# Just had my ears stretched...



## lolligagger (Feb 4, 2006)

I went to L&McQ yesterday to try the epiphone masterbuit...nice guitar, but what really got me smiling was the Larrivee D03. 

I was really liking the Blueridge BG160 and was going to make a move on one this coming week but I thought I should bend a few other strings before parting with my hard earned dollars. I had played Garrison, Norman and Seagull amongst to name a few, and I was still thinking Blueridge, but now I'm leaning hard towards Larrivee. 

The LV05 was nice too, but I liked the sound of the D03 better. Any thoughts or comments on the Larrivee?


----------



## cohenj (Feb 7, 2006)

*Streched ears...*

You played some fine guitars. Ultimately, your senses have to be your guide. Buy the guitar that sounds good, feels good and has a vibe that you like. 

That said, dollar per dollar the Larrivee is probably your best bang for the buck. Larrivee's are made in North America and are likely to hold their value, if not appreciate, over the years. 

I owned a Larrivee Concert steel string from 1974 to around 1994. It sounded brilliant, but it eventually fell prey to years of travelling and mis-handling. Also, it has the early larrivee wide, flat neck, which I can no longer play due to a biking mis-hap that limited the use of my fretting hand's pinky. So, I sold it to finance the building of a custom dreadnaught and got about $1000.00 for it. I paid about $600.00 for it back in the day.

Today's larrivee's are a very different beast, but they still represent fine hand-made workmanship and excellent materials, especially at that price point.

Now, the Blueridge is an fairly new and interesting offering. It's made in the orient from quality hardwoods using tried and true martin-style structural and design elements. In other words, its a Martin D-45 clone of the highest order. They may not have the subtlety of tone of a Santa Cruz Tony Rice, a Collings DH-2 or a well worn Martin D28. but they sound real good for the money and look terrific. If I were going to buy a bluegrass style guitar from the orient, the Blueridge would be it. 

If I had to choose between teh Blueridge and the Larrivee, it would come down to the actual guitars in the shop. If it were a flat out tie, I'd buy the Larrivee.

Hope this helps.

Jeff


----------



## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

The Larrivee D03 is a no nonsense solid wood guitar with a lifetime warranty to the original owner. The Blueridge is well made but it is eye candy and all that pearl on the headstock is nothing but decals.


----------



## Rumble_b (Feb 14, 2006)

I haven't played the D03 but my cousin was raving about it on friday. He plans to pick one up this summer. It must a nice guitar.


----------



## cohenj (Feb 7, 2006)

rollingdam said:


> The Larrivee D03 is a no nonsense solid wood guitar with a lifetime warranty to the original owner. The Blueridge is well made but it is eye candy and all that pearl on the headstock is nothing but decals.


From the company web site:

BLUERIDGE CARTER STANLEY MEMORIAL GUITAR
Item Number: BR-1060

Bound peghead with Brazilian rosewood overlay adorned with a unique "White Dove" inlay design made from white, green and gold mother-of-pearl and abalone; toped off with Carter's rare signature in gold wire.

I've seen a lot of inlay and it looked authentic to me.

Jeff


----------



## Stephen W. (Jun 7, 2006)

What is your price point? Determine what you need in your next guitar. Then buy the very best that you can afford that gives you that.
I own one Larrivee, (BT-60 baritone). My brother has had several, (from a plain OM-5 up to a full custom cutaway). The Toronto built ones are very rare. The early B.C. production models are as well and priced accordingly. I'm not as impressed with everything coming out of the factory in California as those that were built in Canada. Still, I have to agree that bang for the buck Larrivee is the best going.
I'm not sure of the prices but you might also be interested in checking out Stonebridge. 
Andrew White plays them now. 

I have found the best way to determine which guitar to buy when faced with several equal models to choose from is to use a blind test.
Have someone else play them while your back is to them. Have them play the same tunes on each but never tell you which guitar they are playing. You pick the one that sounds best. Remember that as a player you hear things differently then your audience does. So you must become the audience so to speak.


----------



## lolligagger (Feb 4, 2006)

Thanks all for your responses...good insight into a great guitar line. I played a Larrivee in a guitar shop about 7 years ago while I was still playing bass. I was impressed, but I didn't think I would step into one anytime soon given the fact that I was a basic 3-chord guitar player at the time...ie not worthy!

I bought a mid-priced Washburn earlier this year to begin practicing more diligently, but that guitar turned out to be disappointing. Now I'm thinking "screw the $$$ and my lack of talent" and just get me a nice guitar. I did play a Stonebridge last month and have to admit it was really sweet sounding, but the sticker price was easily $1000 more than the D03.

