Are Members in the Larrivee Group Primarily Plectrum or Fingerstyle Players?

[William2]

I was wondering about this as it seems to me (maybe I'm wrong) that there appears to be a preference for the non-scalloped Larrivee instruments in the group. I play fingerstyle so I always buy the scalloped braced Larrivee guitars. Of the limited videos I have seen comparing the two bracing systems, the scalloped bracing system seems to sound better fingerstyle, while with the non-scalloped bracing, the instrument appears to sound better, and you can drive the instrument harder with the plectrum. And if you play fingerstyle, do you play bare finger or with nails?

[Queequeg]

I've worn acrylic nails on 3 fingers of my right hand for about 10 years.
In January I developed a left hand injury that requires surgery (scheduled for late March).
Acrylics require a certain amount of maintenance; primarily having them filled about every 3 weeks.
Since I can't play guitar until about 6 weeks after surgery (mid-May) I had the acrylics removed. Not a pleasant process. The underlying natural nails are very thin, having been covered for so long.
I'll go back to acrylics once I can hold a guitar again.

[William2]

I've worn acrylic nails on 3 fingers of my right hand for about 10 years.
In January I developed a left hand injury that requires surgery (scheduled for late March).
Acrylics require a certain amount of maintenance; primarily having them filled about every 3 weeks.
Since I can't play guitar until about 6 weeks after surgery (mid-May) I had the acrylics removed. Not a pleasant process. The underlying natural nails are very thin, having been covered for so long.
I'll go back to acrylics once I can hold a guitar again.

Best wishes on your upcoming surgery. I had carpal tunnel surgery on my fretting hand in the 90s and was down for about two weeks. Now there are a couple of Drs. in the Green Bay area that have developed a new procedure for corporal tunnel that only takes about 10 minutes and from what I hear, there is now down time. Amazing!!! When I returned to the guitar, I chose the acoustic steel string as I always hated nails when playing classical guitar. But it was necessary to get the coloristic affects I wanted. I hated nails on one hand and not the other. That is one reason took up the lute. I play bare finger as I like that sweet sound that can emulate a nylon string instrument with the advantages of the sustain the instrument has. I assume you play a scalloped braced instrument since you play fingerstyle?

[B0WIE]

I primarily play fingerstyle. I find 12 fret guitars to generally be better fingerstyle players. As far as bracing goes, the body style/size matters more. The traditional bracing is more balanced while the scalloped has more of a deep bass.

[jpmist]

Quite a while ago I was a hybrid picker, thumb-fore to hold the pick and occasional picking with the middle and ring when I could manage that. Then Mark Knopfler started putting out his acoustic albums where to learn and copy the songs I had to drop the pick and I haven't looked back. I learned so much of my current playing from Knopfler and progressed leaps and bounds when when the CAGED system finally made sense and I started using a capo in order to match his playing. I still use a pick for my strat but like Knopfler, hardly ever.

I envy you guys with the hearing and ability to discern scalloped versus non-scalloped but that would lead to me buying too many more guitars   

[Queequeg]

I assume you play a scalloped braced instrument since you play fingerstyle?

I envy you guys with the hearing and ability to discern scalloped versus non-scalloped but that would lead to me buying too many more guitars   

I couldn't pass the blind bracing test, I sure.
Especially in recent years as my hearing is beginning to show signs of age.
I generally prefer smaller bodied guitars. Comfort is an important factor; far more than volume. But I do appreciate the bass response of a larger body.
Most of my guitars are 14 frets because I use them but I could play a 12-fret with a cutaway. I don't happen to have one of those, though.

[William2]

I couldn't pass the blind bracing test, I sure.
Especially in recent years as my hearing is beginning to show signs of age.
I generally prefer smaller bodied guitars. Comfort is an important factor; far more than volume. But I do appreciate the bass response of a larger body.
Most of my guitars are 14 frets because I use them but I could play a 12-fret with a cutaway. I don't happen to have one of those, though.

