| This has to be the earliest guitar
I have ever seen fabricated by Jean-Claude Larrivee. When I
first looked at the Anglicized label ('John' instead of 'Jean' and 'Larrive'
instead of 'Larrivee') for a split second I thought this was a fake,
but one look at the workmanship and there was no doubt in my mind that
Jean himself created this instrument.
The way the soundhole is rounded off
(an unusual elliptical profile reminiscent of Edgar Monch), Jean's
signature handmade rosette mosaic, the delicately carved solid interior
linings and the early Monch-like peghead silhouette are as defining
as a fingerprint. This instrument has all of the markings of
a young Jean Larrivee obsessed with creating the perfectly crafted classical
guitar.
This instrument would have been made
not long after Jean finished his apprenticeship with Edgar Monch in Toronto.
I can remember Jean telling me anecdotes about working with Edgar.
Stories about resawing spruce billets by scoring around the outside
with a table saw and then finishing the resawing by hand! Recollections
of Edgar's wife spraying lacquer in their basement with no exhaust fan.
She just opened the back door and yelled ' NO SMOKING '!!! Those
were the days!
Jean has of course come a long way
in the last 35 years. He started with nothing and through is own
hard work, intelligence and with a huge amount of talent, built
one of the most respected instrument building operations in the world!!!
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