Forum III impressions and discussion

[strawintogold]

and besides, what if something happens to 'the' guitar?

holly

[ST]

Hi Folks,

I was lucky enough to get to the Larrivée factory tour and Forum III  get-together.  The people who were there may remember just how much I enjoyed playing and hearing several of the Forum III Guitars. It was a wonderful time.

If there had been another like Danny's available (right then), I would have plunked down the cash and taken it home. No second thoughts, no regrets.

Later, Jim Holler and I had a talk to see what was available and by then some of the excitement of the moment had passed. I have since had a little more time to pull out some dusty cases and visit old friends. It's not that I've got so many, but that I tend to play the instruments that I take out for live shows. The others don't get a lot of play time.

Back to the point.

I thought the Forum III's that I saw and heard were wonderful instruments. I would love to have one. It probably wouldn't get played a lot. I am most comfortable with an L-Body with a cutaway. Just suits what I do best. So what happened at the get-together? Knowing what I know, and what I ultimately decided (at least for now) not to do... why was I so enthralled with the Forum III's?

Well, when people ask me, "What's your favourite Guitar?" the answer is always the same.

The one I'm playing.


Love the One You're With.

[BenF]

and besides, what if something happens to 'the' guitar?

holly

[flatlander]

Ben don't sell

1. Having a 2nd guitar is like money in the bank. If you sell it, that money may get appropriated for something else.

2. Some times you can make a better deal trading guitars than buying and selling.

3. It's great to have a second guitar if a friend or stranger happens buy and you discover that they play. I never leave the house to play with only one guitar, and have made myself and others happy  by letting others join in.
Flathead. 

4. If you use open tunings a lot, you could have one for that and perhaps put thicker guage strings on it for better tone when tuned down.

[pennerblue]

Hey Ben- I agree with the masses.  WAIT!  (Unless you really need the cash...)

Don't make a rash decision.  As Holly (I think) said, you future playing preferences may change, and the OM may be "just the ticket"...

Also, as mentioned, you can sometimes get a much better deal on a trade than a sale.

There's plenty of time.  Wait for the FIII honeymoon to expire.  Then wait a bit longer...

I thought about selling my L03R to get the FIII, now I'm very glad I didn't.

Penner

PS:  Congratulations on finding guitar Valhalla.

[BenF]

Advice appreciated, I agree that I will hold onto the OM for just now.  It is a great guitar, and I particularly agree that I could meet anyone anytime who plays.  The chance to jam with another player is something that I haven't really had for years, so it would be a real shame if the opportunity arose and was missed for that reason.

[teh]

Don't Sell. You have two great guitars and you've already paid the freight on both of them . Here are two other suggestions:

1) Set them both on guitar stands in different tunings so that you can easily switch back and forth. Put them back in the case when you are done for the day. I played my OM-35 last night, my D-35 this afternoon and am playing my parlor tonight.

2) Loan one of them to a good guitar playing buddy. My son has had my 12 String Larrivee for three weeks while I have been out of town. While I was gone, my D-35 went to Tennessee with me and my Backpacker made another recent road trip.

[Alpione]

Eureka!

I was in the "slightly underwhelmed" category with my F-III over the past couple of weeks.  Finally got around to putting some EJ16s on there (uncoated) and it made a huge difference.  Someone has mentioned before that getting a decent sounding open G chord was difficult with his F-III.  I had the same problem until I changed strings.  Now the overall sound is noticeably better and intonation/tuning seems to have been corrected.  . 

Maybe I just dislike coated strings, though I've never tried EXPs, but either way everything now seems much less muted and tight.

Adam

[BenF]

1) Set them both on guitar stands in different tunings so that you can easily switch back and forth. Put them back in the case when you are done for the day. I played my OM-35 last night, my D-35 this afternoon and am playing my parlor tonight.

Now that is a good idea.  Even just having the OM tuned to DADGAD would encourage me to play it rather than retune the LS. 

[flatlander]

And don't forget, if you want, try putting slightly higher guage string on 1-2-6 for better tone if OM stays tuned
down on those strings.

[BenF]

And don't forget, if you want, try putting slightly higher guage string on 1-2-6 for better tone if OM stays tuned
down on those strings.

Are there sets available for such a purpose, or do you have to make your own up?

