Jean Larrivee

Jean Larrivee visited all seven California Sam Ash Music stores recently. The guitar building legend and founder of Larrivee Guitars shared insight into what it takes to create a truly amazing acoustic guitar.

Larrivee's living a remarkable life. He has personally been involved in the construction of every single guitar that bears his name for 40 years. He works from early in the morning until midnight every day - seven days a week.

When he's not building guitars, he's traveling the globe hunting for raw materials. Jean Larrivee knows wood. As one of the world's foremost experts in trees and wood, he is given permission by foreign governments to search for wood in some of the most remote parts of the planet.

Trees naturally fall in the wild for various reasons. Over time, other trees, branches and leaves fall on top and bury them. Larrivee wears special shoes with nails attached to the bottom when walking through the jungle. When his foot gets caught on something, his team digs to uncover a fallen tree. Some of these buried trees are incredibly huge and are used to manufacture literally hundreds of the highest quality guitars. The wood is top notch, and it saves cutting down a living tree.

It's nice to know Larrivee is exercising responsible practices with respect to the environment. As family-run companies, Larrivee and Sam Ash share many of the same values and appreciate what a gift it is to be able to help people create the music of their dreams.

Sam Ash is proud to be the nation's #1 dealer of Larrivee Guitars.