Hi everybody.

I am going to purchase my first larrivee acoustic and need help deciding
between Larrivee LV-09E vs Larrivee LV-03RE!
kinda equivalent to a Taylor 814ce and a taylor 414ce!

both models are almost identical except for minor differences.
I actually own a taylor 414ce because i like it better than the more expensive
814ce. But since than i been itching to buy a 814ce but
a good friend suggested i try a Larrivee.

After doing huge amount of research i narrow down my choices to the
LV-09e and LV-03RE! I need something to complement my taylor 414ce.

My music styles are 70% fingerpicking and 30% strumming.
I do play alot of classical stuff.. so i prefer the taylor x14 style body.
WHich they say is similar to Larrivee L?


Need some advice on choosing my 1st larrivee

thanx

If you have the 414 but have been itching for the 814, then something tells me you like fancy appointments.  In that case, for the money, you could get the appointments (primarily gloss finish and abalone) with the LV-09 and certainly spend less than you would for the 814.  I don't really see what you would gain by going from the 414 to the LV-03R.

Now as concerns the electronics/pickups...Remember that the LV-03RE would come with the B-Band A5 which means you have a "barndoor" on you guitar.  The LV-09E with the B-Band A6 has no "barndoor".  My personal preference would be to decide on the guitar without factory installed electronics and then install an aftermarket pickup with outboard pre-amp/EQ (like the K&K Sound Mini-Pure Western with LR Baggs Paracoustic DI).

Hope this helps...just my opinion, but you asked.  :)  

I'll be more than happy to give you my opinion. The Lv-03e is gonna be no frills for the most part and has some different wood than the 09. The 03 has mahogany b/s and the "E" version has the B Band A5 single transducer. Also it has a satin finish. The 09 is gonna be a little fancier with abalone rosette,gloss finish,and B Band A6 dual source p/u system. The 09 also has rosewood b/s so it has a little more projection and low end. I've seen many posts on here about the two if you want to do a search. Honestly I think you'd be happy with either one. If it was me and I wanted to play it fingerstyle I'd get the 03.

                            $.02
                            Chris

yeah...what Jerry said :D  

QuoteRemember that the LV-03RE would come with the B-Band A5 which means you have a "barndoor" on you guitar.  The LV-09E with the B-Band A6 has no "barndoor".

i was just looking at the larrivee website and the picture of the guitars with the A6 pickup show a barn door on the side - looks the same as the A5 equiped guitars. is there something different without a barn door?

Veji,

I can't give you any input on the electronics part of the issue, but...

I played a LV-09E locally and loved it. Unfourtunatly, yo can no swing the dinero of the 09 series.
I went ahead and ordered the LV-03RE, thinking that was the closest thing. (Jim at TrinityGuitars gave me a great deal.) When it arrived, I could not believe it, it sounded as good, perhaps better (IMHO) than the LV-09E I played in the shop.

I think you will be happy with either one, you just have to decide if the glossy finish, different electronics, and the fancy appointments are worth the $$$ to you.

Best of Luck!  

arsenic,

I think you are right.  I think it's the -10 series guitars that have pickup with no barndoor.

In that case, Veji, to me it would be even more clear that I needed to:

(1) Decide which guitar I most desired.  Again, I don't see the point in going from the 414 to the LV-03R (unless there is something you don't like about the 414, other than lack of fancy appointments.)  That being the case, the LV-09 would be worth looking at.

(2) Get the guitar without manufacturer-installed pickup and add an aftermarket pickup and possibly outboard preamp/DI.  This avoids any holes whatsoever in the guitar (other than the endpin jack).  :)  

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

Actually I prefer satin finished guitars. Are there
any difference in playability and tone between the
Larrivee LV-09e and LV-03RE?

oops forget to ask this.

am i correct in saying that the Larrivee LV-09E and Larrivee
LV-03RE are essentially the same guitar except for misc details.

There's a lot of discussion about this.

The finish and trim are obviously upgraded. The better woods are used on the -05 and higher series guitars. Matthew has discussed hand picking the woods for higher graded guitars, whether that means only better looking wood, or better sounding wood hasn't been explicitly said.

