I am currently watching Alamo music fellas interviewing Matthew Larrivee,I think this is new? My first time seeing it & in this interview,Matthew mentions the LJ Larrivee body wonder if the LJ was ever a Forum guitar limited build,or if they might make more L Jumbos and what others experienced with them?
Quote from: shellback on October 03, 2025, 07:13:41 PMI am currently watching Alamo music fellas interviewing Matthew Larrivee,I think this is new? My first time seeing it & in this interview,Matthew mentions the LJ Larrivee body wonder if the LJ was ever a Forum guitar limited build,or if they might make more L Jumbos and what others experienced with them?
Maybe a link?
You can likely have one custom made. You won't see them unless an individual or a shop has one made.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS9trlvoQ1M
The best Larrivee interview ever been made.
Just a few days old, Matt does an outstanding job.
I could comment endlessly, but won't.
Nearly an hour, worth every minute.
Mike
Was pretty much familiar with the company genesis but what I found most interesting:
- Matt's philosophy on bracing
- that the Larrivee bracing is moonspruce
- using the Santa Ana winds daily to condition their wood and the resultant crack free tops
Can't wait to hear more!
Really enjoyed that and commented on the YouTube video.
- Has moon spruce bracing been used since the very first days?? Did not know that.
Could make a million more comments but shall leave it there.
Better than watching a feature-length film - really enjoyed it.
Makes me want (yet another...) Larrivee !
--> For any mods.. I am unable to login via my phone (I'm on desktop right now) owing to having to check "cookie settings" but 3rd party cookies are allowed on phone. Hmm..
--> For any mods.. I am unable to login via my phone (I'm on desktop right now) owing to having to check "cookie settings" but 3rd party cookies are allowed on phone. Hmm..
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I am only logged in on my phone, as I've fallen prey to the "cookie settings" black hole. No matter what I do with my cookie settings, I am always logged out and go thru the same hassle, which I've given up on. Been this way for months. Sorry for the highjack.
I found this a fascinating interveiw. I learned so much about Larrivee guitars, enjoyed the stories, and the humorous interactions between Matt and Chris.
Just watched the video. Lots of amazing information there and I learned a LOT about what Larrivee does and what they put into building a guitar. Truly fascinating.
And there is just now... another long Matt interview at Alamo Music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw8q0k2WbQo&t=1033s
"The Top 5 Larrivee Guitars", its great.
Mike
A couple of very informative videos.
Thanks for the links.
It sounds like the OM-40R is their top selling instrument. Matt even mentions that one first in the second video.
Thanks for the link. I've found Matt's interviews in the past couple years to be really great. He shares the passion and likes to give information that's actually interesting to hear. Not the typical brand representative reciting marketing literature.
Apologies for not sending link for the Alamo interview;did enjoy it,the happy accidents of wood chipping Matthew touched upon,I'm still trying to wrap my head around the comment about the bracing not being necessarily as significant as ( a non luthier ) I always believed it was.So the Stiffness to weight ratio of the moonspruce bracing is what's significant? Above and below the soundboard I love the look of it,the moonspruce that is.
I just finished the second interview conducted by Alamo Music with Matt Larrivee and they discussed a lot of what I wanted to know more about including Matt's thought provoking comments about the impact of tariffs on business and future potential material costs.
In June 2024, I took a road trip down the Pacific Coast Highway with my son who was moving from Olympia, WA to San Antonio, TX. The trip included a stop in Oxnard and a personal tour of the factory with Matt that his brother John set up for us. I got to see the progress on my 00-24 and actually hold some of the moonwood spruce braces. My only regret was that I missed meeting John, Jean and Wendy who were on their way to Vancouver. As the owner of five Larrivees including a parlor and LV (12 string) made in Vancouver, BC and an LSV (Forum VI), 00 and Baker T Pro made in Oxnard, CA, I can confirm that each of my guitars is truly unique. Last night, I played the Baker T Pro (my first and only electric guitar), and it was hard to put down. Matt's description of that guitar is spot on and the design and quality of the Baker T is obvious as soon as you open the case.
Two topics that were discussed in the video focused on pickups and cases. Based on John's recommendation, I added factory installed "no cut" pickups to my LSV and 00 and upgraded to the Larrivee arch top hard shell case. For those of you who are waiting patiently (or restlessly) for your Forum VII guitar, buckle up and prepare yourselves to be wowed. For context, I held the top, back and body of my 00 in my hands on June 25th and the finished guitar arrived at my house on October 3, 2024. In all fairness, the Baker T Matt sold me was delivered the first week of July 2024 to distract me from the wait.
Fascinating videos, watching them now!
Thanks for the warning, TEH, I am estimating December for the forum VII's to ship...
After watching these videos, I really do appreciate the time it is taking to build the forum VII. You can't rush perfection. :bowdown:
I really enjoyed both interviews and truly thought Matt's hamburger analogy in the top 5 interview was insightful. If you haven't listened or viewed the interviews, they are worth the time. The hour-long interview is available on Alamo's podcast, The Fretboard Confessional in the event one wants to listen accordingly.
