HI Folks,
For over 50 years, we have had our heads down in the sawdust, building fine guitars. As my brother and I look ahead to the next 50, getting an outside perspective on our company, brand, and future would be a good idea. So we teamed up with an experienced marketing firm, helping us discover more about ourselves and asking some really important questions. And we thought, why not talk to some of the most important people we know - our Larrivée Forum members. Enthusiasts and aficionados alike. Can you help us by taking a short survey? We'd really appreciate your honest opinion so we can keep making the best guitars we can.
Survey link: https://s.surveyplanet.com/w22wvik3
(https://s.surveyplanet.com/w22wvik3)
Thanks.
John Jr. & Matthew
I'm in!
Done!
:+1:
Did it.
Did it.
This is awesome!
Thanks for giving us an opportunity to provide feedback.
Completed, I hope the survey request got plenty of replies.
Done!
Quote from: teh on February 22, 2025, 03:53:18 AMThanks for giving us an opportunity to provide feedback.
Ditto.
One of the better surveys I've seen. Too often consumer surveys are designed to gather what they want to hear as opposed to what I want to tell them.
It was nice that I had the opportunity to pound the table pretty hard for a model I wished they'd offer. My overall take was that I'm fine with where Larrivee is now in the marketplace, I just wish they had a dealer in my city.
I wish there were more dealers too. I had to drive a couple hours just to try a Larrivee when the brand peaked my interest. I'm glad I did. Otherwise I would've ended up with a Martin.
I just completed the survey, hope it helps.
Thanks for inviting the input.
I just got a questionnaire from Larrivee. I found the one I got in the mail much more answerable than the one on this sight as this one involves business aspects and questions I couldn't really answer. The one I got in an email. asked questions about things I could answer.
While it would be great to see the younger Larrivees take the company to another level, I sincerely hope they will never lose the family-owned vibe of the company. The worst thing in the world would be to see an imported line of Larrivee guitars introduced, for example. But whatever they do, I wish them well.
Completing survey now...
Quote from: William2 on February 22, 2025, 01:39:30 PMI just got a questionnaire from Larrivee. I found the one I got in the mail much more answerable than the one on this sight as this one involves business aspects and questions I couldn't really answer. The one I got in an email. asked questions about things I could answer.
. The one you filled out was an accident. Fortunately, you were the only one, and I caught it right away.
Submitted!
I got the email yesterday and completed it.
Just completed the online survey. One of the questions (can't remember which) says to select all that apply. But it provides radio buttons not checkboxes, so you can only select one of the available options.
Quote from: JamesN on February 24, 2025, 06:37:36 PMJust completed the online survey. One of the questions (can't remember which) says to select all that apply. But it provides radio buttons not checkboxes, so you can only select one of the available options.
That happened to me as well. Was going to mention which question it was, but I forgot.
Mike
I recall the question in question ( :wink:) but didn't worry about it because it wasn't really going to impact what they're after.
Also, I had recommended a monthly Larrivee podcast/YouTube in my survey. If this is of any interest to them I'd volunteer my time in arranging topics, questions, contacting guests, etc. They'd just need someone to help with editing video and setting up zoom calls, which is the other half of the work.
I also recommended regularly scheduled YouTube recordings.
But I suggested a professional studio and/or performing musician to introduce him or her self and the featured instrument, and then play (or sing & play) one song each session.
Best if this was a different musician each time or at least a roster or rotating list of players.
Different styles and genres.
Among all the videos I've seen over 20+ years I've never seen a single one with anyone playing slide guitar on a Larrivee.
I'm not lobbying for slide necessarily, but I'd like to see more variety and virtuosos really showing off and drawing attention to what's possible.
There's a fairly old video of Tommy Emmanuel and an even older one of Larry Pattis playing a parlor and several of Denis Turbide.
These are powerful and compelling presentations to introduce Larrivee to the uninitiated public, and serves to encourage and inspire all of us to play more and play better.
Queequeg- there is a fella called Bob Brown who regularly posts on Larrivee Guitar Players FB page, his videos are mainly of him playing a Larrivee P-09 with a slide.
Quote from: Gill on February 25, 2025, 03:04:34 AMQueequeg- there is a fella called Bob Brown who regularly posts on Larrivee Guitar Players FB page, his videos are mainly of him playing a Larrivee P-09 with a slide.
