The Forum VI Waiting Room

[mike in lytle]

I cannot believe I missed another forum guitar! I logged in just to see if there was one in progress 

The Forum VI happened really fast.
There had been another thread that touched on a new Forum earlier in 2021, that you participated in. I didn't even read that thread until after the Forum VI discussion started. There were notions expressed in that thread that the Forum VI discussion threw out the window, for example, we did not start with a price point to stay under, but we DID start with a specific body size. We did not ever contact a dealer, and were surprised when John said the guitar would be ordered direct from Larrivee because our spec was so solid we didn't need a dealer. So we ended up with a Forum guitar that fewer people could afford, yet it had the benefit of consensus after the usual "give and take", plus we had John's ear along the way.

I admit I had no idea what we were doing or where we would end up with the Forum VI, but I couldn't very well be vocal and then do nothing. Once the discussion got underway, I was along for the ride, like everyone else. It was cool.
Mike

[musicrowscott]

Truthfully Mike,

I jumped in for the fun of it, thinking the process would probably fizzle out...and it was exciting to spec something totally different from any of my other Larrivees. As it became more real and when I got the text from John, I had to (oh so gently) let my wife know that I "may have accidentally bought another guitar" 

She was not amused...LOL!

Ah well...I'm so happy this pushed forward the way that it did, so stoked to open the case that first time!!!

Cheers,

SS

[mike in lytle]

Truthfully Mike,
I jumped in for the fun of it, thinking the process would probably fizzle out...

Truthfully Scott,
When you jumped in, I knew the Forum VI was destined for success...

[mike in lytle]

As another "data point", a dealer on Facebook just got one of the OM-40 moonwood/walnut guitars, and when I asked how long it took to deliver after ordering, the reply was around 7 months.
Mike

[musicrowscott]

That's Okay...THIS is the perfect time to give extra attention to all your other guitars you will be ignoring for a while once we finally get that box on our front step!

Ha!

Cheers,

SS

[Jagadis]

I missed out on this one but I am an original owner of one of the few all mahogany FIII's so I'm content to watch on the sidelines while you guys have fun.  I'm also the person who originally posted all the FIII production photos so here is a working link to the album in case you want to see how our FIII's were constructed.  

And now for your viewing (and waiting) pleasure  

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rA82N43RfjYQvxrx6

Jagadis

[mike in lytle]

I missed out on this one but I am an original owner of one of the few all mahogany FIII's so I'm content to watch on the sidelines while you guys have fun.  I'm also the person who originally posted all the FIII production photos so here is a working link to the album in case you want to see how our FIII's were constructed. 
And now for your viewing (and waititing) pleasure 
Jagadis

Thanks for this. I am blown away.
Mike

[jpmist]

I’m also the person who originally posted all the FIII production photos so here is a working link to the album in case you want to see how our FIII’s were constructed. 

And now for your viewing (and waititing) pleasure 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rA82N43RfjYQvxrx6

Jagadis

WOW, WOW, WOW!!!

Hopefully the pics can be offered as a permanent sticky for the site!

Amazing sequence of pics!

I was impressed once again with how much handwork is done on guitars with so many steps from raw wood to music.

Thanks for posting!

[Jagadis]

What was so fun about the FIII wait process was the John Larrivee kept teasing us every few weeks by posting half a dozen pictures from the production floor as our guitars made their way through the process.  It started to get really exciting when we were each given serial number because you could could actually pick out your own guitar in a few of the photos and it sorta became a "Where's Waldo" kinda activity every time John L posted new photos.  My FIII is still my favourite and the one guitar I will never sell.  I still suspect that Jean L went well out of his way to pick out some really special wood for these FIII guitars and the instrument is such a joy to look at and play. 

Enjoy the wait.  It's worth it.

Jagadis

[Rockysdad]

Thanks very much for the insight & photos. 
And now, back to thumb twiddling.

[Mikeymac]

Yes - thanks for posting those pics of the F-III build!

The location of the bridge/bridge plate on these - BETWEEN the two parallel braces - is interesting... because of the 12-fret neck/body joint. It would be interesting to see the underside of an LS top with a 14-fret neck/body joint for comparison...

[Riverbend]

I missed out on this one but I am an original owner of one of the few all mahogany FIII's so I'm content to watch on the sidelines while you guys have fun.  I'm also the person who originally posted all the FIII production photos so here is a working link to the album in case you want to see how our FIII's were constructed.  