Keep strumming!
Very insightful stuff, and Matt is incredibly well spoken. I'll bet the guys at Alamo Music really enjoyed their time with him. Thanks for sharing! :cheers
I listened to both interviews. Very informative, particularly the (brief) history of Mr Larrivee (the elder and original) and his life. Sounds like he had a rough start but made it through with hard work and determination. I personally would enjoy learning more about that. It must be an amazing life story.
Maybe it was just Matthew's choice of words or just his conversational style, but it sounds like it's now his shop and he's running it and making decisions? ("The woods I choose, how I wind pickups, one of my designs," etc) What role does Mr Larrivee still play? As well as John Larrivee? etc. Is it still a family-run company or has it become Matthew Larrivee Guitars?
Quote from: Silence Dogood on October 08, 2025, 09:21:16 PMI listened to both interviews. Very informative, particularly the (brief) history of Mr Larrivee (the elder and original) and his life. Sounds like he had a rough start but made it through with hard work and determination. I personally would enjoy learning more about that. It must be an amazing life story.
Maybe it was just Matthew's choice of words or just his conversational style, but it sounds like it's now his shop and he's running it and making decisions? ("The woods I choose, how I wind pickups, one of my designs," etc) What role does Mr Larrivee still play? As well as John Larrivee? etc. Is it still a family-run company or has it become Matthew Larrivee Guitars?
It would be interesting if Mr. Larrivee were to write a biography especially since this will be a generational run business.
Quote from: William2 on October 09, 2025, 10:58:59 AMIt would be interesting if Mr. Larrivee were to write a biography...
I'd be one of the first in line for that book. I know Bob Taylor wrote a book some years ago but I've never read it. I doubt there are a lot of publishers knocking on doors for books from guitar-makers, but even something self-published and available in the Larrivee store would be great for those who know (or want to know more!).
Quote from: Silence Dogood on October 09, 2025, 11:29:45 AMI'd be one of the first in line for that book. I know Bob Taylor wrote a book some years ago but I've never read it. I doubt there are a lot of publishers knocking on doors for books from guitar-makers, but even something self-published and available in the Larrivee store would be great for those who know (or want to know more!).
I agree, just listening to M L's brief outline of his Dads early life would be a very interesting read in itself,and of course,the story of how it all got going for him from his first experiences as an apprentice luthier,fascinating stuff to any Larrivee guitar fan surely.
Thanks for posting these interviews. I watched both videos. Matt covers lots of interesting ground from the factory builder's perspective. But the one thing that really jumped out at me was his response to "voicing" guitars. He says he prefers a proven formula over individual voicing. I've read a lot about this process, and I think I've come to the conclusion that there probably really is lot of "mumbo jumbo" (Matt's words) in this process.* Go read William Cumpiano's blog on his thoughts. He thinks most makers are fooling themselves with the voicing process, himself preferring the term "minimum adequate structure" instead. He's a veteran builder and even wrote one of the first definitive books on guitar building.
Lightening the guitar in the right places will indeed make a guitar louder and bassier. Better? That's up to the individual. I know SCGC, for example, tunes their tops and backs to specific pitches. Best I can tell is they tune them a musical third apart from each other, and doing so will result in a different sound. Better? I like it, but I've also played guitars that weren't tuned in such a way, and they sound great as well. Maybe that's a kinda of voicing, I guess, but it still seems formulaic. Completely understandable in a factory setting. Incidentally, I also had a newer Taylor once that had its top and back tuned a musical third apart. I thought it sounded quite good.
Food for thought. It's great to hear guitar makers cover these topics. Well done, Matt.
*I've played too many great sounding guitars that were built to a formula to think that "voicing" is a must.
FWIW, SCGC doesn't shoot for specific pitches but a harmonious relationship between the nodes.
I'd have to personally disagree with Matt as I've found it can make all the difference in the world. But, we're also talking about a wildly different price range with base level Larrivees being less than 1/4 the cost of the least expensive SCGS. I personally think each company is the best at what they do, and absolutely worth their respective costs, but they're doing two different things, IMO.
Writing a book would be a massive undertaking, especially one about the history of a company where the entire family is immersed in running all aspects of the business. I've learned a lot about the Larrivee Guitar Company from the videos and interviews they have produced or participated in over the years. What I like most about the Larrivee story is the fact that they built their own identity.
Perusing my bookshelves, I have 10 books written about the history of Martin Guitars. The first was "Martin Guitars: A History" written by Mike Longworth and published in 1976. Out of 219 pages, the last 101 pages cover guitar specifications and production totals. Six of the books were written or co-written by long time employee and company historian/archivist Dick Boak. One of the most interesting reads is "Images of America: C.F. Martin & Co." published in 2014 by Arcadia Publishing in Charleston SC. This 127 page book is chock full of photographs and captions that outline the company from 1796, C.F. Martin's birth year the birth of Chris Martin's daughter Claire who was born in 2004. The book shows it is available in paperback on Amazon for $13.60 and I own the other two books including "The C.F.Martin Archives" listed for $36.77. This book is a must for any guitar nerd like me.