When I was 15 I was visiting Vancouver and found out where the Larrivee workshop was. One random morning I just showed up at their door asking for a tour. The dude just stared at me - I guess they don't give tours. Just when I thought he was gonna kick me off the property, he said, "yeah, okay, sure." and took me through their whole process. I asked a LOT of questions, but he was totally patient and answered them all. He explained what each confused / bemused worker was doing, and warned me to stay away from their very scary dog. Years later I still appreciate that guy giving me the time. Vote yes for Larrivee.
I’d go for the Woodford endoscopy but I’d be afraid Ted would plane down my high spots, put a couple maple cleats on any cracks he found, and install a fancy rosette around the sound hole. I’d sound better for sure but, after 60 years, my belly has bowed so badly my action is pure crap. Thanks for the great video!
Haha awesome dude! Thanks a lot for taking such good care of the girl and I’m sorry I asked about the Kung fu lol just wanted to avoid the full reset if possible. You’re a true professional and I’d recommend you to anyone in a heartbeat. Can’t wait to get it back!
pbasswil incredibly happy! Ted was a pleasure to work with. The shave had absolutely no noticeable effect on the sound and it plays really good. He saved me a lot of money and extended the playability for a long time. I’m the second owner and I’ve only had it for about a month and a half in total, so the cracks weren’t from me and it’ll be properly cared for now! Took it in to Ted as soon as I noticed the cracks near the fingerboard and to take care of the repairs that weren’t done previously by the last owner. I couldn’t be happier though with the experience and I’d still recommend him to anyone. I’ll be a regular customer for as long as he keeps doing it
That's the thing about Ted. You could let anyone watch his vids and without any knowledge of guitars or guitar repair, they'd likely all agree that he is very, very, very, good at his trade. A fine craftsman, no less. You're incredibly lucky to have had him work on your guitar 🙏🎸
More than fine work--also fine explanation of the logic that drives the work. This is as good as it gets. (And, doesn't that guitar have great sustain!)
awesome again! the received wisdom i always received was "never shave the bridge, that's a hack job!" thanks for showing us how that can sometimes not be the case, at least as long as it can be done as well as you're doing it i know it's kind of well-trod youtube territory, but how about a video on sharpening your chisels and planes and stuff? could be useful to see it from the perspective of somebody who's here to get work done, not to sell tools or fetishize them
I apologize if someone else has answered this, but I encountered a similar mystery with my Larrivee. What I learned from speaking with Larrivee was that the serial number reflects the year the guitar is started but not necessarily the year it is finished. So if it was started and given a serial number in Canada, but was finished in the Oxnard plant that would explain the discrepancy.
"... that's how ebony should look like: sexy" 😆 Thanks for your patient description of every step of your work, they make me feel less ignorant tonight.
Your skills with the old school tools is a pleasure to see these days, when everyone seems to use electric powered everything. I still remember our woodworking teacher back in Thornhill high school, showing us how to sharpen plane blades, and then use your hand as a strap, to bring it to razor sharpness. Then he would shave a little hair off his arm to show how sharp it was. His name was actually Mr. Wilkinson, and he joked about it when doing it.
John B: Thank you for the shop teacher reference. My high school shop teacher, Henry Dudgeon (“The Dudge”), taught me more things that I use every day than anyone else in my life. I occasionally brought my guitars into the shop to use tools that I didn’t have at home and Dudge calmly provided useful insight and guidance that made my 1960’s budget guitars infinitely more playable.
There's a video on the Larrivee website and Jean Larrivee explains because of import issues, shipping from Canada to the US, his son started making guitars in California around 96 (?) and eventually the whole family decided to move south. Though I think he has one son who still lives in BC and hunts for old growth Sika trees and purchases them for building guitars.
The 70's -90's Martins are where the deals have been for me here in Florida.Most have a small belly and nice Neck angles.I use a Dura Block which is a firm foam Auto body block to sand the bridges and never hurt the angle with great success..Martins Big fat bridges are awesome.Florida is a great place to purchase guitars because the air conditioning keeps the humidity low,Like their cars you can tell when a yankee come down.I cringe about people not knowing any better and putting dads old guitar in the storage lockers..
