My discovery of Larrivee

[reechee]

 

Of course we all love donuts. Anyway although this is my first posting to this site I have been reading it for some time.

I first discovered Larrivee some years back when I decided to treat myself to a new acoustic price be dammed. So naturally I expected I would end up with a Martin. I went to many stores and tried the Martins, Gibsons and every other well known high end guitar. I kept going back to this brand I had never heard of. It was of course, Larrivee. The sound and feel just seemed right. What I had trouble reconciling was the price differential. I was expecting to pay more but I just kept gravitating toward my first Larrivee: A beautiful D-10 with a griffin headstock. I ultimately had  to trust my ears and go with what I liked.

I wonder if that is how most people discover this great manufacturer. Expecting to buy one thing and ending up with a Larrivee instead.

[Stephen Basil]

Hi, welcome aboard!

My experience was very different but equally felicitous.  My first guitar was a special run of Larrivee OM's in 2008, which I bought on the recommendation from a guitar teacher.  The guitar was fresh out of the factory and didn't sound especially good, but I was told that it would develop over time and hit its stride in five years (sitka/heavy bracing).  Anyway, the guitar is less than two years old and is really beautiful almost across the entire fingerboard!  I've since bought another, a Forum III, that was better initially but it too is opening up still.  Be careful about hanging out here if you want to keep to just one Larrivee!! 

[Ge0ff]

Hi Reechee,

Welcome!

My experience was similar to yours...I was looking for my first 'really nice' guitar, which I thought would be a Taylor. The sales guy at GC told me that I needed to take a look at a Larrivee (that's how long ago it was...GC used to sell Larrivees way back when) before I spent that kind of money on a Taylor. He handed me a D-05e, which ended up being the first of several Larrivees I've been blessed to own over the years.

They are all special, to be sure. 

Geoff

[Walkerman]

This could become a very entertaining thread.  I first played a Larrivee a number of years ago.  My sons were taking guitar lessons at a music store called American Music (now defunct).  As they were quite young, I had to drive them there, and wait for their lessons to end so I could take them home.  Now, American Music was a Larrivee dealer, and they had the coolest flamed maple parlour on the wall.  I had been a Martin player...but every week, as I waited for my sons, I played that little parlor, and I became quite enamoured with it.  Then, one week, I came in with my sons, deposited them with their teacher, and went to play the little parlour.  My heart dropped when I realized that it had been sold.

Then, I spied a stack of Larrivee brochures, and on the cover was an all koa D-10, with a vine of life fretboard, and an Emily headstock.  I had a new love....I had never in my life seen a guitar that beautiful  I talked to the store manager and asked if one like that was for sale.  He said it would have to be special ordered.  I said OK, let's do it.  Then, kind of off hand, he said.."You know, these are being made in Oxnard now.  Would you like me to take you to their shop and you could meet the folks who make them and have a tour of the place."  I said sure, and the rest...as they say...is history.

[cke]

I was going to get a custom Martin or Santa Cruz. Played seriously Goodall's and Collings' , and even a Froggy Bottom. I played some really nice guitars, many of which I would still like to own even now.

But, the Larrivee sings to me that others  rarely do as  well or more rarely better than any I have played. And those are multiples more expensive. None could drive the sound of the Larrivee out of my head.

[Michael T]

I was h..l bent on a Collings dread, but wanted to A/B it with a Taylor and Martin, the closest store I could find was 80 miles away so I called ahead double checked they were actually in stock, gave them a CC # and told them to string them all with mediums and I would be over on such and such day to buy a guitar if I found the right one but I didn't want to drive 160 miles round trip if I couldn't compare them head to head. I went, played , listened out front & played some more but it just wasn't happening for me. The rep went to the wall and pulled down a guitar, restrung it and handed it to me. I went round the circle again and happened to look up while I playing the one added to the mix and this little girl was dancin' round and spinning while telling her mom that sure sounds nice mommy. Nuff said. I had never heard of the Larrivee name but it came home with me that afternoon.



