Does Larrivee make a cedar top guitar preferrably with rosewood back and sides? I've read good things about Taylor's 714 and have searched Larrivee's line and can't find a cedar top at all.
Quote from: Todd W on February 18, 2006, 03:09:02 PM
Does Larrivee make a cedar top guitar preferrably with rosewood back and sides? I've read good things about Taylor's 714 and have searched Larrivee's line and can't find a cedar top at all.
not currently. Larrivee has been a big fan of sitka spruce. There have been a few all mahogany or all koa guitars made in recent years. But no standard offering with a cedar top, and I understand not even as a custom offering at this time.
and most of the cedars that I have seen have been Mahogany and Walnut.
Jean doesn't like cedar; way too many warranty problems I was told. I've seen a few koa/cedar Larrivees, a combo I like, but they seemed overbuilt and not as alive as I've come to expect. The word I've heard from a couple of dealers is don't expect to see cedar tpped Larries in the foreseeable future.
Quote from: oneeyedjack on February 19, 2006, 02:23:32 AM
Jean doesn't like cedar; way too many warranty problems I was told. I've seen a few koa/cedar Larrivees, a combo I like, but they seemed overbuilt and not as alive as I've come to expect. The word I've heard from a couple of dealers is don't expect to see cedar tpped Larries in the foreseeable future.
I wonder why he has problems with the cedar? Taylor 514 guitars are pretty stable and I love the sound, its my favorite Taylor 14 series guitar. I would love to hear a Larrive L series with this wood combo I bet it would sound amazing!
That's why I was wondering. The 514 has a beautiful sound and from what I've read people rave about it. Seems like a pretty good combination. If it weren't, surely Bob Taylor would not build it.
I've only played one cedar top and it was a seagull. Thought it sounded very dead, the strings looked new. It maybe be just that guitar, others rave about them. It could also be I've finally been able to afford to pick up a quality instrument only recently, and got 2 in the last 8 months. Both rosewood and spruce, so I may be biased that way for awhile.
I certainly wish that Larrivee coming from BC with a great supply of cedar would not at least do a limited run of cedar guitars. I just spent the afternoon at Buffalo Brothers enjoying several cedar guitars from Webber, Taylor and an absolutely great used cedar/walnut from Langejans. I still dont understand why other builders can handle this material and Larrivee chooses not to. I have to say that for me a cedar topped guitar is my next guitar and it is lilely that I will have to sell one of my Larrivees or maybe both to fund the next purchase. I enjoy my L03R but I think Larrivee needs to offer a bit of divesity in tone.
There are some used ones out there. A friend of mine has a mid-90s LV10 with a cedar top. It's very responsive to fingerpicking. Real nice looking cedar top. I'm a spruce guy all the way for my own playing though...
The problem (only for Larrivee if it wants to compete in a small niche) is that there are indeed a growing number of luthiers out there that are building with cedar. So while I appreciate the business ethics of Larrivee, and like their customer foccus, it is not like there are no alternatives out in the market. It is just that I do indeed like what Larrivee has done but think that they may be missing an opportunity.
Quote from: Jackwr on February 19, 2006, 09:03:16 PM
I've only played one cedar top and it was a seagull. Thought it sounded very dead, the strings looked new. It maybe be just that guitar, others rave about them.
My Takamine F470SSCD has a cedar top and solid koa back and sides. It is very loud and responsive. I've played several cedar topped guitars that are very lively, and a few that were more muted.
I don't fault Larrivee for playing to their strengths. Look at all the budget airlines that make a profit by only flying one model of airplane! Larrivee has a tough market niche: trying to compete in quality with Martin and Taylor while undercutting them in price. They need to have a fairly streamlined operation to do this and make a profit.
-Jonathan
http://www.e-misery.com
Quote from: Randy_R on February 18, 2006, 03:16:59 PM
not currently. Larrivee has been a big fan of sitka spruce. There have been a few all mahogany or all koa guitars made in recent years. But no standard offering with a cedar top, and I understand not even as a custom offering at this time.
Here's what one high end luthier says about cedar.
Cedar
Slightly less strength than Engelmann. . Scars fairly easily and braces can shear off if bumped. My personal opinion is it's better suited to classical building than steel string.
I think it's really odd if Jean has problems building with cedar. I have a rosewood/cedar Lowden which is lightly built and is fantastic (and my favourite Taylors have been cedar). Sure cedar dings easily but that's not a warrenty issue. I think cedar/rosewood can be a terrific combination. It's not just Larrivee though - Martin also generally eschew cedar. Perhaps it's just Larrivee and Martin feel they have enough models without using cedar.
Oh well - as someone pointed out there are other good builders out there using cedar so it's only a problem if brand loyalty is high up on the list of priorities (which for me it isn't).
