Forum III roll call and reunion

[Mr_LV19E]

That is a beautiful top Jordan.

[tuffythepug]

Jordan, yours and mine were a couple of the very few which got the mahogany top and herringbone purfling.  Mine didn't get near as much of the flam on the top though.  And, of course, it was built backwards !

[Jagadis]

My mistake.  There were a few Venetian cutaway Forum IIIs with mahogany backs and sides.  None had mahogany tops.

Jordan

[kaos]

Actually, there were three hog top forum 3 guitars made with a cutaway.  I have one.  Ky Moose got one as did Dotneck, but Dotneck sold his.  Ky and I both opted for the herringbone purfling as well.  Mine is number 8 and a genuine keeper.

mary

[Danny]

Very nice and very rare

[abalone at last]

great story from everyone. It was a good read for me. Matt that forum III song was great.

[tuffythepug]

Mary, I forgot all about yours.  Thanks for setting the record straight !

[dazdarren]

The use of Italian Spruce top for me was a big reason I bought a Forum III. There was talk that the Italian spruce was cut in 1972 although that does seem like a long time to sit on some prime wood.  Does anyone know if those spruce tops really were cut tht long ago?  Additionally does anyone have playing experience with other Italian spruce top Larrivees and have views on tonal qualities and differences between the forum III and other Italian spruce tops?

[Jagadis]

The use of Italian Spruce top for me was a big reason I bought a Forum III. There was talk that the Italian spruce was cut in 1972 although that does seem like a long time to sit on some prime wood.  Does anyone know if those spruce tops really were cut tht long ago?  Additionally does anyone have playing experience with other Italian spruce top Larrivees and have views on tonal qualities and differences between the forum III and other Italian spruce tops?

Here is the link where Danny first discussed the Italian spruce before we brought up the idea of convincing JCL to use his stash of Italian spruce for our guitars:  

http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=22941.msg202163#msg202163

My favorite memory of the design phase of the FIII was Ricky's ever present BREAKING NEWS posts every time we got an important update on the final build specs.  Go to the Forum guitar Wiki and read through the design thread from Dec 2008 for lots of good memories.  

Jordan

[Mikeymac]

I'm one of those who is very sorry to miss the opportunity to own one of these. I was hanging around here then, but didn't jump in. Regrets... 

[kaos]

There are probably forum members who are tired of all the Forum 3 owners gloating over their guitars. But it truly was an incredible experience. There was a pall over the country (USA) as we slipped into one of our deepest recessions, but on the forum there was nothing but giddy excitement over the production of our special guitars. Everyone knows that feeling when you are waiting for a new guitar to arrive, but multiply that by 78 forum members and it becomes mass hysteria. It was our Woodstock moment. Of course, when everyone finally got their guitars, and there was a resounding Yes!, everyone convinced his or her guitar was the best of the build, it was like the final note of a great song. Some will say I am over the top here, but that is my memory of the event, and I have a fantastic guitar to show for it. I will never forget.

mary

[tuffythepug]

Mary, you captured the magic of the Forum III project beautifully.  What an exciting time to be a forum member

[pierrev]

I still have mine  # 74 and it's not going anywhere. I did not ordered mine at that time due to money problems at that time, but i was lucky to fix it and a Forum III showed up on Trinity Guitars site in June 2009 and i grabbed it. I dont remember the name of the member but he exchanged it for i guess another guitar, i got the full warranty from Larrivee and a perfect and new guitar and it feel like i ordered it at he same time that the rest of the crowd. I like the size so much that a couple a year ago i called the famous Uncle Rob and bought is LS09 FM and know these are the two only guitars i own but i would like to find a CS 05-09. Did they ever make any?

Vive la Forum III

Pierrev

[B0WIE]

Really great, reading these stories. 

[BenF]

I keep getting uglier, but my Forum III is still as beautiful as the day it arrived 

[teh]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and additional thanks to Mary (Kaos) for sharing the photo and story of her Forum III guitar.

The herringbone is a nice touch that really accents the guitars in the photos that Jordan and Tuffy posted.

[redwoodwildflower]

I have been reading about the forum guitars, and I just have to say it makes me even more impressed with Larrivee. When I first started researching Larrivee, I liked that it came across as a small family business, and that they were producing quality product. It's great to see that they even do these forum guitars and interact with the board at times. I am truly impressed with Larrivee.

[dazdarren]

I've been playing my forum III s lot lately and I'm still imorsssed at how light it is, how good it sounds and mine still has that unique and food smell that others have commented on.

[Jagadis]

I have no idea why these Forum III guitars smell so good after all these years.  I keep thinking the smell will fade but mine still smells great.  Maybe the glue in the guitar case was laced with vanilla scent or something...hehehe.

Too funny.

Jordan

[Mr_LV19E]

If it still smells like new its spending too much time in its case.