OMV-10KK - Koa I couldn't just leave it there - warning - graphic content

[docrach1]

I needed to comment on this guitar but after setting up the page I find I am speechless.  It is so beautiful it just can sit there and speak for itself. Happy for you, but also very jealous. It is a masterpiece by the very definition of the word.  Enjoy it.  docrach

[Randy_R]

In case you aren't watching the dread head thread...

Out of all my Larrys...only one is a dread.....

[ST]

Hi Randy,

Thanks for posting this picture.

My guess is that this is a sister to mine. I guess I'm going to have to get a picture outside to get a better sense of the colours to compare them.

[ST]

I put a couple of recordings on reverbnation.



OMV-10kk sample 01 (Tractor)
LS-05 sample (Tractor)

Same song - same settings - headphones recommended.

Sorry that the level is so low - I'm just figuring out how to make all this happen.

I chose this song because it allows me to do several different kinds of playing (picking, strumming).

Drop - D (so you could really hear the bottom)
Bare fingers with with a little bit of nail at the ends.

Microphone on guitar - AKG C451 E about 6" from the guitar aimed at the point where the neck meets the body (14th fret) - no effects
Vocal microphone - Neuman KMS 105
Background percussion is a PorchBoard

[ST]

Two more recordings.

This song, Since I Met You has lyrics but I just did an instrumental version so you could hear the guitars.

OMV-10kk sample 02 (Since I)
Morgan sample 02 (Since I)

The Morgan is Maple back and sides with a Spruce top.


Microphone on guitar - Neumann KM 184 about 6" from the guitar aimed at the point where the neck meets the body (14th fret) - no effects

Background percussion is a PorchBoard (way back)

[cke]

There are moments when I am almost pleased with what I do with a guitar.

Then I listen to someone like you and think maybe I should just hang my Larri's up as wall art. 

Great stuff ST   

[Walkerman]

Hi Randy,

Thanks for posting this picture.

My guess is that this is a sister to mine. I guess I'm going to have to get a picture outside to get a better sense of the colours to compare them.

It is a custom order...my 1st Larrivee.

[ST]

Thanks Chris,

I'm glad you enjoyed the clips.

I really prefer to be playing live in front of real people. I just don't have the temperament to sit alone in front of microphones and recording software trying to get everything right.  So the recordings are full or warts and thuds.

The reason I did these was to let folks hear the differences in the guitars. Could you hear those differences?

One thing I noticed is that I'm much more comfortable playing the LS-05 and the Morgan. I'm still trying to figure out the OMV-10kk so I'm a little more tentative with it. I think that may explain why the volume is lower on the cuts with the OMV-10kk. Or it could just be that the guitar is inherently quieter than the other two.

Anyway - I noticed that it is a lot easier to switch between and compare the clips if you go to
my page on Reverbnation
and then you can see all the songs and click to switch back and forth between them.

[Danny]

  Just got a chance to hear the new ones. You are right the Koa is quieter. But it is a good sound. I think you did a good job on the recording as well.

                "The audience is listening "

[cke]

  Just got a chance to hear the new ones. You are right the Koa is quieter. But it is a good sound. I think you did a good job on the recording as well.

                "The audience is listening "

Yep. But I chock it up more to the vagaries of recording and your explanation. Definitely I hear the differences. And the recordings are better than you think   

[ST]

Last one for now I think.

Warning - this one is louder than the others.


A Cry Out for Love (OMV-10KK)

A Cry Out for Love (C10 Brazilian)  (edit - just added this one)

This is the same tune I put up on youtube a couple of days ago. I thought you might like to hear the lyrics.

As I listen to this, I'm thinking that I should give it just a little relief in the neck.  And it seems that this guitar really likes to be strummed especially in the chorus.

[Danny]

    The audience applauds

  This time it reminded me of a maple/spruce Jumbo GIBSON. This is a first for me. I never heard a Larrivee that reminded me of a Gibby. I like good Gibsons and know one when I hear it. The SJ-200 is a favorite of mine though my shoulders won't allow me to play one.