I don't think it is something a listener would discern, but the player would probably notice. I have read that with the scalloped bracing, the top responds more easily to fingerstyle. And Mr. BOWIE is correct that the 12-fret neck configuration makes the instrument very responsive to fingerstyle playing. I've never found body size a factor in my comfort concerns. I played 00 size or classical when I was young. With my 12-fret Waterloo, it just felt too small. After player a larger guitar, it just feels right as far as holding it. I own 3 Larrivee's. I just got a D-40. I'm comparing it to my two-rosewood body instruments to decide what is my favorite tone wood. Once I decide on this, I may experiment and try a X braced Larrivee, probably the L model or the TE model. But here is a comparison of two 00 Larrivee's, X braced and scalloped. As a listener, I can hear the difference.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of3wLImsylI

[ducktrapper]

I fingerpick, flatpick and hybrid pick on any guitar. Depends what song I'm playing. 

[B0WIE]

I envy you guys with the hearing and ability to discern scalloped versus non-scalloped but that would lead to me buying too many more guitars   

It only matters when all other things are equal, IMO. One couldn't listen to a Larrivee OM vs an L and know which was scalloped. Nor, could one listen to a Larrivee OM vs a Taylor OM and say one sounds scalloped. The other factors are much more important.

 I never care how they carved the braces. What really matters is body size, the top, and (most importantly) what the maker built it to sound like. The braces are part of that but they don't determine how good the sound is nor do they override the more meaningful features.

 I recently did blind recordings of all my acoustics and I like playing them back to see how easily I can identify each one. Everyone should try this before buying or selling a guitar. With some, it's really obvious. Some others take some listening. The biggest take away is that I play some very confidently and others it's like I'm riding a disagreeable horse. Really made me re-evaluate which ones I'm keeping.

[unclrob]

I fingerpick, flatpick and hybrid pick on any guitar. Depends what song I'm playing. 

 
I have a12 fret OM in naple and a L10 in koa and did all on  both a Larrevee jumbo J05 and a Guild jumbo maple.Come to think of it with dreads.


keep smilin and keep dancin 

[Silence Dogood]

This is a guitar forum so nuanced discussions on features etc are part of what we do here. But for me, wondering about scalloped bracing would be a bit like driving a nice car and wondering about the hardware used on the motor mounts, or what type of lugnuts were installed etc.  It's a distraction from playing music for me. YMMV. 

[William2]

I guess what I was wondering is if you play plectrum are you more inclined to buy the X brace system or if fingerstyle the scalloped braced system when buying an instrument. Does one work better for your type of playing. My only experience with non-scalloped bracing was a Martin D-15. It worked fine, but ultimately, I decided with didn't give me what I needed. I don't think it was the bracing but the top wood. Most demos of the Marin 15 line involve primarily strumming. I wonder if a scalloped D-15 would do something different. Probably not as much as a spruce top scalloped dreadnought. But in the demo, I posted of 2 identical Larrivee's, I can clearly hear the difference and as a buyer would pick the scalloped braced instrument as it sounds better fingerstyle, and I don't strum my instrument except if the composition calls for it. Maybe that isn't a factor here. Maybe it is this more balanced sound cited for the non-scalloped Larrivee bracing system. AS far as blind listening testing goes, I think I could pick who's who among them as my 12-fret does sound different than a 14-fret dreadnought. And of the two 14-fret dreads, there is a sound difference between rosewood and mahogany. I don't notice anything on these instruments that make one more player friendly than the other.

[B0WIE]

Maybe this will help. Jean started out making classical guitars. His standard Larrivees still show a little bit of classical influence, particularly in the balanced tone. The 40 series was brought about to appeal to players who like a more Martin-esque sound, with bigger bass. I guess you have to ask yourself which style sounds more like a fingerstyle or flat picking guitar to you. There really is no right answer. And, again, there are other factors that have a stronger influence.

As you go down in size, sometimes that extra bass helps and vice versa.

[ducktrapper]

The players who made the music I like the best mostly made do with whatever guitar they could lay their hands on. Now that we have more choices than we can shake a stick at, should we obsess about things that don't matter at all or just play what we can get our hands on?  When I first started to play guitar, I didn't know whether it had braces let alone what kind. I just tried to make the darn thing sound as good as it and I could. 

[B0WIE]

... should we obsess about things that don't matter at all or just play what we can get our hands on? 

It's two different things.