Only 9 months? I'm sure they knew the new location would be opening well in advance of that, and had tags already made up. They probably ran out of the old tags, figuring they wouldn't go through the stash they had until after the move, and had no other choice than to start using the new ones. Or the planned move date had to be moved back for whatever reason. "The best laid plans..."
Couple of questions for you. -Why not do a neck reset on this guitar? If it retails for 3k and is worth around 2K, it would seem to me to be well worth a reset. -Larrivee's factory humidity is 41% and "shuts down" if it reaches 42%? A good humidity range for acoustic guitars is from 45 to 55% is it not?
Love those glued in necks. Grind down the saddle, then bridge, then neck reset. All so unnecessary. Just bolt the necks on, for heaven sakes, like the engine and wheels on your car. Simple. Martin did it in the 1800's. The European builders did it in the 1800's. Bob Taylor does it. I particularly like Ovation's approach. Set the neck so far back to begin with, then you have lots of meat to remove in the future from that 1/4" or higher saddle. That high saddle added so many high frequencies it made my head hurt. Also fun to sight down the neck and see a massive bend at the body. Taylor's got it right as far as neck joints are concerned (as well as some other builders, of course). I'm really enjoying your movies. Thank you so much!!!
You are very humorous and a top shelf luthier! Get an apprentice and teach her or he what you know! your abilities are to be preserved! Love from NW Colorado Thanxz
You have high respect and care for details in instrument and I'm worried that when I will need to find local repair man to help with string height issues he'll be like CHOP CHOP CHOP KUNG-FU THAT SON OF A GUN RIGHT NOW
Your skills in general amaze me, but your skills with a plane... Just amazing! One question: Where do you prefer your action to be set? I just sanded the saddle on my 2005 Martin D35 and put it at 2.4 mm on the low E which felt really low, and really good. It's extremely comfortable to play, I feel like I would be in danger of getting fret buzz if I went any lower. Where do you prefer your string height to be?
Larivee had serious growing pains around the time of the plant expansion to California. Wonder if it was partially made and set aside, then finished several months later, and the Oxnard, CA (then current) inside label?
I don't think that would happen, Mr McMahon. Jean took the high end production to Cali and Jr kept up the lower end stuff here. I once asked him what should we do with a problematic preso 5 string bass, he smashed it into a hundred pieces on the floor of the shop rather than f around with it. Now that I think of it, I never bothered him with half- baked guitars again... 🤔
Love my Larrivee. I’ve got one of their custom double aught 09’s. I use it for drop tunings and have the opposite problem of the guitar in the video. The action is a bit too low for comfortable slide work. I also need to rework the nut for the heavier strings I prefer. I sure wish I knew someone like Ted. I’ve used a couple guys on other instruments, and just no. No I will not use them for the Larrivee. I also use an oasis and put bagged damp sponges in the case in the winter when it’s really dry. I get nervous when the case humidity gets down to 40%. I’ve had the 00 for seven years now and have had no issues with the wood or anything else for that matter. Take care of your instruments and they will take care of you. As always, a thoughtful and respectful approach taken by this luthier which I especially appreciate.
That reason is they were finally shamed into it by independent repair people. The company refused to acknowledge that their instruments could ever need one. If you sent the guitar to Martin they would plane the fingerboard really thin. Eventually people who cared stopped sending their guitars in for warranty service. Has Martin done a reset on your guitar? Do you own a Martin?
@@twoodfrd its always a balance between the thickness of the spruce and xbracing. a reason why the d28 is in my opinion the best sounding guitars. i built my d28 herringbone in 85 with my friend a violin maker and it has many faws and i do need to reset the dovetail at some point. to me the sound is harder to get than anything else . blessings!
