Well, today I made the decision to buy an L-03RE. I didn't care much about the electronics, but it's in stock, at a good price, so I took it. The alternative for a lefty is a long wait.
You've seen me vacillate her for awhile. I got my D-03R a year ago, and really love the sound. But comfort has become an issue. I'm a big guy with pretty long arms (I take a 35" sleeve) but I had a neck disk injury a few years back and I get numbness down my right arm. It's gotten worse in the last few months. I'm about to turn 55, so I doubt it will get better.
I've been torn about this for awhile. I went for it today because I was upgraded at my new job, at a significant increase in money. It's not a huge sum, but I thought this would be a lousy year for me financially and it got a lot better. Still, I don't think I can keep both guitars, so I'll probably be selling the dread, which pains me.
My hope is that the rosewood L sounds anough like the D that I won't miss it. I'm told it's close in the bass, with clearer mids and highs. It will have to be awfully good to come close to a D-03R, but if anything can, it's another Larrivee. I'm not very good but I love to play, usually seated. I mostly strum with a flatpick. I was used to the wider neck on my Seagull, so some of my basic chords, even the C, don't ring out every time on the D-03R. I got a somewhat wider nut put in, but I doubt it's as wide as the L. With the nerve damage in my index and middle finger, precision is sometimes an issue, so even with my short fingers, the L may be better.  I AB' a lefty L and D in California, and if memory serves I preferred the D for sound and the L for comfort. At the time, I wasn't getting the numbness, and even though I liked the D sound better, I remember being impressed with the L's sound.
Some of you may think it's silly to equivocate on buying a wonderful guitar like an L-03RE. It probably is. It's the probability of giving up the D-03R that pains me, unless the L is really, really close. I prefer that D-03R to almost any guitar I've ever heard. I'm not kidding when I say on this forum that Larrivee's measure up against any guitars at any price. But comfort and ergonomics are increasingly issues, and I'm doing what I think is best.
For awhile I'll be owning both. I'm probably going to lose, given that I'm paying more for the L today than I would have a year ago, and I'm sure to lose money on my D. I upgraded the D quite a bit--bone pins, bone nut and bone saddle, and Gotoh 510s. I can probably bring over everything but the nut, but whoever gets that D, with its fabulous grain and amazing sound, will be very fortunate. Of course, the price hike may help me get a decent price for this great guitar.
But that's in the future. Tell me I'm nuts or tell me I'm doing the right thing. How do the rosewood Ls and Ds compare? I keep reading that as we get older, a lot of players prefer smaller guitars. When I bought the D, I expected it to be the last guitar I bought, and it probably would be, if I wasn't getting the numbness. If I keep the L, I think it will be my last, unless I make a lot of money and find a lefty classic (maybe Paul will sell me his upside-down Epi).
Is the L really the perfect balance between big-sound strummer and delicate finger-styler?  Is the comfort level that much better? Does the wider neck make that much difference?
If you've got a moment, I'd appreciate any and all thoughts.

   I had a D-09 and a LV-03R at the same time, at 1st it was the D-09 that I thought had better tone etc. After a while it was clear to me the L was what I really liked. I downsized to P-09s and after the initial newness was gone, so was my desire to play them. But I'm 55 with similar ailments as you, so I went back to the L, only smaller in the LS series. These are close in size to 000's but a bit tighter waist and smaller depth. Mine is the shortscale LSV which has other ergonomic features that help me to play way more comfortably than a dread or frankly than a standard L or Larri OM. The larger lower bout is too much for me with the added depth. Which causes my shoulder to pivot outward too much while seated.
         The Larri OM may be a better choice for nerve relief than the standard L. But the L has more volume and can be strummed hard and stand up like a dread. The OM wouldn't work as well for your style. (Probably) So the L is your best choice and the L-03 is JCL's favorite combo of woods and the best buy of an all solid tone wood git in North America. That is a fact...not an opinion.   Take some time to discover the new sonic range of the L. It is not exactly the same as a D.
          One more side note, I recentley played 3 Larri OM's and realized the size was too large for my comfort and I had been eying the OM-21 Martin which is their 000 size. (smaller than a Larri OM) So I went with the OM-21. It is similar in size to a LS Larrivee and can be strummed or works as fingerstyle with a full bass sound and good overall sonic range. So it was a better fit and a compliment to my LSV which still needs to "break in" I bought it new and the OM-21 is 15 years old, totally open and full of resonance.
           The last thing for me to add is my LV-03R is the one I regret selling. Even if I could only play it for 5 or 10 minutes at a time. But a close friend has it and I go visit and make sure it is being well cared for. It is. Danny

