70's Larrivees

[headsup]

David Bradstreet was at my place last week to perform a house concert and told me a fine story about owning Larrivee #1.  Told me it was made in the same batch of five as Bruce Cockburn's first Larrivee.  David eventually sold his to Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary fame), and it was stolen.  Peter offered a reward and it was returned. Now there's some good karma going on there, that's for certain. If anyone can add any more details about the first batch, that would be really something to hear.

This is Brent Titcomb's 1971 D Larrivee. Built by Jean alone, in his basement workshop.
According Jean, it's the first or second steel string he ever built.
This fact has been verified by Eric Nagler, the owner/proprietor of the Toronto Folklore Centre at that time.

The story goes that Eric wanted to charge Brent extra for the inlays (particular to Brent  ) but Brent insisted the were a "gift" from Jean.

Yes it's road tested, tried and true, and it has a million songs and as many stories.
Sounds and plays great.
It's fine structurally, neck angle good, no indication of bridge issues, intonation good, original grovers.
Not bad for a 42 year old hand made guitar!

I doubt JCL was thinking of sunny California when he made this baby!

[MrBee]

Today I used my '78 L-10 for the first time on a recording project I've started. I was thrilled with the warmth of the sound and the engineer commented on just how wonderful it recorded. Ah the joy!

[maccool]

  Larrivée shop, circa 1977...

I was visting with Mike Jones this last February!  I will link him to this post 

[J M Larrivée]

 Here's another one of Wendy's amazing inlays from the 70's.  As far as I am concerned, it is her "Robin Hood" and all it's variations that strike me as to be her finest. It is a combination of imagination, detail, design/choice of materials, the times and of course overall presentation. It really captures Wendy's unique spirit and certainly personal style.

I currently have 4 versions archived. This would be the first generation.

[Johnny Canso]

I just recently picked up a 78 L-09R & i'm blown away by this instrument!!! So balanced on every note & wide open tone...magical!!!
Hope to get my 74 Larrivee 12 string off to the kind folks in BC real soon for an assessment/repairs!!!
I hope the word has been out for awhile on these vintage Larrivee's....hands down, some of the best guitars i've heard & had the pleasure to  play!!!

[JamesN]

...78 L-09R...
...74 Larrivee 12 string...

[Johnny Canso]

it's in the works!!! 

[JamesN]

Ran across these pics of a 1978 L-28. I've never seen this particular headstock inlay before.

[broKen]

What a treat to see these works of instrumental beauty. Thank you John and others.

[L07 Shooting Star]

I just recently picked up a 78 L-09R & i'm blown away by this instrument!!! So balanced on every note & wide open tone...magical!!!
Hope to get my 74 Larrivee 12 string off to the kind folks in BC real soon for an assessment/repairs!!!I hope the word has been out for awhile on these vintage Larrivee's....hands down, some of the best guitars i've heard & had the pleasure to  play!!!

I would be interested to know what issues with your 74 12 string you are considering having assessed.  Only reason I'm asking is I have a 1985 L-40 12 string that has a couple of potential issues and I wanted to compare if they are the same.

[JamesN]

Ran across these pics of a 1978 L-28. I've never seen this particular headstock inlay before.

Hey...someone from Larrivée posted on their FaceBook page that this guitar was mine. I wish.

I don't own the guitar, I just ran across the pics on a Japanese classified ad website and thought folks here would appreciate them. I don't do FaceBook, so I can't post a disclaimer there. Hopefully someone can clear up the misunderstanding. Sorry if my post implied something disingenuous. It was not intended. [But surely the statement that I'd never seen the headstock inlay before would indicate that the guitar didn't belong to me.]

Here's a link to the sale.

[flatlander]

I didn't take that as being yours cause I figured you would have proudly announced it, if it were...but anyway. What made a 28 a 28? I forgot. I didn't think they were all cutaways were they? Type of wood?

[JamesN]

I didn't take that as being yours cause I figured you would have proudly announced it, if it were...but anyway. What made a 28 a 28? I forgot. I didn't think they were all cutaways were they? Type of wood?

A 28 was a 27 with more appointments -- specifically abalone around the body, MoP on the bridge, and the silver border around the headstock. Both were cutaways.

