Those D-35's.........they always get me

Started by poodled, January 25, 2008, 06:26:42 PM

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Over the past 2 years I have bought and sold many Larrivees, Taylors, Gibsons and Martins trying to find THE ONE. While I realize the one for me might be different than the one for you.  I settled for a very special D-35. It is amazing and the best of about 50 guitars I went thru.

And on top of all that, I have always liked the look of the 3-piece back
jeff

Larrivee 00-03MT Forum IV  #30 of 29

A few years ago I ran across a left handed D-35 and a lefty D-28 that were being offered at a pretty sizable discount due to some cosmetic issues which were relatively minor.  I played both and I really liked the D-35.  I went home to think about it and the next day I went back with some cash in my pocket to give it another test before buying............Someone beat me to it though.    I've often wished I'd acted sooner.  That guitar made me sound better than I was.   I also really like the three piece back and that one was stunning.

My personal favorite. Mine has a story.

I first layed my hands on this guitar when I was a snot-nosed 16 year old sh**. I was dating this girl and we were at her house after school (just like the doors). Ummm, so I spy this acoustic gui sitting on a stand in the living room. I picked it up and tuned it, it was all dusty and fugly, old strings. I played some of whatever I was learning back then, probably some old classic rock or dead on it. Her old man walks in on us, expecting the worst and we are just sitting chilling the guitar. He picked this thing up and said he had been ignoring it, proceeded to blast out some bluegrass and counterpoint that completely boggled my little newb guitar mind, and told me to get the f* out of his house and stop twiddling his daughter.

So we met a few more times during the dating and whatnot. He turned out to be a really cool guy and we are still very good friends to this day. The chick is fat and babied and married off to some other schmuck :) I ended up working for her father throughout college rehabbing houses and flipping hopped up cars. He taught me a TON about music, math, guitars, life. When I moved away to California, some 15 or so years later, he gave me the guitar and said it was mine since the first time I played it.

The guitar itself is funky: it's an R&D model with the SN scratched out. There is a stamp with an RDXXX number on the inside of the back, and a "Property of CF Martin Not to be Sold" stamp nearby. The guitar should not exist. It would have had it's head removed as was (still is?) the Martin policy on seconds. So far as anyone can tell, including Martin, the guitar was stolen or removed from the factory by an employee or was perhaps "loved too much" by the designer to let it get hacked. It was purchased used by my friend around 1975 or so at a respected music store near Philly (Medley Music, in Bryn Mawr). It's brazillian as far as the couple luthiers that have worked on it can tell, but there's no documentation.

When I got it the neck needed a reset, the thing had been played to death, and it had sat out of the case on a stand with no regards for humidity its whole life. I had a reset, re-fret and clean up done on it and now it's good as old. Nothing sounds like this guitar that I have ever heard. It is actually not as loud as my larrivee, but it's got a neck and playing feel to it, and a tone that cannot be described other than "I like it". I will never sell this guitar and it is my favorite. The thing is aged, crazed and cracked, the soundhole is sunken and it has some irreversible aging to it. Setup correctly and properly humidified it plays like a dream and there is nothing like aged wood. That and it certainly is the one guitar I have played since I was a kid that I STILL HAVE :)

Love it.

2002 Larrivee California Special Ed. LV19?
1972 Martin D-35
1969 Harmony Sovereign 1260
1995 Gibson LP Custom wine
2000 Heritage Millenium 2k
1990's Parker Fly Deluxe
2004 Brian Moore i gtr

Quote from: drewzee87t on February 14, 2008, 03:05:52 AM
My personal favorite. Mine has a story.

I first layed my hands on this guitar when I was a snot-nosed 16 year old sh**. I was dating this girl and we were at her house after school (just like the doors). Ummm, so I spy this acoustic gui sitting on a stand in the living room. I picked it up and tuned it, it was all dusty and fugly, old strings. I played some of whatever I was learning back then, probably some old classic rock or dead on it. Her old man walks in on us, expecting the worst and we are just sitting chilling the guitar. He picked this thing up and said he had been ignoring it, proceeded to blast out some bluegrass and counterpoint that completely boggled my little newb guitar mind, and told me to get the f* out of his house and stop twiddling his daughter.

So we met a few more times during the dating and whatnot. He turned out to be a really cool guy and we are still very good friends to this day. The chick is fat and babied and married off to some other schmuck :) I ended up working for her father throughout college rehabbing houses and flipping hopped up cars. He taught me a TON about music, math, guitars, life. When I moved away to California, some 15 or so years later, he gave me the guitar and said it was mine since the first time I played it.

The guitar itself is funky: it's an R&D model with the SN scratched out. There is a stamp with an RDXXX number on the inside of the back, and a "Property of CF Martin Not to be Sold" stamp nearby. The guitar should not exist. It would have had it's head removed as was (still is?) the Martin policy on seconds. So far as anyone can tell, including Martin, the guitar was stolen or removed from the factory by an employee or was perhaps "loved too much" by the designer to let it get hacked. It was purchased used by my friend around 1975 or so at a respected music store near Philly (Medley Music, in Bryn Mawr). It's brazillian as far as the couple luthiers that have worked on it can tell, but there's no documentation.

When I got it the neck needed a reset, the thing had been played to death, and it had sat out of the case on a stand with no regards for humidity its whole life. I had a reset, re-fret and clean up done on it and now it's good as old. Nothing sounds like this guitar that I have ever heard. It is actually not as loud as my larrivee, but it's got a neck and playing feel to it, and a tone that cannot be described other than "I like it". I will never sell this guitar and it is my favorite. The thing is aged, crazed and cracked, the soundhole is sunken and it has some irreversible aging to it. Setup correctly and properly humidified it plays like a dream and there is nothing like aged wood. That and it certainly is the one guitar I have played since I was a kid that I STILL HAVE :)

Love it.

Interesting story   :thumbsup
2005 Larrivée  LV-03
2010 Larrivée  00-03 Forum IV
2011 Larrivée  RS-04
2013 Larrivée  D-40

Wow Drew- sounds like some serious character in that 35.

They certainly are something special. There's one in a nearby store that I played a couple of times but now try to steer clear of for fear of excessive GAS urges. If I ever hit the lottery it's on my short list of impulse purchases.
Neil K


2013 DIY Medium Jumbo (western red cedar/S. American Mahogany)
2013 McKnight Ukulele
2009 Martin D-16GT
2006 Larrivée OM-03R
1998 Fender American Standard Stratocaster, Ash Body, Natural finish
1989 Kramer Striker 610

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