Thanks for the insight. I agree with you that the 03 series is unmatched. If you listen to that recent interview with Larrivee, it's hard to justify paying more unless you love the finish and the bling. To me, the plainer the better. I'm hoping that the L with electronics--unlikely I'll ever need it, but it might be fun to pick up a small amp--will be all the guitar I'll need. Because prices go up today, it was actually cheaper for me to buy the L with the Baggs pickup in stock than order one without. The joys of limited selection for lefties!
I'll be keeping my Seagull M6 for taking outside, on trips, etc. It was a $500 guitar or thereabouts to start,so I couldn't get enough for it to make it worth selling. It's a great second guitar, and I've had it four years, so there's an attachment--even though I haven't played it much since getting the D-03R.
I'll try and hold onto both the D and L as long as I can, for comparison and to make sure I'm making the right decision. But my experience so far, and yours, seem to make it so. Maybe if I get a little more piano=like tone on the mids and highs, I won't mind giving up that nice deep D tone.
I suppose it could be worse. If I'd been playing since my teens, I'd probably be struggling to part with an old D-28 with a lot of mileage on it.
Thanks again.

  If you do want more bass after you play the L awhile ,try some EJ17s they will deepen it a little. I think once you ear adjusts you will like it better than the D for your style.   Keep us posted, here is a logo for you, just copy and paste it,  Danny

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Thought I'd just chime in on this.  I just got an L03R too.  I went to Spruce Tree in Madison, WI ( a great store).  They got out a bunch of stands for me and the following Larries: L03R, L03 (hog), D03R, DO3 (hog) and D03 ovankol.  I sat there alternating between guitars for probably 90 minutes, playing a song on each one through a rotation.  I went in with a firm bias toward D models.  The L is nice (if you play seated) because it sits lower on your thigh.  The L03R was (to my novice ears) the best.  Nice bass response but smooth throughout.  Of course the personal preference thing is huge, but I was shocked (literally) by how nice the bass was on the L03R.  Nice for picking and not overwhelming when strumming.  To me it sounded most like the D ovankol, but I feel for the L body.

I hope you are as happy with it as me.

Soon thereafter I got a D03 silver oak, I love the tone of that one too but can't quite come to terms as to how to describe it--it's one of those "you have to hear it to believe it" things.

Interesting perspective, Penner. Except for a store in California, I've never seen a lot of Larrivees together. My hope is that the rosewood L won't be too far off the bass of my D, and that there will be some compensatory benefits, like better mids and highs and better comfort. I do love my dread but it would be hard for me to keep both. In that case, some fortunate lefty will enjoy my D-03R without having to pay the new prices.

Lefty,

I can totally understand your decision.  I purchase a guitar a couple years ago that was approximately an L-shaped guitar, it was a custom boutique La Due Philippine mahogany w/ a red cedar top, one of the best sounding and also unique guitars I ever heard.  I had to sell it because I even after months, I could never get used to the neck profile and got tired of fighting to play it.  What a shame.  I think once you get that L in your hands you will find that it is very similar to the D.  It's possible that when you played the L a year ago, the strings weren't in the best condition, strings make a significant difference in a guitar's voice.  I think tonewise, you will be fine.  IMO, those rw Ls are amazing sounding guitars.  I love them.  I would be more concerned with if it at all alleviates your pain.  Good luck and keep us posted.

It's not so much pain, Bluesman, it's more an increasing numbness. It happens more when I sit in certain places and play.

Quote from: leftync on August 02, 2008, 04:41:42 PM
It's not so much pain, Bluesman, it's more an increasing numbness. It happens more when I sit in certain places and play.

Another relief item that may help is a foot rest to raise your leg a little. Someone did a thread on this not too long ago and I have been trying it out, it does help at times.