So confession time....

Last summer in a fit of unrequited GAS I did a fun, but silly thing - bought a guitar that was so very much better than my total beginner fingers could begin to justify. That beautiful L-03 just called my name, so I jumped, despite the fact that I could scarcely manage the chord change from a D to an A to a G.

Work got crazy and life got even crazier and neither my new Larrivee nor my old Seagull got played at all. For months. At some point I decided to recoup at least some of the investment and sold the 03. Dammit.

Fast forward - back at the Seagull, starting to get some music into my 55 year old fingers and life is a bit more balanced.

Found out that a decent and unexpected bonus is coming in a couple months - feeling the urge....

SO... the question.... At what point in your rookie days did you finally decide to take the plunge to your first "really nice" guitar? I know I don't NEED one - anymore than the quiver full of fly rods I have are 'needed". But I'm hearing the call of an OM....

 :donut :donut :donut :donut :donut :donut :donut :coffee :donut :donut :donut :coffee

Forgot the donuts.

I made it for over 30 years with my trusty Yamaha FG200 as my only guitar.  Bought it new in 1972 when I was 17 for $110.  I have literally played grooves in the fretboard over the years.  Never really felt the urge for any other guitar until I heard a guy playing an incredible sounding guitar in a church worship band.  I went up to him and found out it was a brand I'd never heard of....Larrivee.  That was 8 years and 3 Larrivees ago.  The problem with being a little older and having disposable income is I couldn't stop at 1 Larrivee.  Now I have to say that that old Yammie still sounds great, but my Larrivees are all something special.   :smile:

I started playing guitar when I was 15 and didn't get a nice (acoustic) guitar until I was 48.  I had a decent guitar, but not a special one.  For many of those years in between, I had the financial resources and never felt that my playing level didn't justify it.  Although I really wanted one, it was just that I am a practical sort and I wasn't playing enough to justify it in my mind.  I started playing regularly (worship band) again when I was about 45 which eventually led to finally getting a better guitar.  My old Takamine served me well for 27 years and deserved to retire.

 :donut :donut :donut

More donuts because it's only post number three, and a long time since posts number one and two (but I read a lot here).

So, first reasonably good guitar was after I'd been playing about 10-11 years - it was an Aria II flying V model.  The first REAL good guitar was in 1982 or 1983 - a shop near me was advertising Washburns buy one get one free.  They had an Ace Frehley model I wanted to check out, so me and a buddy went.  None of that model, and the other Washburns seemed to be jacked up in price.  Looking around, I saw a Dean like Elliot Easton of the Cars had just played on 'Fridays', so I asked to check it out.  Pretty cool, but not for me - way too big for the size I was then.  My buddy asked if he could check it out, and as I handed it to him, I saw something that had eluded me to that point.  A goldtop Les Paul Pro.  1981 model.  Used.  For $400.  I barely got out the question to try it out, and I took every penny I had with me minus what I needed for lunch and put it on layaway.  Worked all kinds of OT to pay it off (I was making under $4/hour then).  My grandmother gave me my birthday money a month early to finish paying it off.  I still have that guitar today.

First good acoustic, ironically, came from that same shop.  I decided I was buying a Martin D-28.  Tried one out at another shop (which is actually my go-to store), but I kept seeing ads for another brand, so I decided to try one out.  Yep - Larrivee.  My wife was with me (this would have been 1998, a little over 27 years of playing), and at the second store I tried about a dozen guitars, and it eventually led to the D-09.  Gorgeous sound, and my wife absolutely loves it.

Alan

If you can afford it, and you think it will make your playing more enjoyable to you; then why not :? If not you will if you are anything like me waste it on something else anyway :wacko:

Oh and  :welcome: back been almost a year. Thanks for the  :donut :donut2

Dear Hooked,

QuoteOriginally posted by Hooked:
starting to get some music into my 55 year old fingers and life is a bit more balanced.

The first time I looked at my hands and saw that they were aging, along with them,  my ability to enjoy whatever they might have left to offer, I decide to remove all encumberances and excuses.

If you can look at your resources and answer the gut-wrenching question, "What am I saving it for?" then you won't need any advice from the likes of me on the subject.

Congrats on the   :nice guitar:

Grow with it  :nana_guitar

"I know I don't NEED one" - Welcome to the Forum  :smile:.  Those are famous last words.  I think at some point, for some folks, our ears let us know when it's time to get a great guitar. There is a tonal difference.

Are you looking for an OM-03? Did you find the L-03 not balanced enough?

I took my first lesson as a 12 year old. Played a bit for a few years. Then not much at all for almost 2 decades. For some crazy reason, when I started playing again a few years ago, I decided I wanted a "real" guitar. My Larrivee is, and will probably always be, a far better guitar than I am a player--but I've got 2 sons and I figured, what the hell, if I'm going to buy a guitar, I'm buying one I can pass on when the time comes. The guitar inspires me to become a better player every time I pick it up.

I bought my L-03 after five years of playing. It doesn't matter how good you are or not; if you feel that the Larrivee (or any other guitar) makes you play better and you love it, there's no harm in buying it.

Any guitar that give you joy and inspire's you to play more is a good thing.By the way those Seaguls aren't bad guitars either.

Hello. I played an S6 for 5 years,  and bought other Seagulls during that time. I decided to try out a Martin, an OM-21. When I finally played one, I was somewhat disappointed. I don't remember how I learned about Larrivees, but I'm glad I did. I feel no need to upgrade at all.


"But I'm hearing the call of an OM...."

Find a used one and answer.  :nana_guitar  You can still learn and have fun. I'm 55 too.