I do have a 1982 L-27 that I'm pretty proud of. I've never been one for abalone on a guitar body myself, but I sure do appreciate it on Wendy's amazing headstocks.

[flatlander]

Ok thanks. So the only difference between an L-10 and an L-28 was the cutaway?

[JamesN]

Ok thanks. So the only difference between an L-10 and an L-28 was the cutaway?

I believe so. An L-28 was the cutaway version of the L-10 and the L-27 was the cutaway version of the L-19.

Have you seen the old catalog pictures I posted here?

Btw, I do not own all of the guitars in the catalogs. 

[MrBee]

I just noticed a gorgeous '83 L27 for sale on Kijiji tonight. It is located in Halifax and has Brazilian back & sides and a very interesting and somewhat eye raising appraisal. Nice to see a guitar this lovely though.

[flatlander]

I believe so. An L-28 was the cutaway version of the L-10 and the L-27 was the cutaway version of the L-19.

Have you seen the old catalog pictures I posted here?

Btw, I do not own all of the guitars in the catalogs. 

Ha, Yes I just forgot what was what. I had the 80' catalog or brochure from when I got mine but it got lost along the way. It seems it was between the 2 that you have posted as far as the front and back had the same pics and "Rolls Royce of Guitars" deal as the later one but I think the models were more like the 79'.

[Krefett]

Thank you very much for the great threat!

Here are some pictures of my oldest Larrivée - a  1979 L-19 Inlay that I bought new in Cologne 1980. This time I earned my first money before I went to study  and I paid all for this guitar -  but I never was sorry about the deal...

This guitar is a real "keeper" - a true friend...

[swainsong]

Dave Bradstreet ... now there's a blast from the past! Glad to "hear" he's still performing in public.

Ok, so, I met a guy at the inner harbour in Victoria BC back in the early 80's. He was noodling on an old Larri steel string, and I was well aware of Cockburn and Stan Rogers' Larrivees, so I stopped to chat. He offered me the instrument and I asked if he wanted me to tune it "properly" as it was clearly not "standard" but he declined with the explanation that he didn't actually know how to play guitar. A friend of his (while they were both living in Toronto back in the early 70's) owed him a $400 debt and had no prospects for acquiring the money so offered him the guitar in lieu. His friend told him it was the fourth steel string JCL built and so was worth, um, "that much money." This guy knew that it was the guitar (which he couldn't play) or nothing and so accepted, and then stashed the guitar under his bed.
However, what he did do was attach a pair of backpack straps to the hardshell case and used that rig as his "suitcase" to hitchhike around North America (and left the guitar at home under the bed) because he figured he'd get more rides that way (a theory I can personally verify as I always hitchhiked with my guitar and was more successful for that very reason so I was told by the drivers who stopped to pick me up).
Over time he started pulling the guitar out from under his bed now and again, tuned it to whatever suited his ear at the moment, and then just used the instrument as a kind of meditation tool, as he was doing the day I met him. What I remember from attempting to play that guitar was the fat'n'flat  2" non-radiused classical style fretboard ... which I thought was how JCL built all his guitars, and since it was the only Larrivee I'd ever played and thus believed they were all like that, I had no interest in them for decades, preferring instead the nice narrow 9/16ths nut on my 1979 Takamine 349 dread, which I still have to this very day.
But when I went out to finally buy my first "real" Martin in 2007, I played an L-03 by accident ... and of course the rest is history. Never did get the Martin but now have an SD-50, a P-05, a C-"something" (it's rosewood with the fancy fretboard work and I was told made in Vancouver after Jean relocated from Victoria but they still had a stock of "made in Victoria" labels to use up so there's no model # although it is the "large" version L body with 16-7/8 lower bout ...yes, awesome!!) and I have a Baritone BT-03 on hold at L&M as we speak, so that only leaves the LV-03-Re (which for some weird reason I actually like better than all the LV-05s I've played) to complete my little collection ... um, for the time being at least.
Anyway, got sidetracked there - this story of "the Fourth of the First Five" is utterly anecdotal however, due to the shape of the neck I actually did hold in my hand while marveling at the utterly unique and unforgettable rosette, it does hold some credence, and I hope adds something to this discussion. And it is also intriguing to think that that specific instrument might still be out there somewhere under that guy's bed in virtually virgin condition :)

[flatlander]

Oh that added something. Good story.