What about Larrivee makes it so special... to you!

[Alexrkstr]

If you are reading this, you are a Larrivee fan.

I was thinking to myself - why am I semi-obsessed with this brand? So I thought I would list out a few things that have helped Larrivee earn a special place:
1. I like the fact they are an underdog.
They are not the traditional legendary brand that artists use and folks run to so they have the headstock of their favorite artist. In fact, I chose my LV-03e after comparing it against Taylors 114, 214, 314, and 414 lines. The LV-03 was, to me, so much more resonant, balanced, and powerful. That's where I started my journey.

2. Special Runs
There's something about being curious and surprised at some wood combinations they have come up with. I am tempted to start a spreadsheet with all the permutations that have been created to see if there's a pattern. You can find anything from a 12-fret cutaway to a jumbo twelve string, to interesting woods they have used that are not part of their standard selection.

3. The People who like them
I'm not going to lie... there's something cool about the community of folks who like Larrivees. I would just say they are down to earth and friendly. And, I like that.

What makes Larrivee special to you?

[teh]

A friend introduced me to Larrivee in 2004. At the time, I had a 28 year old Martin D35 that I purchased new as my only guitar.

Since my 3 sons had all graduated college and tuition bills were behind us, I had some disposable income available. I bought my first Larrivee (Flamed Maple Parlor) and in 2005, I ordered a custom all mahogany 12 string LV03.

The quality of the construction, wood selection and design of these guitars is unique. In 2021, I had the opportunity to buy a Forum VI guitar. Thats my story.

[eded]

Getting my first Larrivee, a 1999 mahogany/spruce parlor (O-01) was life changing for me.  I had tried friends Larrivees before at guitar meets.  That guitar let me know that there was a guitar that was comfortable and could sound fantastic.  Within several years, I had gotten rid of all the bigger guitars I had and was spending hours a day with it.  Because of it, I tried several other small body guitars (mostly other Larrivee P-09, PV-09, and OO, but a few others) and I kept ending up back at that Larrivee P/O size and mahogany/spruce.  I have a couple other "special purpose" acoustics, a Martin HPL/spruce 12 string that is only played occasionally for specific parts, and a couple "plastic" (carbon fiber) guitars for taking into the woods and boating hobbies, but my Larrivee O-01 and PV-03 are my "real" guitars.

Ed

[guitarman001]

eded ..... do you prefer the OO (normal scale length and more bass) or the parlours (shorter scale length but less bass) ?

I must say, the smaller guitars do have a unique voice and ease of play that makes you want to pick them up constantly. I do believe my next will be a 12-fret and smaller bodied with cutaway and shorter scale length, but ideally with traditional bracing and hefty bass. I can see why folk like the Martin (so sorry for mentioning!) O-18 and OO-18 as they're small body, short scale length, bass heavy. However, they sound great online but when I pitch them up vs my Larrivee's, they always fall down. I'm not into rubbishing other brands, though - good people make good instruments and variety is good. I like that Larrivee have their own sound and don't try to copy guitars from yesteryear (I think this is why I prefer traditional bracing - to me it DOES sound different and FEELS different, too).

Can't even remember why I was shopping for an acoustic but about 20 years ago, I was (I was predominantly an electric player). Many guitars cycled through my hands. It was a small shop and the owner asked me to try an OM-02. INSTANTLY, and I mean upon first chord played, it felt and sounded just right. The ergonomics were there, it sounded fantastic, so easy to play - shimmering - and I own it to this day. I like the company (I'd say I have a strong sense of brand loyalty), the people & the ethos of "affordable luxury." I think they are consistently well made and yeah, it's great they do the special runs etc but I also like that they don't go crazy like other companies with a bazillion models that are hard to understand. Every time a new one passes my hands or comes out, it's like Christmas time.

[StringPicker6]

My first big guitar purchase was a Martin HD-28, and I only got it for the brand and the artists that I like (Neil Young, for example).  I played that guitar for 10 years, and got tired of the big booming sound.  Now I have 2 Larrivee's, and I am so much happier.  I love how they fly under the radar, but people who know, know that they are amazing.  The quality is jaw dropping, and the history and family story make them so special.  It's no longer about the brand name, but the SOUND and quality.  I'll never give up my Larrivee's!

[eded]

eded ..... do you prefer the OO (normal scale length and more bass) or the parlours (shorter scale length but less bass) ?

For me, the parlor is the right guitar.  The body size, the scale, the 12 fret neck join make it possible for me to play for extended periods without pain in my shoulders, wrists, back, etc. And the sound makes for the perfect guitar for me.  With the right strings and tweaking my "technique" (if my playing has technique) gives me the sound I want.

The strings I use are bluegrass gauge.  The lighter trebles seem to de-emphasize the high end and learning to favor the bass strings gives a great balance to my ear.  Volume wise, I'll never be able to keep up with a banjo or heavy handed dread player, but that's not what I do.  And, that's what a pickup is good for.

But, that's just what works for me.  Lots of folks seem to think parlors are good for nothing.

Ed

ps: mods, if you read this.  Since the upgrade, I can't seem to reply or post from my i-devices.  Is there a known incompatibility with the software?  I get some sort of database error (or something like that).

