I went to the 12th Fret today to get my D-03R tweaked a bit. In the back of my mind, I thought I'd try out some of the higher-end dreads -- Collings, Bourgeois, SCGC, some Martins -- because I'm thinking I might want a dread that's more of a traditional sounding, bluegrassy "cannon" than my D-03R.
There weren't any Collings dreads in stock, but I tried some Martins and Dana B.'s and SCGCs -- so what was the one I liked best? A gorgeous D-50 SH. It just sounded and looked beautiful. Maybe not quite as bass-heavy as a Martin, but it definitely had the traditional sound.
I was strongly tempted.
But I was responsible, and left the store without it.
OK, I haven't been able to get this guitar off my mind since last weekend. It may be in my future, even if I have to sell a Tele, a Godin and my beater Martin.
Does anyone know how many D-50 SHs Larrivee made? I can't seem to find too many on the web. There was one at Elderly about three years ago, but that one had an abalone rosette (unlike this one).
Tycho
Why fight it ? You're a goner. Just get the thing and sell whatever you have to sell to get it.
Have you learned nothing about GAS on this forum ? If you don't get this guitar you'll regret it; maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of you life.................wait a minute I got lost in Casa Blanca there for a while. Anyway, give in to the GAS and send pictures and let us know how you like it once you've got it home.
I predict you won't last until the weekend.
QuoteI predict you won't last until the weekend.
Heh. I actually can't get there until Saturday.
I'm pretty sure the one I like is the same one Swainsong posted about at the bottom of this thread:
http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=15517.0 (http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=15517.0)
...which would mean it's been sitting there since at least December.
I've played it, I think it sounds great too. Actually was really impressed!
It's hiding in a corner :) hahahah, also there's no price tag on it :)
I think someone is trying to keep it out of view for themselves...
I played it again this Saturday and wasn't as in love with the sound as I was a week earlier. Funny how that happens. It's a beautiful guitar though.
Quote from: Tycho on May 28, 2007, 11:36:33 AM
I played it again this Saturday and wasn't as in love with the sound as I was a week earlier. Funny how that happens. It's a beautiful guitar though.
Which is why its a good thing to not buy such a beauty right away. Although that kind of cautious strategy can lead to not finding that guitar in the store the next time you go there!
Yup.
And I fully expect that if I go back and try it next weekend, I'll probably be in love with it again...assuming it's still there!
I'm playing a bunch of mahogany dreads right now, so they're all leaving different impressions at different times.
Anyone finding they actually like mahogany dreads just as much as the rosewoods?...
I'm finding (to my chagrin) that in the words of Paul at Long & McQuade: "You need 'em both."
It took me a little while to understand the difference in sound between a rosewood dread and a mahogany dread. Now that I think I understand it, I don't want to get rid of my D-03R, because I love its sound, but I feel like I need the simpler and woodier sound of mahogany as well.
I'm not quite sure where this will lead. I like the Larrivees I've played, but I've also played some really nice D-18s in the last week or so. I can't rule out the Martins, because I'm really lusting after that traditional bluegrass/old-timey sound.
Quote from: scotchtape on May 28, 2007, 03:27:07 PM
Anyone finding they actually like mahogany dreads just as much as the rosewoods?...
I've played several D-50's and find them quite nice but the nicest dread I've played so far is a Martin D-18GE...I think the 1 3/4" nut is what put it over the top for me...but overall, it's a real cannon. I haven't tried the SH version of the D-50 though....
Quote from: scotchtape on May 28, 2007, 03:27:07 PM
Anyone finding they actually like mahogany dreads just as much as the rosewoods?...
Oh yeah, there's a whole lot of folk preferring the dry, woody sound of mahogany.
For me, its a matter of which one I'm playing (LoPrinzi: rosewood) or (SD-50: mahogany).
Quote from: Denis on May 28, 2007, 03:38:19 PM
I've played several D-50's and find them quite nice but the nicest dread I've played so far is a Martin D-18GE...I think the 1 3/4" nut is what put it over the top for me...but overall, it's a real cannon. I haven't tried the SH version of the D-50 though....
You'd be talking about the SD-50, right?
I almost pulled the trigger on a D-18GE recently. I was THAT close. Lovely guitar, but not worth (to me) a 1.5x price tag what I paid for my SD.
Now, if my son could get a good scholarship to help cover college expenses, then ... maybe ... :whistling:
Quote from: prof_stack on May 28, 2007, 03:41:48 PM
You'd be talking about the SD-50, right?
I almost pulled the trigger on a D-18GE recently. I was THAT close. Lovely guitar, but not worth (to me) a 1.5x price tag what I paid for my SD.
Now, if my son could get a good scholarship to help cover college expenses, then ... maybe ... :whistling:
Actually the SH is a slothead version of the regular 14 fret D-50. The SD -50 is a 12 fret cannon, or so I'm told, that I have yet to see in person...same goes for the 000-50 which, after having played a 000-60, has become the "next Larrivee on my list" to buy....
