Question on the Larrivee "Flying Eagle Special"

[rockin_ron]

An older post began my interest in finding out more about an older guitar know as the Larrivee Flying Eagle Special.  The post link is below:
https://www.larriveeforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=53664.0

Specifically, a D-10 Brazilian version which the author states only fifty were made.  I really don't see these show up for sale much on the internet, hence it's elusive nature and my interest in finding what information is available and possibly acquiring one.

I took to Larrivee's Serial number look-up page to only find information that is somewhat more confusing.  I'll list my findings below:

Serial # 25582, 25583, 25592, 25594, 25595, 25597 built on Nov. 2, 1998 are D-10 Brazilian for a total of 6

Serial #26393 to 26412 built on Dec. 2, 1998 for a total of 20

Serial #26498 to 26510 built on Dec. 8, 1998 for a total of 13

Serial # 26805 to 26830, 26836 built on Dec. 17, 1998 are D-10 Brazilian for a total of 27

Only this one serial number (#26396) was designated as a D-10 Brazilian "Flying Eagle Special", all others are just listed as D-10 Brazilian.

This totals 66 D-10 Brazilian guitars built in 1998, that I could find.  But we really don't know which one's were Flying Eagle Special's, because they didn't designate them as such for whatever reason.  There are 4 distinct build dates for these D-10 Brazilian's, but I could only find one serial number that had the "Flying Eagle Special" designation.  Interesting, yet conflicting and confusing information, so I wonder really how many are still out there from that era.

I've read on other forums that Jean Larrivee had to use some of his most prized Brazilian wood he had stashed away back then because he couldn't find much on the open market at that time.  Apparently the contract with Guitar Center came due and he had to use his more select Brazilian that he was actually saving for higher end guitar builds.  I don't know if that is entirely true, just presenting what I've read.
 
The few listings I see posted online (i.e. Reverb, etc.) already show to be sold.  If anyone else can shed some light on this, add to the discussion, or has any information on these guitars, and how they sound that would be much appreciated.

[jasonchamb]

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-guitar/cape-breton/1989-larrivee-d-10/1732060678

[StringPicker6]

Wow! That was a fast solution! Nice price for a Brazilian rosewood.

[B0WIE]

Don't expect too much from the serials. The fact that some even say the name of the inlay is rare in my experience.
I had an 09 Flying Eagle, which is the same thing with less abalone. They are very special instruments. Mine was the nicest Larrivee I've played. But, they aren't collector instruments and the value isn't influenced by the serials or the number that were made.

As far as the woods go, have you ever seen someone say that a builder used their least precious Brazilian rosewood? I'd caution about paying 3x more because a wood is rare or sought after. There's so much hype around Brazilian that people forget that it's just a back wood. Based on mine, I'd say the quality of the top wood has a lot to do with the sound. It was very stiff and sounded more similar to my experiences with Adirondack spruce than Sitka. The Brazilian rosewood added a good bit of volume, deep bass, lush overtones, and high frequency sparkle. That's compared to a similar era D03 I'd owned. The sound quality was at a similar level to a boutique like Collings or Bourgeois. Not quite as articulate as a SCGC or other high end luthier build but certainly better than any other factory guitar I've ever played. A very layered sound, the type that church guitarists tend to favor.

If you love Larrivee dreads it might be a good guitar for you. Just be careful what you pay as most sellers overprice these. My 09 sat at $4k for months (2 years ago, when people were still buying guitars) with very little interest until I received a shockingly favorable trade. I let mine go because, as nice as it was, it couldn't change the fact that I'm not really into 14 fret dreads anymore.

[B0WIE]

The guitar in the ad appears to be an older, Indian rosewood model. Not one of the Brazilian rosewood eagles from the GC run. A nice guitar, I'm sure. But, a different instrument.

[rockin_ron]

Bowie, Thanks for your insights as they are helpful in better understanding the contributions and benefits Brazilian brings, while also appreciating some of the hype/$$$ involved especially since wood supplies are scarce now due to CITES.  Although getting an older D-10 Larrivee (I just heard this particular run of guitars was supposedly "special", some forum posts and listings even called it the "golden age") seems like a better value for all that you are getting, when you consider Brazilian is shown as a $15,000 upgrade on the Larrivee options list.    Other makers you mentioned are just out of reach because they are crazy expensive. The trick is finding one, that's why I dug into the serial #'s.

[B0WIE]

Bowie, Thanks for your insights as they helpful in better understanding the contributions and benefits Brazilian brings, while also appreciating some of the hype/$$$ involved especially since wood supplies are scarce now due to CITES.  Although getting an older D-10 Larrivee (I just heard this particular run of guitars was supposedly "special", some forum posts and listings called it the "golden age") seems like a better value for all that you are getting, when you consider Brazilian is shown as a $15,000 upgrade on the Larrivee options list.    Other makers you mentioned are just out of reach because they are crazy expensive. The trick is finding one, that's why I dug into the serial #'s.

