Forum V - The RS-4

[bacchus]

I love the finish on these, and the headstock inlay!

I'd like them better with cream pickup bezel's and switch tips, I think. JMHO...and it's an easy switch for those who want to do it.

I actually like the black ones myself, they match the headstock well.  Plus, I just like black.

I was just about to ask about whether people had received theirs, but as I was typing this, I got a notification that randmag had made a post.  
Thanks for sharing man, I look forward to some reviews and I cant wait to get an email myself...

[L07 Shooting Star]

Mine is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.  I don't get home from my part-time job till 6:30 PM.  Hopefully it will be waiting for me when I get home.  It's been a long wait.  Full report to follow.

Kurt

[Frasier1]

Mine is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.  I don't get home from my part-time job till 6:30 PM.  Hopefully it will be waiting for me when I get home.  It's been a long wait.  Full report to follow.

Kurt

I hope it is awaiting you as you are in for a real treat!  I see these making GOTM at some point!!

[Walkerman]

Just curious...who got #1........

[JOYCEfromNS]

Just curious...who got #1........

That's right, I have #1 of 10. I just played it for about 20 minutes and ran through several settings. Both mini's sounded great in all settings.

Back to playing now. More to follow.

[L07 Shooting Star]

Number 4 has arrived this afternoon while I was at work.  Here are some quick and dirty pics and a first impression review.

It is a beautiful looking guitar and plays great right out of the box.  I assume setup was done by LA Guitars?  The neck feels very natural in my hands as does the string spacing, so I was able to just start playing it and all was good.  I am really impressed with the balance from string to string.  The other thing that impressed me was how it responds to picking strength and how dynamic and responsive it is.

I played it for about an hour thru my Superchamp XD into my 1 X 12 JBL-equipped cabinet.  I can truly say the sounds that came out are the best I've heard from that amp since I got it.  The tones out of the P90s are outstanding.  The three switch positions provide just the variety in tone you would expect from a great guitar configured like this one.  It just barks on the bridge pickup and the neck pup has such a sweet mellow, bassy tone.  Any fears I had of these pups not being "fat" enough when turning up the gain, are now gone.  I haven't begun to explore the possibilties, but so far, I am already in love with this guitar.

I'm only what I would consider and intermediate player.  This guitar makes me sound like a better player already, and I foresee how it will inspire me to improve since I think I'll be playing it a lot.

I should mention, it is very comfortable to hold and balances well with the strap.  It isn't too heavy either.

Just my first impressions and looking forward to comments from the rest of you.

Kurt in Edmonton.

[Cybercanyon]

Wow!  Number 4 is another winner.   

Its killing me having to wait.   

[bacchus]

Wow!  Number 4 is another winner.   

Its killing me having to wait.   

Me too!  I know it'll be worth it though. 

Beautiful guitar Kurt, and thanks for the nice writeup.  It is good to see these reviews start to roll in, keep em coming.

[bacchus]

Well, I got me email yesterday and I should have Forum V on Tuesday.  That was the best news I have heard in a while.

Im curious, Frasier1 (or anyone who has gotten the mini's), how are you liking the mini's or the mini/full combos?  I am curious to hear what people are thinking.

[L07 Shooting Star]

Glad for you Cameron.  I haven't had a chance to play mine since the first night due to other committments.  I'm off work for the next three days so it will get a good workout tomorrow. 

I have one issue though.  I'm wondering what kind of "case candy" usually comes with a new Larrivee.  Mine did not include any paper or documents at all other than the bill of sale from LA Guitars.  No users guide or anything like that.  I didn't get any warranty registration card or warranty documentation of any kind which is the only missing piece I'm concerned about.   Is this the case for the rest of you who received their guitars?  I guess I will have to contact LA Guitars about this since I want to ensure I'm registered as the original owner.

[bacchus]

Glad for you Cameron.  I haven't had a chance to play mine since the first night due to other committments.  I'm off work for the next three days so it will get a good workout tomorrow. 

I have one issue though.  I'm wondering what kind of "case candy" usually comes with a new Larrivee.  Mine did not include any paper or documents at all other than the bill of sale from LA Guitars.  No users guide or anything like that.  I didn't get any warranty registration card or warranty documentation of any kind which is the only missing piece I'm concerned about.   Is this the case for the rest of you who received their guitars?  I guess I will have to contact LA Guitars about this since I want to ensure I'm registered as the original owner.

I have seen some other threads where people were receiving balersfields without 'case candy' specifically warranty cards.  I don't know the specifics, but I believe that it was determined to be the norm now and that it wasn't an issue with warranty.  I'm sure someone else can chime in with the details.

[L07 Shooting Star]

I emailed LA Guitars about the warranty issue.  No reply yet.

I finally got to play my new Forum V tonite for a couple of hours.  What a great guitar.  It is very articulate you might say, so any sloppy technique in my playing showed through.  That is a good thing, not a liability.  I "demoed" it for my wife.  She was  absolutely impressed.  I just got a new Fender Superchamp X2 head to go with my new guitar.  I plug it into the 1X12 cab equipped with a JBL G125-8 that I built a while ago and it is a superb combination.

