Difference between revisions of "Larrivée History"

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m (New page: (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...)
 
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Ongoing discussion on the [http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=31982.0 Larrivee Guitar Forum]
 
Ongoing discussion on the [http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=31982.0 Larrivee Guitar Forum]
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                  <P>This section of our website covers the history and making
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                  of Jean Larrivee Guitars:</P>
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                  <P>1) History<BR><A class="navText" href="http://www.larrivee.com/features/labels.php">2)
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                  About Our Guitar Labels</A><BR><A class="navText" href="http://www.larrivee.com/features/locations.php">3)
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                  Our Locations/Facilities</A></P>
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                  <P>The History of Jean Larrivee Guitars</P>
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                  <P align="justify"> Jean Larrivée first became interested in
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                  the guitar as a teenager,  trying to play Duane Eddy licks on
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                  an $18 guitar. At twenty, with no  other musical training in
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                  his background, he made the decision to take  up a serious
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                  study of classic guitar. Four years into this study, he  was
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                  introduced to German classical guitar builder Edgar Mönch, who
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                  was  then working in Toronto. Jean expressed interest in
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                  learning how to  build, Mönch invited him to visit his shop,
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                  and so began an  apprenticeship.</P>
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                  <P align="justify"> Jean built his first two guitars under
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                  Mönch's tutelage before setting  up a workshop in his home,
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                  where he continued to build and study. The  energy which had
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                  fueled nightly five hour practice sessions was now  directed
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                  toward learning to construct instruments. He had found his 
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                  life's work.</P>
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                  <P align="justify">From  1968 to 1970, Jean continued building
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                  classic guitars in his home shop  before moving into his first
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                  commercial space, the second floor of a  theater. His work
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                  brought him into contact with many people involved  with
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                  Toronto's thriving folk music community. At their urging, Jean
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                  built his first steel string guitar in 1971.&nbsp;</P>
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                  <P>This was a period of much experimentation. Following  the
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                  tradition of European classic guitar builders, Jean designed
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                  his  own distinctive shape, bracing patterns, and structural
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                  specifications.  When he began to build steel string
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                  instruments, a task for which there  were fewer
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                  well-established models, the experimentation became 
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                  especially intense. His first steel strings were small
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                  dreadnoughts,  braced in the Martin style, with an elongated X
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                  (the "railway crossing  sign" design) and tone bars running at
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                  about a 45† angle. Sensing from  his work with classic guitars
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                  that a symmetrical bracing pattern might  result in better
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                  tonal balance, Jean tried a bracing pattern consisting  of a
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                  true 90† X brace and tone bars running parallel to the bridge.
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                  The  guitar had a strong, well-balanced sound. It was, as Jean
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                  says now,  "success through ignorance." Twenty-five years
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                  later, a much-refined  version of this bracing pattern is
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                  still the heart of all Larrivée  steel-string guitars. The
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                  sound it produces is distinctive. The bass is  solid and
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                  tight, with great projection. Mid-range is strong, and highs 
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                  are crystal clear. Overall balance is excellent, with the body
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                  size and  shape determining the "tilt" of the balance.</P>
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                  <P> Best of all, twenty-five years and over twenty thousand
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                  steel string  guitars have proven conclusively that this
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                  design has great structural  integrity. Bulging of the top
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                  behind the bridge or sinking around the  sound hole are not
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                  uncommon problems with traditionally braced guitars, 
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                  particularly those with scalloped braces. With Larrivée
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                  symmetrical  bracing, these types of problems are virtually
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                  non-existent.</P>
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                  <P> From 1971 to 1977, Larrivée Guitars grew steadily, moving
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                  four times to  ever larger spaces. There was a continuous flow
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                  of apprentices through  the shop, some of whom would also go
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                  on to become successful builders  on their own. In 1972 Jean
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                  and Wendy Jones were married. Wendy would  make her own unique
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                  contribution, designing and engraving the exquisite  picture
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                  inlays for which Larrivée guitars are famous.</P>
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                  <P> By 1976 eight people were producing twenty-five to thirty
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                  instruments a  month. Most of these instruments were sold in
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                  Canada or exported to  Europe, where their classically
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                  inspired look won quick acceptance. The  American market would
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                  prove to be a tougher nut to crack. Larrivée  guitars, with
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                  their wood binding, marquetry rosettes, clear pickguards,  and
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                  Renaissance-style inlay designs, were a bit out of step with 
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                  American fashion. Still, there were some bright spots. Several
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                  high-profile artists purchased guitars and word began to get
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                  around.  More than a few American musicians made the trip to
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                  Toronto in search  of a Larrivée guitar, and some American
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                  dealers began stocking them.</P>
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                  <P>In  1977, Jean and Wendy pulled up stakes and moved the
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                  company to  Victoria, British Columbia. The wet coastal
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                  forests of Canada's Pacific  Rim produce some of the finest