[attachment deleted by admin]

[JOYCEfromNS]

  reechee nice to see someone who reads the rules

Obviously you like many around here do not have headstock envy you listen with your ears rather than set your eyes on the name on the headstock

For me it was the 80's electrics that turned me onto the brand and opened the door to discovery

[247hoopsfan]

I saw my first Larrivee when a worship leader was playing one.  It sounded so good I went up and asked him what it was.  He told me about Larrivee.  Now I have 3 in the stable, a D10, JCL, and L05MT.  I had also been checking out Taylors and Martins.  Larrivee "bang for the buck" is amazing value.  Now that I have been to the factory and met JCL and family, I am even more of a believer.

[TomRC]

As a newbie to guitars I was dead set on my first nice guitar being either a Taylor or Martin. Was at the local store several months ago looking at Taylors and Martins and a gentleman was playing a Larrivee OM and he was incredibly talented. Being a newbee I asked him some advice and he said that you can either get a super nice warm sounding guitar in a Martin or you can get super sounding Taylor with more of a bright personality. He then paused and said if you want to the total package....the best of both Martin and Taylor buy a Larrivee. Over the past few months I have a become a Larrivee fan for life. Every time I go down the local store and look around I think this is the day that a Taylor or Martin is going to call my name but it just doesn't happen. It is the Larrivee sound that calls my name no matter how expensive of a Martin or Taylor I pick up.

[dkoloff]

My first was a PV-09 I purchased from Larry Pattis......I had seen it on the cover of Acoustic Guitar mag when they did a review and fell in love with it.......keep swapping out for different ones. They ever make a short scale OM from Larrivee I'll probably end up with a dozen.
Until then the Forum iv will help scratch that itch.....

[mas music]

I noticed that some of the guitarists I admired Had a Larrivee in there arsenal. I had never seen or played one for myself. I stopped in at a little music store to pick up some strings when I notice they sold Larrivees. I was anxious to play one.   It took just a few chords and I was smitten with a terrible case of G.A.S. 

[DJ in FL]

 

Welcome to the BEST forum with some super knowledgable folks.

Thanks for reading and respecting the rules to a newbie with the donuts tradition.

Enjoy your new guitar and play well and long in good health!

[flatlander]

Then, I spied a stack of Larrivee brochures, and on the cover was an all koa D-10, with a vine of life fretboard, and an Emily headstock.  I had a new love....I had never in my life seen a guitar that beautiful  I talked to the store manager and asked if one like that was for sale.  He said it would have to be special ordered.  I said OK, let's do it.  Then, kind of off hand, he said.."You know, these are being made in Oxnard now.  Would you like me to take you to their shop and you could meet the folks who make them and have a tour of the place."  I said sure, and the rest...as they say...is history.

I've wondered how you got into Larrivee's before. I thought you might have been Jeans adopted son! Like OP I thought It'd be a Martin or Gibson but L-10 smoked em. She'll be 30 years old in December.

[leftync]

I'd been reading about Larrivee for years, and thought of it as an upscale boutique guitar, not a large manufacturer. Among the things I'd read there were articles about Peter Yarrow and his legendary Larrivee. I've told about how I remember hanging out with Yarrow when I was a college student covering his concert way back in the early 70s when two young folksingers he knew showed off their new, handmade guitars. He bought his shortly after.
Took me more than 30 years. I'd been playing (badly) with a great mid-level Seagull and decided to get a premium guitar. Thought I'd save for a Collings. Would have taken me longer, obviously, but I played a lush D-03R at a Sam Ash in Raleigh. Changed everything. I don't think of Larrivees as inexpensive, except when I compare them to products of similar quality.
I bought a D-03R from one of the dealers mentioned on the forum, and eventually I bought an L-03RE. No longer own those, but I have my amazing 90s D-50 and what appears to be a first-generation Larrivee parlor. I could see trading the parlor on something larger, but that D-50 fills just about all my needs. I can't think of an instrument less than $3K I'd take in trade.
Having compared my Larrivees and others with high-end guitars from other companies, I'm amazed at Larrivee's similar quality and greater value. Clearly there are lots of terrific instruments out there. But no company makes it as easy to own a high-end guitar as Larrivee. 

