In Praise Of ...

[prof_stack]

... my local Larrivee dealer, Robb Eagle, owner of Guitar Emporium in Seattle,  who has DOZENS of Larrivees ready to play.  

On Wednesday he inspected the JV-05E I bought here from Brad166 (Kinzel) and did a setup on it, showing me how to enlarge the bridge pin holes and giving me the file to get it done.  After demonstrating how to round off the sharp fret ends, he let me carefully do the rest and then use finer and finer sandpapers to smooth it off.  Neck relief was adjusted and the nut slots for two strings were enhanced.  Some ramping on the bridge was improved, too.

Now I can barre easier and strum louder.  I don't know what Brad was thinking when he wanted to sell this Jumbo (oh yeah, the D-60   :P ) for it is truly a great sounding and playing instrument.  Looks great too.  

Robb pulled a brand new SD50 from the case, just arrived, and tuned it, and jammed with me for awhile.  My wife said I need to buy my next guitar from Robb.  

Hey, who can argue with that?   B)  

[prof_stack]

... Jason at Notable Guitars who offered to send me a Tusq saddle for the JV-05E in case I want to try the original saddle some time.

Jason has been GREAT in answering e-mails and offering support.

[dbirchett]

There are definitely some good guys in this business. Some of them are right here and do a lot that no one ever hears about. To them, it's not just about making a sale.

Thanks guys!  

[Brad166]

Wow, I didnt know it needed that much work :( . Makes me think I should bring my others in for a tune up. Im glad you got it sorted out.

And yes your probably right. Im sure Ill miss the old girl. Take good care of her (I know you will).  ;)
 

[Fredmando]

I'm glad to hear you had a good experience at a dealer. I think it makes all the difference in the world to have someone help you with set-up or even just let you play all of their guitars for hours each month!
Ok, I'll offer my own as well...
Unclrob at Andy's Guitars for customer service (even though I've yet to buy a guitar there!)
First Quality Music
Guitar Emporium & Steve Cooley
Prof Stack, I know what you mean about set up. My little LSV-05 seemed fine to me. But, my set-up guru, Dan Becker in Louisville fine tuned it, installed a bone bridge from Larrivee's own Brian T. and did the same thing with the frets. The thing sails now. Big difference.
--Fred

[Adam]

That's where I went to check out Larrivées. At first he was pretty friendly. Then after I realized he wouldn't go very low with his price I decided not to buy it from him, and he seemed actually really annoyed after that. Though I guess I can't blame him too much if some guy checked out some guitars for an hour and a half in my store and I thought he'd end up buying from me. But he wouldn't go very low, so I'm not gonna spend my money on that! He was also pretty short with me in discussing placing in a bone saddle and quoted a figure that was quite high. Oh well. It was a nice store, with many beautiful options to play, for sure! I might be back there if he didn't make me embarrassed at deciding not to buy it there, maybe if I wait long enough...

Oooh and BTW, The D-03R I played there had some quite extensive bear-claw type stuff on the top. I didn't like it overly much but I'm sure it'd please many membesr here to have such a unique D-03R.

[prof_stack]

That's where I went to check out Larrivées. At first he was pretty friendly. Then after I realized he wouldn't go very low with his price I decided not to buy it from him...

That's the proverial challenge for the local shop:  How low can you discount and still maintain an adequate profit margin?  Paying for rent in Seattle is more of an expense than in most cities.  

Obviously I'd hate to see a place like Guitar Emporium go under from lack of business.  But Robb does discount pretty nicely (ex:  the SD-50 discounts to about $1925, the L-03 to about $800).  And, his tech did an AMAZING job on neck-resetting, etc., my old LoPrinzi.

But I must admit that the guitar prices from Notable Guitars and Guitar Adoptions and others are pretty tempting.  Great guys to work with, too.