[guitarman001]

I am 100% with you re parlours... amazing. Love the shorter scale length and I have bluegrass strings waiting for when stock ones that came with it are done. Cutaway would have been the icing on the cake.

[ducktrapper]

 

[Silence Dogood]

I first became aware of Larrivee in the late 90s.  Their guitars started appearing in my local Guitar Center and initially it was the price tag that got my attention.  Suddenly there were several of these sort of plain and understated guitars with a price tag of $499 hanging next to a Taylor with a tag of $2k.  I picked up one out of curiosity and was pretty blown away. Each time I'd go into GC I'd pick up another and they were all wonderful to play, and they had a different kind of sound. Not drastically different, but they were not copycats of the other guys.  I knew nothing about this company, couldn't (at the time) pronounce the funny French name, but the guitars just spoke for themselves.  A few years later I bought my D-03BW that I've now had for 20 years.  In fact, I bought it in June of 2003, "over the phone" - back before everything was bought online with a click. 

I like the fact that Larrivee is the road less taken.  I like that they are a family company, and that Mr. Larrivee has worked in the shop all along.  He seems like a salt-of-the-earth type man.  I like that.  I even like the fact that every time you see a performer playing guitar, he's not holding a Larrivee, but usually it's the ubiquitous Martin, Gibson, or Taylor.  I find that incredibly boring and predictable. But when I do see someone playing a Larrivee, I know that player has the personality to stand out from the crowd. 

Having said all that, if none of the above were true, I'd still have bought my Larrivee, because it's just a great guitar that has served me well all these years.  It has gotten better with time, and it has helped me become a better guitar player.

[StringPicker6]

I agree with everything you said, and I will add that maple binding is one of the classiest looks I have ever seen!

[unclrob]

Strange reply......

As a service tech I find that they don't develope issue as they age.Mo bridge belly.

As the player of 2 great guitars a 98 L10 koa B+S and an 02 OM03PA with maple back and sides and having over time maybe another 15 or 20 other,they meld real well against other brands while playing and the only brand that made smile since 74 when I found Guild.



keep smilin and keep dancin   

[ducktrapper]

Regardless of provenance, a guitar is only special if music is made on it. Otherwise it's a dust collector. 

[DaveyO]

I keep on coming back to larrivee
I've had Martin's Taylors, which I do like ,guilds and Álvarez yairi among others
To my shame and embarrassment I have sold several larrivees only to come back to it
I just love the sound of these guitars

[guitarman001]

Strange reply......

As a service tech I find that they don't develope issue as they age.Mo bridge belly.

As the player of 2 great guitars a 98 L10 koa B+S and an 02 OM03PA with maple back and sides and having over time maybe another 15 or 20 other,they meld real well against other brands while playing and the only brand that made smile since 74 when I found Guild.



keep smilin and keep dancin   

This is great to hear!
They're robustness is important to me.

[Gary787]

My L03R is a Canadian made guitar that came out of the Hunt for Spruce tree. https://youtu.be/t8duRvFIuKo This is a tree that the Larrivee family made a video of as a tribute to the tree and the guitars that came from it. I will somewhat embarrassingly admit that when Larrivee moved production to the US I sold a couple of other Larrivee's in a snit but I couldn't part with my Hunt for Spruce. As for the move to the US Jean Larrivee is a Canadian National Treasure so I got over it and found Ed Bonds Halcyon line and the support I've seen the Larrivee's give Ed is pretty cool.

[StringPicker6]

Fantastic story! I'm glad you held onto that L03R.  If a guitar has a story, then you gotta keep it!

[Gmaj251]

In addition to what others have said here, I would add that my L05 can take anything style my less than developed attention span can throw at it . . . blues, jazz, finger picking, fiddle tunes ... with each style, the L05 just says "yeah, I can do that . . .what else ya got"?

[Gordon Currie]

I go back a little further in my Larrivee journey.

In the mid-70s, I was playing a Guild as I didn't care for the sound and prices(!) of Martins and Gibsons.

In 1977, I heard Bruce Cockburn's album Circles in the Stream (live concert covering 5-6 albums). The sound he was getting - not to mention his incredible style - hooked me hard. I started playing many of his pieces on the Guild.

It took 4 years before I saw them in person when Larrivee started selling them in the Seattle area. I jumped on a cutaway L-26.
(Of course, unbeknownst to me Cockburn had moved to a Manzer by then IIRC.)

I immediately loved 1) the cutaway 2) wider fretboard 3) flatter radius 4) balanced frequencies. In 1981 these things were impossible to find in a store!

I toured a lot during the 80s and folks at every gig wanted to know about this strange guitar with an exotic brand name.

It took over 30 years for me to purchase another guitar - my L-26 was so versatile! I ended up buying an L-03 to have as a stage guitar.

Even when I commissioned a luthier build in 2020, it was because that luthier was taught by Sergei DeJonge and had a clear bias  towards the Larrivee 'umbrella' of sound and playability.

[jrporter]

This may seem superficial, but the thing that grabs me about Larrivees is the curly maple binding. To me that gives them a very classy, handmade appearance...

[StringPicker6]

Larrivee binding is indeed perfection. Plastic binding is just cheap and lazy in my mind after owning a larrivee.