Thanks, Gill.
(Never heard of him.)
I did check him out.
I don't have a facebook account but I found his videos on YouTube.
Quote from: B0WIE on February 24, 2025, 11:19:07 PMAlso, I had recommended a monthly Larrivee podcast/YouTube in my survey. If this is of any interest to them I'd volunteer my time in arranging topics, questions, contacting guests, etc. They'd just need someone to help with editing video and setting up zoom calls, which is the other half of the work.
Though the podcast world is overly-saturated these days, a Larrivee-themed podcast would be great. I think this is a wonderful idea. One of the problems with podcasts is that people try and post new episodes too often, making them predictable and ultimately uninteresting. A really well-done podcast released quarterly would be better than something so-so released too often. My .02 on the matter.
Done :wave :nice guitar:
Quote from: Silence Dogood on February 25, 2025, 08:13:23 AMThough the podcast world is overly-saturated these days, a Larrivee-themed podcast would be great. I think this is a wonderful idea. One of the problems with podcasts is that people try and post new episodes too often, making them predictable and ultimately uninteresting. A really well-done podcast released quarterly would be better than something so-so released too often. My .02 on the matter.
I've found that monthly seems to be common for companies. The difference with product podcasts is that they stay for years as a lasting ad of sorts. Showing, these are real people and here's the people and things they interact with. For personalities, sports, current events, etc it's weekly or greater. Most companies, especially in the musical instrument field, seem to do monthly. I'm not sure I've seen quarterly. Would be hard to get a YouTube algorithm to push something that posts quarterly.
I happily completed it.
Done! :thumb
Oh, and also my first post here where I have owned my Larrivee since 2008(ish) :wave
Welcome aboard S2k, You've got three nice guitars. Stick around and chime in.
,
By the way, what does the RE-KBS suffix mean on your Larrivee LV-03 RE-KBS?
Quote from: teh on March 04, 2025, 06:20:23 PMWelcome aboard S2k, You've got three nice guitars. Stick around and chime in.
,
By the way, what does the RE-KBS suffix mean on your Larrivee LV-03 RE-KBS?
Cheers for the welcome teh 👍 ..and yeah I really love the 3 guitars I have where they were all bought new by me. The Strat was way back in 1988 and remember it being a painfully expensive purchase as was young and broke! 😂
Apologies if I don't get this 100% right, but from memory the RE means it has rosewood back and sides while the KBS part was a bit of a special edition where it has Koa binding and Abalone rosette.
Quote from: Queequeg on February 25, 2025, 12:08:45 AMAmong all the videos I've seen over 20+ years I've never seen a single one with anyone playing slide guitar on a Larrivee.
Larrivee FIngerstyle Series parts 13 and 14 (https://www.youtube.com/@LarriveeMedia/videos) :thumbs-up
Quote from: J M Larrivée on March 05, 2025, 07:24:01 PMLarrivee FIngerstyle Series parts 13 and 14 (https://www.youtube.com/@LarriveeMedia/videos)
Thanks John. :thumb
I'm embarrassed to say that not so long ago I posted one of his videos on the
Artists board here.
:donut :donut2 :donut :donut2
More than happy to fill out the survey for my favorite guitar brand! It's cool to see that they're looking for this kinda feedback, and I think given the questions in the survey, they should get some great answers from Larrivee players.
I like the idea about a monthly podcast. Great suggestion. I wrote something similar in the survey.
Anyone wanna share what guitar model they suggested? I have quite the affection for Larrivee 12-fretters, so I answered that I'd love to see a 12-fret, cedar-topped model perhaps in a 00 or 000 body :bgrin:
In all my travels, I have never come across a Larrivee nylon string guitar. They offered a classical model with both a Venetian cutaway and a non-cutaway body in the 2008 catalog. A cedar top would be a nice touch. My guess is that there wouldn't be a large enough market for a classical model to warrant building it but I still suggested it on the survey.
My three acoustic Larrivee six string guitars are all 12 fret models including two with a short scale. I have three 14 fret guitars including two dreadnoughts and an OM and a 12 fret 000 that are not Larrivees.
P.S. On an unrelated note, Matthew also sold me on the features of the Baker T Pro last June during my visit to Oxnard so I ended up with my first electric guitar. My son has an American made Fender Telecaster and he likes the Baker T better.
