"Bad" Guitar for the Price?

[ducktrapper]

Good guitar for the price. We always hear this about Larrivées. Best bang for the buck and all. While it is certainly true, I often find it a backhanded compliment. Using the same logic, it seems to me that many of Larrivée's competitors produce "bad" guitars for the price. That is, it sounds pretty good, plays alright (looks at price tag) ... Ha ha ha ha ha!!!   
Why separate the quality from the cost? When price stops mattering we'll be living in a different world. If all guitars cost exactly the same? What would I play? My L09. My L01. My OOO50. And anything else I happened to like and was able to afford! 

[Walkerman]

Good guitar for the price. We always hear this about Larrivées. Best bang for the buck and all. While it is certainly true, I often find it a backhanded compliment. Using the same logic, it seems to me that many of Larrivée's competitors produce "bad" guitars for the price. That is, it sounds pretty good, plays alright (looks at price tag) ... Ha ha ha ha ha!!!   
Why separate the quality from the cost? When price stops mattering we'll be living in a different world. If all guitars cost exactly the same? What would I play? My L09. My L01. My OOO50. And anything else I happened to like and was able to afford! 

Well, you can pay the same for a Toyota or a Ford....but I think most would agree that the Toyota gives you more bang for your buck.  That doesn't mean the the Ford is necessarily a "bad car"....it just means that for the money, a Toyota is a superior automobile.

[Tony Burns]

i guess it depends on how you look at it or what your comparing it against - to some people Blueridge might be a better bang for the buck guitar ( I dont think so - but someone might )- but theirs alot to consider when buying any guitar - what your getting for the money your paying - will it get better with age , hold a decent resale value ( if and when you get tired of it etc ) hold together well with time - make you happy when you play it -- you know what im trying to get at here im sure - I think their a great value and have a very different sound compared to other guitars which put them in a unique situation -

[Hudman]

I look at it this way: The 03 Series are under-priced. Most people are talking about the 03 Series when make those type of comments.

[ducktrapper]

i guess it depends on how you look at it or what your comparing it against - to some people Blueridge might be a better bang for the buck guitar ( I dont think so - but someone might )- but theirs alot to consider when buying any guitar - what your getting for the money your paying - will it get better with age , hold a decent resale value ( if and when you get tired of it etc ) hold together well with time - make you happy when you play it -- you know what im trying to get at here im sure - I think their a great value and have a very different sound compared to other guitars which put them in a unique situation -

Blueridge might be fabulous if they just lost the ugly.   
Hey I'm sort of kidding folks but kidding on the square as I think my kidding has a lot of truth to it. Anyway, I don't care what they cost, I prefer the Larrivée design to anything out there. The L, especially, is the real deal!         

[Hudman]

Blueridge might be fabulous if they just lost the ugly.   
Hey I'm sort of kidding folks but kidding on the square as I think my kidding has a lot of truth to it. Anyway, I don't care what they cost, I prefer the Larrivée design to anything out there. The L, especially, is the real deal!         

The L is very nice, but I think Larrivee makes a great OM too.

[Winnipeg]

The L is very nice, but I think Larrivee makes a great OM too.

I don't think there is much wrong with the D either. As mentioned, the entire 03 series is tough to beat.

[jeremy3220]

Good guitar for the price. We always hear this about Larrivées. Best bang for the buck and all. While it is certainly true, I often find it a backhanded compliment. Using the same logic, it seems to me that many of Larrivée's competitors produce "bad" guitars for the price. That is, it sounds pretty good, plays alright (looks at price tag) ... Ha ha ha ha ha!!! 

I don't feel the need to take such an extreme position. I would say many of Larrivee's competitors' prices match up well with their quality. There is one manufacture I often think makes poor guitars for the price, but that's the only one I can think of. I think the 03 series are well above average for their price range but once you get to the 05's and up it's anyone's ballgame.

[Michael1964]

I can't believe you guys even said BlueRidge... Yuck! They are made in China...  I would not have one if it were some magical guitar and made me play like Tony Rice or Doc Watson. Folks feel like they saved all sorts of money by getting one. I want to buy products made in the USA. I bet the folks in Ca are liking my attitude, my way of thinking will keep them in a JOB. I hope others will return the favor and buy products made in the US. You know all of us will not be able to work at McDonalds..... we need to produce a product, being a bread winner of sorts. Like you go to Wal-Mart and saved money over the past 15 year.... Now all your mom and pop stores are gone.... Now Wal-Mart is the only store left in town.... Now you get to pay their price and have no other options... OK, what did that cost ya?

Now save money money and live better,... I can't even find a pair of tennis shoes made in the US... I know we did make shoes in the US at one time... (Oh yeah, we are gonna, save money and live better and work for Mc Ds, because the US folks can't make a tennis shoe... I did find some socks made in the US, I guess we still know how to make a pair of socks....

I guess I better stop before I get kicked out of the forum...

[Sandro]

Like you go to Wal-Mart and saved money over the past 15 year.... Now all your mom and pop stores are gone.... Now Wal-Mart is the only store left in town.... Now you get to pay their price and have no other options...

Thats' capitalism, honey....   

[jimmy buffett]

... I want to buy products made in the USA. I bet the folks in Ca are liking my attitude, my way of thinking will keep them in a JOB. I hope others will return the favor and buy products made in the US.

Michael1964,

Does this mean that you would not purchase any of the Larrivee 03 series guitars?

