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I just swung over to the Larrivee website and it looks like they now have a shop tour.

Some cool things of interest. They build with a flat top, not domed. I never knew that .

Also there are many of the functions which are still all done by hand and not CNC which is cool to. (not that I think there is anything wrong with CNC work, it's soooooo acurate it's hard to beat).

Also you will see some pics of Jean himself doing different tasks, I like the one of him spraying a nice burst.


So here it is, the Larrivee shop tour. Hope you enjoy.Rod True39002.8468518518

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Rod, call over to their plant in East Vancouver. They offer shop tours a couple of times a week I think. I arrived on a day that wasn't a tour day but still talked my way into an hour walk about with a guide. Well worth it! I have not seen anything lately but I don't think all of their models are flat topped are they? My foggy mind seems to remember that they were doing some repro models of some sort flat. I have been wrong lots before though!

Shane

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I did have a tour back in 1993 when I was looking at becoming an apprentice. It was cool, but I bet there have been some changes since than.

I sure wonder offten what life would be like know if I were to have persued an apprenticship at Larrivee back than. Alas, we will never know.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Thanks Rod! After seeing a few of the Taylor factory video clips I was surprised at how much hand labour goes into a Larivee with a very limited amount CNC equipment used. I too was suprised at how much work is done on the instrument after it is Bull Buffed.

There is a good Big Red Book article on Larivee, can't recall which issue where Larivee talks about his preference for a dovetail neck. Interesting to see that they haven't converted to a bolt on. Anthony Z39002.928275463

Know what you mean. I also have a lot of 'what if's' but the cards lay where they fall and although I still wish I could have/would have done some things differently if all I have done has brought me to where I am I don't regret any of it. Friends and family are where it is at! But you never know Rod......'Grit' True does have a ring too it!

Shane

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Canada

Thanks for sharing this with us Rod, yes, very interesting procedure for a company like this, i was surprised to say the least of the hand made effort in there, Cool!

Rod 'Grit' True, shouldn't that be True-Grit Ha Ha, ya right.

If only I could build 1/50th as good as Grit and inlay 1/100th as good, I might have something.

When I inquired about the apprenticeship program, they were looking for 3-5 new apprentices, I had 10 months of cabinet shop experience and would have been a shoe-in, but for the fact that the first 6 months of the apprenticeship is sanding coupled with the fact that I developed tendinitis at the cabinet shop from 1-1/2 weeks of solid sanding (really old vibrating pad sander), I turned and walked out the door and never looked back, sort of .

I certainly don't have any regrets. I went to school, became a mechanical engineer's technician (fancy for number cruncher and mechanical draftsman) and learned a ton about machine design and manufacturing, made good money, bought a house, had a kid, changed careers to make even more money, built a shop, now I can afford to build guitars instead of build guitars that I can barely afford.

Still a good walk down memory lane though. Thanks Shane. Hey we still have to hook up next time your down near the boarder.Rod True39003.1265046296

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

"Once hammered in, the edges of the frets are trimmed off with a pair of flush cutters and the edges of the frets dressed with a custom made file. Starting in late 2005 we changed our fretting process to include two new stages: "Leveling and Beveling". This new process is what you would find on guitars in the $8000 - $10000 Range as it requires MAJOR labor and time to do correctly. The guitar is loaded in a jig which simulates neck tension. We level the frets which eliminates any high spots and crevices in the frets and eliminates almost all potential buzzes in advance of the strings being put on."


Wow!I am not charginging enough for my guitars apparently, I level,recrown and bevel my frets MichaelP39003.4897800926