Larrivee OM-03 all Mahogany- 14- fret

[Gill]

Long shot here folks, I used to own the 12- fret version of this guitar, recently, a 14- fret version has come up for sale,but it's a little too far for me to travel and play before buying, has anyone on here had any experience playing this particular model? the 12- fret version I had was pretty punchy,and loud, I'm wondering if this 14- fretter would be much different,and in what way, the guitar in question is a 2015, not a case queen, but has been looked after well,I'd appreciate your informed opinions..

[William2]

I'm interested to hear any responses to this question. While I probably won't buy any more instruments, if I did it would be an all-hog guitar. I've never received a response on this site as to whether the scalloped or non-scalloped bracing is better for a mahogany top. The other day I was watching an Alamo Music video of mahogany instruments. Their favorite was a Honduran mahogany guitar. I also thought it sounded the best and made wonder if Honduran mahogany produces a better instrument or is it the interesting bridge that gave it its edge. The Yairi has a 25" scale, the Taylor a 24 &7/8" scale, and the Martin a 25.5" scale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZa4mSHuUfE

[mgbgt]

om03mt was my first "new" Larrivee. I sold it and went to a 00-15. Liked the size better and could slightly hear it better. Found that i needed spruce for my hearing. Ommt03 was a nice guitar, just couldnt hear it

[teh]

Gill

While I've never owned a Larrivee OM guitar, I can't provide a specific answer to your question but I can offer a couple of points to consider.

Question
First, why did you sell your 12 fret version and why are you looking at a 14 fret model? If these are/were both all mahogany OM-03 models, they were most likely custom or special edition guitars. If so, did one or both have Scalloped or Non Scalloped bracing?

Comments/points to consider
I own two all mahogany Larrivees including a custom 14 fret non-scalloped LV-03 12 string and a custom 12 fret scalloped 00-24 six string. In both cases, I wanted a different (more mellow and compressed) sound, at least to my ear, than a spruce topped guitar produces and Larrivee was able to deliver. Because I'm primarily a finger style player/picker and an old guy, I've come to favor 12 fret necks and scalloped bracing. YMMV. My 12 string is ideally suited for finger picking and strumming. The hog top gives a fuller sound that is less jangly than a spruce topped 12 string.

I also have a 14 fret OM and a Grand Auditorium (spruce/rosewood) and a 12 fret 000 (spruce/mahogany). All three have scalloped bracing and are not Larrivees.

From 2004 to 2018, I lived 35 minutes from a shop that sold Larrivee, Martin, Taylor and Gallagher acoustic guitars along with other brands. That allowed me to be like the proverbial "kid in a candy store" and gave me an opportunity to play a wide range of guitars. It didn't hurt that the shop owner was both a luthier and a retired wood engineer so I was able to ask a lot of questions.

Sorry for the long winded answer but I'm fishing this week and the wind is blowing so I've had time to kill. I've also learned a lot from reading about the experiences of many members of this forum over the years. This forum includes many people who are much better players and a lot more knowledgeable than I ever will be. In closing, I have flathead, Phillip's head and hex head screwdrivers in my tool box. Like guitars, they all serve the same purpose; they just do it a bit differently. Good luck with your decision.

[noyage]

Long shot here folks, I used to own the 12- fret version of this guitar, recently, a 14- fret version has come up for sale,but it's a little too far for me to travel and play before buying, has anyone on here had any experience playing this particular model? the 12- fret version I had was pretty punchy,and loud, I'm wondering if this 14- fretter would be much different,and in what way, the guitar in question is a 2015, not a case queen, but has been looked after well,I'd appreciate your informed opinions..

I have the Forum II which I believe would be the same as an OM-03MT if it was 12-fret. I also have an OM-05MT. I'll be honest, the 14-fret stays in the case. I greatly prefer not only the sound but also the ergonomics of the 12-fret. More volume and better tone in my opinion.

I also have a 14-fret Larrivee OM-02 which sounds very different than the hog tops. I would love to play a 12-fret version of that for comparison...

[StringPicker6]

Nice abalone rosette on that forum II. That's a great looking guitar! What year did those come out?

[mike in lytle]

Nice abalone rosette on that forum II. That's a great looking guitar! What year did those come out?

2005
https://boseperformer.com/Larriv%C3%A9e_Guitars#Forum_II

[BlueBowman]

I don't believe I've ever played a 12-fret OM. Hard for me to even think of an OM as being a 12-fret! ;) But I bet does sound great.

Nice abalone rosette on that forum II. That's a great looking guitar! What year did those come out?

I agree. If I'm going all bling, that's just the right amount to my eye. Classy. That abalone rosette combined with Larrivee's older herringbone (yes, the older one looks much better than the new one) would be mighty fine.

[nobodeuno]

Long shot here folks, I used to own the 12- fret version of this guitar, recently, a 14- fret version has come up for sale,but it's a little too far for me to travel and play before buying, has anyone on here had any experience playing this particular model? the 12- fret version I had was pretty punchy,and loud, I'm wondering if this 14- fretter would be much different,and in what way, the guitar in question is a 2015, not a case queen, but has been looked after well,I'd appreciate your informed opinions..