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                  spruce and cedar in the world, and Jean  realized that future
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                  growth could hinge on access to these tone woods.  Of course,
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                  there was also the allure of Canada's mildest climate and  the
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                  spectacular scenery of British Columbia.</P>
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                  <P align="left">In Victoria, Jean began to concentrate  on the
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                  problems of manufacturing instruments in larger quantities. 
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                  Setting up shop for the first time in space that was purchased
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                  rather  than rented made it practical to install a climate
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                  controlled  construction room and an industrial paint booth.
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                  Jean designed and  built specialized machines and tooling
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                  which made it possible to build  more guitars, and to achieve
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                  a higher level of precision at the same  time. Within a year
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                  of the move, fourteen people were producing four  guitars a
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                  day.</P>
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                  <P> While the  company continued to grow and prosper in
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                  Victoria, eventually the  problems inherent in being on an
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                  island became too much. In 1982, a  decision was made to
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                  relocate to the mainland. It was the era of  electronic
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                  keyboards and day-glow electric guitars, and a tough time  for
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                  nearly all acoustic guitar builders. Rather than cut back on 
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                  production and lay off employees, Jean decided to take the "if
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                  you  can't beat 'em, join 'em" route. In 1983, he began to
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                  build solid body  electrics.</P>
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                  <P>By 1989, the market  for acoustic guitars had begun to
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                  improve. Jean once again turned his  full attention to his
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                  first love. The knowledge gained from electric  guitars proved
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                  invaluable as Jean reinvented his acoustic guitar  production
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                  techniques. New tooling was built. Computer-controlled 
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                  milling machines were brought into the process. New models
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                  were added.</P>
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                  <P> In 1991, when the Acoustic market had made a full come
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                  back, Larrivée  moved to a bigger building. At first it seemed
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                  a little difficult to  fill 11000 square feet. (At the time
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                  only 25 guitars a day were being  made by 35 people) However,
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                  it soon became apparent that that 11000  square feet wasn't
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                  enough...</P>
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                  <P> An  the beginning of 1997, Larrivée introduced a model
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                  called the D-03. It  was originally intended to be a limited
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                  run of 1000 but, as soon as  people caught on to the fact that
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                  it was the only all solid wood guitar  for under $800, the
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                  demand increased and it&nbsp; became a standard model.</P>
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                  <P> In early March 1998, Larrivée Guitars moved to a new 33000
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                  square foot  facility in the heart of Vancouver, where 100
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                  highly skilled people in  the Guitar industry made 60-72
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                  guitars a day. Much of this production  was to accommodate our
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                  largest client at the time. On September 1st  2001 Larrivee
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                  expanded again, and opened the door on it's new factory  in
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                  southern California. Ten days later the events of 9/11
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                  occurred. As  you can imagine this was not a time for
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                  companies to be expanding. The  following two years were quite
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                  turbulent for the guitar industry as a  whole. People where
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                  not spending money on acoustic guitars. Almost  every major
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                  manufacturer was having layoffs - Including ourselves. 
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                  Production dropped to 35 guitars a day. Over the next two
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                  years,  Larrivee would go through of number of production
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                  changes including: a  refocus towards high-end guitar, A
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                  redesign of the -03 Series, and the  development of the
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                  Traditional Series.</P>
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                  <P> Today Jean, his wife Wendy, his son Matthew and daughter
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                  Christine all  work in the California plant producing the
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                  gloss finish guitars. Jean's  other son John Jr runs the
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                  Canadian plant which produces our satin  models.</P>
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                  <P> Since the move, our  company has continued to grow.
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                  Reflecting this growth, and our  continued deployment of
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                  leading-edge production tools, we also acquired  two new Fadal
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                  CNC machines in spring, bringing our total CNC complement  up
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                  to 8, as well as a Laser cutter. These additions to our
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                  factory have  allowed us to achieve even higher levels of
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                  efficiency and quality  control which benefit buyers and
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                  players of Larrivée guitars.”</P>
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                  <P align="justify">&nbsp;</P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR>
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          <TD class="bottomnav" vAlign="middle" colSpan="2" align="center"><A
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            class="nav2" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jean-Larrivee-Guitars/104036859643329">
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            Larrivee on Facebook </A> | <A class="nav2" href="http://www.myspace.com/jeanlarriveeguitars">Larrivee
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            on Myspace</A> | <A class="nav2" href="http://www.larriveewearables.com/">Online
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            Store</A></TD></TR>
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        <TR>
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    <TD class="rightshadow" vAlign="top" align="left">&nbsp;</TD></TR>
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align="left">&nbsp;</TD></TR>
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  <TR>
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    <TD class="copyright" vAlign="top" colSpan="3" align="right">© 2009 Jean
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      Larrivee Guitar  Inc. All Rights Reserved </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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[[Category:Larrivee]]
 
[[Category:Larrivee]]

Revision as of 17:16, 20 October 2010

(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




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