style

See: Larrivée Serial Numbers

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Cutaways

Florentine Larrivée C10-BZ

Venetian Larrivée LSV-11

Slotted Headstock

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

• 2012 Larrivée 45th Anniversary Model

Ongoing discussion on the Larrivee Guitar Forum

California

Virtually all gloss guitars have been made in california since 2001. From 2001 to 2003 many of the bodies were made in Canada and then completed in America. The first truely completely American Made Larrivee is an L-09 with Serial #80000 which resides in the Larrivee Collection for sentimental purposes.

While there are some parts that made or shaped by CNC, I wouldnt nessesarily call that automation. There are no robots assembling parts, or spraying finishes, or buffing. There are no conveyor belts moving instruments from one step to another. The work is all hand done. I know in many cases many of the parts that have moved to the CNC machine have been done so because i'm terrified of using a machine called a shaper (A 5" tall, 3.5" diameter router spinning at 7500rpm).

As a family (and a company), we have a policy that we will not alter the instrument for the sake of technology - I.e. we will not change the core design of the guitar for the sake of "fitting" it to a piece of technology for the sake of increased production.

— Source: Matthew Larrivée January 7, 2012

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Larrivée History page on larrivee.com

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Tobacco Sunburst

Source: Larrivée 00050TSB

This is a wiki page. That means that you can edit it. If you prefer not to do that, please post suggestions in the Source: Discussion about acronyms on the Larrivée Forum

For more general Larrivée information see: Larrivée Guitars

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