Suppose, just suppose....

[leftync]

I'm toying with the idea of trading my D-03R for an L-03R. I'd set out to buy the L, but when I heard the dread, I fell in love. I still love it, but I'm not sure I gave the L a chance. I never heard a rosewood L (still haven't). When I compared the sapele L, the sapele dread, and the rosewood dread, I concluded that the rosewood dread was the best sound for me. I'm left-handed, so any new guitar I get is usually special order. I got mine from Dave Schmidt at Guitar Adoptions.
Again, I really enjoy playing my dread, but I hear such good things about the L. I'm a fairly big guy, and I seem to handle a dread alright, but I can see where a smaller guitar like an L would be more comfortable. I'm moving into my mid-50s. I'm used to the wider neck, like on my Seagull, although I think I may be improving my lousy technique (only slightly) due to the narrow neck. I've always had trouble making a simple chord like a C ring, but I seem to be doing OK with the narrower D neck. I've got stubby fingers, so I thought I wanted the wider neck. On the other hand, (actually both hands) my fingers aren't too long, so maybe the narrower neck is better for me.
Soundwise, I do love the the dread. I wrote a couple of weeks ago that I preferred it to the only D-28 lefty I've ever played, and I think it compares favorable to any guitar I've heard, including Collings. And even with Colling, I much prefer the dreads.
But I messed around with a rosewood Larrivee OM a week or so ago and was impressed by the lovely sound. Not as much power as I typically like, but it made me think a bit larger body, like an L, might be the thing for me. The impressive quality seems consistent across the Larrivee line. I am a fan. If I'm going to have just one all-solid guitar I want it to be Larrivee.
Which should pre-empt the first expected comment--two Larrivees are not an option. Maybe if there were a lot of inexpensive lefty Larrivees floating around, but that's clearly not the case. Right now I've got two guitars, my Seagull M6 dread and the D-03R, but I can't justify two Larrivees. I live too far from work to commute so I have an apartment there, and I keep the Larrivee at work and the Seagull at home. I think if I lived and worked in the same place I'd probably just keep one guitar--although I really like the Seagull and couldn't get enough for it to make selling it more attractive than keeping it. 
Any speculation on how much I might get for the D-03R? JUst got it last summer, and it's a great guitar It's just about perfect, I've put bone saddle and nut in, and I might even leave in the bone pins I took off my Seagull. So it's better than new. I asked my tech to spread the spacing out as wide as he could, so it might be a bit wider than most D necks.  Unfortunately my tech lost my original tusq saddle, so I'd have to buy the new guitar first, then switch, and it may not be worth it.
There's a barely noticeable nick on the back of the neck, around the 4th fret. A buyer might not even notice it but i think it's right to point it out. Ironically I was being ever-so-careful putting it in one time, and the case latch fell an inch or two.
It's a fabulous guitar, and I won't trade unless I'm convinced the L-03R is even more fabulous. Obviously I've got to track down a lefty L and hear it. I'll be in San Diego in a couple of weeks, and I may be near the Buffalo Bros when I can probably find one.
I paid $825 or so, I think, and change for the guitar last summer. I assume a new guitar would cost a bit more today. Any thoughts on what the whole thing might cost if I switched, meaning what I could get for the D-03R vs. the price of the L-03R?

[jeremy3220]

It's probably worth about half the list price.

[leftync]

I guess that's not too bad. I got it about 40% off, so I could probably live with that. I'd probably like to keep my bone saddle and pins, though. That'd be almost $700. If I got an L for about the same or a bit more than I paid, I wouldn't be out much.
Is e-bay the best way to sell?
May be a moot point. I'm still thinking about it, but I've been playing the D since my original post and I'm going to really love that L-03R.

[jeremy3220]

not to discount what you said but it seems like you've put alot of thought into this. I think too many people go at these problems/situations like they're math problems they can solve if they analyze it enough. People start deducing all these ideas about what they like about a guitar and arrive at a decision before they play even play it. But that's duck poop compared to actually playing it and comparing it to a bunch of other guitars you've tried. and yes I know some people can't try before they buy but it's the same thing, if you don't play a bunch of them you don't know how yours compares. In other words, maybe it's better not to try and figure anything out till you play an L? less think - more play


Why keep the old saddle? It won't fit ideally, if it does, go buy a powerball ticket.