[flatlander]

I just have a stash of various guages but 1 wound and 2 unwound should be less than 4 bucks here.
There are places on web in states where you can get custom sets or buy single strings cheap. For me I'm used to keeping extra 1st,2nd &3rd strings because I like an unusual combination on L and dread of light bass strings and medium trebles. But now I've found sets like that.
Anyway, if you are using mediums already on OM, for me that would probably be fine but if you're using
lights consider getting a 56 for 6th string, 17 for 2nd and 13 for 1st. That way the tension stays up and makes more sound when in DADGAD. Worth checking out anyway if you're gonaa keep one tuned there.

[flatlander]

here Ben. Another in a second I think.....
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/14975

Well there's bunch of info and sites to get strings cheap out there. You can get "unpackaged" strings dirt cheap as well in bulk, some come in straight box, not coiled up and for the price of 3 sets you get 10 sets!

[bluesman67]

This one is too easy, I'll pass on a specific comment Tuffy. 

[tuffythepug]

Joseph
had second thoughts and removed my post. ....  didn't want to offend anyone.  And now, of course, your post makes no sense.  sorry

[bluesman67]

...not too much different than many of my posts then...

[Mr_LV19E]

Dang, late again.  I seem to miss the good stuff that goes on around here.
Second thought, Lynn wouldn't start anything. He's very politically correct. 

[flatlander]

No, He only lets the bombshells rip bout once a month. His timer just hasn't gone off yet.
I'm just trying to fingure out what he  could have done with DADGAD or bulk straight strings that could
possibly have been in questionable taste? ?   But I used used to think cookies for kids was pretty innocent subject too.

[BluesMan1]

   Ben, as I think you've already decided & all have convinced you to, you really should have a minimum of 2 guitars. The idea of tuning one differently is cool, so you could just swap for different songs or styles. Don't know why you would only want one anyway. We all get a little bored of the same instrument @ times, each one inspiring us in a different way. And, like holly said, God forbid something happens to one of them. Then you'd be up a crick with no paddle (PA style talking)! Unless you're going to upgrade to a better fingerpicking guitar, if you feel you find one, keep them both. Then when your chops are up to par, get your dream picker, if that's what you're looking for & haven't found yet.
   My F-III will be here on Weds, have never played one, so can't comment on them. I've had my L-10, L-09, J-09, L-05, OM-05 (@ Jim's for sale), OM-03SP (Jim sold that one also), my recently acquired SD-50, & my soon to arrive LS-03 IS/HOG HB. Those are just my Larrivees I've gone through. Have had newer Gibsons, 2 Flammangs,a Dana Bourgeois, some Epiphones, Martins,Guilds. I could go on for a while. And thats just in the last 25 yrs.. Always come back to Larrivees for some reason. Gee, there must be some reason, & I bet it isn't the "best guitar for the buck" line. Just love the way they play & sound, & hate to be a hypocrite, best value for your $ almost anywhere. What you have are 2 great guitars, so since you don't seem to have a music store located within 15 mins. of you  like I have (2 high-end stores!), & many others within 1/2 hr., hang on to them until you grow old & get alot better. Then you mightfinally decide that maybe it's time to finally invest in one super-duper fingerpickin/flatpickin git that will hold you over the rest of your life. Doesn't sound like GAS is an issue here, just boredom. Tune 'em up differently, like most have said, throw a different gauge on for fingerstyle, get 2 stands, & have a blast! Isn't this what it's all about in the end anyway?
     Jeff   

[highervista]

My impressions about the FIII:

What I have: #22, hog b/s, cut-away, herringbone purfling, installed i-Mix. Great set-up by Trinity guitars, BTW (thanks!).

I love the way this guitar sounds and at the price that I paid.... wow. What I don't like: the tuners. I use a lot of open tunings and these tuners (Ping tuners?) aren't my cup of tea. They will hold one tuning (like standard tuning) just fine, but I switch around tunings quite a lot, especially playing out, these tuners just don't seem to work well. I'm playing out this weekend and was planning to take the FIII exclusively, but the tuner thing really bothers me... I'll probably take the FIII and a Huss and Dalton OM (as a backup to the FIII) if I find myself frustrated with this. I'll swap the tuners out on the FIII soon.  Enough said (my 2 cents of course  -- others may not have the same tuner "OCD" that I have).

The guitar is well built, sounds better than another custom OM (name not mentioned) that I had built for twice the $. Satin finish on the entire body -- my first experience and I think this will work our nicely.

Ron