Builder / Luthier
Jean Larrivée
Canadian luthier · Founder of Larrivée Guitars · Training shop for a generation of Canadian builders
Jean Larrivée is a Canadian luthier who began building classical guitars in Toronto in 1968 after studying with German-Canadian classical guitar maker Edgar Mönch, then moved to steel-string flat-tops and founded Larrivée Guitars. His Toronto and later British Columbia workshops became one of North America's most consequential training grounds: Linda Manzer, William "Grit" Laskin, Sergei de Jonge, David Wren and Tony Duggan-Smith all worked or apprenticed there before establishing their own benches. Larrivée is associated with a symmetrical parabolic bracing approach and with elaborate inlay work executed in-house.
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Lineage & affiliations
Sourced training, education and working relationships connected to Jean Larrivée. Open in the lineage explorer
Training lineage
Apprentice of
Edgar Mönch1967–1968 · former
Mentor to
Linda Manzer1974–1978 · former
Mentor to
Sergei de Jonge1971–1975 · former
Mentor to
William "Grit" Laskin1971–1973 · former