❌SOLD❌ Jean Larrivee Classical Guitar, 1974

Here we have a Jean Larrivee classical guitar with Cedar top and Indian Rosewood back and sides, built during 1975 at the Toronto shop. At this time, Larrivee and others were working with the late Edgar Monch, who was still in Toronto and the influences are visible on this Hauser style guitar.

Jean Larrivee has been one of the more influential Canadian guitar builders. Building his first instruments in his home in Toronto during the late 1960’s, Larrivee worked with and learned from Monch. As his interest, skill and collection of tools and wood increased, he moved to ever-larger quarters and attracted his own trainees. That group included Willian ‘Grit’ Laskin OC, David Wren, Linda Manzer, George Gray, Sergei de Jonge and Tony Duggan-Smith. All have gone on to their own shops and are respected and highly skilled. G W Barry, who also trained with Larrivee, points out that this guitar would have been one of the last of Larrivee’s production while still in Toronto; not long after, the business moved to Vancouver, then to Victoria BC and finally to Oxnard, California. (This guitar was built two years before The Twelfth Fret opened, while I was training with the late Darryl Williams).

Pictured here is a Jean Larrivee Classical Guitar from Toronto in 1974, pairing a Red Cedar top with Indian Rosewood for the back, sides, head plate, bridge and body binding. The neck and body blocks are Mahogany, with Ebony for the fingerboard. The neck joint is a faux-slipper foot masking a dovetail joint – this is one of the characteristics of Edgar Monch’s guitars.

Overall, this guitar is in very nice condition. It has been well cared for and dents and scratches are the least that can be expected from a 45-year old guitar. There are two visual defects. First, on the back of the head, there are three initials lightly etched into the finish. On the front of the head, there are a pair of black lines, which are apparently from a reaction with the rubber from a capo. Otherwise, it is quite clean, plays well, and has a full, well developed voice.

A brown hard shell case is included.