What Happened To This Poor L-03 at GC?

[Silence Dogood]

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Larrivee/L03-Acoustic-Guitar.gc

    

[Silence Dogood]

Here is a pic of it in case it gets sold and the ad removed. 

[mikey007]

Condition "good." 

[fantex]

Good grief... could it be water damage?

No way anyone should pay $1000 for that.

[B0WIE]

Looks super cool. Like it had Japanese shou sugi ban treatment. I wonder what's going on as it's partially symmetrical, and probably didn't get that look through the finish. Water from the inside rarely spreads like that but if you look at the neck joint, it appears to be caving in, which can happen when the top deforms from heat or moisture.

 Really curious about the story on this one. If it's as trashed as it seems, I'm baffled at how it got purchased by GC. If it was an artistic thing (which is super unlikely) that would at least make more sense.

[StringPicker6]

I"m thinking that at some point it was used as an emergency canoe paddle??

[Silence Dogood]

I called the store (talked to a really nice fellow).  He said it appears to be a homemade relic job where someone burned it and gouged grooves into the top wood.  I believe $1000 is way too much for such a guitar and I'm sure they'll have to heavily discount it to get it moved.  It looks like water damage from the pics.  Crazy!

[StringPicker6]

I'm sure it smells "terrific", like a burned down house. 

[B0WIE]

Thanks for the update. It SEEMED artistic from how symmetrical it was. To be honest, 20 years ago I would have loved that because I thought acoustic were so ugly, with their big, yellow soundboards. My first acoustic was all black. These days, I can't imagine buying a guitar that some random dude burned though. 

[StringPicker6]

Maybe it was their camp fire guitar, and it got a little too "camp fired"? 

[jpmist]

I called the store (talked to a really nice fellow).  He said it appears to be a homemade relic job where someone burned it and gouged grooves into the top wood.  I believe $1000 is way too much for such a guitar and I'm sure they'll have to heavily discount it to get it moved.  It looks like water damage from the pics.  Crazy!

Thanks for the update. The "relic" things is something I'll never understand. I see reliced Strats on another forum and simply can't fathom why folks pay so much to have their guitar look like crap. Possibly there's some "cred" involved in owning a well-played but that should be earned honest wear and not paid for.

Just another "old man shakes fist at the sky post" sorry,  different folks - different strokes, I guess. . . .

[Silence Dogood]

I don't get the relic thing either—-particularly how people do them on Strats.  There is often "damage" placed where the guitar never even comes into contact with anyone or anything. Just makes it look phony to me. Imagine buying a car with dents all over it and thinking that's a good thing 
 🤔

[StringPicker6]

I blame Willie Nelson for the relic trend!!!  However, I still will vote for him for President. 

[Gill]

Either way,I'll bet it sounds like crap,not worth the money their asking.

[teh]

I'm often mystified but not surprised when I see what some guitars look like. This L03 looks like it is over valued and was under appreciated by the owner that did this to it.

Being a relic myself, the closest thing I have to relic'd guitar is my 1976 D35 purchased new in early 1977 and now nearing the half century mark. Personally, it's unlikely that I would buy a new relic'd guitar but there are plenty of people that would. This includes buying a new guitar with a torrified (baked) top. I'd be interested in Jean Larrivee's take on torrified tops. If I wanted a guitar with an old top, I'd look for an old guitar with an old top. To me, torrification looks like a way to try and rush Mother Nature and feels gimmicky.

This week, I read that several of Gordon Lightfoot's guitars were put up for sale at auction. His primary 6 string guitar for the final years of his career was a well used 1948 Martin D18 that he found in a Nashville guitar shop many years ago. I recalled reading an article where he stated that this guitar caught his eye and he bought it for a couple hundred dollars. The provenance of that guitar and the stories it could tell would be iconic.

[Silence Dogood]

Either way,I'll bet it sounds like crap,not worth the money their asking.

The salesguy said it sounds great (of course he did) but I don't doubt it.  I've never played a Larrivee that "sounds like crap," and beating up the top like that wouldn't do one thing to diminish the fundamental build quality or sound.  It just looks terrible.  I'm going to try and keep an eye on that one and see how they will end up discounting it (because they surely will).  It would be a great guitar to buy for $400-$500 and refinish the top. 

[StringPicker6]

There's a long interview with Jean and Matt Larrivee at sweetwater on YouTube, and they briefly mention their dislike of baking the top. He said it crystallizes the tree sap.