New moon top + walnut models

[guitarman001]

The universe is baiting me.

I have so many Larrivee (p-03, p-03r JCL, om-03bh, OM02, OM05) and ex-Larrivee luthier guitars. For some time I've wanted to try their walnut models and they've just popped up .... Just as I've spent a fortune on a new Northwood and Halcyon!

Has anybody tried these?

I LOVE the moon spruce over both the rosewood parlour and the Bhilwara... Really adds a fizz to the trebles, a really good combo. I always found walnut a bit dry compared to mahogany but its deeper bass can be alluring.

Has anybody tried these and what type of walnut is it ... ? I keep hearing black walnut and Peruvian are good

[Rockysdad]

Moonwood/Black Walnut LS-03, Forum VI guitar, 19 of us *lucky* forum members have one and, if you search, you'll find lots of info about how it all came about.

I'll not part with mine. 

[guitarman001]

Would love to hear those.

I emailed Larrivee to ask what walnut variant is on this new run.

[B0WIE]

 I've not played these but had Larrivee in Euro spruce and also a Larrivee with Peruvian walnut. I'm a huge fan of walnut as it's a koa-like sound (sparkly highs, defined bass) without the scooped midrange. If I had a custom dream guitar made, I'd choose walnut, even over braz rosewood. That said, it's not night/day different from mahogany, koa, sycamore, etc. But, sometimes it's the little things that make us smile. If you like clarity, definition, and dynamics, walnut is a fine choice. The notes just pop and don't get bogged down.

 European spruce is often described as being like Adi spruce. I feel that's true in the sense that they are both rich in overtones, but the Adi guitars I've owned have always been a bit aggressive while the Euro spruce guitars have been a little more relaxed and warm sounding. It could be the builds but I feel the nature of the overtones just makes them a little different in character. Walnut is a very smart pairing with Euro spruce as they can sort of compliment each other without going extreme in one direction or another.

[Riverbend]

As someone else mentioned, the Moonwood/Black walnut combination on my Forum VI LS-03 is everything I could've hoped for in guitar sonics. I have a decent little guitar collection, including Larrivees, Martins, a Gibson and a Taylor, and that Moonwood/Walnut is without a doubt my very favorite. I've heard it said many times that "Larivee does Mahogany well." It follows then, that they do Walnut exceptionally well.   

[teh]

My Moonwood/Black Walnut Forum VI LSV-03 is definitely a keeper. I added an Anthem Dual Source pickup and they left the pick guard in the case making this a fingerstyle player's dream. The Venetian cutaway coupled with the 12 fret, 25.5" scale provides easy access up the neck.

[guitarman001]

Aha I found the forum 6 videos on YouTube - excellent

[guitarman001]

I got an answer - Austrian flame walnut

[Pilgrim]

It's neat that Larrivee does these occasional custom runs.  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a reliable place to find out when they are planned or released. 

[teh]

Pilgrim

If you go to the Larrivee Guitar website, you can sign up for their newsletter and you will see news as well as promotions and pro shop deals. Click on the "sign up" tab. There is also an article about the Red Cedar/Walnut limited run that was announced in February.

The Larrivee Forum is also a good source of information. A recent example was the introduction of the Forum VI Guitar that was started in May 2021. A few months after the thread started, 19 guitars were built for 19 lucky Forum members who signed up to buy one.

[guitarman001]

 

Well well....... I managed to try some!! Here's what I was able to try side by side today:

Two OM-03 moon spruce & flamed Austrian Walnut
One OM-40 moon spruce & flamed Austrian Walnut
D24 (adi + hog)
OM-03 moon spruce + Bhilwara

First off, the D24 wasn't my personal cup of tea. I've discovered that I don't mind shorter scale if the bridge has been moved down to the bottom of the guitar, else the bass is a bit weak for my tastes.

This was the first OM-40 that I thought "wow" -> the bass was full and I noticed some interesting harmonic play. I did notice the mids dip just a touch compared to the OM-03s. Lighter touch required for bass, of which there was a little more.

OM-03s -> one played slightly easier than the other (but all were infinitely better sounding, looking & playing than the big brands during my big shop trip the other day). This one had, I think, a tiny bit less bass than the other OM-03 but the mids & trebles were perhaps the prettiest. It's G-string sustained the most (important for when you hit that big G chord!). The other OM-03 was also great, perhaps sounding slightly fuller in the bass when full chords were strummed.

The walnut looks AMAZING in person. Seriously - really amazing. It's slightly drier than mahogany but has a deeper / darker bass sound and slightly enhanced trebles. I took some sound clips on my phone. Honestly, these guitars sound REALLY good.

I already have a Bhilwara guitar but I recorded myself playing it vs the others. Because it's a (soft) rosewood, it has more bass & treble than the walnut and imo more resonance & harmonics. The walnut (being less dense / heavy) was sort of in between hog & the Bhilwara with perhaps an airier and more open mids-treble hump. They were all, simply amazing. Similar in tone, though, to the point where I found myself saying "I need to go home and rest on this" -> after listening back to the samples, I think that (given my extremely large guitar collection now) I will just be content with my Bhilwara but those flamed Austrian walnuts are really amazing.

Well done, Larrivee.

[teh]

Thanks for the insights G-man. This will be helpful information for forum members and/or potential buyers who are looking for useful input on the qualities of moonwood and walnut. Any one of those guitars you road tested would be a great choice for the right person.

One of the advantages of considering a Larrivee is the fact that Jean, John Jr. and Matthew are choosing the best wood available for their guitars. When I ordered my Forum VI guitar sight unseen, I never had any concerns once I learned that Jean hand selected the Moonwood Spruce for the tops and Matt picked out the walnut for the back and sides. I spent an hour playing my Forum VI this morning which reinforced my decision to buy a great guitar.

[guitarman001]

Your Forum VI sounds fabulous!!

I wont discuss pricing other than to say that the cheapest model there was probably the one I liked most and is an absolute bargain considering the fit, finish & tone from these guitars. I'm not joking - I played guitars costing 4-5x as much just a few days back and none of them compared to these guitars. To get a moon spruce top for these prices, is amazing. So yeah, the walnut really was darker / deeper in the bass than hog but not as much as a soft rosewood... but then it's trebles were maybe fatter than the soft rosewood. I'm not usually into the looks of a guitar but the flamed walnut looked REALLY good. And again, that's the first 40 series I've played where I thought "ok, I could buy that" -> for me, they dip the mids (and imo some complexity in the tone in the mids) a little to favour a deeper and more encompassing bass - I dug it! A hard choice between it and the OM03 but as noted, I shall stay in the good books and purchase no more (yet!). I will probably regret it :)

I absolutely love this company. The output is amazing, the family are amazing, and nobody is doing custom models to this level of craftmanship & tone (!) at this price imo.

I have heard walnut being quite dry in online videos but these were really alive. The grunt from the bass/mids during chordal play was very addictive. There was a real bloom to the sound.