Nice analogy with consumable for cars, it always makes me cringe when I hear someone say that having a refret on a vintage guitar will devalue it. Even if vintage an instrument should ba playable, it is what it is build for (as long as you do it period correct : on a old Martin with bar frets, just regret it with those same bar frets).
Great job. They likely printed out a slew of labels in anticipation of a move that may have gotten delayed. Still, nice looking guitar. I hope you got it playing and sounding better.
Hi, i love your channel, I have a Martin gpx1ac, with richlite bridge and fretboard, the thing is, that the neck angle is a bit off, and the bridge ends up being a bit high. Have you tried sanding down a richlite bridge? I feel like I should do that since I cannot go lower with the saddle, but I do not dare to do that yet, since I don´ t know how that material works, responds, ends up looking, etc. any pointers?
Love the channel, Ted. Is it okay if I continue to think of it as being pronounced "two-dford" which is how my brain interpreted it the first time I saw one of your vids?
Your video was great, but I am confused about something: did you lower the saddle, or just shave the bridge? Wouldn't you have to remove material from under the saddle to lower the action?
I dont understanding, sanding the bridge does nothing for lowering the strings The slit where the comb Goes in, that is not being affected, that would lower the strings
Just gonna say it, I'm probably not subscribing to the home endoscopy channel. Not that I doubt your skills, that's just a 'rabbit hole' I'm not really comfortable going into. As usual, your skill shines through on that bridge - a 'before' and 'after' picture would be worthless.
One of your best videos … I think …it made Me think of many different things you’ve shown and done in previous vids … this one just caught me right… very interesting stuff
Generally, yes, especially if you live in an arid region. However, a dry wood gives a much better and louder tone that wet wood. So some care should be taken in the amount of humidity you provide. Where I live, a humidifier is not needed. Never used one, and my acoustics are just fine. But I'm not in the Mojave desert...
@@perihelion7798 I'm in New England but my old Martin still loves a little wet. I tend to err on the cautious side since I just play at home nowadays. But years ago when I lugged it around I always used the humidifier because of dry clubs and air conditioning. the humidifier is in the case but it's currently dry. The guitar is on the stand and I went over and checked it and it feels a bit dry. But it is BOOMING...
@@NitroModelsAndComics The less moisture, the better the wood resonates, and the truer the tone. My opinion is that if the wood of the instrument has been properly dried before assembly, and the location of assembly has very low humidity, then that instrument will really sing out. Many acoustic instruments made in S.E. Asia have severe problems when shipped into dry areas of the US.
@@perihelion7798 I have knowledge of how wood reacts with moisture. i was simply adding my findings for my old Martin. One thing is certain, it has aged better than that Larivee and it is 2 decades older due to my efforts.
Robert Frias I can guarantee that Larrivee will age just fine now that it’s not in the first owners careless hands anymore. I’ve seen plenty of Martins in worse shape, especially in Canada. The humidity changes here are often very extreme and can do a lot of damage when left in harsh areas, as you can see with this one. The first owner had gone out of the country for several years and the guitar was left to weather outside of the case for the entire time. It’ll be in a controlled room now that never drops below 40-45%% and never gets over 50%. The winters and humidity fluctuations aren’t as extreme where you are though, so any guitar you have there will arguably be easier to take care of. I almost always use case humidifiers when travelling with all of my other guitars and I’ve never had a single issue. I only bought this guitar 2 weeks ago and I’m the second owner lol
Have we figure out if twoodfrd and LGR are the same dude..? Or maybe brothers? Lol LGR has a cooky sense of humor versus TWoods no nonsense guitar fixing professionalism..
I tried this tonight on a Guitar I affectionately call Oscar. It was headed for a landfill in a dumpster at work and was rescued. Its a "Walmart Squire" starter package guitar, found unstrung with the bridge deposited in the sound hole. However thrifty Oscar is, it has proven to be an invaluable learning tool. My question is on the measurements. How do you figure the geometry out. I missed it by a 64 on the low end. And how much saddle do you need above the bridge? I was also rewarded after lowering the action to finding two high frets on the bass side ... love it
Why lemon oil? And what is lemon oil anyway? I assume it must be a non-drying oil. Does it do something that any other non-drying oil won't do? Does it have citrus solvents in it that help it soak in?
