Jean Larrivée Guitars Inc. is a Canadian company that manufactures

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and acoustic guitars. Founded in 1967 by Jean Larrivée, the company moved from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

, in 1977, and to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in 1982. A second plant opened in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in September 2001. Canadian manufacturing was closed in 2013.

History

Jean Larrivée began a guitar building apprenticeship with Edgar Moench Sr. in

, Canada, and built his first two Larrivée-style guitars. The first Larrivée guitars were based on European classical guitar designs and became part of the Larrivée family collection. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, in 1967 and moved to Victoria, British Columbia, in 1977, and to Vancouver in 1982. In September 2001, Larrivée opened a second plant in California. However, in November 2013 Larrivée announced that it would be consolidating its Canadian division and closing its Vancouver factory. In 1971 Larrivee began adding inlay designs to their guitars and in 1977 inlays became a standard for their guitars. Beginning in 1978 their inlay designs took on a more romantic style. Since 1979 all engravings were designed by Wendy Larrivée except for a 1998 inlay called "The Joker". In 2007 Larrivée began using laser engraving for their inlays. Chris Hadfield performed a cover of David Bowie's "

Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album ''David Bowie''. After the commercial f ...

" on a Larrivée parlor guitar while in orbit on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...

Models

* 03 Recording Series * 40 Legacy Series * 04 Performer Series * 05 Mahogany Select Series * 09 Rosewood Artist Series * 10 Rosewood Deluxe Series * 11 Fingerstyle Series * 50 Mahogany Traditional Series * 60 Rosewood Traditional Series * 30 Series classical guitars

Body Styles

* P - Parlor * PV - Venetian cutaway parlor * OM - Orchestra model * OMV - Venetian cutaway OM * LS -Larrivée small body * LSV - Venetian cutaway small body * L - Larrivée body * LV - Venetian cutaway L-body * C - Florentine cutaway (L - body) * D - Dreadnought * DV - Venetian dreadnought * J - Jumbo * JV - Venetian jumbo * LJ - Larrivée jumbo * LJV - Venetian LJ * 0 - Single "O" * 00 - Double "O" * 000 - Triple "O" * SO - Slope OM - same as 000 * SD - Slope dreadnought The 03 Recording Series features all wood construction without the inlays and high gloss finishes. All models are now produced in the California facility.

Model history

All models

(in numerical order): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 07, 09, 10, 11, 19, 20, 27, 28, 30, 31, 35, 38, 40, 41, 42, 45, 48, 50, 60, 70, 72, 78

Description

* 01, 02, 03, 04 = all satin models with 04 having gloss tops * 05 = glossy mahogany * 07, 09, 11 = glossy rosewood. * 19 = glossy rosewood. * 27 = same as 19 but in cutaway version * 10 = glossy rosewood. * 20 = koa guitar with eagle inlay and feather fingerboard and bridge wing inlays. * 28 = same as 10 but cutaway version * 30 = nylon string classic in both L body and C cutaway * 31, 35 = nylon string classic * 38 = nylon string cutaway * 40 = Legacy Series featuring asymmetrical bracing * 41 = 12 string "19" version * 42 = 12 string "10" version * 45 = 12 string "10" version * 48 = 12 presentation model. * 50 = Traditional Series mahogany * 60 = Traditional Series rosewood * 70 = large sound hole "19" style * 72 = presentation model. * 78 = cutaway version of "72"

References

External links

*
NAMM Oral History Interview with Jean Larrivee
July 28, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Larrivee Guitar manufacturing companies Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Canada Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Vancouver