NGD: L-09 in SATIN finish!

[StringPicker6]

Now you've got me REALLY curious! 

[mike in lytle]

You may have guessed correctly. I texted John and he supposed they may have been factory seconds and they were satin finished to move them quickly. John didn't look deeper into it. Based on the low prices on Dave's website, and the rough satin finish, it sounds reasonable. At least we now know Larrivee will do that.
Mike

This is an ADDITION to the post above....
John sent me a follow-up text in which John said (almost verbatim)....
Dave's buys up most of our seconds/B-stock and sells them as used. Great deals, no warranty (sold as used).
This helps us understand the low price, as well as the "used" description on what are recent build guitars.
Also, the large inventory.
I think StringPicker should check his serial number on the Larrivee website and see what it says, as I am curious about that.
Mike

[StringPicker6]

All I got from the Larrivee website was the build date of July 6,2023. Thanks again for all the fantastic info, Mike! I still can't find any flaws in my L-09, so maybe they just messed up trying to do a gloss finish and they decided on satin?

[ducktrapper]

All I got from the Larrivee website was the build date of July 6,2023. Thanks again for all the fantastic info, Mike! I still can't find any flaws in my L-09, so maybe they just messed up trying to do a gloss finish and they decided on satin?

At one time, Larrivee sold no "seconds", flawed guitars were destroyed, so if they've changed that policy I can't imagine they're letting anything seriously flawed out of the factory.

[B0WIE]

 Interesting approach. I'm used to companies stamping them as 2nd so it's clear they are not up to the spec of a standard model. I actually love finding 2nds for sale as they are usually great instruments. Selling as used with non-standard specs is different, but maybe it makes more business sense for them. Or, maybe it relates to what Duck said about them refusing to sell a 2nd quality guitar. I can't see them actually destroying a lot of completed guitars with all the man-hours that go into an instrument, especially if they have enough of them to stock stores like Dave's, and the fact that there are ways to mask a finish flaw. I do believe Duck is being honest, I just have a feeling they reserved that for functionally flawed instruments or ones where the clear was completely botched. 

 This makes me wonder... Around 2015 to 2017, an online Larrivee dealer offered to sell me a brand new SD50 at a massive discount. He listed it for standard retail and when I asked what his best price was he took $750 off and said "used/no warrantee". It seemed sketch but he had a good rep so I grabbed it. The instrument had a lot of finishing compound still in the nooks and crannies and the glue job on the bridge was poor. I long thought this was bad QC and after owning a different Larrivee, with glue slopped all over the bracings, I was under the impression they had inconsistent quality control. Now, I wonder if I got one of these B-stocks and the seller just didn't explain it. The finish on this instrument was an immaculate gloss though so I still don't know what the deal was with that guitar.

 Anyway, now I'm tempted to look at Dave's online inventory... someone talk me down....     

[StringPicker6]

I agree, the Larrivee family would never let something go out the door if it had major issues, they have too much pride.  Therefore, be careful looking at Dave's Guitar website, there are some really tempting prices on some nice Larrys!! 

[ducktrapper]

Interesting approach. I'm used to companies stamping them as 2nd so it's clear they are not up to the spec of a standard model. I actually love finding 2nds for sale as they are usually great instruments. Selling as used with non-standard specs is different, but maybe it makes more business sense for them. Or, maybe it relates to what Duck said about them refusing to sell a 2nd quality guitar. I can't see them actually destroying a lot of completed guitars with all the man-hours that go into an instrument, especially if they have enough of them to stock stores like Dave's, and the fact that there are ways to mask a finish flaw. I do believe Duck is being honest, I just have a feeling they reserved that for functionally flawed instruments or ones where the clear was completely botched. 

 This makes me wonder... Around 2015 to 2017, an online Larrivee dealer offered to sell me a brand new SD50 at a massive discount. He listed it for standard retail and when I asked what his best price was he took $750 off and said "used/no warrantee". It seemed sketch but he had a good rep so I grabbed it. The instrument had a lot of finishing compound still in the nooks and crannies and the glue job on the bridge was poor. I long thought this was bad QC and after owning a different Larrivee, with glue slopped all over the bracings, I was under the impression they had inconsistent quality control. Now, I wonder if I got one of these B-stocks and the seller just didn't explain it. The finish on this instrument was an immaculate gloss though so I still don't know what the deal was with that guitar.

 Anyway, now I'm tempted to look at Dave's online inventory... someone talk me down....     

