Choosing between an OM-03RE and an OM-05E - which one is a keeper?

[Heinrich]

Hi folks,

A shop owner gave me the opportunity to check out an OM-03RE and an OM-05E. Both guitars are brandnew and were built in 2003. the Om-05 only cost about 60 dollars more - seems to be a very good ratio. God, they both sound so nice but moneywise I can just keep one of those beauties, and it will be my only western guitar - errh, as much as I can say today... I mostly do fingerpicking and a little plectrum work.
I feel the OM-03RE sounds slightly louder and a tad sharper and it has a very distinctive silver shimmer in its sound and a "hot temper" to put it poetic, which was to be expected from a rosewood guitar, no? This guitar was built in Vancouver (handmade they say on tghe sticker).
The OM-05E is a mohagony guitar, looks more polished and expensive no doubt and sounds - as my girlfriend tells me - more "round and harmonic" - note separation is very good. It sounds not as spectacular but the mids are stronger.
It comes down to this - I just can´t decide which one to keep because both have their strengths. Anybody here who can point me the right direction like:
- which guitar will open up more easily after a while of playing ?
- which wood is more sensitive to temperature?
- will satin(OM-03RE) finish react differently to playing than a glossy finsih
- or simply somenthing like there is a tendency that rosewood guitars will stay longer with their owners than mohagony guitars?

What is your experience?

Anyway those guitars are so good that any which one I will keep - I´ll be a winner. I tried furchs, stanfords, taylors, one lakewood and a lovely morgan guitar which was a little too expensive for me. I definitelly will join the larrivee club!

Thanks for any hints, thoughts or help

merry x-mas,

Heinrich

[Denis]

Considering price only, the OM-05E retails at $750 more than the OM-03RE, that is a definite steal if it's really only $60 more.  But of course, a guitar is more than just how much it costs.  You've played both, your opinion is the one that counts. They are both excellent guitars.

[ashley7219]

Heinrich,

At this point, the '3' has probably opened up as much as it will. The '5' may have a bit more to go, though. My only real comment on this is strictly personal: I just like the finished look of the '5' and '9' series guitars. :O)  The gloss on those guitars is so well done and the craftsmanship so good that it's obvious at first glance that great care and pride go into thier manufacture. Not to say that the same care doesn't go into the '3' series; not at all! It's just one of those 'knee-jerk' reactions, you know....? You can tell in one second just from the finish that Larrivee builds quality instruments when you see the 5s and 9s hanging on the wall. For me it would take sitting down and playing a 3 series to actually know what was going on with it.

I hope all that gibberish makes SOME sense!!!

Best of luck,
Ashley

[Heinrich]

thanx for your thoughsts, denis and ashley,

damn it´s a tough choice, really,

the OM-O5E is much nicer looking to my eyes. Strangely enough the battery is hanging loose on the cable not properly attached in the body. Is this a a minor problem only? And the guitar is made in California (like all the gloss models)?

Let me add that the bass seems slightly weeker (less thump). It has elixir strings. The OM-O3RE delivers a long ring and longer overtones, a longer sustain than the OM-O5 and a slightly stronger bass. Why is that? I thought the O5-Series have selected woods rather than the O3-models? Does it have to do with the mohagony vs. rosewood or with the gloss vs.satin finish or with the fact that the OM-O5 opens up later than the OM-O3R?

Heinrich

[prof_stack]

The battery should be attached by velcro to the electronics inside, if it is like my '03 JV-05E.  If it is missing something in there, then that would probably explain the small difference in pricing.  But I think it just needs to be reattached.

Try to think about which sound is still going to sound nice to you down the road a ways.  I used to be a rosewood only guitar guy.  Now I have THREE mahogany Larrivees and but one rosewood guitar (a 31-year old marvel of sound).

My tip is to go with the mahogany and think about a rosewood guitar sometime later on.

Have fun playing them and deciding.

[jwieties]

I would put fresh strings on both guitars before you decide.  Alot of what you describe could be simply attributed to old strings.  It all boils down to sound and to put them on an even playing field I would give them a fresh set of strings.  At that point I bet the bass will come alive on the 05. 

The gloss will have higher resale value and is likely and the most think will open up more of a longer period of time.  The 05 will also have a better case. 

If I didn't have a chance to play either guitar... I would go with the 05.  Having played them it sounds like a close race.  I am willing to bet that one of them will make the decision for you. 

Good luck, sounds like you are a winner either way.

-josh

[dodge]

I would choose the OM-05E, that guitar will need time to open up, when it does you will know you made the right choice. You also mentioned you fingerpick more than strum, that being the case the mahogany is the right wood for fingeroicking Also mahogany is getting scarce and the prices will go up, now is the time to get a mahogany guitar. I am sure you will start to hear more bass response from the OM-05e once it opens up. :GRN>

[mcozma]

Considering price only, the OM-05E retails at $750 more than the OM-03RE, that is a definite steal if it's really only $60 more.  But of course, a guitar is more than just how much it costs.  You've played both, your opinion is the one that counts. They are both excellent guitars.

