Larson Brothers Guitars Relaunched

[HHP]

I have to say I really feel that the "new" Recording Kings, Loar, Larson, Flatiron and others who come up with a way to resurrect historic brand/maker names without much attention to how they were built should probably be classed as "stolen valor" manufacturers.

And yes, "get off my lawn!"

[zabdart]

Good point! Internally, the modern-day Recording Kings bear very little resemblance to ones made by Gibson in the 1930's, and today's Loar guitars have almost nothing in common with the L-5's which bear Lloyd Loar's signature.

[Wade Hampton]

Well, it's not as though resurrecting a historical name and then applying it to completely different instruments is anything new, as the revival of the "Washburn" brand name some thirty or thirty five years ago now ought to prove:



Those candy-colored electrics don't look anything like the Washburn guitars that were built in Chicago back when Lyon & Healy owned the brand name.

Obviously, the Larson Brothers name has attained enough buzz in guitar circles that these folks in the Vaterland decided it was a good name to apply to their brand of instruments. And since the original Larson Brothers guitars are unobtainium for most players, the potential buyers aren't likely to know (or, as in dantut's case, care) that there's no real correlation between the original Larson Brothers guitars and these unrelated new ones.


Wade Hampton Miller

whm

[jt1]

Originally Posted by HHP

I have to say I really feel that the "new" Recording Kings, Loar, Larson, Flatiron and others who come up with a way to resurrect historic brand/maker names without much attention to how they were built should probably be classed as "stolen valor" manufacturers.

And yes, "get off my lawn!"

Yes, this!

[Ken Franklin]

Originally Posted by zabdart

... if you really want a good facsimile of a Larson Bros. guitar, contact Frankie Montuoro in Chicago, Tony Klassen in Indiana, or Henkes and Blazer in Germany. They're the only people I know building guitars today in the exact Larson Bros. styles.

Add Alan Perlman to the list.

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by Ken Franklin

Add Alan Perlman to the list.

I had the chance to play a Perlman Stahl Style 6 recreation that was incredibly faithful to my original Style 6.

[Andromeda]

Originally Posted by HHP

And yes, "get off my lawn!"

I have seen this phrase on the forum lately can someone explain what is the meaning of it?

[jbslive]

I played one of their guitars up in Chicago and they are amazing, the one I played sounded like a blues king gibson or something real similar to that but with a more open sound. Everything about the build was solid, I have a habit of looking for small flaws and I was hard pressed to find any. Maybe some people don't like them, but I have no idea why... they are pretty perfect

[JJO]

Originally Posted by Andromeda

I have seen this phrase on the forum lately can someone explain what is the meaning of it?

As in, "Hey, you kids! Get off of my lawn!"

I'm of two minds about the revival of the names. On one hand (mind?) I think it's kind of a cool homage, and it does indicate (as with Recording King) a kind of traditionalism in the design of the guitars ... they're meant to be old school, and the name is meant to evoke that association. On the other hand, there are ways in which it's simply trying to borrow unearned cachet for a new brand based on the reputation of the old brand -- which is at least a little sketchy, particularly if they're not really following the design or aesthetic of the original in any significant way. Moreover, although I don't think there's usually intent to deceive, there could be cases where that happens, either intentionally or unintentionally. It also seems particularly unfortunate that they've chosen a route that annoys many knowledgeable guitar fans, since Furch/Stonebridge make some truly excellent guitars from what I have heard and read ... this is not the equivalent of Recording King (which I like just fine), where it's a new China-based company looking for an identity for a low(ish)-end brand in the U.S. market; this is an established, fairly high-end maker, and they're likely to be hurting their reputation among an important segment of their potential market.

Added: In this case, too, it seems worse than Recording King, since that was a house brand for a department store which has itself been defunct for, what 15-20 years? More? The Larson Brothers were actual people who created their own actual company, not just a label or brand name, and as others have pointed out, they have descendants and collectors who are invested in their legacy in various ways.

Finally, since this a revival of an old thread ... do these guitars actually exist in the U.S. as "Larson Bros." at this point? I can't tell from previous posts exactly what's going on in that department ... did this (probably misguided) idea pan out or not?

[ResoN]

Originally Posted by HHP

I have to say I really feel that the "new" Recording Kings, Loar, Larson, Flatiron and others who come up with a way to resurrect historic brand/maker names without much attention to how they were built should probably be classed as "stolen valor" manufacturers.

And yes, "get off my lawn!"

Stolen Valor is a good name for these companies. The company that calls itself Washburn has a 125th Anniversary Parlor model. What a joke.

[sixiron150]

Originally Posted by JJO

Finally, since this a revival of an old thread ... do these guitars actually exist in the U.S. as "Larson Bros." at this point? I can't tell from previous posts exactly what's going on in that department ... did this (probably misguided) idea pan out or not?

I don't think these guitars ever took off in the US. I happened to talk to a dealer in New Mexico a couple of years ago that had one. This is the only instance of one in this country that I have ever heard of.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by sixiron150

I don't think these guitars ever took off in the US. I happened to talk to a dealer in New Mexico a couple of years ago that had one. This is the only instance of one in this country that I have ever heard of.

So we've all been self-righteously indignant over a non-existing problem? DARN it!

Should have checked the dates on those first posts, I guess....


Wade Hampton Miller

[Mr. Jelly]

Originally Posted by HHP

I have to say I really feel that the "new" Recording Kings, Loar, Larson, Flatiron and others who come up with a way to resurrect historic brand/maker names without much attention to how they were built should probably be classed as "stolen valor" manufacturers.

And yes, "get off my lawn!"

One could make an argument that Gibson has broken this ethical rule with the Gibson L-1s that are marketed on the Robert Johnson and 1928 tags and yet are X braced.

[gitarro]

This phenomenon is common in the luxury watch industry where an old brand that is long disused but still well known is resurrected by a manufacturer with ttenuous or non existent historical links to the brand.

[Wade Hampton]

So we might say that these are “zombie guitar brands,” just like resurrecting seven year old threads turns them into “zombie threads?”


whm