[leftync]

I don't disagree. The problem is that I've never gotten to play--or hear or even see--a rosewood L. It may be more practical for me given its dimensions. I wanted to see if it's practical economically. I was surprised at how much I liked the rosewood OM and it made me want to try out a rosewood L. But if I'm not crazy about the sound, I'll keep my dread and grow old with it, unless some day I can't handle a big guitar.

[Danny]

     Just a little input here, The L does have an advantage in a sitting situation due to the waist and smaller bout resting on your leg. That may be more important to you as you progress "over the hill". It is to me right now.
     The L series can't be beat for tone and no loss of distinctness even when strummed hard.
      But I do totally agree with playing them first if you can. I think you will own a Rosewood L soon though.
     Danny

[brandon]

i would definately try the L-03R before jumping in. the one L-03 i played was very comfortable to play but it seemed that it lacked the punch that the D-03 was giving me. that said my next guitar may possibly be a L model or an OM model. all Larrivees are quality instruments so i think you'll be happy either way.

[AtlasHeating]

Each guitar size has a different sound. Then you have different woods for a different sound. Different top woods. Different bracing patterns. Then there is different brands with different finishes and craftsmanship. There are alot of choices out there. Play the one you think you like and compare it to the one you have. Maybe the sound differences and the playibility issues are not that different. I have one of each. My D is a Martin. Then there is the L-03 Mahogany, and finally the OM-03R. I have each one strung up with different strings and they each have a different pickup. The L-03 has heavy strings tuned down 2 half steps.
I love the 1 3/4 neck width. But I honestly can not tell much of a difference to my Martin's 1 13/16. I would like to see more of a 2" or maybe 1 7/8. Now that would be a wide neck!

[Mikeymac]

leftync,

I'll stir the pot a little.  As I've mentioned in other threads, I had a very nice LV-09 (lefty), but I never really bonded with it.  One major reason was the neck; I could not get comfortable with it.  I have an OM-05 which also has a 1.75" nut, but it is a slimmer neck than the LV had; two very different feeling and playing necks, with the same "dimensions"! I measured them side by side (at the nut) and the OM was slightly thinner, but not much (around 1/32" maybe).

Anyway, I sold it to another forum member, and bought a D-03R from Dave at GA, and have been VERY HAPPY, with playability and tone.  And even though it's an 03 and not an 09, I don't feel like I've 'stepped down."  The neck is very comfortable, and for some reason, the body even feels more comfortable than the LV did (to ME; I'm about 6'1" - average hands/fingers).

Just another point of view, before you sell your dread...I think you *could* end up regretting it later.   

[leftync]

All interesting, provocative comments. Danny, you may be right in that I'll be owning an L-03R soon. Or Mikey, my experience might be the same as yours. I'm surprised that I don't seem to miss the wider neck--although I did have a new, wider-spaced nut installed. I do wish my guitar had a short scale, but that doesn't distinguish the L from the D, and there's no denying that my Larrivee sounds better to me than any short scale guitar I've heard.
Mikey, you probably know that trying things out is a limited exercise for a lefty. The first time I played a left-handed Seagull was when I got mine from Chuck Levin's in Maryland. I had to buy on faith. I did see one lefty OM Larrivee at Indoor Storm in Raleigh, but I'm not interested in such a small guitar at this time--although I might be if I ever become a much better player. I'm a strummer who might someday get a little better at flatpicking or Travis-picking, so I don't think the delicate touch of an OM is likely to be for me any time soon.
Since I've come to prefer a satin-finish--I may be nuts, but I think satin guitars sound better--I'm not likely to move from the 03 series under any circumstances.
I'm liking my D-03R even more since putting medium strings on them, so I'll really have to like the L to prefer it.

[mazareth]

Hi Lefty,

I'll feel your pain! I'm a left too, but I play righthanded. At the time I first got interested in playing, I could only afford a used guitar, of course in my small town, there was no such thing as a used lefty guitar around! 

I can help with the L vs D dilemma though. I owned the following: D-03R, L-09, L-03E. I still own a D-09. I had the L-09 and D-03R for several months side by sided. There's not a lot of difference in the overall sound between the 2. I would venture to guess that if blindfolded, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference.

The big difference is the neck width and the body shape. If you at all can, I would recommend playing the two models side by side. An L will definitely handle aggressive strumming and flatpicking.

[leftync]

Befpre I bought I compared a D-03, a D-03R, and an L-03. I thought the two mahagony instruments sounded quite different, and although I didn't have a rosewood L, I assumed it would be quite different from a D. Obviously I wish I'd hard a rosewood L and I won't make a move until I do. It will have to be both great-sounding and much more comfortable for me to switch.