My rosewood Bakersfield arrive Friday afternoon. It is a beauty and the workmanship is impeccable. Excellent setup and it plays great. I played it a fair amount Friday and Saturday and decided to swap the traditional single coil for a Lollar Mini-hum four wire. I used an Acme Toneshaper I had purchased for my own build before I saw the Bakersfield and after installing,  swapping pick ups was a breeze. The Tone Shaper is set up so that the mini-hum sees a 500k pot when in the neck only position and I set the capacitor at .47f but the Tone Shaper allows for many variations in capacitor size. The bridge pickup is very good and a keeper. I cover a wide variety of styles from jazz chord melody to fusion, rock etc. and this guitar covers it all. I'm very pleased with the playability and workmanship. Its well worth the money. A big BZ to Dave at Guitar Adoptions and Matthew Larrivee and all the fine craftsmen and women at Larrivee. rob

(http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd215/robteejr/Bakersfield.jpg)

Very nice and I agree a tele style is the best all purpose electric guitar out there and the Bakersfield lives up to that rep.Also I like the rosewood board. :nice guitar:

Very nice - love the grain and finish on that body! Nice review - what amps are you playing through? What made you decide the change the neck pup so quickly? Was it just the fact that you had a Lollar sitting around looking for a home? Any comments about the original neck pup?

Mikey,

The neck pickup is ok but in my opinion nothing special but the real reason I swapped it out early was that I happened to have a set of Lollar minihums that for a couple of years now had planned to stick in a Les Paul Deluxe that I own and the ACME Toneshaper that I purchased a few months ago for a tele parts build that has now been shelved with the arrival of the Bakersfield.   The Toneshaper besides making pickup swaps very quick is the  5 position switch variation that allows me to split the coils on the minihum.  By the way, I had to do a small bit of scraping/filing on the pickup cavity as the Lollar is very slightly larger than the stock Duncan mini-hum. The Duncan Liberator is a nice set up but it's not a versatile as the Toneshaper. I installed a Toneshaper a few years ago in one of my Strats and I was sold on the idea but its much easier to  fiddle with the setting on the tele than the strat.  2 screws and you have access.  My primary amps are a Fargen Miniplex for the Marshall tone, a early 70's SF Fender Pro Reverb and a Genz Benz Shenandoah acoustic amp. I also use an 11 rack  for direct recording . The Fender is currently being repaired so I haven't yet had the opportunity to  check it out but it should sound super.

How do you like your Eleven Rack?

The most common issue people seem to have with it is the number and quality of built-in erffects. Do you use the built-ins or external pedals (or a combination)?

Thanks for sharing your impressions.

robwms,  I use the 11rack mostly for recording my own backing tracks but the only pedal I use in front  is a wah. The reverb is good on the unit and overall the effects are not bad and enough for what I do with it. I don't use many of the built in presets though but instead use ones I downloaded from the 11rack user preset forum then tweaked to my taste. The 11rack is in my home office connected to a windows 7 desktop using two JBL LSR 6328 monitors for playback. Its a decent setup that is well integrated into Protools (which is included) and its relatively easy to get a good tone without a whole lot of research. I'm not one who wants nor desires to spend a whole lot of time figuring out how to get something to work properly and this was pretty easy.  I live in the country well removed from any neighbors and I have the benefit of cranking my amps but if I lived in an apartment or close subdivision, the 11rack would suit me just fine as my primary amp. If you were going to use it to play live with FRFR monitors or PA, I'd probably look at the AxeFX.

I finally ordered mine today. Transparent Red with a rosewood fingerboard and humbucker neck. I was told it could take up to 11 weeks but as little as 5 weeks. I'm hoping for the latter.

Quote from: teacycle on December 30, 2011, 10:33:36 PM
I finally ordered mine today. Transparent Red with a rosewood fingerboard and humbucker neck. I was told it could take up to 11 weeks but as little as 5 weeks. I'm hoping for the latter.

Can't wait to see it - I was very tempted to get that color and pickup combo...yours will look excellent with a rosewood board!

I can't wait to see it as well. LOL.
This is the first time I've purchased a guitar and have had to wait for it to be built. The waiting is tough.
I know it will be worth the wait though.
As soon as it arrives I will post some pics. Well, that is if I can figure out how to post pics :)

Ahhhh yes.
So I picked up my Guitar this afternoon and it's a beauty.
But, of course, it needs to be played to see if it was worth the wait.