And now for your viewing (and waiting) pleasure  

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rA82N43RfjYQvxrx6

Jagadis

WOW!!! Thank you for this! It's been pretty quiet here as of late and this whetted my appetite a bit.

[mike in lytle]

The location of the bridge/bridge plate on these - BETWEEN the two parallel braces - is interesting... because of the 12-fret neck/body joint. It would be interesting to see the underside of an LS top with a 14-fret neck/body joint for comparison...

What would be interesting is seeing the bracing on a 12 fret, hybrid braced, smaller body guitar.
We do know the Notable LS was similar to ours, except short scale. Fraiser1 has one of those.
I asked John if such a pic was available, and no, it wasn't, but he did send the illustrative Larrivee bracing style photo.
The parallel braces can move around, but the F-VI does not have parallel braces.
The bracing and bridge plate on the Forum III generated the comment that the lower bout was really only supported by one brace and perhaps the bridge plate was structural, in addition to being a bridge mount. You can see the parallel braces have been shifted forward a lot on the F-III.
Who know what the bridge plate on the F-VI will end up looking like. I think the only thing similar would be the 000-40 bracing.
I don't know much about it, it's all black magic to me.
Mike

[Mikeymac]

I'll post the pic again (below) just to have these on the same page - but that (rosewood) bridge plate on the 12-fret body is quite a bit larger than the rosewood bridge plates in the photo that John, Jr. sent (above).

I wonder if they've modified that bridge plate and made it any smaller for the Forum VI, or it they/Larrivee think it's necessary to have it be that large for structural reasons. I would think that large of a bridge plate would have some impact on the movement of the top, and therefore the tone of the guitar.

Just making observations and small talk...

[Jagadis]

I'll post the pic again (below) just to have these on the same page - but that (rosewood) bridge plate on the 12-fret body is quite a bit larger than the rosewood bridge plates in the photo that John, Jr. sent (above).

I wonder if they've modified that bridge plate and made it any smaller for the Forum VI, or it they/Larrivee think it's necessary to have it be that large for structural reasons. I would think that large of a bridge plate would have some impact on the movement of the top, and therefore the tone of the guitar.

Just making observations and small talk...

I think the bridge is in a different position for a 12 (lower) vs 14 (higher) fret guitar.  That's why the pictures may be different?  Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Jagadis

[Mikeymac]

I think the bridge is in a different position for a 12 (lower) vs 14 (higher) fret guitar.  That's why the pictures may be different?  Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Yes - and that was my point; not only is it in a different position - that different position requires modifying the top braces to accommodate that change in location...and I had never seen the underside of a top with one of the parallel braces between the bridge plate and the sound hole.

That's all - carry on.

[Bard]

Yeah, that 12 fret bridge plate sure does take up more real estate. However, one thing we can't tell is how thick any of them are. Perhaps the larger bridge plate can be thinner because of the larger area.

[mike in lytle]

Yes - and that was my point; not only is it in a different position - that different position requires modifying the top braces to accommodate that change in location...and I had never seen the underside of a top with one of the parallel braces between the bridge plate and the sound hole.
That's all - carry on.

In a follow up to John (considering the lack of photos) I asked if Larrivee made 12 fret OM's with the hybrid bracing. He said they had made ton's of them,as well as standard. So the bracing we see on the F-III is probably similar to a 12 fret OM. It is just we have rarely seen it.
Photos of the F-VI bracing will probably be the first time anyone outside the factory has been able to have a good look with the hybrid system on a smaller guitar.
All part of the adventure of a non-standard custom. We are so brave! At least we know Larrivee knows how to handle the available real estate.
Mike

[mike in lytle]

Yeah, that 12 fret bridge plate sure does take up more real estate. However, one thing we can't tell is how thick any of them are. Perhaps the larger bridge plate can be thinner because of the larger area.

That is a good point, except the main job of the bridge plate has a bit to do with keeping the string ball ends from wearing through the spruce top. They dig in to the bridge plate instead. Normal wear and tear.
Mike

[mike in lytle]

I wonder if they've modified that bridge plate and made it any smaller for the Forum VI, or it they/Larrivee think it's necessary to have it be that large for structural reasons. I would think that large of a bridge plate would have some impact on the movement of the top, and therefore the tone of the guitar.
Just making observations and small talk...

We can certainly ask about that, since we have John's ear, but it is more fun for now to theorize and assume and guess, and then later we can find out who was more right. And I am not making a joke of that, because we will ask about it. It's our guitar.
Mike