The standard D-18 is nice, the D-18V is nicer and the D-18GE is sublime but like you said, the price tag is a bit daunting...but man, are they ever nice...and like I said, it'w the 1 3/4" nut that did it for me as I play fingerstyle more often.
Yup, the SH version of the D-50 is the guitar I played at 12th Fret that started this thread. It's a rare bird (and not in any catalog) but it's a beauty.
Here are pictures of one at Elderly.
http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/D50BGSH.htm
The one at the 12th Fret is the same except that (IIRC) the rosette is traditional-style, not abalone.
I actually like the regular tuning posts... slot heads remind me of my first classical guitar i learned on. ugh. couldn't play that thing anywhere.
I think slot heads are really cool-looking, and I think I read somewhere that a slotted headstock can make a slight difference in tone because it's angled slightly differently. But I've got two slotheads right now, and there's no denying that they're more of a pain to re-string.
QuoteAnyone finding they actually like mahogany dreads just as much as the rosewoods?...
When it comes to Larrivée guitars I
prefer mahogany to rosewood by quite a long way. Mahogany seems to capture what, for me at least, is the 'Larrivée sound': sharp attack, sparkle and definition with a smooth, uncluttered sustain. Larrivée RW by comparison is OK but one can do better elsewhere IMO.
QuoteLarrivée RW by comparison is OK but one can do better elsewhere IMO.
I dunno, I love the sound of my D03R. If I thought I could do better I'd trade it in, but it really sparkles. On several occasions I've had strangers come up to me at gigs and tell me how good my guitar sounds. (And believe me, it wasn't my playing!)
Quote from: Old Neil on May 29, 2007, 01:53:38 PM
When it comes to Larrivée guitars I prefer mahogany to rosewood by quite a long way. Mahogany seems to capture what, for me at least, is the 'Larrivée sound': sharp attack, sparkle and definition with a smooth, uncluttered sustain. Larrivée RW by comparison is OK but one can do better elsewhere IMO.
While the statement about mahogany Larrivees is about as true as it gets, I feel the rosewood Larrivees are still quite good. I think, like tychos has stated, that the D-03R is a sweet guitar for the price but I've also tried several L-09's, a D-60, a D-40 and an OM-60...not to mention a 000-60 ( :drool:) that still has me in it's clutches...and Larrivee is no slouch with rosewood. I just like the mahogany ones better. My L-03 and all hog parlor are so nice but if someone out there wanted to buy me an OM-09...I wouldn't say no.
IMO, I think Martin does rw best. But then they've had 170+ years to perfect their rw guitars now haven't they? I tried several nice rw Martins of late like a D-28 Marquis and an OM-28 Marquis. Both had hefty pricetags but one strum and you're hooked. The OM-28 Marquis is the nicest rw OM I have ever played.
Well then you definitely shouldn't try the new 000-42 Marquis then... :whistling:
Quote from: Old Neil on May 30, 2007, 04:04:27 PM
Well then you definitely shouldn't try the new 000-42 Marquis then... :whistling:
NO...I shouldn't...not that it matters, I doubt I could find one around to try anyways!!! I'm surprised my local shop had the D-18GE, the OM-28 Marquis and two D-28 Marquiss in stock!! They also have a bunch of Taylor GS' and like five R. Taylors of various prices and wood combinations...good thing I'm broke.
Just out of curiousity, does the 000-42 have a 1 3/4" nut?
QuoteJust out of curiosity, does the 000-42 have a 1 3/4" nut?
Here's a link:
http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/choosing/guitars.php?p=m&m=000-42%20Marquis (http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/choosing/guitars.php?p=m&m=000-42%20Marquis)
The short answer though is yes, its a 1 & 3/4" neck. :wink:
Quote from: Old Neil on May 31, 2007, 12:09:41 PM
Here's a link:
http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/choosing/guitars.php?p=m&m=000-42%20Marquis (http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/choosing/guitars.php?p=m&m=000-42%20Marquis)
The short answer though is yes, its a 1 & 3/4" neck. :wink:
Wow, and retail is only $7000...I guess I could sell a kidney...or a lung?
Quote from: Denis on May 31, 2007, 01:15:12 PM
Wow, and retail is only $7000...I guess I could sell a kidney...or a lung?
Naw, your cost is only $4200 which includes shipping. Ask Jim Holler at Trinity Guitars to get you one.
That was easy! :beer
Does rw have an added "boom" that mahogany does not or is there also a big tonal difference between mahogany and rw?
To my ears there's a distinct tonal difference, but it took me a while to get to where I could really hear it, and I'm still not good at describing it, other than to use that word "woody" to describe mahogany. I'm sure somebody here will be able to do better.