Yup.

Everything from construction to finish was spot on, but the clincher was when I plugged it in.
Now, I love my RS4. Everything about that guitar I feel is above any Gibson LP  I've ever owned, but the sounds from the the Bakersfield is what I've been searching for.
The vintage tones coming from the amp, both clean and dirty just put a smile on my face.
The HB in the neck was fat and chunky but never boomy or muddled and adjusting the tone controls kept things bright when I wanted it and less so when desired.
The middle position is my sweet spot.(same with on the RS4)
I play mainly in the neck and middle position with the odd venture to the bridge.

What I love about the two guitars is how I play the same but diffderently depending on the guitar in  hand.
Of course, I need to spend more time with the guitar to make a true evaluation but on the first date this babies a keeper.

Thanks to Mike Kitchen for the emails and the faster than expected service and all at Larrivee for the dedication you put into your craft.
It does not go unnoticed.

Cheers, Steve

Greast review - I have a similar take on the comparison between the RS-4 and the Bakersfield - they both definitely have their own thing going on.

So now we're just waiting for ... PICS!

:+1:

My camera died awhile ago so I need to borrow one to snap a few. As soon as I do I'll post them.

I borrowed my fathers camera. Now let's see if I can post them.

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Ooooo...that's a  :nice guitar:

I bet the color is richer and darker in person, huh? The color is hard to capture on these (with flash, etc.).

Thanks for sharing!  :donut :coffee :donut2 :coffee

BEEAAAUUUTIIIIFUUUUULLLL :drool: :drool:

 :mad: Stop with the pictures, I have no money  :mad:  :crying:  :mad:  :crying:  :mad:  :angry:

Just kidding, Beautiful guitar.  Congratulations.

Ooooooo....coffee and donuts :beer thanks Mike.

The colour never comes out right in photos does it. It's deeper and richer.
I am just lovin this guitar.
When I purchased the RS4 it made me want to play and play and play on. The Bakersfield has a different effect on me. It makes me want to compose songs again.
I tried explaining this to my wife this morning but I just wasn't getting it across right.
She  love the way it sounds though. In fact, she's diggin' it more that the RS4.
Too bad, it's mine.
She can get her own. :wink:

Thanks for the comments.

Cheers

Nice, love the tele style.

Niiiiiiice guit!   :beer  I was thinking about the red when I chose the MK White.  The truth is all of the Bakersfield colors I see are gorgeous - but I would take an unfinished one over any other guitar that I have played in the past few years.  This baby is tone all the way, with a bit wider nut to allow some fingerpicking in there, what more could anyone want?   :tongue:

Tried one this week in butterscotch...thinking the red with the rosewood works for me...does the pricing change when you select rosewood or going traditional pick ups?

One of the local shops had two maple neck Bakersfield to try. One sunburst with two single coils and a butterscotch with the hum in the neck. I was quoted the same price for my rosewood in red. Good luck with yours if you choose to go for one.

Thanks teacycle....I am going out of town for a few days but when I return I think i will order one...they seem to be worth every penny.

Well I took the plunge....Ordered my Bakersfield yesterday...Transparent red with rosewood neck....now the wait begins.

Quote from: Hotrod40 on March 02, 2012, 09:55:08 AM
Well I took the plunge....Ordered my Bakersfield yesterday...Transparent red with rosewood neck....now the wait begins.

You will not be disappointed.

Hurry up and get 10 posts so you will be enabled to post pics

What pickup you choose :?

:thumb

Went with the single coils....bit of a traditionalist....its already a big step for me buying something that does'nt have an F on the head stock...lol

I haven't owned a Fender Tele since 1984,for that matter I haven't owned a tele I didn't assemble myself since then.The Bakersfield is the first one I've played that I didn't build that I would own.You'll be really really happy a fine guitar.

Quote from: unclrob on March 02, 2012, 12:29:17 PM
I haven't owned a Fender Tele since 1984,for that matter I haven't owned a tele I didn't assemble myself since then.The Bakersfield is the first one I've played that I didn't build that I would own.You'll be really really happy a fine guitar.

The dealer I ordered from brought in the Butterscotch (with single coils)  and the Sunburst (with mini Hum)...it was very hard not to take one of those cept I already have an American Deluxe in Butterscotch and didnt realy want a humbucker....so now the wait