Quote from: teh on March 09, 2025, 11:16:17 AMIn all my travels, I have never come across a Larrivee nylon string guitar. They offered a classical model with both a Venetian cutaway and a non-cutaway body in the 2008 catalog. A cedar top would be a nice touch. My guess is that there wouldn't be a large enough market for a classical model to warrant building it but I still suggested it on the survey.
My three acoustic Larrivee six string guitars are all 12 fret models including two with a short scale. I have three 14 fret guitars including two dreadnoughts and an OM and a 12 fret 000 that are not Larrivees.
P.S. On an unrelated note, Matthew also sold me on the features of the Baker T Pro last June during my visit to Oxnard so I ended up with my first electric guitar. My son has an American made Fender Telecaster and he likes the Baker T better.
Here you go, https://acoustic-corner.com/products/1981-larrivee-l-31-classical?variant=45352059011294&country=US¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=AfmBOool1mlZM2zsAKzT3xiRB5WoweCpLFMGq25BeXFkdh6vCwfj6Z1gbXg&com_cvv=8fb3d522dc163aeadb66e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d56d2c (https://acoustic-corner.com/products/1981-larrivee-l-31-classical?variant=45352059011294&country=US¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=AfmBOool1mlZM2zsAKzT3xiRB5WoweCpLFMGq25BeXFkdh6vCwfj6Z1gbXg&com_cvv=8fb3d522dc163aeadb66e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d56d2c)
and another,https://reverb.com/item/83064039-larrivee-l-35-classical-in-natural-1986-w-hsc (https://reverb.com/item/83064039-larrivee-l-35-classical-in-natural-1986-w-hsc)
Quote from: BlueBowman on March 09, 2025, 10:10:03 AM:donut :donut2 :donut :donut2
More than happy to fill out the survey for my favorite guitar brand! It's cool to see that they're looking for this kinda feedback, and I think given the questions in the survey, they should get some great answers from Larrivee players.
I like the idea about a monthly podcast. Great suggestion. I wrote something similar in the survey.
Anyone wanna share what guitar model they suggested? I have quite the affection for Larrivee 12-fretters, so I answered that I'd love to see a 12-fret, cedar-topped model perhaps in a 00 or 000 body :bgrin:
I suggested a hand-voiced line of guitars. With Larrivee, the sound quality doesn't change a lot between $2k and $5k, you're mostly spending more on cosmetics. A lot of us won't spend on cosmetics but there's a growing market of players now who will pay more for an instrument built in the boutique shop style of hand voiced lutherie (often called "tap tuning").
Regarding nylon string guitars, it's a big market but there's a few problems. The main being that it's a saturated industry and classical players like things traditional. While acoustics cover a wide range from fingerstyle to bluegrass, in nylon you have mostly classical and flamenco. There's a market for crossover but good luck trying to break in there. It's very small, niche, and dominated by companies who have been doing it a long time.
A Larrivee similiar to Willie Nelson's Martin would be amazing. Sort of a 40 series in nylon?
Herman,
Thanks for the links.
Ironically, the second guitar is located in a shop right next door to Lay's Guitar Repair in Akron, OH which is about two hours from my house. That guitar was listed 9 months ago and I'm planning a bike ride on the canal trail that runs through Akron when I return from Florida in early April. If it's still there, I'll stop by and check it out.
I do agree that classical guitar building is a specialized niche that major steel string companies have had a hard time cracking into. It's interesting that both Jean Larrivee and Martin got their start building Nylon string guitars and gravitated over to steel strings. Willie Nelson's Trigger notwithstanding, sales of their N-20 classical rosewood model never really took off. Maybe a second soundhole on the top or a relic'd version would appeal to more buyers.
Quote from: B0WIE on March 09, 2025, 04:19:51 PMI suggested a hand-voiced line of guitars. With Larrivee, the sound quality doesn't change a lot between $2k and $5k, you're mostly spending more on cosmetics. A lot of us won't spend on cosmetics but there's a growing market of players now who will pay more for an instrument built in the boutique shop style of hand voiced lutherie (often called "tap tuning").
This is a wonderful idea, and I'm here for it.
Quote from: B0WIE on March 09, 2025, 04:19:51 PMI suggested a hand-voiced line of guitars. With Larrivee, the sound quality doesn't change a lot between $2k and $5k, you're mostly spending more on cosmetics. A lot of us won't spend on cosmetics but there's a growing market of players now who will pay more for an instrument built in the boutique shop style of hand voiced lutherie (often called "tap tuning").