 I've known a lot of car guys. None of them ever talked about their driving ability, but they did talk about the feeling of driving those cars, and the interesting facts about how they were built. Online guitar discussions are the same

 The musician part of me plays guitar and listens to music. The inquisitive side likes to learn. One hobby doesn't diminish the other. They actually enhance each other. Some people watch sports or TV. I would rather learn about how things are built. Doesn't make me play guitar less.

[unclrob]

I've been repairing and servicing guitars for over 50 years.I was taught to deconstude the guitar in your head so you know how to fix it.As for what type of bracing it depended on the guitar to talk to me.I remember knife stabs thru guitar tops{Thanks Leo} and being ask to shave braces but it seems to be a more ask now.I can't tell  which sounds better>Soall I can tell you is play what feels right and sounds loys of choice out there.


keep smilin and keep dancin

[William2]

The players who made the music I like the best mostly made do with whatever guitar they could lay their hands on. Now that we have more choices than we can shake a stick at, should we obsess about things that don't matter at all or just play what we can get our hands on?  When I first started to play guitar, I didn't know whether it had braces let alone what kind. I just tried to make the darn thing sound as good as it and I could. 

I kind of agree with you to the extent that I think too many players make too much of the instrument. Ultimately it is what the player does that the listener is concentrating on. That sad, I agree with Mr. BOWIE: "I would rather learn about how things are built. Doesn't make me play guitar less." When I was young and studying classical guitar, I never thought of construction. Classical guitars are mostly the same size and have similar bracing. It just didn't interest me. The only instrument I couldn't get since I play left-handed, was the Ramirez with its fretboard planed to have more distance between the strings and the fretboard on the bass side. They do have different bracings now, however. But with the acoustic steel string guitar, there are so many different sizes, shapes, string lengths, and yes bracing patterns it really interests me and what might be best for fingerstyle playing. I think at some point, I might have to get a Larrivee with their standard X bracing just to have one. I must say, I just love my new Larrivee D-40. What a powerful, responsive, and lively instrument.

[Silence Dogood]

The players who made the music I like the best mostly made do with whatever guitar they could lay their hands on. Now that we have more choices than we can shake a stick at, should we obsess about things that don't matter at all or just play what we can get our hands on?  When I first started to play guitar, I didn't know whether it had braces let alone what kind. I just tried to make the darn thing sound as good as it and I could. 

I've seen some interviews with Clapton where he talks about his guitars, or someone hands him a guitar and he comments on it, etc.  His comments all seem sort of vague, like at times he can't remember specs or even special attributes about this or that model and what they are called.  He would say things like, "I like the brown one with these bits here..." or, "I always liked these kinds with these things here..."   

Having said that, I know there are other players at his level that know every single thing about their guitars and all guitars.  I guess it takes all kinds. 

[ducktrapper]

It's two different things.

 I've known a lot of car guys. None of them ever talked about their driving ability, but they did talk about the feeling of driving those cars, and the interesting facts about how they were built. Online guitar discussions are the same

 The musician part of me plays guitar and listens to music. The inquisitive side likes to learn. One hobby doesn't diminish the other. They actually enhance each other. Some people watch sports or TV. I would rather learn about how things are built. Doesn't make me play guitar less.

Not talking about being interested in these things, I'm talking about obsessing about tiny details. 

[ducktrapper]

I've seen some interviews with Clapton where he talks about his guitars, or someone hands him a guitar and he comments on it, etc.  His comments all seem sort of vague, like at times he can't remember specs or even special attributes about this or that model and what they are called.  He would say things like, "I like the brown one with these bits here..." or, "I always liked these kinds with these things here..."   

Having said that, I know there are other players at his level that know every single thing about their guitars and all guitars.  I guess it takes all kinds. 

Sure but are they any better players due to that? Hendrix would play any old off the wall stratocaster and sound the same. Apparently, he didn't care much about the details involved in the guitar as long as it had a tremolo arm and he preferred right handed ones. 

Here's the quote I found.

"There was only one model of Strat back then (Edit: one tremolo equipped model that is), and that is what he used. He always bought the common easily available RH (right hand) version of that one tremolo equipped model. He'd buy freshly-made ones from retail stores as needed."