Infatuated with a D-50 SH

[Tycho]

I went to the 12th Fret today to get my D-03R tweaked a bit.  In the back of my mind, I thought I'd try out some of the higher-end dreads -- Collings, Bourgeois, SCGC, some Martins -- because I'm thinking I might want a dread that's more of a traditional sounding, bluegrassy "cannon" than my D-03R.

There weren't any Collings dreads in stock, but I tried some Martins and Dana B.'s and SCGCs -- so what was the one I liked best?  A gorgeous D-50 SH. It just sounded and looked beautiful.  Maybe not quite as bass-heavy as a Martin, but it definitely had the traditional sound. 

I was strongly tempted.

But I was responsible, and left the store without it.

[Tycho]

OK, I haven't been able to get this guitar off my mind since last weekend.  It may be in my future, even if I have to sell a Tele, a Godin and my beater Martin. 

Does anyone know how many D-50 SHs Larrivee made?  I can't seem to find too many on the web.  There was one at Elderly about three years ago, but that one had an abalone rosette (unlike this one). 

[tuffythepug]

Tycho
Why fight it ?  You're a goner.    Just get the thing and sell whatever you have to sell to get it.   
Have you learned nothing about GAS on this forum ?  If you don't get this guitar you'll regret it;  maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of you life.................wait a minute I got lost in Casa Blanca there for a while.   Anyway, give in to the GAS and send pictures and let us know how you like it once you've got it home.

I predict you won't last until the weekend.

[Tycho]

I predict you won't last until the weekend.

Heh.  I actually can't get there until Saturday.

I'm pretty sure the one I like is the same one Swainsong posted about at the bottom of this thread:

http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=15517.0

...which would mean it's been sitting there since at least December. 

[scotchtape]

I've played it, I think it sounds great too.  Actually was really impressed!
It's hiding in a corner :) hahahah, also there's no price tag on it :)
I think someone is trying to keep it out of view for themselves...

[Tycho]

I played it again this Saturday and wasn't as in love with the sound as I was a week earlier.  Funny how that happens.  It's a beautiful guitar though.

[prof_stack]

I played it again this Saturday and wasn't as in love with the sound as I was a week earlier.  Funny how that happens.  It's a beautiful guitar though.

Which is why its a good thing to not buy such a beauty right away.  Although that kind of cautious strategy can lead to not finding that guitar in the store the next time you go there!

[Tycho]

Yup.

And I fully expect that if I go back and try it next weekend, I'll probably be in love with it again...assuming it's still there!

I'm playing a bunch of mahogany dreads right now, so they're all leaving different impressions at different times.

[scotchtape]

Anyone finding they actually like mahogany dreads just as much as the rosewoods?...

[Tycho]

I'm finding (to my chagrin) that in the words of Paul at Long & McQuade: "You need 'em both."

It took me a little while to understand the difference in sound between a rosewood dread and a mahogany dread.  Now that I think I understand it, I don't want to get rid of my D-03R, because I love its sound, but I feel like I need the simpler and woodier sound of mahogany as well.

I'm not quite sure where this will lead.  I like the Larrivees I've played, but I've also played some really nice D-18s in the last week or so.  I can't rule out the Martins, because I'm really lusting after that traditional bluegrass/old-timey sound. 

[Denis]

Anyone finding they actually like mahogany dreads just as much as the rosewoods?...

I've played several D-50's and find them quite nice but the nicest dread I've played so far is a Martin D-18GE...I think the 1 3/4" nut is what put it over the top for me...but overall, it's a real cannon.  I haven't tried the SH version of the D-50 though....

[prof_stack]

Anyone finding they actually like mahogany dreads just as much as the rosewoods?...

Oh yeah, there's a whole lot of folk preferring the dry, woody sound of mahogany.

For me, its a matter of which one I'm playing (LoPrinzi:  rosewood) or (SD-50:  mahogany).

[prof_stack]

I've played several D-50's and find them quite nice but the nicest dread I've played so far is a Martin D-18GE...I think the 1 3/4" nut is what put it over the top for me...but overall, it's a real cannon.  I haven't tried the SH version of the D-50 though....

You'd be talking about the SD-50, right?

I almost pulled the trigger on a D-18GE recently.  I was THAT close.  Lovely guitar, but not worth (to me) a 1.5x price tag what I paid for my SD. 

Now, if my son could get a good scholarship to help cover college expenses, then ... maybe ...   

[Denis]

You'd be talking about the SD-50, right?

I almost pulled the trigger on a D-18GE recently.  I was THAT close.  Lovely guitar, but not worth (to me) a 1.5x price tag what I paid for my SD. 

Now, if my son could get a good scholarship to help cover college expenses, then ... maybe ...   

Actually the SH is a slothead version of the regular 14 fret D-50.  The SD -50 is a 12 fret cannon, or so I'm told, that I have yet to see in person...same goes for the 000-50 which, after having played a 000-60, has become the "next Larrivee on my list" to buy....

The standard D-18 is nice, the D-18V is nicer and the D-18GE is sublime but like you said, the price tag is a bit daunting...but man, are they ever nice...and like I said, it'w the 1 3/4" nut that did it for me as I play fingerstyle more often.

[Tycho]

Yup, the SH version of the D-50 is the guitar I played at 12th Fret that started this thread.  It's a rare bird (and not in any catalog) but it's a beauty.

[Tycho]

Here are pictures of one at Elderly. 

http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/D50BGSH.htm

The one at the 12th Fret is the same except that (IIRC) the rosette is traditional-style, not abalone.

[scotchtape]

I actually like the regular tuning posts... slot heads remind me of my first classical guitar i learned on.  ugh.  couldn't play that thing anywhere.

[Tycho]

I think slot heads are really cool-looking, and I think I read somewhere that a slotted headstock can make a slight difference in tone because it's angled slightly differently.  But I've got two slotheads right now, and there's no denying that they're more of a pain to re-string.

[Old Neil]

Anyone finding they actually like mahogany dreads just as much as the rosewoods?...

When it comes to Larrivée guitars I prefer mahogany to rosewood by quite a long way. Mahogany seems to capture what, for me at least, is the 'Larrivée sound': sharp attack, sparkle and definition with a smooth, uncluttered sustain. Larrivée RW by comparison is OK but one can do better elsewhere IMO.

[Tycho]

 

Larrivée RW by comparison is OK but one can do better elsewhere IMO.

I dunno, I love the sound of my D03R.  If I thought I could do better I'd trade it in, but it really sparkles.  On several occasions I've had strangers come up to me at gigs and tell me how good my guitar sounds.  (And believe me, it wasn't my playing!)