I like this idea. However, I have seen two videos of Larrivee vs Furch instruments and the Larrivee was the clear winner. I know Furch supposedly voices their instruments, but it didn't work in these two videos. I will say I did see a video of a tour of the Furch facility and the only part of the tour they wouldn't allow was the voicing part. Strange!
Quote from: William2 on March 11, 2025, 11:17:05 AMI like this idea. However, I have seen two videos of Larrivee vs Furch instruments and the Larrivee was the clear winner. I know Furch supposedly voices their instruments, but it didn't work in these two videos. I will say I did see a video of a tour of the Furch facility and the only part of the tour they wouldn't allow was the voicing part. Strange!
I don't know what Furch claims or does but voicing a top properly simply optimizes that individual set of woods and compensates for natural variances in wood. The result is a more harmonious response. When strumming big chords, the overtones line up and there's less dissonance. The voice becomes more of a chorus and even single strings gain a reverberant quality as the other strings ring from sympathetic resonance. If a company does it on more budget minded guitars I'd expect budget level results. It's not the most time consuming thing but it does involve paying a master luthier so it doesn't come cheap. I really think that Larrivee makes as nice an instrument as a factory can and that's why I'd love to see them take it to the next level. Larrivee may not feel it's a profitable venture though, so I understand why they wouldn't.
Quote from: B0WIE on March 11, 2025, 05:56:30 PMI don't know what Furch claims or does but voicing a top properly simply optimizes that individual set of woods and compensates for natural variances in wood. The result is a more harmonious response. When strumming big chords, the overtones line up and there's less dissonance. The voice becomes more of a chorus and even single strings gain a reverberant quality as the other strings ring from sympathetic resonance. If a company does it on more budget minded guitars I'd expect budget level results. It's not the most time consuming thing but it does involve paying a master luthier so it doesn't come cheap. I really think that Larrivee makes as nice an instrument as a factory can and that's why I'd love to see them take it to the next level. Larrivee may not feel it's a profitable venture though, so I understand why they wouldn't.
There may be more to this top tuning. The attached video has a Furch take on a Martin HD-28. For me, it wasn't even close, Furch all the way. Furch tunes their instruments and with this model they even tune the back. These are the same two that weren't allowed to see how Furch does their instrument tuning at a factory tour. They are speculating that Furch instead of tap tuning their instruments, they take a top with the braces on and have another to tune the tops enabling them to tune all their instruments where tap tuning would be too time consuming. While I had mentioned that there are to videos out there with Furch vs Larrivee and i thought Larrivee won, On this video it was Furch all the way and not even close.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v750QW-8ik
Done and Done!
Cheers - SS
Seems I am always the slow one to the party. Just completed your survey.
By the way, I am trying to track down serial number 082706 (neck block shows an "M" and second line is 082706).
the guitar is advertised on FaceBookMarketPlace as Vintage 1979 Larrivee L08 Acoustic Guitar
Not sure where to post this question so starting here.
According to the Larrivee serial number look up that guitar came back as:
Serial Number Manufacture Date Model
82706 Sep 13, 2005 LV-03 Mahogany
Wondering where the seller came up with "Vintage 1979..."
Quote from: xsesive on May 05, 2025, 03:06:42 PMSeems I am always the slow one to the party. Just completed your survey.
By the way, I am trying to track down serial number 082706 (neck block shows an "M" and second line is 082706).
the guitar is advertised on FaceBookMarketPlace as Vintage 1979 Larrivee L08 Acoustic Guitar
Not sure where to post this question so starting here.
Check out the Larrivee guitars main website. They have a serial number look up feature you can use.
Quote from: xsesive on May 05, 2025, 03:06:42 PMI am trying to track down serial number 082706 (neck block shows an "M" and second line is 082706).
the guitar is advertised on FaceBookMarketPlace as Vintage 1979 Larrivee L08 Acoustic Guitar
Not sure where to post this question so starting here.
Manufacture date lookup (https://www.larrivee.com/manufacture-date-lookup) and enter the serial number there.
If you would like specs on your guitar view the Product pages (https://www.larrivee.com/series) by looking up the model number.
Great questions! It was good to offer support!
thank you for asking!
Done and dusted