Just curious...

jimmy

[Michael1964]

Hi, Jimmy,

That is kind of a very hard question for me. I am really not sure. If my D-60 was made in Canada, I just might still have it. I have always felt that trade with Canada is much more fair. They are not shipping toys containing lead and does not have a government that can keeps their currency at some outrageously low rate so to flood other markets with products. If it was made in China, I would not for sure. I would not have ever even given it a chance.

[bluesman67]

yup Duck, it is a backhanded compliment.  When someone says good guitar for the money, it can imply that you are settling for the best you can afford and that isn't the case at all.  I would pay double if there was something twice as good, but when you look at guitars that cost twice as much as an 03, they aren't even AS GOOD, yet alone twice as good.  I am bias because I my preference is plain and simple looking guitars so I personally don't put any value on the additional craftsmanship that goes into guitars beyond what I get in an 03 model.  The topic of capitalism and the economy is always an interesting one to debate so maybe another thread can be started and we can stay on Duck's topic with this one.

[DaveyO]

Wouldnt it be intersting to put a "Collings" or Santa Cruz headstock on my D05 and say it was a "new model"?
I would say the consumer reviews would be exellent.
And how much would the price be? that would be higher as well , wouldnt you say?
Dave

[Tony Burns]

I can't believe you guys even said BlueRidge... Yuck! They are made in China...  I would not have one if it were some magical guitar and made me play like Tony Rice or Doc Watson. Folks feel like they saved all sorts of money by getting one. I want to buy products made in the USA. I bet the folks in Ca are liking my attitude, my way of thinking will keep them in a JOB. I hope others will return the favor and buy products made in the US. You know all of us will not be able to work at McDonalds..... we need to produce a product, being a bread winner of sorts. Like you go to Wal-Mart and saved money over the past 15 year.... Now all your mom and pop stores are gone.... Now Wal-Mart is the only store left in town.... Now you get to pay their price and have no other options... OK, what did that cost ya?

Now save money money and live better,... I can't even find a pair of tennis shoes made in the US... I know we did make shoes in the US at one time... (Oh yeah, we are gonna, save money and live better and work for Mc Ds, because the US folks can't make a tennis shoe... I did find some socks made in the US, I guess we still know how to make a pair of socks....

I guess I better stop before I get kicked out of the forum...

Michael i feel the same way you do  - heck back in the seventies I bought a Yamaha 12 string that was made in the orient - and did i did funny looks from some of my Gibson ,Martin friends - but at the time it cost me about 125 with a case and it was all i could afford - so it fit the bill  - Im big on the buy US thing as well - Im totally against any country that doesnt have simple human rights and treats their people like slaves ( China in particular ) and besides all of that Blueridge does not have a life time warranty like Larrivee , Martin etc. - so that alone should tell you they dont believe in or support their own products .

[Walkerman]

I can't believe you guys even said BlueRidge... Yuck! They are made in China...  I would not have one if it were some magical guitar and made me play like Tony Rice or Doc Watson. Folks feel like they saved all sorts of money by getting one. I want to buy products made in the USA. I bet the folks in Ca are liking my attitude, my way of thinking will keep them in a JOB. I hope others will return the favor and buy products made in the US. You know all of us will not be able to work at McDonalds..... we need to produce a product, being a bread winner of sorts. Like you go to Wal-Mart and saved money over the past 15 year.... Now all your mom and pop stores are gone.... Now Wal-Mart is the only store left in town.... Now you get to pay their price and have no other options... OK, what did that cost ya?

Now save money money and live better,... I can't even find a pair of tennis shoes made in the US... I know we did make shoes in the US at one time... (Oh yeah, we are gonna, save money and live better and work for Mc Ds, because the US folks can't make a tennis shoe... I did find some socks made in the US, I guess we still know how to make a pair of socks....

I guess I better stop before I get kicked out of the forum...

You know, we ship products all over the world.  Where would we be if folks said "yuck, that widget was made in america, give me a widget made in good ol' Ethiopia...."

It's a global economy.  We're all in it together.  Remember what protectionism got us in the 30's. 

[dennq]

Well, you can pay the same for a Toyota or a Ford....but I think most would agree that the Toyota gives you more bang for your buck.  That doesn't mean the the Ford is necessarily a "bad car"....it just means that for the money, a Toyota is a superior automobile.

Just to let you know that 11% of the money spent on that Toyota stays in the country and the rest leaves the country to support the Japanese economy. Are you really getting more for your money. I think not. I would rather buy domestic goods and leave my hard earned dollars at home.

[jeremy3220]

Wouldnt it be intersting to put a "Collings" or Santa Cruz headstock on my D05 and say it was a "new model"?
I would say the consumer reviews would be exellent.

Yeh, the reviews would say 'I don't know what happened to my guitar when it was being built but there must be at least two Santa Cruz guitars out there that are missing their bracing'

[Mr_LV19E]

Michael1964,

Does this mean that you would not purchase any of the Larrivee 03 series guitars?

Just curious...

jimmy

I would, and have bought products made in Canada. Workers in Canada are paid decent wages.

[Chuck40]

Martin 15 series guitars get the same sort of comments. But, they are fine guitars in their own right, without any adornment. They sound different, and have a character all their own. The fact that they are much lower in cost than the upper end Martins is just a plus. If you like that sound and that look, then no problem.
Same with the 03 series Larrivees, as others have noted. Some folks just have to have glossy finishes and extra bling; if that doesn't enter into your thinking and tone is the only consideration, then an 03 will be right in the running.
As a person what cannot just go drop several thousand dollars for a guitar, the fact that I can get a really fine sounding guitar for less than $1000 is a great thing. I don't believe that it is a great guitar for the money - it is a great guitar, without a lot of extras. That suits me fine.