Forum VI (based on Forum III) any interest?

[markj]

I was going to ask the same about the smaller size of the LS plus the 12 fret nature of this guitar might  be a different animal all together.

I would love to hear an opinion about this particular build from JCL, himself.   

[Strings4Him]

Attached is the current spreadsheet. Click to enlarge.
Anything in pink are preferences still to be stated.
Not sure AZ is still with us, since AZ is a carbon fiber sorta guy.
Mike

Please change my rosette preference to wood (walnut).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[B0WIE]

Asking in innocent ignorance... Does the smaller body of the LS mitigate that issue? THe OM-40s are highly praised - mine included.

Personally, I don't think there's an actual issue to mitigate. I think it's probably just a matter of taste. I can see why JCL might not care for something that isn't his vision of the L. I can also understand why his son might prefer the change.

Yes, the LS body changes things. Whether they are for better or for worse will be in the eye of the beholder. Shame no one can play examples of both for the group.

[mike in lytle]

Update from Larrivee....
The Oxnard group (Jean & Co) is picking out American Walnut for us now. Jean knows we are waiting for news on that. John says they have the backs selected and sides are being selected. We will get the best wood appropriate for the guitar, keeping in mind our desire for economy. I will probably get a photo of the wood to post to the group.
So progress is being made on both sides.
When we get the word on the walnut and we ourselves decide the rosette and bracing stuff, we can work on updating the specification, so Larrivee will have it in their hands. We have not touched the subject of a minimum order, but we know we need to see some sort of cost, and John has not yet mentioned who a dealer might be.
More as things develop.
Mike

[mike in lytle]

I was going to ask the same about the smaller size of the LS plus the 12 fret nature of this guitar might  be a different animal all together.
I would love to hear an opinion about this particular build from JCL, himself.   

Well, we now know Jean knows about the build. I have every confidence that when we send our desired specification, that Jean will know about it. Can you imagine otherwise? Jean will probably do some of the work himself.
I am confident that Larrivee would not let us shoot ourselves in the foot, or lead us somewhere that would not produce the best Forum VI possible, given the cost constraint.
Mike

[mike in lytle]

Personally, I don't think there's an actual issue to mitigate. I think it's probably just a matter of taste. I can see why JCL might not care for something that isn't his vision of the L. I can also understand why his son might prefer the change.

Yes, the LS body changes things. Whether they are for better or for worse will be in the eye of the beholder. Shame no one can play examples of both for the group.

I am not going to weigh in on this just now, but if any of the remaining fence sitters comes back and expresses a strong conviction for standard bracing, I will change my vote and we will have an actual discussion. Bowie's input is valued.
Mike

[mike in lytle]

Walnut pic....
Here is a picture of what the backs will be.
The original file is huge, I resized it to fit the forum picture limits (200 kb)

[Riverbend]

That Walnut looks gorgeous! Worthy of consideration is the comment from Denis back on page 12, stating his warm fuzziest for his custom LV-03 with 40 series bracing. Different animal but close. I'm really appreciating this process.

[LawDogStrgsAttach]

Attached is the current spreadsheet. Click to enlarge.
Anything in pink are preferences still to be stated.
Not sure AZ is still with us, since AZ is a carbon fiber sorta guy.
Mike

Moonwood works for me, since I suppose super gnarly bearclaw is not in the running.  ;) I have no preference on bracing, so hybrid works for me.  I'll ID pickup once pricing is established.  Thanks again!

[mike in lytle]

Moonwood works for me, since I suppose super gnarly bearclaw is not in the running.  ;) I have no preference on bracing, so hybrid works for me.  I'll ID pickup once pricing is established.  Thanks again!

Thanks for this.
We actually considered SGBC in a private online session where everyone except you was there. We said "nah".
If it comes down to another vote on bracing, I will be your proxy. Thank you in advance for your support.
Mike

[B0WIE]

That's excellent walnut. Very nice grain. When finished, it's going to look rich and beautiful.

[mike in lytle]

That's excellent walnut. Very nice grain. When finished, it's going to look rich and beautiful.

I am blown away. I had no idea. I keep zooming in on the original photo John sent me, and can only think "whoa".
Mike

[B0WIE]

I am blown away. I had no idea. I keep zooming in on the original photo John sent me, and can only think "whoa".
Mike

Yea, it's really exciting. The walnut Larrivee I had before sounded great, but the wood itself was dark and nothing to look at. Yours is very nice.
That slight green hue seems to be a good sign with walnut (though it has a bit to do with species). Some of the best pieces I've seen have that, alternating with that beautiful rosy color. The green hides a bit when it's sprayed and the reds/browns come out.
I'd personally recommend flamed maple binding. It plays off of tones in the walnut and makes it "pop". Darker bindings sort of hide and somehow make the walnut look muddy brown and bland. A quick internet search of "walnut acoustic" will show what I mean.