I feel that more attention goes into the details of construction on the higher end models. But the guitars coming out of Vancouver are still very well constructed and a great value with great sound.

Every time I think about moviing up from the 03 series to the 05/09 I think about the ability to add another guitar with those dollars rather than gloss and then I dismiss the idea.

Pat Mc

Veji,

If you prefer the satin finish and do not care about the abalone rosette, I would go for the LV-03R. (Of course this should suprise few as I recently purchased a LV-03RE.) They both sound very similar to me (IMHO). I did not play them side by side, but have played each on different days and they both sounded incredible. Two LV-03RE's will not sound 'identical', but I have read here on this forum that Larrivees tend to sound very consistant from guitar to guitar. And from my limited experince with larivees, I would aggree.

I can't comment on whether eithre will sound better than a 814ce or 414ce. Something about 'beauty is in the ear of the beholder'.

Regarding electronics, larrivee's site give's a rundown of the electronics availible though their line:

http://www.larrivee.com/data/products/pick...ups/pickups.htm (http://www.larrivee.com/data/products/pickups/pickups.htm)

B-Band A5 (Single Source: UST)  -03 Series
B-Band A5 (Dual Source: AST & UST)  -05 & -09 Series
B-Band A2 (Dual Source: AST & UST, no barn door!)  -10 Series

If your not sold on the B-Band electronics, get it without and have your prefered luthier install your prefered pickup.

Best of luck!
Tim

Hi,

I was having this exact debate about three weeks ago. I actually prefer the satin finish, and minimalist look of the 03s series but eventually plumped - perhaps somewhat bizarrely - for the 09. I was keen on the slight extra protection that gloss would provide, and was a little worried that in the long, long run the satin finish might rub up unevenly. Boths points may actually be a little unjustified! Should I ever want to sell it (which I really doubt!), I thought most people would value the fancy appointments more than I would. The only other real differences are the woods (again, I'm not sure if anyone could hear a difference, and a lot of the 03s do look stunning), and the saddle material - which you could upgrade cheaply if you were so inclined. I guess I though that, since I was investing in a once off lifetime guitar, I may as well go the whole hog. I suppose I could have bought 2 for the same price, but I really running short on space!

I suppose you need to ask, is money an issue, and which do you prefer. They'll be near identical, I suspect, in terms of sound and playability (at least in my experience of Larrivees - feel free to disagree though!).

On the pickup front, you can order any Larrivee with any of the pickup systems - Jason at notableguitars.com did this for me recently. I got the LV-09E with the A2.2 pickup system (to avoid the barndoor), and it works out cheaper than the standard LV-09E with A6. I figure A2 / A2.2 is the way to go, dual-source, with an external preamp.

Mine's arriving in a few weeks - can't wait!

Good luck with it! I'm sure you'll be happy either way.

Daniel

I was at my local music store last Saturday and played a whole bunch of Larrivees. Although I prefer the look of the L09s, the best sounding guitar there was an L03E. If I was looking to purchase Saturday, I would've brought home that 03.

If I can get a better sounding guitar cheaper, that's what's coming home.

Rob

...unless you are particularly a die hard for the ROSEWOOD b/s then the LV Series shoud do you well over the LV-09.But then again my LV-O3E is just as wonderful as the LV-O9w/o the frills you can get.I would save the rest and but another model...say an OM ??? Yeah !! That's it!! :)

Peace!! ;)  

wow.. is it true.. a LV-03R sounds better than LV-09?

than i should reconsider and get the LV-03r...Tone 1st.. looks 2nd.

I think the point is...generally speaking there should be no perceptable difference in tone between the -03R's and the -09's.  (Remember, though that the newer -09 series guitars have bone saddle instead of Tusq and this can make a difference).  However, given the same saddle material and strings, sometimes you get an exceptional sounding -03R and sometimes you get an exceptional -09.  It can vary from one guitar to another.  That's why there's just no substitute for being able to compare them directly in the store.

bone saddle? is there a difference going from a bone saddle to tusq?
if so what is it? more bass? more highs?

Basically, there's going to be little difference, if any, between 03R and 09 guitars, except the saddle - at best a minimal difference, and one you can cheaply compensate for. Larrivee's are pretty consistent, but some guitars will always sing better than others, and so 03s can outperform 09s and vice-versa. They're essentially the same guitar with different appointments, so go with the looks you prefer, balanced by the budget you can deal with.