I'm cooling my heals for a couple of days but I plan to head down to L&McQ Thursday evening to play the D03 and L05 models again. These were the two guitars that really called out to me...I will see which guitar my favourite 3 chords sound the best on.


----------



## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

Try finding an older L05-the ones made in Canada-you won't be disappointed


----------



## lolligagger (Feb 4, 2006)

Seems to me that I'm looking for a L-05 made before 2001 then...its my understanding from reading the history notes on the Larrivee website that the L series production moved to California, while the D series remained in Canada. 

I will have to dig around to see what I can scare up...thanks for the tip.


----------



## keto (May 23, 2006)

If you haven't played it yet, the D-09 hanging at L&M in Edmonton is just a KILLER guitar, sounds H U G E. $2500ish tho.


----------



## lolligagger (Feb 4, 2006)

*done did it!*

The deed is done! 

I couldn't take my GAS a moment longer...looked the L&McQ salesman in the eye this afternoon and demanded a discount. He told me to take it or leave it, so I did. Ended up paying their asking price and walked out with a Larrivee D-40, which is essentially a satin finish D-60 without the herringbone binding around the body. Great sounding guitar, perfect for my hillbilly music. Even my better half says my three favourite chords sound better than usual...

Here are the specs, for those who care...pictures to follow, maybe tomorrow.

All Solid wood Construction, Single Piece Mahogany Neck, Canadian Sitka Spruce Sound Board & Bracing, African Ebony Fretboard & Bridge, Canadian Maple Binding, Rosewood Back & Sides, Shifted Symmetrical Parabolic X-Bracing, Hand fit Dovetail Neck Joint, Enlarged Soundhole w/ Herringbone Rosette, Flat Top Headstock with White Inlaid Larrivee Logo, Custom Milled Open Back Tuners, Ivoroid Fretboard Binding, Larrivee Custom Beveled Pickguard, Microdot Fretboard Markers, Traditional Angled Bone Nut, Limited Lifetime Warranty, Arch-top Case.

http://www.larrivee.com/flash/products/guitars/D-60/d60.html

SPECIFICATIONS:
Lower Bout: 16"
Upper Bout: 11.875"
Waist: 10.875"
Depth: 5"
Scale Length: 25.5"
Nut Width: 1 & 11/16"
Fretboard Radius: 15" to 21" Compound
Setup for Medium Gauge Strings
Frets - Nickel Silver
Frets - Width 2.5mm (0.0985")
Frets - Height 1.0mm (0.0394")
Satin Finish Body / Satin Finish Neck
Custom Precision Compensated Bone Saddle


----------



## IM Canadian (Feb 24, 2006)

You made a great choice. I played a few d40 at L&M in Toronto and fell in love. I think these were a custom order for L&M.
ENJOY.


----------



## lolligagger (Feb 4, 2006)

*D-40 Pics*

Okay, here are some pics...


----------



## Stephen W. (Jun 7, 2006)

IM Canadian said:


> You made a great choice. I played a few d40 at L&M in Toronto and fell in love. I think these were a custom order for L&M.
> ENJOY.


I concur, very nice indeed. And being the satin finish it's Canadian built. :smilie_flagge17: 
I do not believe the D-40's to have been special though L&M did commission fifty L-05's for their 50th anniversary sale.

I must have played two dozen guitars myself on Saturday, (Guitar World in Cobourg and L&M in Oshawa). I was trying to sooth my sorrow on losing out on one guitar by buying another. Ended up with the GNX4 Guitar Workstation instead. Not sure what an acoustic player needs with effects pedals but I've got 30 days to play with it to figure that out.  Bahahahaha
Back to Larrivee's, by far the best sounding guitar I played on Saturday was a D-60. Unfortunately I need a wider neck for my fat little fingers.
Biggest surprise was a Cort that I played. Not sure of the model but it had surprising tone with dual electrics (under saddle + internal mic) and on-board EQ for around $1300. Still it didn't match the D-60.


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

That's a real nice guitar there lolligagger. Super nice finish on that one. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet for the guitar you really want.


----------



## lolligagger (Feb 4, 2006)

*Exclusive to L&McQ*

Thanks for the feedback all! Brian Trepanier of Larrivee customer service replied to my email today and confirmed the D-40 is exclusive to Long and McQuade. I should have asked how many were actually produced...


----------

