*SOLD* Lefty LV-09, excellent, no smoke, $995

[Mikeymac]

Here are the details:

Left-handed LV-09 made in either '02 or '03.  What I know is that this was one of the last Larrivee's made with a gloss neck, if that helps you date it. I bought it new from Jim Nipper at Acoustic Music Plus in Lincoln, NE (it never hung on the wall. Jim ordered it in for me).

Please e-mail me for pics.  It has beautiful rosewood with nice grain and coloration...in a couple places the sides look like brazilian.  The top has that beautiful straight, tight spruce that we're used to from Larrivee.  Nice ebony board with very little color variation in it; it's nearly all "black." Standard small dot fret markers.

***Edited on Sat. Sept 1st from Near Mint to Excellent because:  I opened the case today for the first time in a couple weeks (since I haven't been playing this guitar much lately) and discovered a 6" finish crack on the back of the guitar, running along the middle seam, but not right on the seam; the crack is slightly crooked, like it's following the grain of the wood rather than the seam. I am taking it to my local Larrivee dealer Tuesday to have it looked at to determine if it is just a finish crack or something worse (I have e-mailed Dynapro about this problem, which may change his interest in the guitar, which I understand).

Also, there are two very small indents in the finish on the top which are impossible to see in pictures and unless you hold it up to the light just right.  There is also one small ding like this in the side in the cutaway area; again, pics won't show these. 

In the pics I include a pic of the heel cap because, as was pointed out to me when I bought it, the heel cap isn't quite perfect, there's a slight gap where the middle of the cap doesn't touch the body...this does show up in the pic. I've seen several other Larrivee's with this same "character flaw."

This guitar sounds wonderful; it is incredible when tuned down to D or even C on the low E string.  Wow. I'm selling to make my wife happy, and because, for whatever reason, I just haven't bonded with this Larrivee like I have with my first, my 1992 OM-05.  Plus, I've purchased a couple other guitars, and it's time to clean house a little.

The K&K pickup (mini western) sounds great straight into an acoustic amp or the board, I usually also use an eq pedal with it.  The great thing about the K&K is NO BATTERY...and it still puts out a strong signal. No smoke smell or other issues; I've only used it in worship a few times, otherwise it stays at home. Original hardshell archtop Larrivee case.

Price is $995, which will include shipping and insurance.  I'd like to work with Postal Money Order or bank check only (the only e-bay buying and selling I've done so far I've done through a friend who does a lot of guitar business on the bay). I've been posting on the Larrivee board (almost 400 posts) for several years.

Please e-mail me with any questions and for photos.

pastormike@livingfaithumc.com

Mike in Omaha

[dynapro]

Hi Pastor Mike -

I am going to go ahead and buy this from you. I have sent you an email. I love the Venetian's and it is beyond belief and a minor miracle for me to find a Rosewood to go along with my recently purchased mahogany Larrivee. So while I run off to find someone to pinch me (that I'm not dreaming), will you please send me your address and I will send a USPS/MO to you tomorrow. Thank you.

[tuffythepug]

Hi Pastor Mike -

I am going to go ahead and buy this from you. I have sent you an email. I love the Venetian's and it is beyond belief and a minor miracle for me to find a Rosewood to go along with my recently purchased mahogany Larrivee. So while I run off to find someone to pinch me (that I'm not dreaming), will you please send me your address and I will send a USPS/MO to you tomorrow. Thank you.

Alright !    Way to go Charlie.  congratulations to you for snagging this LV-09 and congratulations to Mike for finding a buyer so quickly.   Everyone wins.   Charlie, you're going to love that thing. Be sure to post pics when you get it.

[tuffythepug]

Hey Charlie
I just noticed that you grabbed Bhika's C-05 and this LV-09 in a space of 10 days.   At this rate you'll have a roomfull of left handed guitars before Christmas.  I know who to contact if I need to sell off one of mine don't I ?   


Enjoy 'em.  They are both great examples of fine Larrivee instruments.

[dynapro]

Hummm, well, no my friend, I won't be buying anything else. - what I did at the first part of the summer was sell my only acoustic, an expensive left handed Martin with exactly this thought in mind... of having a couple of guitars that I really enjoy instead of one high-end thingy that I was almost scared to play. I finally decided on Larrivee after a lot of reading and listening...

But really, mahogany and rosewood, we all know that pretty much covers the tonal spectrum. I would never have expected this opportunity. I feel blessed. I hope Mike gets email and we proceed. 

[tuffythepug]

Hummm, well, no my friend, I won't be buying anything else. - what I did at the first part of the summer was sell my only acoustic, an expensive left handed Martin with exactly this thought in mind... of having a couple of guitars that I really enjoy instead of one high-end thingy that I was almost scared to play. I finally decided on Larrivee after a lot of reading and listening...

But really, mahogany and rosewood, we all know that pretty much covers the tonal spectrum. I would never have expected this opportunity. I feel blessed. I hope Mike gets email and we proceed. 

Those two should keep you busy for a while.  I don't know what style of Martin you gave up in order to get these but I think you came out pretty well on the deal.   Enjoy the heck out of 'em.

