Reddit Style: Ask me anything!

[ducktrapper]

I'm on the fence when it comes to guitars sounding better with age and lots of playing time.  Being the devil's advocate, I would say the Martin rep's statement doesn't have a lot of significance.  First, he/she has an interest in marketing guitars, and second, if the guitar sounds the same but not better 20 years hence, then the statement is still true.  I have been playing my L-07 for 31 years now, and I think it has improved quite a bit.  I can't really remember what it sounded like when I first got it though.  Also, I am so used to it's nuances, that I could play it in my sleep.  I am able to bring the best out of it now, so does it sound better because of aging or just because I am so familiar with it?  Just saying.

Assuming the Martin rep was touting the party line, my only intention was to point out that even builders claim that their guitars get better with age. Whether they do or not.

[carruth]

Matthew, what is your opinion on the Tonerite.

[247hoopsfan]

Matthew, what does the Larrivee family think about torrefied (baked) tops?  My JCL 40th Anniversary Edition and my 1998 D10 Brazilian "Flying Eagle" have beautiful
spruce tops and sound amazing.  I can't imagine them sounding any better if they were baked.

[Gordo in OZ]

Hi
Just thank your dad for giving us some great guitars. Some of my happiest moments in my life have been spent with my 2 Larrivees. If he is looking for wood, Darwin in Northern Australia has a lot of African mahogany. It is usually a giant pest tree there and people pay thousands of dollars to have it removed when it gets to 150 feet in height. It ends up as scrap or landfill.

[unclrob]

Any more Blackwood around?

[Matthew Larrivee]

I'd be interested in what you would share about the evolution of the Legacy series, things like the prototyping and hitting that "aha moment" when you know you've created something good. My new OM-40M just amazes me with it's qualities. One of the cool aspects I've come to notice while playing it is that the whole guitar, from end to end, just sizzles with vibration. My L has that same quality but this OM is a few points up the Richter Scale.

The 40 series history dates waaaay back probably to about 1993 I think. There was always a desire to make a Larrivee that titled more towards the Martin Style guitar without becoming a Martin. The very first 50, 60, and 70 series guitars were the first attempt at this. We worked with the Tony Rice style Large Soundhole. We sold only a few of these (maybe 160?) as they were very high end and had inlay (either an eagle, horse, or tiger) – They didn't really "look" like a martin. Ironically these today are one of the most traded Larrivee's. I see or hear about people trading these all the time – and they've retained their value quite well.

Then in 2004 we started with the revised -50 and -60 series (and a handful of -70 series) that had that large Soundhole and a more traditional martin look (Square headstock, Open back tuners, herringbone, etc). These were much more popular. From the original D, OM, and OMV we expanded and offered several new body shapes we had never offered before including OOO and SD. We also added OO. The 12 models would get slotted headstocks.

Somewhere around 2006 (don't hold me to this) we made the very first -40 series guitars in Canada for Long and Mcquade. They were more -03's than modern -40's. They had flat headstocks without volutes, and a basic open back tuner. They had standard bracing. I want to say we made a few hundreds of these over a few years as special runs for L&M. I mention it because it was the first time we thought about the idea

The modern -40 started as a discussion one morning in my Dad's office around 2009. When I get to work in the morning we often talk before the 8am buzzer about what we want to do that day. Our former programmer Mike Berg had given him a set of plans for a D-18 and they had gotten wet so they were hung up to dry and ended up being left up for months. We started talk about how we should make an -03 version of the -50 series but with a bracing system that was a hybrid between ours and the scalloped Martins. Nothing came of it until the Canadian factory closed in 2012/2013 and the brace making moved here. One day out of the blue my dad and I spoke about it and we got hot to trot and made a prototype right away. I make about 80% of the all braces for our guitars so I came up with a scalloped brace one afternoon with a wide and deep offset parabola arch, and my dad signed off and we made the prototype. As soon as the guitar was strung up we knew we had a winner. Nothing really needed to be changed. Honestly there was more back and forth over the appointments. We didn't want to butcher the 50/60 series by using herringbone. We had the rope purfling from Gurian left over from the A34 and F34 mandolins and we ultimately decided on that. It was almost a radial ivoroid rosette! The bold rope has quickly become a signature purfling for us.

[Matthew Larrivee]

Thanks for the response Matthew. I got another question.

A few years ago I was on a tour of your Oxnard shop, and think I heard that the employees jammed from time to time.

Soooo, is this still going on? If so, who has all the talent there? Also, a quick video would be a cool social media idea.

A few people jam - One of our painters Xavier and our body builder Brendan play mandolin and guitar at lunch, and a couple people hang out and play instruments that they've build. Several people are in bands. Our Rough Neck fitter Ryan is particularly talented.

[eded]

I haven't said so, but I hope you realize how much this thread is appreciated Matthew.  I love it.