   Anyway, in the middle of your playing "From the beginning" by Greg Lake came to mind. I know he played a J-200 or a custom Gibson maple/spruce.

   Do you know that song ST? It would be way cool to here it played on this guitar. Sorry if this comparison bothers you, I hope not the SJ-200 is a fine instrument in many peoples view and been the backbone of many a group going back 50+ years.

               Nice to hear the lyrics to A cry out for love as well. I played your earliest posts for my wife and I'll show her these as well when she gets back.  Thanks for the nice "interlude" to work.

[ST]

Hi Danny,

Thank you.

I just did this quick rendition of the same song done with my C10-Brazilian (obviously in need of new strings)

A Cry Out for Love (C10 Brazilian)


With regard to Greg Lake - I don't know the song you mean, but the comparison doesn't bother me in the least.

It's funny that you should mention a Gibson J200. When I heard the strummed passage in the chorus near the end of the OMV-10kk version I thought - wow - that sounds really nice strummed and I remembered my Gibson J200.

I had that J200 for a couple of years. I really liked it but never felt that it sounded quite right for (my) finger-style approach to playing. I did think it was outstanding as a strummer. I eventually sold it a duo partner who does a lot of solo performing too. He really makes that guitar shine as he strums and sings.  

Thanks for talking to me about this Danny.

and I hope your wife enjoys the music.

[ST]

Just for you and the Missus.

Here's   A Little Waltz on the OMV-10KK

[Danny]

   We are listening together right now.  Thanks for such a nice tune we both like it a lot.

btw Greg Lake was with "Emmerson, Lake and Palmer". He's the good guitar player you hear on their tunes.

[ST]

I'm glad you liked the little waltz.  I imagined you and your wife gliding around the floor.

Thanks for the reminder about Greg Lake. That led to an interesting journey down memory lane on youtube.

I just this moment caught that "From the Beginning" was the name of a song and I've just been off on another quest to find recordings of it. Now I can say...

Your comment about having that song come to mind as you were listening -- well now that I get it I'm really (pleasantly) taken aback.

Since I intended to give you guys the unvarnished sound of the guitars - I didn't use any effects. It is really interesting that you would get that Greg Lake vibe from dry tracks. I think it says a lot about the guitar.  But we're back to that kind of strange gibberish that people get into when trying to describe the sound of a guitar. How do you describe magic?

I don't use any effects when I perform live, but there's always some natural reverb in the room.  Since I recorded with the microphones in very close proximity (guitar 6 inches  and vocal 1/2 an inch) there was no room ambience in the recordings.  If I get into doing more recording - I'll have to get to know a lot more about recording techniques and effects.

Anyway - thanks again Danny. I enjoyed meeting and talking to you when you were in  Vancouver last year. It feels as though we're just continuing the conversation.

[Danny]

I thought you would remember who Greg Lake was.  The wife was making dinner as we listened but I set it up through speakers and we listened a couple of times. It is a very pleasant tune. We also listened to the other tracks as well. I'd like to download some of them if it's OK with you.
                          Also I did post a SHARE on Facebook that links to your Reverb site. Is that OK by you?

"Anyway - thanks again Danny. I enjoyed meeting and talking to you when you were in  Vancouver last year. It feels as though we're just continuing the conversation".  
                                                                 DITTO

[ST]

Hi Danny,

Thanks for the Facebook share - I'm not sure what that means exactly, but I'm exploring more of these social media connections.

These recordings are pretty raw since my priority was to give you guys an unvarnished impression of the guitar. I'm working on learning more about recording techniques. Until I learn how to produce more polished recordings, I'd like to leave these as "stream only".

I realized that the recordings should be in Technique and Playing section of the Forum. I've just posted a song there.

The Tractor Song

edit - more:

A Cry Out for Love

[ST]

Hi Walkerman,

It is a custom order...my 1st Larrivee.

What year is this?

What model designation?

[bacchus]

I have to say, I saw this a couple of days ago and thought, "This has got to be one of the most gorgeous examples of, well, anything I have ever seen."  Congrats on the acquisition, absolutely stunning piece of work.  Sounds great too, keep up the good work.