Questioning Larrivee Quality Control

[mince22]

Hello, My first post on my first Larrivee,

 I purchased a 2020 OM-05 about a month ago, brand new.  So the guitar came, the action was very high, specifically the nut height, it was about .045 thousands at the first fret, thats about double a normal spec, notes went sharp when fretted on the first few frets, I know factory set ups are very general, but this was really high/ So I filed the nut slots and got it to my liking, not unheard of on a new guitar, but I was surprised for sure, just expecting a better setup.

I really do like the guitar, seems like a quality instrument---so I hated the pick guard---I removed it with standard hair dryer trick, no problems at all, cleaned off the glue, then, I notice there are a lot of either little dents in the top wood or the finish, I'm not sure which. looks terrible to say the least!

So it seems like they were thinking it will be covered by the pick guard and no one would ever see it,  that seems pretty shoddy to me, not sure what to do, should I contact larrivee, or will they void me because the pickguard was removed.   I am really disappointed in this, as I have looked at Larrivees for a couple years and coveted them,  but this seems unacceptable!
Any ideas?



One pic attached, hard to capture on a pic, ther is about 4 more marks.

Update.....More pics on page 2 of more problems found in top finish!
 Thanks
Vince

[Dale_I]

I would contact the dealer you purchased it from. Ask if there may be another guitar with a good top since you would rather not have a pick guard.

[ryler]

Hi Mince,

Welcome to the forum.  I would be disappointed, too.  Odds are that someone in the shop did think exactly what you suspect, but I don't think that is representative of the company's philosophy of quality.  Yes, like Dale said, I would start with the dealer.  You want to feel completely satisfied with the new purchase.  I would not want to settle for this because I'd always have the niggling feeling of disappointment--even if it played great, sounded great, etc.

Let us know what you decide to do and how it goes.

[B0WIE]

Action can be influenced by your environment. It's normal to have an instrument professionally set up as factory set ups are conservative. They will be fine for some, high for others, but they don't want to risk them being too low as you can't easily fix that like you can with a high set up.

The dents under the guard, are you sure it's not normal finish rippling? They may buff the finish after the guard is put on, which is normal. Do you really think they dented up the guitar after finishing it and then "hid" it under a pick guard?

I'm no Larrivee apologist and I've voiced frustrations about actual flaws but wouldn't expect the finish under a guard to be buffed to perfection.

[mince22]

Think I'm going to get a new pickguard and  put it back on. Looking at it further, it is definitely imperfections in the finish.

Bowie---No I didnt think that they purposely dented the guitar, then put a pickguard on to hide it!  I would think they would have buffed out the whole top, then applied the pickguard.

Many people have removed there guards and not complained of this,  I was asking opinions from you guys that have had Larrivees.

Seemed a little lazy to me, but maybe not, as I've never removed a pickguard before, now I'm guessing they put they guard on then buffed the top.

As for the action, like I said I know a lot of times factory set ups are generic, but this was truly awful! I know the effects humidity have a guitar, the action wasnt very high, which is easily affected by humidity, the nut height like I said was way out of whack, which really isnt affected much by humidity. I bought the guitar online, so I couldnt try it out.

I'm not knocking larrivee, the guitar seems flawless otherwise, wanted some opinions,

Thanks

[eded]

Think I'm going to get a new pickguard and  put it back on. Looking at it further, it is definitely imperfections in the finish.

Bowie---No I didnt think that they purposely dented the guitar, then put a pickguard on to hide it!  I would think they would have buffed out the whole top, then applied the pickguard.

Many people have removed there guards and not complained of this,  I was asking opinions from you guys that have had Larrivees.

Seemed a little lazy to me, but maybe not, as I've never removed a pickguard before, now I'm guessing they put they guard on then buffed the top.

As for the action, like I said I know a lot of times factory set ups are generic, but this was truly awful! I know the effects humidity have a guitar, the action wasnt very high, which is easily affected by humidity, the nut height like I said was way out of whack, which really isnt affected much by humidity. I bought the guitar online, so I couldnt try it out.

I'm not knocking larrivee, the guitar seems flawless otherwise, wanted some opinions,

Thanks

Sounds to me like you are knocking Larrivee.  I've never seen anything like that on a new Larrivee.  The little dents make me wonder what was used to remove the pick guard, and would have caused those indents.  The high nut?  Seems pretty minor to me..

If you're that unhappy with the guitar, you might be best off returning it.  It sounds like a complaint you'll have and continue sharing for years.

Ed

[mince22]

Sounds to me like you are knocking Larrivee.  I've never seen anything like that on a new Larrivee.  The little dents make me wonder what was used to remove the pick guard, and would have caused those indents.  The high nut?  Seems pretty minor to me..