Ed

[Treenewt]

The 40 series history dates waaaay back probably to about 1993 I think. There was always a desire to make a Larrivee that titled more towards the Martin Style guitar without becoming a Martin. The very first 50, 60, and 70 series guitars were the first attempt at this. We worked with the Tony Rice style Large Soundhole. We sold only a few of these (maybe 160?) as they were very high end and had inlay (either an eagle, horse, or tiger) – They didn't really "look" like a martin. Ironically these today are one of the most traded Larrivee's. I see or hear about people trading these all the time – and they've retained their value quite well.

Then in 2004 we started with the revised -50 and -60 series (and a handful of -70 series) that had that large Soundhole and a more traditional martin look (Square headstock, Open back tuners, herringbone, etc). These were much more popular. From the original D, OM, and OMV we expanded and offered several new body shapes we had never offered before including OOO and SD. We also added OO. The 12 models would get slotted headstocks.

Somewhere around 2006 (don't hold me to this) we made the very first -40 series guitars in Canada for Long and Mcquade. They were more -03's than modern -40's. They had flat headstocks without volutes, and a basic open back tuner. They had standard bracing. I want to say we made a few hundreds of these over a few years as special runs for L&M. I mention it because it was the first time we thought about the idea

The modern -40 started as a discussion one morning in my Dad's office around 2009. When I get to work in the morning we often talk before the 8am buzzer about what we want to do that day. Our former programmer Mike Berg had given him a set of plans for a D-18 and they had gotten wet so they were hung up to dry and ended up being left up for months. We started talk about how we should make an -03 version of the -50 series but with a bracing system that was a hybrid between ours and the scalloped Martins. Nothing came of it until the Canadian factory closed in 2012/2013 and the brace making moved here. One day out of the blue my dad and I spoke about it and we got hot to trot and made a prototype right away. I make about 80% of the all braces for our guitars so I came up with a scalloped brace one afternoon with a wide and deep offset parabola arch, and my dad signed off and we made the prototype. As soon as the guitar was strung up we knew we had a winner. Nothing really needed to be changed. Honestly there was more back and forth over the appointments. We didn't want to butcher the 50/60 series by using herringbone. We had the rope purfling from Gurian left over from the A34 and F34 mandolins and we ultimately decided on that. It was almost a radial ivoroid rosette! The bold rope has quickly become a signature purfling for us.

As the proud owner of an OM-40, it is very cool to hear the evolution of this product line.  Thank you Matthew!

[Riverbend]

Thanks for such an insightful response to my Legacy question! Oh yeah, you guys've got a winner with those.
Additionally, as a foster and adoptive parent myself, I can appreciate that addition to your lives. Thanks for creating a little more love in the world!   

[Matthew Larrivee]

What did you mean when you said Peruvian Walnut is not a true Walnut?  When I looked them up they were all listed in the same genus family...

I thought I had answered this but I didn't find it in the thread so I'll re-post. It is true that Peruvian is a part of the Juglans family so scientifically it is a true walnut, but when you work with Peruvian it is totally different. Someone once explained to me (though I haven't verified the truth of the statement yet) that the fruit (nuts) are not edible and look totally different. It doesn't smell like other walnut varieties, it has totally different grain structure than other walnuts, it's a different color than other walnuts, and works totally differently that other walnuts.

[Matthew Larrivee]

My first question is.... have you ever considered installing K & K pickups as a factory option?    My second question is....what is the ratio built between no cut, and cut with preamp installed guitars, built by Larrivee?

Yes we have considered it, and in the past have gone as far as getting samples several years ago. It's a good pickup, albeit a little finicky. We have such a great relationship with Lloyd Baggs and Ryan over at baggs that we just don't think about it to much. Baggs has really gone out of their way to help us and we have a lot of loyalty to them. As business people we're very loyal to the "nice" people in our industry.

As for your second question, with cutaways it is about 60-70% with pickups. For non-cutaway models its about 10% maybe?

[Matthew Larrivee]

How would you compare living in America to living in Canada?

It's completely different. When my wife and I first moved her 15 years ago we thought it was going to be simple because we were staying on the west coast. In reality we suffered from "Culture Shock" for several years. There are fundamental differences between Americans and Canadians that are not apparent right off the bat – Particularly surrounding Personal Freedom and Faith in their Government and Financial institutions. I've really grown to love both countries, and some areas more than others. I particularly love Seattle, and there is the little stretch of California on the I5 from Yreka to the town of Weed that I just LOVE (Oddly specific I know). As a dual citizen I love both of my countries

[Matthew Larrivee]

Hi Matthew,

Well this is certainly off topic but as a life long carpenter (and an amateur guitar builder) I was wondering what kind of wood finishes you have in your home (cabinets, flooring, trim etc) and if you do woodworking projects for fun other than guitars.

Thanks, Steve

I would say that my home is a mix of styles. I live in an older home in a fantastic family neighborhood. I have a few really nice pieces of furniture include a beautiful flamed rock maple dining room table stained dark brown. I live quite simply and don't need or wont for much. If I had my way though, and a quadrillion dollars, I would live in an old California craftsman home a-la Greene and Greene like the Gamble House (enjoy googling that!)

