| Larrivee Limited Edition L-09MR Twelfth
Fret 30th Anniversary |
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| Thirty years. Wow ... has it been THAT long?!?!
My partner Grant MacNeill and his buddy Dan Charman opened the store back
in '77 with a few used guitars hung on the wall, a lot of know-how
and even more energy ... and here we are thirty years later with fifteen
people trying to keep up with the never ending onslaught of orders!
Lots of things at the Twelfth Fret have evolved over the years but one
aspect has remained unchanged ... we still offer interesting high quality
instruments and the best service that we possibly can!
Back in January when I was thinking we should do something
special to mark this milestone in our careers, I immediately thought
of getting a special run of guitars made ... nothing super flashy,
just the BEST materials, the BEST hardware from the BEST builder.
For me, it was only natural to approach the luthier who I have more
respect for than anyone else in the world ... Jean Larrivee!
I know that Larrivee Guitars have become so in-demand that it is almost
impossible for them to keep up with their regular orders ... so entertaining
the thought of interrupting production to make a very small run of custom
guitars must NOT have been appealing. But when I approached
Jean, Matthew & Ricky Thompson what did they say? "Lets
do it!" Let the brain-storming begin! |
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I went into this project knowing
that I wanted the classic Larrivee L-body because I still firmly believe
it is the best all around body shape ever ... period! I also knew
that the guitars had to have bone saddles AND bone nuts. Another
"must have" was to outfit these instruments with 1:21 ratio Gotoh 510 tuners
in brushed brass finish ... they're simply the absolute smoooothest tuners
around! I'm a huge fan of Jean's current tortoiseshell pickguards
(best looking in the biz!) but just to be different on these guitars,
we went for the old clear Mylar pickguards. Who would want to hide
top wood like this! Jean & Matthew were also gracious enough
to offer to make special numbered & signed labels just for this series.
Classy! But let's get down to business!
Whenever I'm putting together a special order
with Jean I always KNOW that he's got some special wood stashed away.
You would not believe the traveling that this man does every year ... ALL
over the world ... looking for wood. OK Jean, so what have
you got? What do mean? You know what I mean! What
have you got stashed away that's really special. I mean REALLY special.
Well,
there's some spruce that I've been saving for something special ... really
light resonant stuff ... no grain runoff at all ... has a tap tone that
just won't stop ... gorgeous patina! DONE! I love it!
How about back & sides? I'm looking for the absolute best tone
we can get here. Something unique. Whoa! You've
got your hands on some Madagascar? You've been holding out on me!
And the Larrivee L-09MR Twelfth Fret Anniversary
guitar was born ... the original L-body, a run of five with cutaway
& five non-cut, with special tops selected by Jean himself, precision
Gotoh 510 tuners in brushed brass finish with 1:21 ratio, bone nut,
intonation compensated bone saddle, clear dimensionally stable Mylar
pickguard, signed and numbered labels, custom fingerboard inlay
at the 12th fret and absolutely LUSCIOUS rare Madagascar rosewood back
& sides!!! |
| I would like to personally thank Jean,
Wendy & Matthew Larrivee, as well as Ricky Thompson, for their personal
involvement in putting this limited run together. I am not
exaggerating when I say that the commitment these folks have to building
the finest instruments in North America is second to none. This family
is in the shop every day getting their hands dirty, their clothes glue-encrusted
and just generally making sure at every stage of the build ... it is done
RIGHT! From sourcing spruce logs to hand fitting dovetails to final
setup, you can be sure that the maestro himself is very much involved
in a hands-on way! Jean lives & breathes Larrivee Guitars and
both his sons are just as devoted to the cause. Hey ... this man's
idea of taking a holiday is to close the shop for two weeks in the summer
... so he can go in and work without any distractions! I kid you
not!
I'd like to offer a special thanks to Matthew
Larrivee who always takes a particular interest in projects such as this
... not only personally working on the guitars but also quarterbacking
the whole project every step of the way to ensure that things go smoothly!
And what can you say about Ricky Thompson?
Even before he was head of sales he was without a doubt the BIGGEST fan
of Larrivee guitars in the world. This man has the largest collection
of Larrivee guitars, covering all eras, that you could imagine.
I've never heard Ricky say a good OR bad thing about another brand of guitars.
He's simply not INTERESTED in other brands. Heck, he's even
got a big JCL logo tattooed on his arm!!! What can I say ... it is
really an honour for us to be able to offer an elite run of instruments
such as this from Larrivee Guitars. Thanks guys! |
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| Matthew Larrivee thicknessing back plates. |
The maestro himself, working the edge
sander. |
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| Jean personally selecting our tonewood! |
Inserting the maple end wedge. |
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Madagascar is an island off the east coast of
Africa which has become the source of a number of highly sought after rosewoods.
The term "Madagascar rosewood" could potentially include any of the Dalbergia
species indigenous to the island, but generally refers to Dalbergia
Baroni. Our Limited Edition Madagascar Rosewood Larrivee guitars
utilize Dalbergia Baroni (or Voamboana) of unusually large dimensions,
superlative colour depth and beautifully defined "rio" grain patterns!
Not to be confused with Dalbergia Maritima (Bois
de Rose), or Dalbergia Trichocarpa (Manipika) the species Dalbergia
Baroni exhibits not only many of the striking visual attributes of Brazilian
rosewood but mimics it's sonic characteristics quite accurately as well!
In raw form this tonewood has an exceptionally clear ringing tap tone.
When employed for back & sides, Madagascar rosewood adds
outstanding immediacy of response, remarkable upper mid range sweetness
and engaging upper partials! |
Specifications
Larrivee Limited Edition L-09 MR & LV-09 MR
Twelfth Fret 30th Anniversary
* 1 3/4" polished bone nut
* brushed brass finish precision Gotoh 510 tuners 21:1 ratio
* one piece tropical mahogany neck
* bound ebony fingerboard with side dots
* single mother-of-pearl inlay on 12th fret
* bound ebony peghead veneer
* Reserve Grade Sitka spruce tops
* clear, dimensionally stable Mylar pickguard
* abalone shell soundhole rosette
* signed custom Twefth Fret 30th Anniversary label
numbered 1 of 5, 2 of 5, etc.
* Master Grade Madagascar rosewood back & sides
* flamed maple body binding
* ebony belly bridge
* 2 3/16"+ string spacing at bridge
* intonation compensated bone saddle
* low friction matte neck finish
* gloss body finish
* deluxe arched top hardshell case
* Limited Lifetime warranty to original owner
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