New L-03 Italian Spruce is here!

Started by bluesman67, December 04, 2010, 03:44:22 PM

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Nice upgrade! Wonderful tuners on a wonderful guitar! Enjoy!
Dave
'12 L-03RW Italian Spruce (Wildwood)

 :ohmy: Hey Joseph
I only saw this thread now - I really should visit more often  :whistling:
Now that looks like an awesome guitar - I always wondered what an L-body in IS would be like, not to mention the hog b&S combo.  :rolleye: and the herringbone rosette is a nice touch too.
I love that spruce species on my OM, and it seems it is gaining more momentum and interest with builders in general.
Congrats, and enjoy her lots!!! - oh and those Gotohs look great, provides for a real performer's guitar hey?
:smile:

So is she getting a Mini Pure Western soon?  :winkin:
"To me...music exists to elevate us as far as possible above everyday life." ~ Gabriel Faure

Quote from: bluesman67 on December 20, 2010, 12:57:30 PM
I think they can be because they both add some overtones to the sound, unlike a sitka, and both excel with the light touch.  I think where they differ is when you kick an IS top into overdrive and start working it there's more headroom than an Engelmann.
The headroom comment seems on target as well. The light touch with Engelmann is as you say as well, but for strumming heavily Sitka may be the better choice. Although the IS is fine for me on the F-III for anything I play.

Not meaning to resurrect an old thread, but I found one of these L-03s with the Italian Spruce, and hog body the other day before heading out to work.

I was completely blown away by the guitar. Great sound and balance.  Fell for it in a heartbeat.

Maybe if it's still there when I get back from the mini-roadshow, I'll see if I can justify the new guitar.
Larrivee D-50 total sunburst
Larrivee D-03r
Gibson Custom Shop Advance Jumbo Gold
Gibson SG Classic
Gibson Les Paul Studio
Seagull S6+GT
Art&Lutherie 12 String
Epiphone M-20 Mandolin
1960/61 Supro Lap Steel
Squier P-Bass

I love mine, it's sounding even better after q couple months, my Forum I is getting gealous. The Italian spruce adds some life to it! They made 20 of them and I think most were sold by the time they shipped so its pretty cool that you found one of the sitting in a store.
bluesman67
HOGTOP CHARLOTTE

www.reverbnation.com/hogtopcharlotte

Got me one of these as well recently. Fantastic guitar. A level above my Lv-03r, which is hardly a shabby instrument. The L-03 IS surpassess the rosewood/sitka in a few ways, and the Lv-03r has had a couple thousand hours of play and braces shaved. [!!!]
L-03 Italian Spruce

Hadden,

How about elaborating on your observations and comparisons. We all know an LV-03r is a great guitar. A couple years back, I saw a used LV-03r at Sam ash and it was one of the best sounding guitars I played, this one happened to be left handed too!
bluesman67
HOGTOP CHARLOTTE

www.reverbnation.com/hogtopcharlotte

Quote from: bluesman67 on February 13, 2011, 08:50:49 AM
Hadden,

How about elaborating on your observations and comparisons. We all know an LV-03r is a great guitar. A couple years back, I saw a used LV-03r at Sam ash and it was one of the best sounding guitars I played, this one happened to be left handed too!

More volume. Lovely rounded punch to the notes and a refined open O sound to the overtones. A jumpy more nuanced treble. More forward transparent mids, better note separation in the bass. The difference is the IS. I've had a sitka mahogany larrivee before and it didn't match this one.

Another note. The upper half of the x-brace has a three inch section in the middle carved in almost to a point.
I'll compare more later because I have to go. Sounds like the Lv-03 is poor by comparison. I don't mean to do that. I'll give more detailed comparison to tell what I think the Lv does well, or better.
L-03 Italian Spruce

Quote from: hadden on February 13, 2011, 09:05:04 AM


Another note. The upper half of the x-brace has a three inch section in the middle carved in almost to a point.


I believe that's the parabolic bracing Larrivee uses instead of scalloped like many other builders.

Quote from: Denis on February 13, 2011, 02:12:48 PM
I believe that's the parabolic bracing Larrivee uses instead of scalloped like many other builders.

I mean instead of the regular squared off top there's a section that has been chisled to a point, so the top of the brace is sharp. I'd never seen this before in a Larrivee.
L-03 Italian Spruce

I picked up a D-03IS thinking it would be a great guitar to strum. I bought it off of an e-bay auction after it didn't sell from a dealer that clearly just needed to move some stock. I'm  almost embarrassed by what I paid, less than one fourth MSRP for a brand new, barely played, fully warrantied D-03IS.

What I thought would be a secondary, or even a guitar I would flip so that I could buy an SD-03 has rapidly become my absolute favorite. Its tone in open turnings especially when finger picked out shines anything, it just sparkles. Capo'd up to fifth or sixth for something like Damien Rice's Cannonball or Shawn Colvin's Shotgun Down the Avalanche is just amazing, the action is a little higher than I normally like but it still play's effortlessly. I feel like I got a one in a million instrument, this guitar speaks to me, I've never owned a guitar that did that and I will never willingly give it up!  

Was I just lucky or is this the same experience others have had with the limited run Mahogany Italian Spruce guitars?

Quote from: allanrtaylor on August 28, 2011, 07:37:33 PM


Was I just lucky or is this the same experience others have had with the limited run Mahogany Italian Spruce guitars?

Nope, they are great.
L-03 Italian Spruce


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