As for other projects, I just built this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-a-3D-end-grain-cutting-board-1/ from walnut and maple

[Matthew Larrivee]

Ok I'll bite:


1) exactly how many of the O-01 Parlors were made with the narrow 1 11/16" nut?

2) Why didn't you warn me you were going to change the specs to a much friendlier 1 3/4" so I could have waited?

1) Oh boy I dont remember for sure but I want to say it was something really low like 4-5

2) So that you would collect all of them!

[Matthew Larrivee]

Matthew do you all sometimes think Larrivee Guitars is the next Martin dynasty in the making?

I'll start with the caveat that I am answering this only from my own personal perspective. This is a very difficult question for me to answer because it challenges who I am as a person. I don't build guitars because I want to be famous, in fact I'm not sure that I would want to be famous as I'm quite socially awkward and not particularly loquacious in person. It's just not something that I think about. I build guitars because I love the building part. I love the challenge of chasing perfection, of discovery, and of creation.

That being said, there is no denying that we are well positioned for the coming decades. We could potentially be the last major guitar making family in America or Canada. There is no Mr. Fender, no Mr Gibson, Bob Taylor is getting older and his daughters are not involved in the business, I don't believe Chris Martin's child will be involved, Richard Hoover of Santa Cruz has no successor that I'm aware of, Bill Collings has no successor, and so on and so forth.

What will the future of the North American guitar industry look like in 40-60 years? I'm sure most of these brands will still exist, but the magic may be gone from many of them. I have another maybe 30 years in me, maybe a little less. My son is 12 and will be in the business within 10 years. My nephew will probably be a part of it as well.  Assuming nothing bad happens to us then there is at least 60-70 years of family continuity right there.

So to answer your question... maybe? Is it what drives us? Definitely not.

[ducktrapper]

I'll start with the caveat that I am answering this only from my own personal perspective. This is a very difficult question for me to answer because it challenges who I am as a person. I don't build guitars because I want to be famous, in fact I'm not sure that I wouldn't want to be famous as I'm quite socially awkward and not particularly loquacious in person. It's just not something that I think about. I build guitars because I love the building part. I love the challenge of chasing perfection, of discovery, and of creation.

That being said, there is no denying that we are well positioned for the coming decades. We could potentially be the last major guitar making family in America or Canada. There is no Mr. Fender, no Mr Gibson, Bob Taylor is getting older and his daughters are not involved in the business, I don't believe Chris Martin's child will be involved, Richard Hoover of Santa Cruz has no successor that I'm aware of, Bill Collings has no successor, and so on and so forth.

What will the future of the North American guitar industry look like in 40-60 years? I'm sure most of these brands will still exist, but the magic may be gone from many of them. I have another maybe 30 years in me, maybe a little less. My son is 12 and will be in the business within 10 years. My nephew will probably be a part of it as well.  Assuming nothing bad happens to us then there is at least 60-70 years of family continuity right there.

So to answer your question... maybe? Is it what drives us? Definitely not.

Vive Larrivee guitars!   

[tulk1]

Have you ever considered making a "solid-body" or "semi-hollow" electro/acoustic similar to the SST or T-5? Or even the Crafter SAT? Not sure how big that market is, but I'd be in for one from Larrivee, for sure.

[Walkerman]

It's completely different. When my wife and I first moved her 15 years ago we thought it was going to be simple because we were staying on the west coast. In reality we suffered from "Culture Shock" for several years. There are fundamental differences between Americans and Canadians that are not apparent right off the bat – Particularly surrounding Personal Freedom and Faith in their Government and Financial institutions. I've really grown to love both countries, and some areas more than others. I particularly love Seattle, and there is the little stretch of California on the I5 from Yreka to the town of Weed that I just LOVE (Oddly specific I know). As a dual citizen I love both of my countries

I would love to hear how you rectify personal freedom with faith in government.  Given the fact that the US Constitution and our Bill of Rights were meant as curbs against any government infringing upon our personal rights and freedom of faith.  These were not based upon "faith in government and financial instructions."  Here, we believe in individual freedom.  Anyhow, we used to.  Now, voters believe in "what can the government (i.e. Taxpayers) give me.

[L07 Shooting Star]

I would love to hear how you rectify personal freedom with faith in government.  Given the fact that the US Constitution and our Bill of Rights were meant as curbs against any government infringing upon our personal rights and freedom of faith.  These were not based upon "faith in government and financial instructions."  Here, we believe in individual freedom.  Anyhow, we used to.  Now, voters believe in "what can the government (i.e. Taxpayers) give me.

I gotta say this post just irks me.  I don't see any relevance to the intent of this topic which is supposedly about Mathew responding to questions about the guitars they build.  Sure, the title says "ask me anything", but c'mon, Steve, really?  I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I think your question is out of place here.