At one time, there was a video (or pictures, can't exactly recall) of them destroying guitars that didn't meet Jean's standards. That was a before the move to the US so it was a while ago.

[StringPicker6]

Too bad they didnt just remove the Larrivee name on the guitars and donated them to schools or poor countries vs. destroying them.  I've seen pictures of bad Gibson les pauls being destroyed, and it's very depressing... 

[StringPicker6]

Found the pic

[ducktrapper]

Found the pic

I disagree. If you want to donate to schools etc. you build guitars like the 01's. Simple, plain but still nice instruments without flaws. You have to have great quality control or you're ... KIA and not Toyota. 

If you don't totally destroy the guitar, someone will smuggle it out and it will hurt your reputation. 

[StringPicker6]

Well, I'm just happy that Larrivee didn't drive a bulldozer over my new L-09.   

Today I had some time alone at home, so I was able to give it a bit of heavy strumming to try and loosen up the woods and kick off some of the bench dust.

[B0WIE]

Destroying (aka writing off) an instrument is sometimes necessary. There's two types of rejects. Pieces that have cosmetic issues, and functionally damaged (wood went bad, machine work was off, etc) instruments. You can't really sell the latter. As much as I love Larrivee and Gibson, I've seen enough mistakes from both of them to say I don't think 2nds would hurt their brand. I think calling a satin instrument an 09 actually hurts the brand more than selling it as a 2nd, or an "03 Deluxe". But, that's just a matter of opinion.

And, let's be real, tax write offs weigh heavily into whether stock is destroyed, salvaged, or marked as 2nd. Sometimes it's more profitable to do one or the other. 

As picker said, charity would be a very noble thing. And, you can remove your brand designation and relabel them if rep is a concern. But, I suppose the write offs aren't as good. My business is miniscule compared to Larrivee so I'm not going to say they should follow anyone else's ideals. I can only share my opinion about how 2nds look to me as a consumer.

[ducktrapper]

As a songwriter, I've destroyed a lot of seconds. Some might say, not enough. 

[mike in lytle]

John may look in on our discussion here, but he did just now text that B-stocks and seconds are only cosmetic. Structural defects are destroyed, those instruments never leave. So Ducks memory was correct.
Mike

[mike in lytle]

I can only share my opinion about how 2nds look to me as a consumer.

I have never thought about it much, though I have seen non-Larrivee guitars online listed as B-stock. My only thought at this point is how a downstream consumer can identify a B-stock Larrivee that has left the dealer and is "in the wild". All we know is Picker said the Larrivee online lookup did not identify his L-09 as B-stock. I am pretty sure it isn't a huge problem, but it would be nice for a potential buyer to know, aside from contacting Larrivee directly.
Mike

[ducktrapper]

I have never thought about it much, though I have seen non-Larrivee guitars online listed as B-stock. My only thought at this point is how a downstream consumer can identify a B-stock Larrivee that has left the dealer and is "in the wild". All we know is Picker said the Larrivee online lookup did not identify his L-09 as B-stock. I am pretty sure it isn't a huge problem, but it would be nice for a potential buyer to know, aside from contacting Larrivee directly.
Mike

And before coming here and complaining in their very first post about something they didn't like about a Larrivee they bought.

[StringPicker6]

It was a bit confusing, having bought my guitar online and only going by the L-09 designation.  The store online pictures were ok, but I was really unsure if the guitar would arrive in satin or gloss.  I did get my hopes up mid-shipping that a beautiful gloss would arrive, only to receive my original guess that it was indeed satin.  It wouldn't have hurt for the company to say "B-stock satin finish", I would have confidently bought it anyway.  But then again, I'm just happy to be holding a Larrivee.  It's literally sitting in my lap as I write this!

[247hoopsfan]

Yeah, just play the snot out of it knowing you have a unique satin 09 series.   
I was playing my Brazilian D09 today marveling at what a great guitar it is.  You can pay a LOT more and not get a better guitar than Larrivee.

[StringPicker6]

I checked the Dave's guitar website again today. The prices on their larrivee inventory are really low, compared to what they usually go for. It's a B stock bonanza! 

[B0WIE]

I checked the Dave's guitar website again today. The prices on their larrivee inventory are really low, compared to what they usually go for. It's a B stock bonanza! 

Aaaagghh... You're killing me!    I'm going to have to have a peek now.

I will say that this thread (actually, the two combined) is one of the best I've seen on the forum. Lively discussion, variety of respectful opinions, a cool guitar, and some sleuthing thrown in. I think this is the only forum I actively post on and this is why. A small but great community.