Cheers
Mike
Quote from: UK Mike on February 20, 2006, 10:10:18 AM
I think it's really odd if Jean has problems building with cedar. I have a rosewood/cedar Lowden which is lightly built and is fantastic (and my favourite Taylors have been cedar). Sure cedar dings easily but that's not a warrenty issue. I think cedar/rosewood can be a terrific combination. It's not just Larrivee though - Martin also generally eschew cedar. Perhaps it's just Larrivee and Martin feel they have enough models without using cedar.
Oh well - as someone pointed out there are other good builders out there using cedar so it's only a problem if brand loyalty is high up on the list of priorities (which for me it isn't).
Cheers
Mike
I'm not sure but I think Larrivee's warranty problem with cedar stemmed from them making cedar dreds on spec. They probably wound up in the hands of flatpickers who strung them to heavily. Glueing a bridge to cedar requires a lot more attention to detail as well. Maybe the warranty thing bit their -CENSORED- before they could get over the learning curve. As for Martin, you can get cedar tops from them, it's just a custom shop only deal.
This one is sold but if I had had the money at the time.....I'd be playing it right now
http://www.12fret.com/new/larrivee_LSV-09_cedar_guitar_pg.html
I just saw this on Evil-bay . It was close by so I checked it out. Looks like cedar to me and it was in good condition.
http://cgi.ebay.com/1994-LARRIVEE-OM-O9-ACOUSTIC-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-NO-RES_W0QQitemZ7390761845QQcategoryZ2385QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
kdonovan
My friend has a Larrivee D-09. It has walnut back and sides and a cedar top. It is quite loud with exceptional bass response...a stellar sounding guitar.
Michael
Quote from: heartwood on February 20, 2006, 05:08:11 PM
My friend has a Larrivee D-09. It has walnut back and sides and a cedar top. It is quite loud with exceptional bass response...a stellar sounding guitar.
Michael
Oh yeah, they can be just that. I'm guessing your friend strings light and doesn't use the edge of a quarter for a pick.
I have always liked Larrivee's but, I wanted a guitar with a different top wood than sikta. So I went with a Morgan which has an englemann top, It's very similiar to a Larrivee, they also offer cedar, redwood tops. Again I believe Larrivee use's sitka spruce tops as it makes financial sense to do so. If you want an alternative topwood you just have to look elsewhere to find it. Nothing wrong with owning a different brand of guitar. :GRN>
I don't think Larrivee uses Sitka just for financial reasons, it's just what Jean knows. He personally selects the logs and supervises the milling and he's rather good at it. The further the company gets from it's boutque roots the less the harder it is to offer a diverse selection of top woods in a factory environment. Jean and Matt just plain don't like cedar and as long as they sell all the Sitka tops they can make there's no reason to expect them to build in cedar, Engelmann or Adirondack.
"Jean and Matt just plain don't like cedar and as long as they sell all the Sitka tops they can make there's no reason to expect them to build in cedar, Engelmann or Adirondack."
I agree oneeyedjack, like i said if you want a different topwood just look somewhere else, maybe it's not all about financial reasons, in anycase I like the guitars that Larrivee make, but for fingerstyle playing I wanted a topwwood that was a little moe responsive than sitka. If Larrive had the option of different topwoods then my last guitar would have been a Larrive. So maybe they are losing a few customers due to there decision to only use sitka.
"... but for fingerstyle playing I wanted a topwwood that was a little moe responsive than sitka."
Exactly!! My OMV-09K rarely gets played anymore since I got my cedar topped McAlister. I gave some serious thought once to having Lance McCollum retop my Larrivee.
I have a cedar top koa DO-9 1997 sweetest guitar ever Also have a D-9 jumbo german spruce rosewood that i chose over a D-28 martin..no regrets :nice guitar:
I was at Wildwood Music in Coshocton, Ohio, in March of 2013 when Jean Larrivée visited there. Wildwood had a couple of Larrivée parlor guitars with cedar tops, one rosewood b/s and one zebrawood b/s. Jean told us he makes very few cedar guitars, and if I recall correctly, it was partly because a lot of dealers were not prepared to care for them well enough, humidity, etc., and resulting damage was a headache to deal with and did nothing to enhance the Larrivée brand. That and the fact that Jean thinks sitka is a great wood that gives him everything he is looking for in a top wood.
EDIT:
I just looked at the Wildwood Music site and they currently have a number of custom 03 cedar-topped Larrivée guitars in L, LV, OM, DV, and parlor sizes.
When I first met Jean in 1971, he was only using cedar, my first order from him at that time,
which I took delivery of in 1972 was a Cedar top /EIR ''L".
we ordered 4 of them, and I know where all four are to this day.
My most recent cedar top was an OM with Walnut Back and sides.
Evidently a custom run, one of 6 made or something.
From my understanding, Cedar doesn't "come up" as much as a spruce top (sound wise) and actually can deaden out after several years, and yes, there are problems with bridge lifting, and bracing issues over time.
just my 2 cents, here's a pic of the cedar/walnut OM.
Whoa!, as with forum discussions, any older thread that has recently been added to, gets moved to the top of the heap.
Just noticed this thread was started 8 years ago!