Why Larrivee...

[tim farney]

"Kinda depends on what kind of stores you have access to. If I lived 400 miles south I could go to the Podium and try just about anything. Here, as far as high end instruments go, it's either a small selection of Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Guild or Larrivée or mail order."

Hmmm...there's not much to say except that I respectfully disagree. All of the big manufacturers mentioned above, in my experience, turn out a few duds, a few really exceptional instruments and lots of average to very good ones. Some are a bit more successful than others, but not by much.

A warm, midrangey guitar has its place. A bright, shimmery guitar has its place. One that is sort of in the middle between the two has it's place. That's all taste. But the exceptional guitars, they're something else. They are faster and more dynamic, often louder, at once more responsive to a light attack and more tolerant of a heavy one. When their tone is dry they crack and strike like lightning. When it's rich they almost sound as if someone has hidden a reverb chamber inside of them. They stand out in a crowded music store, at least to my ears, regardless of their builder's specific tone signature. They often even telegraph their greatness right through the disadvantage of dead strings. And I would submit that if you walk into GC regularly and play all the major brands and you find that the same brand has the exceptional guitars every time, you're listening with your eyes.

MHO. YMMV.

Tim

[ducktrapper]

What's a GC? Tim, I don't actually disagree but when your selection is much smaller, I believe certain tendencies tend to stand out. When your choice is between 2 Taylors a dread and a jumbo, 1 Martin D28 and a D1, maybe or maybe not a Gibson, a couple of Guilds and six Larrivées, I'm thinking the odds are in the L corner. I have to go to Toronto (900 miles) or The Podium (about 380) to try a SCGC, a Lowden, a Froggy, a Goodall, a Huss & Dalton etc. I definitely agree  that variety of that nature will certainly make your decision harder.

[tim farney]

I hear you. Not much in the way of boutique guitars around my parts either. The local big box guitar store will typically have a bunch of Martins, a bunch of Taylors, a half-bunch (that's a technical term) of Gibsons and maybe a few Larrivees. In that mix, I personally find the highest consistency of quality, setting aside tone signature preferences for a moment, among the Larrivees and Taylors. Martin's fit and finish quality is always up to par, but I find more duds there than anywhere else except Gibson, where the percentage is highest (all fans of any of the above, please accept this as nothing more than my opinion), though frankly, not nearly as high as the internet scuttlebutt would have you believe. It's when it comes to the killers, the guitars that stand out in a roomful of guitars that things get tough. I've wasted a lot of time in a lot of guitar stores playing lots and lots of high-end (hey, if you've got no cash anyway, why play the Taks?) factory guitars, and I just don't see winners and losers.

I'm often surprised, like the day I was in a small shop and the owner had a really nice, nearly new, 000 28. It looked marvelous, but I played it and was uninspired. Hanging next to it, though, was an LV03 with a preamp stuck through its side that just ate that OM for lunch. Another day, another store, it was a humble Taylor 414 that was devouring everything in its path, including stuff at multiples of its price. A third day it was a used Gibson Hummingbird hanging on the wall next to a brand new one that was totally uninspiring.

You just never know. You gotta play 'em.

I've listened to you enough on these boards to suspect that you have at least one of the killers. That, in and of itself, is a great accomplishment. I think I've owned two over the course of many years and many guitars, but I'm just holding one. The other was exceptional - one of the most responsive, individual, beautiful instruments I've ever touched, but it just didn't suit me. Funny how that can happen.

Tim

[sneaky]

typical Canadian understatement . We leave all the flash and pomp to other countries. Thats why everybody loves us eh. Anybody need some good peacekeepers out there? Call us. you know where to find us.

[ducktrapper]

Tim - I believe you're right on that. My D05 is a killer dread. I haven't had a chance to play all that many D05s so perhaps it's unusually responsive.
The Larrivée dealer in town says prayers for me at night. I convinced him to cary the line about four years ago and he thanks me every time I see him. He usually has a half dozen Larris around, as well as a couple of Martins, one D28 and a D1. He says that he now brings in the Martins basically to sell the Larrivées. If he happens to sell one of the Martins, so much the  better. I think this speaks to quality, consistency and price. A combination I find usually gives the Larrivée an edge. Especially when the stock is as limited as I've mentioned.