Khaya African mahogany is not actually a true mahogany wood, very close but different in hardness and density. Playing a Martin all tropical mahogany along side a Larrivee all Khaya built Om, they sound very different both good but different partly due to bracing etc.  When looking closely at the grain patterns I saw slight differences with the tropical mahogany showing fine short dashes in the grain not visible in the Khaya. The Martin was definitely lighter and a tad more bassy, trebles and lower midrange seemed less than the Larrivee. The Larrivee definitely had more definition string to string and was brighter. Not sure if this means anything and just my subjective well tuned ear takes. The Larrivee was far more beautiful to look at!

[noyage]

2005
https://boseperformer.com/Larriv%C3%A9e_Guitars#Forum_II

Thanks Mike - I put the new link on https://www.larriveeforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=45711.0 since I couldn't find that site with Google!

Hard to believe I've had the Forum II for 20 years now. I play it the most of all my guitars. Would be awesome if they offered more 12-fret OM's. I think there was one or two spruce top Forum I/II's made which would be very hard to resist...

[Gill]

Gill

While I've never owned a Larrivee OM guitar, I can't provide a specific answer to your question but I can offer a couple of points to consider.

Question
First, why did you sell your 12 fret version and why are you looking at a 14 fret model? If these are/were both all mahogany OM-03 models, they were most likely custom or special edition guitars. If so, did one or both have Scalloped or Non Scalloped bracing?

Comments/points to consider
I own two all mahogany Larrivees including a custom 14 fret non-scalloped LV-03 12 string and a custom 12 fret scalloped 00-24 six string. In both cases, I wanted a different (more mellow and compressed) sound, at least to my ear, than a spruce topped guitar produces and Larrivee was able to deliver. Because I'm primarily a finger style player/picker and an old guy, I've come to favor 12 fret necks and scalloped bracing. YMMV. My 12 string is ideally suited for finger picking and strumming. The hog top gives a fuller sound that is less jangly than a spruce topped 12 string.

I also have a 14 fret OM and a Grand Auditorium (spruce/rosewood) and a 12 fret 000 (spruce/mahogany). All three have scalloped bracing and are not Larrivees.

From 2004 to 2018, I lived 35 minutes from a shop that sold Larrivee, Martin, Taylor and Gallagher acoustic guitars along with other brands. That allowed me to be like the proverbial "kid in a candy store" and gave me an opportunity to play a wide range of guitars. It didn't hurt that the shop owner was both a luthier and a retired wood engineer so I was able to ask a lot of questions.

Sorry for the long winded answer but I'm fishing this week and the wind is blowing so I've had time to kill. I've also learned a lot from reading about the experiences of many members of this forum over the years. This forum includes many people who are much better players and a lot more knowledgeable than I ever will be. In closing, I have flathead, Phillip's head and hex head screwdrivers in my tool box. Like guitars, they all serve the same purpose; they just do it a bit differently. Good luck with your decision.



Hi Teh, I want a 14- fret in order to play particular songs where I need the extra two frets, I have a Larrivee parlour ( 12- fret) which limits me on this score obviously, I might add that I only have one other guitar at the moment,a Guild F-512, so I'm trying to fill the gap/ need for a 14- fretter,and just fancied another all Mahogany OM -03,as stated earlier, I sold my last all hog, don't ask me to explain why,us guitarists are prone to these daft decisions all the time...

[William2]

This is an interesting post. I have recently considered selling one of my instruments and getting something else. As I only own dreadnoughts, maybe I should consider something smaller like an OM. It would have to be a 14-fret instrument and would have to HAVE to 19 frets. If I do this, I will probably sell my SD-40R which only has 18 frets. The other option would be a short scale instrument. I do think scalloped bracing works better for fingerstyle at least for me in terms of response for effort.

[teh]

Gill,

Thanks for the clarification. I have two, smaller bodied 14 fret guitars for the same reason including a Martin OM-35 (Sitka/Rosewood)and a Furch Grand Auditorium (Englemann/Rosewood) with a Venetian cutaway. Both have scalloped bracing and I find that both of these guitars work really well with open tunings too.

Larrivee offers multiple options for a 14 fret, OM body including the OM-03, OM-40 (both with a 25.5" scale) and the OM-24 (24.75" scale). The 40 and 24 models both have scalloped bracing and the OM-03 has straight bracing. On Larrivee's website, the upcharge for a mahogany top is $150 (list price) and all three models are also available with a Venetian cutaway. In 2024, I ordered a 00-24 with a Mahogany top instead of the stock Adirondack Spruce top and couldn't be happier with the end result. FWIW, here's something else to consider before buying since you want easier access beyond the 12th fret. In addition to the Furch, I have two Larrivees that I ordered with a Venetian cutaway including my 12 fret Forum VI with a 25.5" scale and my mahogany topped 12 string. All three of these guitars give me complete access to the upper frets. Nobody does a Venetian cutaway better than Larrivee and they are ideally suited for their OM and L bodies.