If you're that unhappy with the guitar, you might be best off returning it.  It sounds like a complaint you'll have and continue sharing for years.

Ed

Ed,

  AS for the nut, like I said, factory set ups are generic, after owning around 20 guitars in the last 36 years I've seen a thing or two, like I said it suprised me how high it was and I took care of it.

As for the pickguard removal it states how I removed it right in original post, hair dryer, not hammer and chisel, pretty much the standard way. 

I did'nt ask you if I should return it or not , or if I should complain about it for the rest of my life, I said the guitar is flawless otherwise, I was not looking for a sensitive fanboy reaction like you gave me, I was looking for some real opinions and advice from people in the know. Thanks to everyone for the help.

  Vince

[B0WIE]

Vince, if you decide to keep the guard off and want help regarding smoothing out any imperfections. Or, help in getting the nut and saddle to ideal height, I'd be happy to help out.

[Dale_I]

I don't think you're knocking Larrivee. You spent good money on a planned purchase and it wasn't what you expected. You aren't complaining, just stating the condition. I would follow up with the dealer. Larrivee supports their dealer network very well. Something like this should be understandable to everyone. You didn't buy used, you bought new. I can't imagine them not taking care of it.

[mince22]

 Bowie,Thanks so much,  I did file the nut slots and adjust the truss rod,  plays much better.  As for the finish imperfections,  I think I'm just putting the guard back on, see how I like it again.

Can't thank you enough,  I really appreciate it! I'll keep you guys posted, waiting on a new guard now.

Vince

[mince22]

Dale,

Thanks, I definitely wasn't knocking larrivee, Just seeing what you Larrivee guys thought. I'm just going to put the new guard on when it comes, and see what I think.

I already contacted the dealer on the set up, they specify on their website every guitar comes with a set up, they definitely did'nt, kind of washed their hands of it, I already took  care of that myself ,so I'm not sure they would do much for me about the finish.  If I get the new guard on and end up really not liking it, I will contact Larrivee

As for the rest of the guitar it is sweet, sounds great, plys good now, and looks great, I love the maple binding!

Thanks again,

[eded]

Ed,

  AS for the nut, like I said, factory set ups are generic, after owning around 20 guitars in the last 36 years I've seen a thing or two, like I said it suprised me how high it was and I took care of it.

As for the pickguard removal it states how I removed it right in original post, hair dryer, not hammer and chisel, pretty much the standard way. 

I did'nt ask you if I should return it or not , or if I should complain about it for the rest of my life, I said the guitar is flawless otherwise, I was not looking for a sensitive fanboy reaction like you gave me, I was looking for some real opinions and advice from people in the know. Thanks to everyone for the help.

  Vince

Yep, I'm a fanboy.  LOL

Ed

[JOYCEfromNS]

Yep, I'm a fanboy.  LOL

Ed

Now that is funny 

[Dale_I]

You may want to put a clear pick guard on it. I pulled the stock Larrivee off my LV-10 and installed thier clear guard because I like the look of the wood. Jean can really pick great pieces of wood for his guitars.

The other thing to consider is this... if you play it you will obtain some minor dings eventually. Not saying they should be there when it is new... but in the long run I would bet much worse happens over the years.

I know one builder who would purposefully damage the finish somewhere on the guitar after completing a build to stress that he wants his guitars played... not stuck in a case in a collector's lair. Yes... works of art... but musical instruments just the same.

[unclrob]

Could that be a shop wear mark that you didn't see before you removed the guard?

[broKen]

I'm inclined to agree with Ed,,,,imagine that   

I have adjusted every nut and saddle of every guitar I've bought, even my Larrivees. Shotty indeed.
You say the marks were under the guard only? And in the finish?

A clear guard is a great idea

[Mikeymac]

Lowering the nut slots seems to be a common tale these days; I've done it on most of my recent Larrivees and Martins - just did it on a Custom Shop Martin yesterday.

[mince22]

I'm inclined to agree with Ed,,,,imagine that  

I have adjusted every nut and saddle of every guitar I've bought, even my Larrivees. Shotty indeed.
You say the marks were under the guard only? And in the finish?

A clear guard is a great idea

You agree that he's a fanboy, or that he has  powers that gave him the vision of me removing the pickguard and damaging the finish myself, as he says. Or both?

[Mr_LV19E]

Could have been done with a ring or fingernail during installation. Doesn't take much to put a mark in the top of a guitar.

[JOYCEfromNS]

Could have been done with a ring or fingernail during installation. Doesn't take much to put a mark in the top of a guitar.

Yup but don't think it matters much as seems to fall outside of the initial mindset - that couldn't be anything other than QC

Best suggestion I could make would be to buy a guitar from any maker without a PG