Would you happen to know why a tone knob would act as a volume knob if wired in vintage 50s Gibson style wiring? Everyone keeps saying it's the tone cap but when I rewire it in modern the cap is fine and everything works normally. Thoughts?
I saw someone use two strips of velcro to keep strings together and spaced handily for when when taking strings partially off, when stringing/restringing
I've noticed that guitar manufacturer 'years' don't necessarily synchronise with calendar years. I suspect this may be to do with accounting and the companies chosen tax 'year'. Or it may be to do with dating from the point where a particular guitar is scheduled to be built rather than when it is completed and shipped.
I had a 1997 D-09 special edition. The neck as ok however it had the top crack down the middle which occurred around 1999 in Chicago. It had some other top lines that hadn't turned into real cracks just wood grain separations. The history of the my guitar which I sold three years ago it was on tour for until I brought it from its original owner 2008. He had made five albums and James Taylor borrow it an used it in a concert. He gave it back to my friend and called it the real deal. Larrivee does indeed make good guitars. I was wondering if this guitar had been used in its former life on tour or being played out. Traveling with a guitar and having it set out in all kinds of conditions can take its tour on an all wood guitar. Nice save learned from your videos. Thanks!
That bridge was nice and chunky evidently scope for shaving it down without the guitar seeming particularly altered - Except for plying really well afterwards! Good call
I trust your judgment, which is saying something. This Guitar has a sound I could live with, to say the least. (As much as I can tell with youtube sound limitations) I’m sure it plays well too. I enjoyed your including securing the frets before leveling, which is often a big thing in older Guitars, or those who exist in climates such as you have stated in the past. I’ve learned so much in the last 20 years about working on Guitars that I wish I had some back that I got rid of because of things I considered insurmountable at the time. Ooooooops! I want to say with much appreciation, that I’m very pleased you don’t spend a lot of time berating previous workmanship, as some RU-vid channels do. It’s not classy, nor is it the point at hand in most cases... In closing I’ll add... I know a few things about repairing stringed instruments, yet I learn from you almost every time. Aaaaaand... I find your content calming, which is very much needed right now. So... Thank you!! Chuk
Great job. I love how you explain a lot of things that are not necessary to understand the process, but are interesting to people who might be watching it. For instance you talk about the ethics of modifying a vintage instrument. i’ve been playing music for over 50 years and do most of my own Fret dressing. Thanks a lot!
I had a Larrivee that was in a similar odd time period and was like a prototype, I think they were building some guitars in Oxnard prior to officially opening the plant there. Mine was an L10, but it had the little dot inlays instead of the garish ones usually on an L10. So I got the slightly nicer woods but with the minimal dots and i preferred that.
I have found Larrivee bridges to be somewhat thicker than Martin bridges as the come from the factory. Shaving that bridge a tad won't hurt anything. IMO
I agree with the other comments. This video confirms what I was thinking about the bridge on a vintage guitar I’ve working on. Shaving the bridge is a viable option to lowering the action on the treble side. Great video
Didn't hear the sound before the bridge shave, but there is nothing wrong with sound or tone after. It has a clear cutting and ringing tone, which is what I like in a dreadnought for rhythm and lead in a bluegrass guitar! Great video as always!!!
As usual, lots of interesting, hidden tips within another great video. Can you please comment on why you prefer your mini shooting board and plane over a sander for trimming the base of the saddle? Thanks for both your reply and the video.
No idea if you've recorded differently to your other videos but this guitar had a great sound to it IMHO, the best that youtube gives to its listeners atleast i suppose :)
You mentioned a '56 Buick and an 'antique' guitar from the 50s with 'original strings' Is there a chance Mr Archibald from 'Curiosity Inc' is a customer or friend of yours, Mr Woodford?? LoL
