12 fret cutaway - who has one?

[guitarman001]

Anybody got a 12 fret cutaway with accompanying pics?

I find my new 12 fret parlour feels so easy to play and I foresee future purchase in terms of a 12 fret cutaway (probably OO size for something between a parlour and OM)

[teh]

Guitarman,

I will be interested to see if anyone on this forum has a 00 with a cutaway. I am glad to hear that you find the Parlor with a cutaway easy to play.

This months’s Guitar of the month on the Larrivee Forum is an LSV-11, a relatively rare and unique guitar. I have a 12 fret Forum VI, one of 19 made in 2021, and paid a $250 upcharge for a Venetian cutaway which gave me access to the fingerboard beyond the 12th fret.

On the Larrivee Guitar website, the custom page shows a $1,000 upcharge for a Florentine cutaway on an L body and $1,500 upcharge for any other body shape. Oddly enough, they don’t list the upcharge for a Venetian cutaway. They also list the parlor, OM and L bodies with Venetian cutaways in the standard lineup on their website.

My two Larrivee L bodies have a Venetian cutaway (LV03 12 string and the LSV03 mentioned above) and both were special orders. I also have a parlor without a cutaway. Aesthetically, I think the Venetian cutaway looks great on an L or OM body, but I prefer the look and feel of a non-cutaway on other body shapes but that’s a personal preference. The cutaway on my two L bodies allows easy, comfortable access beyond the 12th fret. I also think a Venetian cutaway is less labor intensive to build than a Florentine cutaway.

I also have a 14 fret OM and a custom 12 fret 000 (both Martins) with non cutaways. A Larrivee 0040 with a mahogany top, back and sides is on the short list for my next guitar but will probably require a special order. I added a mahogany top to my 12 string LV03 back in 2005 and couldn’t be happier 17 years later. I will need to play a couple of 0040 models to decide.

Good luck with your search.

[lkjjr]

Probably not what you’re looking for, but my 12 fret /cutaway is a Cordoba nylon string crossover. Bought primarily to accommodate aging hands, and it does that well. Very comfortable to play with great tone (once I found the right strings).

A Larrivee steel string in a similar size is a dream of mine (though some think I have too many guitars already  ).  Happy hunting and please let us know if you find “the right one.”

[markj]

I wish my OO was cutaway.

My Forum VI 12 fret is a cutaway.

Here are my Larrivee 12 fret guitars prior to the OO-40 and Forum VI pick guard removal.

[guitarman001]

Hi guys and thanks for the great replies with pics. My parlour doesn't have a cutaway but I wish it did. I think Venetian would be best as it is longer so would be easier to rest on the leg.

Holy moly, a 12 fret OM with Venetian sounds great (and the forum vi there looks great...).

If they did an OO40 or oo-03 with Venetian cutaway, I think that might just be perfect as the bridge between my parlour and OM. Larrivee.. I hope you are listening :)

[eded]

PV-03...

[eded]

Guitarman,

I will be interested to see if anyone on this forum has a 00 with a cutaway. I am glad to hear that you find the Parlor with a cutaway easy to play.


On the Larrivee Guitar website, the custom page shows a $1,000 upcharge for a Florentine cutaway on an L body and $1,500 upcharge for any other body shape. Oddly enough, they don’t list the upcharge for a Venetian cutaway. They also list the parlor, OM and L bodies with Venetian cutaways in the standard lineup on their website.

There's at least one OOV out there...  I had one which was a great guitar, just too big for my accustomed to parlor arms.  I think a couple were made for the LA Guitars special run that mine was from.

I am pretty sure the difference in price for all the Venetian cutaways vs no-cut is $400.  When I got my PV-03, I seem to remember them saying they would rather not do mahogany cutaways that small.  PV-09 is a standard model.

Ed

[teh]

Guitarman,

Sorry I misread your original post. I thought you had a parlor with a cutaway. Ed’s response is accurate. On Larrivee’s web site the 09, 10 and custom tabs show parlors with venetian cutaways. I seem to recall that bending cutaways on smaller guitars is both labor intensive and costly.

I paid $550 new for my non cutaway flamed maple parlor in 2004 and added a hard shell case to replace the gig bag which was standard. I also removed the clear pickguard right away and strung mine with light gauge strings. The majority of Parlor owners on this forum seem to favor medium gauge strings. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to play a variety of parlors including spruce and mahogany, rosewood or lacewood* back and sides, all mahogany, koa and quilted maple.  I am 100% satisfied with my flamed maple version and the parlor is a nice niche for Larrivée. Mine was made in Vancouver, BC.

* I RECENTLY saw a used lacewood parlor listed for $2,200.

[Bard]

There's at least one OOV out there...  I had one which was a great guitar, just too big for my accustomed to parlor arms.  I think a couple were made for the LA Guitars special run that mine was from.