[Frasier1]

I'd personally recommend flamed maple binding. It plays off of tones in the walnut and makes it "pop". Darker bindings sort of hide and somehow make the walnut look muddy brown and bland. A quick internet search of "walnut acoustic" will show what I mean.

This is what I have envisioned since the beginning although I would be interested in the opinion of the guys who do this everyday.  i.e. Jean, John, Matt

[AZLiberty]

Sitka vs Moonwood.....

Does it have the same sort of overtones as sitka? Or is it drier, or brighter? Sustain?

Mike

Drier, cleaner, more fundimental, fewer overtones.   I prefer Sitka or Engelmann

[B0WIE]

Drier, cleaner, more fundimental, fewer overtones.   I prefer Sitka or Engelmann

Did you mean to say that Sitka was the drier one?

Though I'm not trying to debate, there was a quote from John Larrivee earlier in the thread that I thought might confuse people so I'll throw up a couple quotes from resources I've found to be accurate. This isn't to say anyone is right or wrong because interpretations and experiences vary. And, the way the builder thins the top and shaves the braces dictates the result.

Tonewood datasource;
Sitka spruce has a strong fundamental tone with relatively few overtones. This leads to a direct, punchy tone with great headroom.

European or Silver Spruce, the spruce of choice for makers of classical guitars, shares a number of characteristics with Engelmann spruce, including color, lightness of weight, harmonic complexity, and fullness at the lower end of the dynamic range.

Dana Bourgeois on Sitka: A strong fundamental-to-overtone ratio gives Sitka a powerful, direct tone that is capable of retaining its clarity when played forcefully. On the other side of the balance sheet, the lack of a strong overtone component can result in a "thin" tone when played with a relatively light touch-depending, of course, upon the design of the guitar and the other woods used in its construction.

TFoA; Sitka tends to have stronger fundamentals than overtones, and this means that it can sound not quite as robust when played with the lightest touch.

And, a personal note, "moon" spruce is simply alpine (European) spruce. It's claimed to be of a high elevation and harvested at only one time of the year but I don't know that it differs from other alpine spruces used by instrument makers. It's an area of debate. The alpine spruce Larrivee I owned (one that John was directly involved in building and signed by him) was heavy in overtones. Not as bright/clear as Sitka, but more rich and complex. I felt it favored finger style and lead picking, but was not as focused as the Sitka when strumming.

[myungic7]

Hi everyone, I was kindly introduced to this thread after posting here (http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=54592.0)

I'm not sure if expressing interest at this point is binding or anything, but I'm definitely interested in this so far and excited to see how this turns out!!

[mike in lytle]

gtrplayer sent a link to a video of a walnut/moonwood OM-40 which is short, but worth watching.
Not sure what the difference is between american walnut and european walnut, but the guitar itself is not that far from what we are discussing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3A7pPs7t8c

[mike in lytle]

That Walnut looks gorgeous! Worthy of consideration is the comment from Denis back on page 12, stating his warm fuzziest for his custom LV-03 with 40 series bracing. Different animal but close. I'm really appreciating this process.

Denis has used his LV-03 on some really good recordings.
Denis' guitar is sitka/mahogany, and except for being a 12 fret and a venetian cutaway, is the same as the L-40 I played at Guitar Tex in 2016 and posted a review for the group. The L-40 was an excellent guitar and I could not really tell the difference between it and my L-05.
I have also compared the Simple 6 (OM-40 mahogany) and an OM-03 (mahogany) and liked them both, and both were new. Couldn't really tell the difference there either. I got the OM-03.
Mike

[mike in lytle]

Hi everyone, I was kindly introduced to this thread after posting here (http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=54592.0)

I'm not sure if expressing interest at this point is binding or anything, but I'm definitely interested in this so far and excited to see how this turns out!!

Welcome to the discussion. Having interest is not binding. We are close to figuring out what we want, and Larrivee is assisting us.
Part of the Forum guitar process is a group of us figure out what we want, then propose the idea to Larrivee. Larrivee has to approve it. At some point we will know how much the guitar will cost, then we make our individual commitment and hopefully, enough of us will commit for Larrivee to produce our group order. The guitar will actually ordered through a Larrivee dealer.
Our Forum VI guitar is based on the Forum III, which was produced in 2009. It was very successful, and although we have different woods, it will be the same basic model, which is an LS. The LS is slightly smaller than the L-body.
I am not in charge (it is a group effort), but I do keep track of who is interested on a spreadsheet, and sometimes I send an email to Larrivee with a question.
Mike