# Lefty player needs your help and advice



## munmun (Mar 18, 2011)

Hi there. I have been looking for a new acoustic guitar and have fallen in love with the Larrive L-09. Now the story gets a little more complicated. This guitar is out of my price range new and it is hard to find used left handed. They go for about $2,100 new. 

Recently I found a store selling a right handed L-09 used for $1,565. I talked to their technicians about the possibility of flipping the strings and doing the required work on the saddle, etc to accomadate string size. They say that the bracing is basically symmetrical and that there should not be a problem. However they also said that I should never use more than light strings otherwise the strings will stress the guitar because it was built to have the strings one way and not the other. This is not a problem because I play light strings anyway. However the fact that they mentioned it created some doubt in my mind.

I also discovered a two cracks on the body. One on the top and one on the bottom. Both have been fixed with cleats. I told the store that I was not going to buy a guitar with cracks for $1,565 and that I wanted a discount. They have lowered the price to $1,252. Now the whole thing gets really tempting but I have doubts so I need some answers:

- is there any risk from flipping the strings? Will it affect the guitar over time due to stresses that were not foreseen during design?
- the store told me that with cleats the guitar is stronger than it was without cleats. However I am worried. Why did it crack in the first place? Was it not looked after? Is there a dryness issue with the wood? Will flipping the strings stress it more?

Bottom line- would you buy it?


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

Very quick anwser will be No pass on it and you should get a hold of Larrivee customer service and ask them about switching from a right to a left.ship


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Yeah, I would talk to Larrivee directly about switching. 

They also have a good warrantee with their guitars, so my guess is that the guitar you were looking at was abused - otherwise they would have fixed or replaced it.


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## gktoronto (Feb 3, 2011)

Hi fellow lefty,
As you mentioned larrivees are symmetrical and have zero issues with being flipped. There is no risk to the structure to flipping the strings. Larrivee bodies become lefty or righty when they glue the bridge on. Even non-symmetrically braced guitars can be flipped safely and with debatable sonic effect. Getting the briged filled, re-routed, and a new nut and saddle adds to the cost, and typically, one can find a proper lefty guitar for less than the added cost. If not, then it is worth considering. To keep costs down, you could use a pre-slotted nut, and pre-shaped saddle (like a graphtech compensated lefty drop-in saddle) -instead of getting a bone nut and saddle custom-made, which are considerably more expensive. There are are number of small-shop guitar techs in the city (The Six String Garage in Parkdale comes to mind) that can probably give you a good price (and do good work) on the lefty switch.
I personally would buy a guitar in a similar situation as you described. Properly repaired cracks in a used guitar would not phase me, as long as the guitar sounded good. And sometimes as a lefty you have to make compromises. Cracks in the side would be the least consequential to the sound of the guitar (as opposed to cracks in the top, back, or neck). 
Here are the questions I ask myself. In a used acoustic, I am far more interested in the health of the guitar top and back, are they still properly radiused, or flattened from dryness? Alternatively, is there excessive belly on the guitar (a rare case)? Is the the finish on the top wavy (again from dryness)? Is the top seam tightly closed? The larrivee is a dovetail neck joint, which is expensive as heck to reset, so is the neck angle good? Is there ample saddle, or has it been sanded down heavily to lower the action to an playable height? Is the fretboard dipping above the 14th fret? (There is always a teeny bit of 14th fret hump, is it beyond what I would like to see?). Is the neck heel reasonably tight to the guitar (a small gap here isn't unusual, but if you can stick a dime in there, that would be bad . I check the back of the bridge also with a business card, I'd like to see that tight to the body. Refrets are expensive, so are the frets in good condition?
Are there any pictures of the guitar on the web? You will notice on the used guitar listings at the 12th fret they often mention the action measurements, which is a smart move, as it gives potential buyers a rough sense of how close they are to a neck reset (when you combine that info with a picture of the saddle). They also mention the condition of the frets, again due to the cost of this repair work.
The comment about only using light strings sounds odd to me, but only because I wasn't aware of any such restriction on the L body larrivees. If that differs from what the manufacturer says, then I would want to know why the store suggests this. Is it because the neck is getting close to a reset? 
I guess the bottom line, is that I would need more info to make a informed decision.


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

Well he did say that there was a crack in the top and the bottom ( back ) and as you guessed a store telling you that they recommend that you not use anything except lite strings. You don't really need more information then that to run away from that deal and as for a gap in the heel of a guitar well that often indicates that a neck reset is right there for the pickings.ship


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## munmun (Mar 18, 2011)

I did decide to walk away. However since then someone on a different forum has said that Larrivee guitars are prone to cracking. Is there any truth to this?


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

No not any truth to that any more then any other guitar not maintained and having the right mositure. And I think you were very wise to walk away from that one, the right guitar ( or left in your case ) will come along and you'll just know that this is the one for you.ship


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## Mike MacLeod (Nov 27, 2006)

I agree with Ship. Larrivee are no more or less prone to cracking than any other fine instrument. It's tough being a lefty. I have a good friend who is lefty, but plays right (and proper  and has been able to acquire fine instruments with far less trouble. He often says how lucky he was that no one told him about left handed guitars when he started.


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