It is true. There is at least one OOV out there.

[jpmist]

I might well have eded's old OOV, if not one of it's siblings. I lose track of who I buy from 12 seconds after I pick it up. It says "Venetian" on the label. I've never had a preference as to which kind of cutaway since the answer is always "any. . . "



Apologies for posting this one a million times. The cutaway has a different angle. The neatest looking guitar I never liked 

[jpmist]

It is true. There is at least one OOV out there.

OK, that looks like nice bearclaw on that OOV. Wanna trade? 

[eded]

I might well have eded's old OOV, if not one of it's siblings. I lose track of who I buy from 12 seconds after I pick it up. It says "Venetian" on the label. I've never had a preference as to which kind of cutaway since the answer is always "any. . . "

Like you, I typically forget where guitars go, but in this case, I think you are right.

Ed

[guitarman001]

Wow wow wow - is that a mahogany top (or just stained top) parlour with cutaway?

Serious envy over some of these guitars, guys....

I love the parlour I just got. I wish it had a cutaway.
The OM40 I got recently (which I dinged) is great but similar to the OM-02 (more bass response).
--> If I could have tried these out in person for some time I might have settled on a parlour/oo with cutaway over both.
I do not think I will ever sell my 20 year old OM-02. And the parlour I just got is otherwise perfect.
I am having a dark thought about selling the recently acquired OM40 to part-fund a custom 00v-03..........

[jpmist]

Yeah, that was a custom order, all mahogany back and sides. Sadly, after a long wait, it arrived with chrome tuners instead of the vintage pearloid ones I asked for which took another few months. So there's two of these out there somewhere. At the time, Larrivee was also offering OMV variations of the mahogany sunburst top models as well as OO & OOV on their FB page.

[jpmist]

Like you, I typically forget where guitars go, but in this case, I think you are right.
Ed

I dug up some old files on my hard drive and found that the ebay seller was "tony 20110."

At the time it had a Pearce armrest I took off plus some pearloid Gotoh tuners I swapped out. If so, glad we kept in the the forum family

[eded]

I dug up some old files on my hard drive and found that the ebay seller was "tony 20110."

At the time it had a Pearce armrest I took off plus some pearloid Gotoh tuners I swapped out. If so, glad we kept in the the forum family

Does it have a K&K?  I put one in.  And the armrest. 

Ed

[gscratch]

slightly off-topic since this is a Larrivee forum, but I have a Taylor 12fret with a cutaway (specifically, a 512ce) and a slotted head.  I got the slotted head since I liked the look.  I got a 12fret specifically for finger-style and, since I'm getting on in my playing years, the shorter neck makes the tension slightly less.  That it's cut-away is not really an issue one way of the other; Taylor seems to prefer making them that way

[jpmist]

Does it have a K&K?  I put one in.  And the armrest. 

Yep, sure does and many thanks for that. The OOV is definitely a keeper!

[guitarman001]

Have been giving this a lot more thought.

I love how the arm does not extend so far to the left when playing the 12 fret guitar.

I miss a cutaway (but love my parlour 100%!!). Venetian is best imo as you get a lot of wood to rest on your leg.

Scalloped bracing gives a lot more bass (but less quack/character and handles overdrive/alternate tunings less well imo)

I prefer smallish bodies. An OO (in between parlour & OM) would be ideal.

I like sitka + mahogany.

I never considered scale length before but 24" on parlour is "flappier" than the stuffer 25.5" on my OMs. 24.75" might be my holy grail.


Thus ! I believe my perfect guitar would be a...
12-fret Venetian cutaway Larrivee OO-40 (scalloped bracing), 24.75" scale length.

--> I don't think this is a standard model and I believe I was told that they don't do cutaways on OO40's.

[jpmist]

Thus ! I believe my perfect guitar would be a...
12-fret Venetian cutaway Larrivee OO-40 (scalloped bracing), 24.75" scale length.
--> I don't think this is a standard model and I believe I was told that they don't do cutaways on OO40's.

Welp, you and I are in the same wheelhouse as far as guitar lust!

I have tried OOO's and LS's and they were too "boomy" in comparison to my OOs. A reasonable alternative is the Taylor Grand Concert model which are readily available in various flavors with a cutaway and short scale.

I used to scan ebay and reverb daily for a few years and the odds of a used OOV-03 popping up are slim and none. My unsolicited advice is to dig deep, bite the bullet and do a custom order. Yep, tons of $$$ and brace yourself for a year long wait and a lot of empty consecutive "we should finish it in about 3 weeks" promises. (Sorry. . . )

The cutaway and short-scale have serious upcharges but you can go for the default on everything else unless you want a bit of bling.

Good news is you'll find ready buyers if you ever get tired of it!

Best of luck. If I ever sell any of my harem, it'll be posted here first.  Might be another 10 years before I kick off this mortal coil so be patient <grin>