While I don't recommend spending a ton for Brazilian, if you do love Larrivee dreads, I can whole heatedly recommend a Flying Eagle over the equivalent guitar in a Taylor or Martin. I recommend searching the classifieds on the Acoustic Guitar Forum once a week, and setting up search alerts on ebay and reverb that will email you when one comes up. Just "Larrivee Brazilian" is a wide enough search. Specifying D10 may cause you to miss out on some.

FWIW, I own guitars in many different woods including Brazilian rosewood, koa, redwood, etc and the woods make them sound different, but the builder is what makes them special or not special. One of my best sounding guitars is just all mahogany. Once you get into the $4k range you're dabbling in used SCGC prices and, with those, even Sitka/mahogany is mind blowing. So, do search for a flying eagle but search for a deal. Before the pandemic, the 09s were selling for under $2,500. They'll never be that low again but if you can find one for $3,500 or less, I think that's a good buy.

[247hoopsfan]

Hey Ron, I still own both the DO9 and D10 Brazilian Flying Eagles that you reference in the link to my thread from some years ago. My D10 serial number is 26398 so your information showing that serial number from December 2, 1998 is correct.  When I visited the Larrivee factory in California back in 2007 I spent several hours with Jean and Matt. As Bowie says, the top has a lot to do with the sound of any acoustic guitar. Jean told me that he personally selected all the wood for the flying eagle models, so the spruce tops as well as the Brazilian back and sides  were of highest quality. Bowie describes the sound quite accurately, these guitars have some lush overtones and a certain glass-like sparkle in the trebles. They also have more sustaine than any other guitar I own, including my Goodall. I just checked reverb, and see they have both a DO9 and a D10 Brazilian Flying Eagle. They are both about $5500, and have been sitting for a while. You might just wanna check in with one of the owners and see if you can cut a deal. These are incredible guitars.

[rockin_ron]

Hey Ron, I still own both the DO9 and D10 Brazilian Flying Eagles that you reference in the link to my thread from some years ago. My D10 serial number is 26398 so your information showing that serial number from December 2, 1998 is correct.  When I visited the Larrivee factory in California back in 2007 I spent several hours with Jean and Matt. As Bowie says, the top has a lot to do with the sound of any acoustic guitar. Jean told me that he personally selected all the wood for the flying eagle models, so the spruce tops as well as the Brazilian back and sides  were of highest quality. Bowie describes the sound quite accurately, these guitars have some lush overtones and a certain glass-like sparkle in the trebles. They also have more sustaine than any other guitar I own, including my Goodall. I just checked reverb, and see they have both a DO9 and a D10 Brazilian Flying Eagle. They are both about $5500, and have been sitting for a while. You might just wanna check in with one of the owners and see if you can cut a deal. These are incredible guitars.

Thanks for your reply.  It must have been cool meeting up with Jean and Matt and getting to chat with them at the factory.  Is that where they also told you the quantities they built?  That is why when I checked their online database and got different numbers it was confusing, especially since the database only designated one guitar as a flying eagle special.  I also happened to come across some of your YouTube videos, great playing there "Hoopsfan".

Totally agree with what y'all are saying about the guitar top, but I would say the back/side wood adds that additional character or what I would call "the spice" to the overall sound.  This guy has two interesting videos that address this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itpXRftS1Cc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbeLvgzW1ow

[brent624]

I have a 1998 Larrivee D10 Brazilian with the flying eagle inlay headstock and wing and torch fret inlays. My serial number is 25240 with manufacture date of September 17, 1998, according to the serial number lookup on the Larrivee website

[rockin_ron]

I have a 1998 Larrivee D10 Brazilian with the flying eagle inlay headstock and wing and torch fret inlays. My serial number is 25240 with manufacture date of September 17, 1998, according to the serial number lookup on the Larrivee website

Congrats, as these are extremely hard to find for purchase.  Curious, recent find/purchase or have you had it for some time?  Looks like I missed one or maybe more.  Must be a beauty in looks and sound!

Shame that the Larrivee website doesn't allow for searches by description or key words.  The block of D-10 numbers I found supposedly were tied to a group of guitars Jean Larrivee was contracted to make for GC at the time.  Rumor has it at the time he couldn't get his hands on any new Brazilian, so he had to pull wood from his prized high quality stash that he was saving for special guitars.  I even contacted Larrivee and they responded "I can't remember exactly. But somewhere around 50 ".  Again, making these guitars extremely tough to find these days.