Cameron, I know you have been looking for a great amp to go with your Forum V.  If you get a chance, try a Superchamp XD combo (now out of production), or it's replacement, the Superchamp X2 combo or head.  The combo has a 10" speaker in it and it sounds great.  The head with it's matching cab, SC112 is even better.

[Icedlatte]

Wow those all look amazing! Congrats to everyone who got one of these beauties.

[bacchus]

I emailed LA Guitars about the warranty issue.  No reply yet.

I finally got to play my new Forum V tonite for a couple of hours.  What a great guitar.  It is very articulate you might say, so any sloppy technique in my playing showed through.  That is a good thing, not a liability.  I "demoed" it for my wife.  She was  absolutely impressed.  I just got a new Fender Superchamp X2 head to go with my new guitar.  I plug it into the 1X12 cab equipped with a JBL G125-8 that I built a while ago and it is a superb combination.

Cameron, I know you have been looking for a great amp to go with your Forum V.  If you get a chance, try a Superchamp XD combo (now out of production), or it's replacement, the Superchamp X2 combo or head.  The combo has a 10" speaker in it and it sounds great.  The head with it's matching cab, SC112 is even better.

I cant wait for mine, it should be here tomorrow!

As far as amps go, I actually ended up finding a good deal on a used Morgan DAG 15, which is just a superb amp.  I updated the 'Amps' thread with some info and pics.  I will need to check out the superchamp though.  There very well may come a day when I need some fender representation in my flock here.

[MC13]

#2 Arrived today, and it's a very beautiful guitar.  It's going to take a while to get used to, especially coming from the single volume/tone controls of a tele, but I look forward to playing it loud and often!

Thanks again to everyone who had a hand in getting the build off the ground.  It's really been a pleasure to participate and monitor the progress over the past few months, and to get to know indirectly so many really great people on the forum.

Best,
Matt

PS: Apologies for the crap pics, but the lighting in my old house is bad and I'm too lazy to play with the low light setting on my camera!  I'll post pics in better lighting soon.

[Cybercanyon]

OK, enough is enough!  You guys are driving me crazy with all these new guitars.   
I can't wait for mine to be ready.

Nice guitar by the way.  So far I like the way the finish looks on the Forum V's.

[bacchus]

OK, enough is enough!  You guys are driving me crazy with all these new guitars.   
I can't wait for mine to be ready.

Nice guitar by the way.  So far I like the way the finish looks on the Forum V's.

I hate to say it, but there is going to be one more giddy NGD this evening.  You can endure! 

[PM33AUD]

Suprised to see so many mini/full combos, that is awesome!  As far as I can tell, that is not a very usual combination; at least not on any guitars that I have seen.

I agree that these are going to be very special guitars.  I feel lucky to have my first real electric be something of this caliber.

Just seeing all of this now!  Adding a 2nd PT job has been keeping me pretty busy :/

These look awesome.

RE: the mini/full combo: the more I use my current RS-4, the more I'm finding the bridge much brighter than the neck (sure, a lot of it is due to placement) and I'm rolling off the bridge tone quite a bit to match.  I also use the neck mostly for clean and the bridge for distorted and a mini in both spots may not give me the gain I need to push the vox to insano land..  These 2 reasons are why I think the full bridge and mini neck will be the perfect combo.  If I like it maybe I can hide a mini under a full size cover and have neck minis in both.

I still need to make a damn demo video.     Well, I guess now I'll be able to do a demo/comparison video shortly!

[bacchus]

I got #3 last night.  Man this thing is sweet!  I love everything about it.  This thing looks great, feels great, and man o' man does this thing sound great. 

There are so many usable tones in every position.  And the mini - this thing is so cool!  It does exactly what I hoped it would.  You get that nice, thick, smooth neck tone, all without any of the associated muddiness of a hot hum in the neck position.  The neck doesn't seem to overdrive very easily, but I am more than OK with that because it sounds fantastic clean to crunchy.  The bridge full-HB is no slouch either, obviously.  It just screams rock, this thing sings like a rugged gentleman.  The guitar itself is just so balanced and resonant, it is hard to get it to sound bad.

Long story short, I am very happy!  I am obviously still firmly in honeymoon phase, but all signs point to this guitar being a lifer.  Thanks to everyone at Larrivee for doing such a great job on these.  A very special thanks to the facilitators of this process: Matt, Ted, and Andrew.

Anyway, sorry to babble, here are some more pics.

[bacchus]

Just seeing all of this now!  Adding a 2nd PT job has been keeping me pretty busy :/

These look awesome.

RE: the mini/full combo: the more I use my current RS-4, the more I'm finding the bridge much brighter than the neck (sure, a lot of it is due to placement) and I'm rolling off the bridge tone quite a bit to match.  I also use the neck mostly for clean and the bridge for distorted and a mini in both spots may not give me the gain I need to push the vox to insano land..  These 2 reasons are why I think the full bridge and mini neck will be the perfect combo.  If I like it maybe I can hide a mini under a full size cover and have neck minis in both.

I still need to make a damn demo video.     Well, I guess now I'll be able to do a demo/comparison video shortly!

Good to see you back, you should post a demo  .  I have made a goal that i will post one myself very soon, at least when i am able get a decent recording.