[el guitana]

I wish my favorite Martin/Taylor guy had Larrivée - I would have paid extra to buy from him instead of Sams Ash. He runs a small and responsible shop and I want to see him thrive. He was kind enough to do a set up and action adjustment for me on my D-03R, no questions, no complaints...and no charge. He knows I'll be back for other things.

[Mikeymac]

I've got to put a plug in here for Jim Nipper at Acoustic Music Plus in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Jim is located in a small city - around 200,000 people, and he almost always has a dozen Larrivee's in stock - usually enough variety to help you "hear" some of the body style and wood differences.  

I've bought all three of "our" (my two and my daughter's parlor)Larrivees from Jim, and each time he's made me a great deal.  Then, when I wanted a K&K Sound pickup installed in my LV-09, Jim didn't balk at the fact that I walked into his shop with the pickup; meaning he didn't make any markup on the product, he just got paid for the installation.  When the regular Western didn't fit, we ordered the mini-Western, and Jim didn't charge me any more for the trial and error of the install.  

He's always available to visit with while you play (unless there are several other customers in the shop - it's still pretty much a one man operation), and he doesn't blow any smoke when he talks guitar brands; if a Martin sounds good, he'll say it does, even though he doesn't carry Martins.  

I really wanted a Forum guitar; that would have been the only situation where I would not have bought from Jim; he's been great to work with and has become a good friend over the years!

;)  

[Fredmando]

I agree with what Prof Stack says about the local shops and overhead. I think it looks pretty good from my side of the fence, but I'm not paying the bills.
I am lucky to live within two hours of some great guitar shops. I'd hate to see any of them close their doors, but I know that one in particular is located on a busy street on some prime real estate. So, I imagine their rent/mortgage is way up there. That's a lot of guitars, strings and repair to worry about.
--Fred

[Adam]

It's not that I think their prices unreasonable. I guess I'm just selfish wanting that money to pay for my own life instead of somebody elses!

[sdelsolray]

Guitar Emporium is a fine shop.  Rob is great too.  Not only is there a full Larrivee selection, there's a large Webber collection (one of the few in the country).  Plus, Rob is a Daedalus dealer and has a stereo Daedalus rig set up in the shop (pair of 803s and a Pendulum SPS-1, etc.).  Those Daedalus rigs are the finest acoustic guitar rigs around.

[dbirchett]

I've got to put a plug in here for Jim Nipper at Acoustic Music Plus in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Jim is located in a small city - around 200,000 people, and he almost always has a dozen Larrivee's in stock - usually enough variety to help you "hear" some of the body style and wood differences.  

I've bought all three of "our" (my two and my daughter's parlor)Larrivees from Jim, and each time he's made me a great deal.  Then, when I wanted a K&K Sound pickup installed in my LV-09, Jim didn't balk at the fact that I walked into his shop with the pickup; meaning he didn't make any markup on the product, he just got paid for the installation.  When the regular Western didn't fit, we ordered the mini-Western, and Jim didn't charge me any more for the trial and error of the install.  

He's always available to visit with while you play (unless there are several other customers in the shop - it's still pretty much a one man operation), and he doesn't blow any smoke when he talks guitar brands; if a Martin sounds good, he'll say it does, even though he doesn't carry Martins.  

I really wanted a Forum guitar; that would have been the only situation where I would not have bought from Jim; he's been great to work with and has become a good friend over the years!

;)

Mike,

You have found a gem. Support him. Keep him there. You do not want to lose him!

Prof Stack,

It sounds like you have a great one with Robb as well. You have no reason to go anywhere else.

There are several music stores in the Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa area and there are none, IMHO, that are anywhere close to this type of a dealer. Consequently, I patronize a music store on the other side of the country where I am well treated. Our unclrob has done very well for me with price, service, extras and genuine friendship. Wish it wasn't so expensive to ship guitars to him to be worked on.

I am a firm believer in buying locally and even paying sales taxes to support the local economy. However, I will not do so at the expense of service. (I consider an attractive price part of service).