[JOYCEfromNS]

But no company makes it as easy to own a high-end guitar as Larrivee. 

[Choay823]

I discovered Larrivee through a very extensive stint of internet research on any guitar builder I could read about.  I made a systematic study of tonewoods and body shapes first, then began to compare similar models from the different companies.  What drew me to Larrivee were the reputation for sound, value and quality.  Certainly no other similarly dressed guitars could touch it in price... but I seriously took to heart just how many people were thrilled with the sound quality for a guitar at any price.  Needless to say, I knew I had found a special instrument that reflects my own values: the best quality and best sound, without the emphasis on marketing and mass production...

So without ever having touched or heard my particularly model of guitar, I bought one off Ebay!!!  Sounds crazy and stupid, but I went with my gut and since it was a hard to find model albeit a less than opportune time, I snagged my Larrivee based on my gut feeling.  This story has a happy ending.  I took the guitar to a local master luthier who looked it over and he relayed very high opinions.  e.g that you can't get guitars like this anymore... He dropped a light in and showed me the bracing, pointed out the quality of woods used, tested the intonation against his ridiculous 1000$ tuner, and held it up next to a slew of other guitars he was working on.  It was easy to see even for a lay person like me that the wood and build quality were quite a bit different when compared with the others.

I couldn't be happier with my new lifelong friend...

[Mr_LV19E]

   reechee and congrats on the 

[fongie]

reechee 'Welcome' and good choice 

[musicrowscott]

Had never played a Larrivee until we started looking for a sponsor for our radio show...we knew we wanted a premium guitar company as a primary sponsor. Having been a Taylor nut for years, I never even picked up a Larrivee until my co-host and I started test playing different brands. Once I started "listening" to the sound of the instrument and stopped looking at the headstock logos, everything changed! We actually turned down other guitar companies even though we were desperate for sponsors, because we wanted to work with Larrivee...every week I have the privaledge of sharing the Larrivee story with our listeners and have converted more than a few from the e-mails we receive.

Have had my D-10 for 2 and a half years and although I have several guitars at home, my D-10 is the only guitar that gets played daily. Have met Jean a few times and after talking with him about his passion, I'm proud to say I'm a Larrivee player for life!

Cheers,

S

[flatlander]

well since everybody's tellin thier story. I'll tell mine again. It was pure luck, coincidence or sounds better, fate. I was living in Seattle, pretty darn close to where they were made, but still never saw one there. Then I moved to a small town in southern Alabama, Dothen, where I was making decent money for the first time. Being that I was used to living on nothing, it didn't take long to save up money for good git. A guy had just opened a new music shop and had Martins, Gibson and other nice guitars. At his grand opening he had reps from those companies there. They all showed me thier guitars but none struck me as magic. After I'd looked at them all, the owner said "let me show you a couple guitars I have in back. He handed me an L-09 first and with one big G chord strum, I was sold. I smiled and owner smiled. I checked it out all over neck and was equally impressed. The he showed me L10 with the inlay. It was beautiful and the artsy side of me won out over the hillbilly bluegrasser. He only added his cost on the inlay. It wasn't a "good for the money" guitar. It was more expensive than Martin or Gibson. Not just retail because of rarity or import cost, but list price as well.  Only acoustic I had, besides extra beater, til I turned 50 and treated myself. Just couldn't see the reason for another.
This is me and it in 82 when it was about a year and a half old.


This is me and it earlier this week. Hey I still have hair anyway and not even that much grey!

It's been a great guitar for a long time and still one of finest I've played, especially versitility wise.