Larrivée Guitars Move to the US

Larrivée is set to shut down their Canada-based facility as they move their entire production line to California, USA.

Although the transition will roll out in a few months, that time to bid farewell to Vancouver - their home for more than thirty years - is inevitably at hand.

The family-owned guitar manufacturer started venturing to California years back, and in 2001 they opened their second manufacturing there. They probably loved it there because they have since continued to grow their presence and business on this foreign soil.

The company has now decided to consolidate all of its operations in California, along with the family's decision to move to the same state. John Larrivée also hinted on other reasons for the move at a recent interview, he mentioned that California had more favorable tax systems for their business to grow, saying that "it just makes more sense right now to move down to the US".

Just recently, Larrivée made headlines when Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield played their parlor acoustic model in space. The guitar was prominently featured in the social media hit "Space Oddity" music video which was shot in space. This resulted in increased orders for the said guitar and worldwide exposure for the family owned brand.

Even before this news went out, many of their guitar were already manufactured at their California-based facility. This means that guitar players would not be affected much in terms of build and quality, because they are already getting their instruments from the US. Better tax rates will also hopefully translate into more affordable instruments as the business grows.

Here is a video of the Larrivee Vancouver facility back when it was still in full production:

Still one important question remains, how would Larrivée retain their Canadian guitar identity after the last few Canadian made guitars are sold?

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