If the 03R is the better-sounding to your ears, than go with it; anything else considered, get the 05. My .02.

[rpg51]

I would put fresh strings on both guitars before you decide.  Alot of what you describe could be simply attributed to old strings. 

Yes - I agree with this - I think a LOT of the difference we think we hear in the shop is due to strings.  The only way to compare apples to apples is to put new strings on both - It will be worth the money to buy an extra set from the shop - maybe they will through them in???

[ctb]

For what it is worth, my thoughts are that if you are looking at an 03 or 05 with electronics, what kind of pickups do each one have and do you anticipate playing the one you select through an amp or PA. I recently chose an 03 over an 09 because the 03 had b-band a2.2 electronics and the 09 had b-band a5 electronics. Just a personal preference.

[Calvin]

Larrivee L style sounds better with mahogany, and OM sounds better with Rosewood.  (that's just my view though).

[sublro]

Does it have to do with the mohagony vs. rosewood or with the gloss vs.satin finish or with the fact that the OM-O5 opens up later than the OM-O3R?

Heinrich

Having owned both mahogany and rosewood Larrivee OM's (and several others as well) I would say

1) Definitely compare with new strings on. Strings make a BIG difference. Also, if the mahog sounds a bit "thin" with Elixir 80/20's, try Elixir Phosphor Bronze, this may fatten it up a bit. 

2) Difference in quality of woods in Larrivees is negligible soundwise between the O3 and 05 series. A little nicer looking perhaps in the 05 series, but Larrivee uses great woods in all their guitars, sonically speaking...

3) all things being equal, mahog is going to sound a bit more intimate, direct,  more "woody", rosewood a little more dark and rich and chimey with more authority in the bass, especially when strummed.  Mahog is more associated with fingerpicking, but that's really a matter of what sounds good to your ears.

4) Many people have also observed that satin finish guitars sound a bit more lively, though this can be quite subjective.

5) make sure they're both strung with something new, and then sit and compare the type of stuff you most like to play back and forth between them with your eyes closed...

6) If you're a visual person, allow yourself to factor in which one looks nicer to you. Anything that makes you bond more with your guitar is fair game!  :-)

Hope this helps

[Heinrich]

You guys have been very helpful,

so I wired them with nano elixirs medium (high E = 12). And - you guessed it allready - some stuff sounds better on a OM-03R and some better on a OM-05E (mahogany). I did not realise a better sustain or sound due to the selected soundwood of the 05-Model. They just sing in a different way -
OM-03RE: tight, a little metallic, shimmering, slightly more sustain, dynamics and volume (stronger bass). The G, B and E-string can sound a little tinny and metallic in open tunings. OM-05E: sweeterr, rounder, more midrange, a bit pianolike. The bass of the E-string is definitely lacking when playing chords on the 7th fret upwards. So it boils down to: tightness with a little more thump in the bass but thinner sounding B- and E-string versus overall sweetness, balanced D- to E-string  with a weaker bass of the E- and A-string on the 5th or seventh fret upwards.
This would call for maybe an L-model but I like the bodyshape of the OM-models most.
I played a few chords while my colleagues at work were listening - just to find out what appealed more to them as "auditorium" on the other side of the soundhole. The vote was aonpar: 2 for the rosewodd and two for  the mahogany model.
Tonight I will record a bit of picking and strumming - only using a mike, no efx added - and the I will tell the dedaler which one will be the keeper.
Just in case you are interested in listening to my poor playing - less for artistic than for "scientific" reasons - is ther any webspace in this forum I can add my stuff to, because I have no website?

Thank you so much for your time and advise,

Heinrich

[Calvin]

The OM-3R has a tusq saddle, you'd go further with the Bone ones (which really eliminate the tinny sound and gives the tone a more solid thump, once again i think the 03R would be your pick if you go the OM way.

[sublro]

Hi Calvin -

so the bone switch fattened up the tone a bit? I've been wondering if it would make a difference. i just may give it a try...

[mcozma]

Larrivee L style sounds better with mahogany, and OM sounds better with Rosewood.  (that's just my view though).

I think this is reasonable.

[Calvin]

Hi Calvin -

so the bone switch fattened up the tone a bit? I've been wondering if it would make a difference. i just may give it a try...

Well, just that I am a classical player, and I think I favor a bit more of a deeper bell like sound over a zing zing kind of sound (which I call the taylor sound), which some actually like better.  But A bone saddle blank is like 3 bucks, you can order one online from LMII or something, and just kind of sand it down, it's cheap and effective if have the free time, and it's kind of cool to make your own saddle.