[Mikeymac]

Hi Pastor Mike -

I am going to go ahead and buy this from you. I have sent you an email. I love the Venetian's and it is beyond belief and a minor miracle for me to find a Rosewood to go along with my recently purchased mahogany Larrivee. So while I run off to find someone to pinch me (that I'm not dreaming), will you please send me your address and I will send a USPS/MO to you tomorrow. Thank you.

dynapro,

So it took me so long to get back to you - I didn't get your e-mail, but that might be our system working overtime to block unknown incoming...

...just to confirm, and so I can send you the details via a-mail, try sending an e-mail to my wife's address:

kjmcinnis@tconl.com

Thank you!!!

[dynapro]

Ok! Hi there... I just got home from work.  I will email her, and ....thank you for offering the guitar on this wonderful forum!!

[dynapro]

Hi Mike, maybe your email filter is blocking my AOL? I forwarded a copy through this site's private message system, and if you could reply there, or use the email link below to send me your address that would solve it. I will have the USPS/MO in priority mail on Tuesday (after Labor Day).

dynapro101@aol.com

[Mikeymac]

Dynapro,

I sent you an e-mail regarding a change in my description of the guitar, in case you didn't get my e-mail, please see above in the (now amended) first post.  You can try e-mailing me again (I still haven't gotten one here; I'll check with my wife later to see if she rec'd one).

Anyway, if that won't work, we can discuss here, and as I said in the e-mail, since the condition of the guitar is not as I originally described above, I'll understand if you're no longer interested.  I am planning to get it checked out on Tuesday.

Sorry about the change; I should have checked the guitar more closely before I listed it here in near mint condition.

[rtowne]

Is this guitar still available? Can't quite tell from the thread. If so, I will take it.

[dynapro]

I can't speak for Mike, but as far as I know, the plan is to have a 6" finish crack on the back looked at in the shop before he allows her to leave home.

[rtowne]

After making what appeared to be a fruitless, long after the fact inquiry, I was able to purchase the guitar and it arrived today. The "crack" is barely a finish crack and almost invisible. The guitar looks and sounds terrific, and is a great bargain. Thank you, Mike.

[bluesman67]

Congratulations. 

What happened to Dynapro?

[rtowne]

My understanding is that he withdrew his offer out of concern for the "crack". Since I am a player, not a collector, my concerns are tone and playability at reasonable cost. Since Larrivee's lefty cutaway selections have been drastically cut back, I am very appreciative to have gotten this guitar. 

[bluesman67]

Wow, nice find and a great price too.  It's tough for us lefties to get the guitars we want.  It wouldn't have bothered me any either.  Best of luck to Dynapro and finding the right guitar.

[dynapro]

what i just read is a complete misrepresentation of this situation. here's what happened, and no, i am not happy about it.

__

When I opened the case tonight to look it over once more, I discovered a finish crack on the back of the guitar...it's in the center, but doesn't run along the center seam, as it's not perfectly straight; it seems to be following the grain of the wood.  This finish crack is about 6 inches long.  However, when I look inside the guitar, I cannot find a crack in the wood itself.

I need to take this to a local Larrivee dealer (but not the one where I purchased the guitar) to have it checked out; I want to make sure it's just a finish crack.

Unfortunately, this may change your mind about the guitar, and I understand if it does.  Once again, I need to get some pics sent to you (if you're still interested at all), and I'll adjust the price

__

Charles,

Today I had my LV-09 inspected by a local guitar tech at the Larrivee dealer here.  At first he thought the crack was definitely into the wood, but he couldn't determine that for sure.  The more he looked at it, and looked at the rest of the guitar, he began to think it is just a finish crack.

He said that it would be strange for the wood to crack on the back of the guitar before the top, because the top wood is more susceptible to cracks from dryness/age/other issues.  The top of the Larrivee (and the fretboard) show no signs of cracking, and the top shows no signs of drying out (finish shrinking into the wood), so he said it's probably just a finish crack.

He also said that if it is a crack, it's not going to cause any problems, and would be very easy to put a couple cleats on that will prevent any further damage; he said it won't affect the sound of the guitar at all, and he does these kinds of repairs on lots of guitars (including high end Martins) all the time. 
He doubted if Larrivee would do anything about it under warranty.

So that's what I can tell you about the guitar.  If you've looked at the for sale page at the Larrivee Forum, you know that someone else has also expressed interest in the guitar; he said (in a private e-mail) that he will buy it for the asking price, even if it's a wood crack.
I told him you had expressed interest in the guitar first, so I wanted to give you a chance to decide whether you want to purchase the guitar "as is" for my asking price. If you do, that's what we'll do, since you asked about it first. (I don't want to take the time to send it back to Larrivee to see *if* they'll do a warranty repair on it; I really need to sell the instrument as soon as possible.) 

Please let me know how you'd like to proceed.

Thanks.
Mike

[rtowne]

Hi Dynapro:

I did not mean to stir up any controversy or create hard feelings with you and apologize if I did so unintentionally. I am very happy to have the guitar for a very good price (particularly since Larrivee has stopped making lefty cutaways) and had no concern about the crack. It really is hardly discernible, but Mike's disclosure was appropriate because it is an imperfection. When I first saw the listing I was disappointed because I rarely check this board. I have bought and sold guitars with finish cracks before (Taylor 710 and Ehlers) and have no fear about it. All of my electric and acoustic guitars are played out regularly so, like my car, periodic dings are expected.

Rick