Can't really comment on tusq v bone. I've actually heard some argue in preference for tusq, but most consider bone superior.

I would have preferred two 03s to an 09, but I just can't justify owning that many guitars .... yet! And don't have the space. So I blew the budget on the 09.

Further thought - if you custom order a 03 or 09 with the A2.2 electronics, the only disadvantage is that you won't be able to compare it with other guitars in the shop pre-purchase, and are less likely to be able to return it, since it's a custom jobbie.

Good luck - let us know how it turns out.

Daniel

The 700 dollar price difference bewteen the two has to be more than cosmetics.I'am sure the wood on the 9's is much better than on the 3's which is going to improve on overall tone otherwise there wouldn't be that big of a price difference?

Looks to be my day to chime in! My understanding from several phone conversations with Brian T (Vacouver) and Corey Thompson (CA) is that the difference in woods on the 03s vs. 05/09/10s is mostly aesthetics. Structurally all Larivees are the same. I own or have owned the following: D-03R, D-09, L-09, L-03E. The 03s have a tusq nut and bridge, the higher series are bone.

I had the D-03R and D-09 together for several months and was able to A/B them during that time. Side by side the D-09 was slightly tighter and brighter, the 03R a little warmer. I've played several D and DV-03s, a Koa C-09, an LV10 cedar/rosewood and I regularly play my friend's JV10E. From the standpoint of craftsmanship there is no difference in the care between the 03 and higher series guitars.

Although I traded the 03R away, I actually liked the sound of the 03R better. I atribute this to the fact that I had played the 03R from Sept 04 and the 09 from Feb 05 on. In other words the 03R had opened up more up to the point I traded it away. Back to the wood quality. On the 03R, the grain of the rosewood was so straight it was difficult to find the join. On the top of the 03R the only possible flaw was a slight ripple in the grain lines in a few spots.

If gloss and abalone aren't important to you, I would go w/the 03 series...

Mark

As regards the "barn door" electronics in the LV03e, Jason at Notable Guitars had the factory put in an I-Mix before they shipped out my guitar.

Nice and unobtrusive. Unfortunately, I haven't played it plugged-in yet, but hey, I know where those little knobs are!

/john

I've often used the the humor line on a player with a Baggs "Hey, the warning light on your guitar is on" to refer to the the red led that is visible through the soundhole when plugged in.

So far I haven't had anyone make the same remark to me...  :mellow:

I'll second mark's comments. Bone saddle and nut apart, the differences are aethetic - even the differences in wood are based on aesthetics, which don't necessarily correlate to improved tone.

Personally I'd get electronics without a barndoor on either guitar - Larrivee will fit them for you (e.g. they put an A2.2 in my LV-09), although I think they're now doing Baggs pickups (exclusively?). Alternatively, consider and aftermarket pickup.

Dan

I forgot to mention in my post that I had the Bband A2.2 installed in my D-09 at the factory. The upcharge for that was under $200...

Mark

Hey you got the extra dough?? Got for the 9's...Aesthetic issues are the last thing in my quest.Tone has to be first,before you match it with the body style and appointments.My Stock LV03E never failed me gig after gig.Very reliable.Mhght chage the tuners to ebony later on though,just for aesthetic reason Thats all!! :GRN>

Cheers!! :ph34r:

So what did you decide?
I was all set to go for the LV-03re but then I tried a used LV-09 they had in the shop. I couldn't believe the difference. The sound was so much richer! A gorgeous sound. The 03 sounded good, but the 09 made you feel like you were in a studio. Was that due to the guitar (wood, construction, lack of electronics) or perhaps because it was used and therefore opened up?

QuoteI was all set to go for the LV-03re but then I tried a used LV-09 they had in the shop. I couldn't believe the difference. The sound was so much richer! A gorgeous sound. The 03 sounded good, but the 09 made you feel like you were in a studio.

Yeah, I had the same experience a while back.  That made me believe there was more to it than just wood selection.  Perhaps tusq vs bone saddle? 

I can't speak for the 09s but I marvel at the high quality of wood that's on my LV-03RE.