Grit Laskin Guitars

Subject: Grit Laskin Guitars
From: GUEST,Steven G.
Date: 02 Nov 01 - 05:18 PM

Hello, all

I have been curious about these Laskin Guitars. I have read a thread about these guitars a few months ago, and it says there is a long waiting list for these guitars.

Curiousity is getting the best of me, and I am wondering how much are these guitars. Are they like 1000 dollars for a 6 string guitar and 1500 dollars for a 12 string guitar? Or more?

Anyway know, it would be greatly appreciated.

Steven G.

Subject: Laskin Guitars
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 02 Nov 01 - 05:40 PM

Last I heard (as a matter of fact, a few of us were having this very conversation last night while I was on break...) Laskin guitars start at around 5 grand, and then they (he and the wife?) want to tart 'em up with Mother of Bowling Ball and drive the price up even higher...

I've also heard that the waiting list is about 5 years long...

The above could also be urban myth/bollox... Rick'll set ya straight when he see's this thread, I'm sure...

No offence to Grit at all, but I hear there are many other hand made guitars out there just as nice for less, that you can get yer hands on sooner... I wanna get my hands on Stephen Fearings Manzer for a few minutes sometime...

Subject: RE: Grit Laskin Guitars
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 02 Nov 01 - 05:49 PM

Hi Stephen. When I last talked to grit, the waiting list was FIVE YEARS! I'm not sure about current prices but most of his instruments seem to be in the ten thousand range. One sold recently in Toronto for something over twenty five thousand. He seems to be regarded by his fellow guitar makers as the very best, but his reputation as a creative inlay artist is what has made his instruments so desirable. He was an apprentice of Jean Larrivee, who apprenticed to Edgar Munch, so his training was certainly impeccable. I've been friends with grit for many years, so I've played many of his instruments. The craftsmanship is of course top class and they tend to have a "dark and loud" sound to them. Quite unlike Martin. This is strictly my own take, but I kind of hear Laskins as Gibson-like with much better tone and volume (the old Gibsons, not the newer ones, which sound very "un-Gibson" like)

Rick

Subject: RE: Grit Laskin Guitars
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 02 Nov 01 - 06:27 PM

Linda Manzer is another of Larrivee's former apprentices who's definitly made it to to the main stage of custom luthiers. Oscar Graf would be the third of the "big" triumverate I guess. All these makers worked for years and years at very low wages and have reached the point of having these long waiting lists. There are quite a few other slightly younger 'world class' builders in this area, all with some connection to Larrivee, and they will be heard from.

One of the finest instruments I've ever played is the Oscar Graf owned by Toronto's Jason Fowler.

Rick

Subject: RE: Grit Laskin Guitars
From: MichaelM
Date: 02 Nov 01 - 08:28 PM

Don't forget the stunning instruments once made by David Wren (now co-owner of the Twelfth Fret in Toronto). He walked away from a slew of orders to join the retail side of the biz. Wrens show up very occasionally and they are universally wonderful. If Jean Larrivee did nothing else but provide the spark for these makers he would have assured his place in lutherie legend.

Michael

Subject: RE: Grit Laskin Guitars
From: catspaw49
Date: 02 Nov 01 - 10:22 PM

I think that whomever it was said that this wasa "Golden Age of Lutherie" really hit the nail on the head. Rick knows Grit Laskin well and his instruments are often showcased in various magazines relating to both guitarists and luthiers. There are probably at least 75-100 of similar caliber out there building fantastic instruments.

Some of the best of those then have also widened their market to the point of now becoming a factory operation and although the one-off beauties are gone from their line, the knowledge has carried over into building superior instruments in lesser price ranges so we get the Taylor and Larrivee and their kin with a quality, sound, and playability far beyond what could have been expected a few years ago.

The flip side is that to adequately (at best) compete, some of the old time manufacturers have turned heavily to their "Custom Shop" operations. Then of course the lower end folks have benfitted through some of these innovations and are building even better "cheapies."

AND, some of those apprentices, once out on their own, took yet another direction and began to try some truly wild construction techniques along with building materials and we're just beginning to see the results, such as Garrison. Lots of different market niches being filled all the time and additional ones being created. Simply amazing.

Always room for the Grit Laskins and Danny Ferringtons, but their market is completely different. However it all goes together, it IS the Golden Age!

Spaw