I played a Yamaha for 26 years that we bought with a tax return before finally figuring I could afford a "nice" guitar. After all, my oldest was about to graduate from college and my youngest was 14. I was saving up for a Martin D-28 (after having played CSN songs for 30 years) or maybe an 000-28EC. I went to Guitar Center to compare them with Taylors when I saw a Larrivee hanging on the wall. It sounded so much better than the others! Of course, I didn't buy it at the time; I'm not even sure what model it was, probably an 09 something.

A few months later I saw a D-10 on e-bay and started bidding but it didn't make the minimum. Contacted the seller, EM Shorts in Wichita, and they sold me on the guitar with their enthusiasm for it. Ended up getting it New Years' Eve/Day 1999/2000. Within 3 years I had several more. Bought another 2 a couple of years ago with an inheritance. Now there's a 45th anniversary model on its way. My dear wife is now telling people about the custom she wants me to get with a custom inlay! What a lady!!!

Go for it!  You won't be disappointed in any Larrivee.  I started playing guitar 5 years ago with a Seagull S6+.  Sweet guitar but the dread was a little large for the fingerstyle playing that I was gravitating towards.  I am also over 50 and a smaller bodied guitar appealed to me.  I really liked my S6 and I would have moved to a Seagull SWS Folk or SWS Mini-Jumbo if any place I could get to ever carried them.  Lucky for me they don't and started hearing and reading about Larrivee's.  After doing my homework and trying different models, I traded up to an OM-50 (roughly 6 months ago) and added a Forum IV 00.  I am very happy with these guitars and although I am a beginning guitarist I know I will be playing a long time.  I have the instruments that will be with me during that journey.  I might add one or two in the future (a resonator or a Forum III would be my next "like to haves") but if I never got them I would be okay with what I now have.  So go and get that Larrivee.  You know you want it.  You planted the seed and it will probably just nag at you until you just get it. 

Anyway, let us know what you end up doing and now what you end up with, keep on playin'!

Mike

Quote from: JOYCEfromNS on June 08, 2012, 05:11:05 PM
If you can afford it, and you think it will make your playing more enjoyable to you; then why not :?

:+1:My sentiments exactly

Quote from: Dru Edwards on June 08, 2012, 07:55:59 PM
"I know I don't NEED one" - Welcome to the Forum  :smile:.  Those are famous last words.  I think at some point, for some folks, our ears let us know when it's time to get a great guitar. There is a tonal difference.

Are you looking for an OM-03? Did you find the L-03 not balanced enough?

Dru,

The slightly smaller body of the OM just feels better when I sit with it. I've a Seagull S-6 which is comparable to the L-body in size, so the OM seems to next goal. Neither the L or the OM are going to be done real justice by me anytime soon - neither is my Seagull for that matter, but what the hey.

There's an absolutely gorgeous OM-03 Deluxe on the board right now -but I'm holding off the spending until September when the project bonus is coming. If it's gone, then I'll keep looking.

Quote from: Hooked on June 08, 2012, 02:25:05 PM
I know I don't NEED one - anymore than the quiver full of fly rods I have are 'needed". But I'm hearing the call of an OM....

Hooked, you wouldn't be in Colorado would you?

I lived in MI for 42 years and fly fished twice.  Since moving to CO, I feel the need to stand in the river every few weeks, but can't usually get away.  Right now, I need a new pair of waders as mine have sprung a leak right where the sun doesn't shine!  I have exactly one fly rod - my skill is to stand in the river and listen more than it is to catch any fish.

-Scott

Nope, though I do love that part of the world. I'm in northern VA, just west of DC. I'm a whole lot handier with a fly rod than a guitar at this point. But you've already discovered the best thing; it's not about the fish!

Lou

Always wanted totry/learn fly fishing,it just seems like a nice way to spend some time in the sun,which for a vampire like me seems weird.Can you fly fish at sunset.How about at night.

Just thougt I'd toss in that the Seagul S6 isn't a bad guitar in the least. My first "decent" acoustic guitar was a Simon and Patrick Rosewood Pro dred. I played that as my only acoustic guitar for over a decade. I still have it and it's been refretted twice and the finger board might be more superglue and rosewood dust than rosewood at this point. I finally bought a 000-60 in 2005. The S&P sounds every bit as good as the 000-60, just with a different voice. If ya have the loot, buy what ya like. But, there is nothing wrong with the Seagul at all...

Seagull, Simon and Patrick, Norman, Art and Lutherie, La Patrie...all made in the same factory in Quebec, all inexpensive but excellent quality. The Seagull S6 with laminated cherry back and sides with a solid cedar top, 0utstanding!  I think they can be bought new for about $300. Serious guitar without breaking the bank.

Oh, don't hear me complaining about my 'Gull. My desire for the Larrivee is pure GAS, no implication that the Seagull is bad, or that I'm expecting to suddenly acquire super skills with a new (beautiful) guitar. My hope is that someday I handle a guitar as well as I do a fly rod!

As it turned out, I didn't buy a really nice guitar until I could play one. I'm not sure if that was by design or necessity. $675.00 for a Larrivée in 1976 was a lot of dough for an itinerant folk singer.

I have too many guitars and flyrods both.  But im a damn good fly fisherman and a crap guitarist.  Like it has been said, If you can afford it, then whats the issue?  I just like nice tools.  I hate trying to do a job with a tool i know is not working as well as it could.  That was my criteria for a guitar.  I can't play much yet, but i have a good ear.  so i was after a certain tone that some guitars were not offering.  I found a larrivee OM and L that are both fantastic. 

I bought a Larrivee as a crap guitarist.  I'm really glad I did.   And guess what?  I got a lot better because time passed and practice happened.  No question about "deserving" it.