OO-40 Legacy Pearl Edition

Started by markj, April 18, 2018, 03:52:43 PM

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Purchased this beauty from Strings4Him (Steve) right here on the forum.

Man is she gorgeous and perfect! Like new in every way.

Thank you Steve for a great guitar and a smooth transaction.











1977 Classical
2015 OO-40
2017 LV-10 50th Annniversary #2/50
2021 LSV-03 Forum VI
2023 Hatfield BJG Strong Tenor low G Ukulele #003

Well done all ways around Congrats to you both!!!  :thumbsup
Larrivee Electrics - My Dream then and Now!!!!!<br /><br />Forum IV     00-03MT       #4      (Treasured)

Thanks Mark.  So glad you love it.  Remember, you promised me first dibs if you ever want to sell it :-)

I remember. However, I don't think my youngest daughter will ever let me sell it. She fell in love with it at first strum. She's a beginner but found that she loves playing and I look forward to watching her develop as a guitarist.
1977 Classical
2015 OO-40
2017 LV-10 50th Annniversary #2/50
2021 LSV-03 Forum VI
2023 Hatfield BJG Strong Tenor low G Ukulele #003

Congrats  :nice guitar: Enjoy it for years.
Herman.

L-10, L-03FM, OM-05
Forum VI, & "others"

Looks fantastic! Gotta love 12 fretters!
2010 Larrivee Forum IV
1974 Martin D-28
"Frankenstein" 1948 Gibson J-50 Body/L-00 Neck
2016 Halcyon NL-00
2013 Martin Jeff Tweedy DB-00
1945 Epiphone Triumph Archtop
1972 Guild Killdeer F112-6 Part Deux (Name Created by adorshki on the Let's talk Guild Forum)
2008 Martin 000-18 Norman Blake
http://www.patrickcoopermusic.com

 :nice guitar:  Makes me want to pick up a small body Larrivee some day.
https://soundcloud.com/247hoopsfan

1971 Yamaha FG200 (My original guitar)
1996 Yamaha DW5S
2002 Yamaha LL500
1990 Goodall Rosewood Standard
2007 Larrrivee JCL 40th Anniversary
1998 Larrivee OM5MT
1998 Larrivee D10 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"
1998 Larrivee D09 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"

What a wonderful guitar for your daughter! Congrats!
2017 Larrivee D-40 8>)
2018 Taylor GS Mini Koa

Congrats!  Nothing more exciting than seeing a kid excited about guitar!
2010 LSV-11e
2002 4E Jose Ramirez
1998 S6+folk Seagull
1986 Charvel Model 3A
2001 Fender Jazz bass
1935 A-OO Gibson mandolin
1815 JG Hamm violin

That is a stunning guitar.
The only feature separating it from my 00-40 custom is yours' pyramid bridge, I would imagine they sound pretty much the same....
"To me...music exists to elevate us as far as possible above everyday life." ~ Gabriel Faure

Gorgeous 12-fret. I love the headstock- torch inlay, and always prefer pyramid bridges.
Steve is good people.
I'm sure this guitar will bring you years of enjoyment.

About that bridge...

After I received the guitar and got over my initial "little kid, smiling from ear to ear, in a state of absolute bliss" state of mind (do we ever really get over it?) , I took the guitar to see my local Luthier/Repair Tech/Larrivee Dealer. I had Bill inspect the guitar and all appeared well until he found the slight belly bulge which lead him to the rear of a bridge which had lifted away from the top. He could get his thin mini spatula between the bridge and the top. He gave me an estimate of the repair charges and suggested that I exercise my 48 hour right of refusal, send the guitar back to Steve, and try to forget about how sweet it was.

I sent Steve a PM, and told him about the problems, included a photo of the bridge lifting in the rear. I know it cast a huge cloud of disappointment over him when he found out. He had no idea that the guitar had these issues. Seems it was not always humidified properly and had dried out. Steve asked if we could come to an arrangement where he would issue a partial refund, and I would keep the guitar and have it repaired.  It was an agonizing decision. I took most of that day, discussing it with my repair guy, my wife, my daughter (who just loves it), my guitar buddies, and of course, myself.  I decided to take a risk on it because it really is that sweet of a guitar.  We came to an agreement, Steve promptly issued the partial refund and I kept the guitar.

My repair guy is very busy. He could not even think about bringing it into the shop for at least a month, maybe more. So, I sent a support request off to Larrivee from the website.

Almost immediately, Jr, responded to my inquiry and told me to fill out the RA form, also to make sure all my guitars, including the OO-40 was registered in my name, etc.  He stated that he would try to expedite the time for repair and try to keep costs down.

I do like the pyramid bridge it's so elegant and very sexy as the wings are so thin and look awesome. I started reading up on them. I found more than few repair techs and luthiers on the internet state that they do not provide as much strength as a "belly bridge" and seem to suffer more lifting problems as a result. I also found the opposite opinion regarding pyramids that have been on old Martins for 100 years, etc. Regardless of what is true and factual, I inquired about having the pyramid bridge replaced with a standard OO bridge, and I would like the Vine inlay on the bridge wings. Willing to pay the upcharge, etc. Don't want to change the tone or geometry, etc but, damnit, I fell in love with inlay work ever since taking delivery of my LV-10 50th.  I thought, how cool would it be if they could match or compliment the colors of the abalone in the torch "flame". I put all of that including, the statement that if they didn't want to replace it for any reason, I would be fine with it.

So I get the RA, with instructions, write my letter with request for a replacement bridge with Vine inlay, packed it up in the LV-10's original box from Larrivee, and ship it to Oxnard...

Having no idea what it will cost for a factory repair or bridge replacement, I didn't care. Even if I spent more than the partial refund from Steve, it was going to be worth it to me.

It takes 5 days to get to Oxnard from Wisconsin. It arrives Friday afternoon according to the UPS tracking. At 4:18pm CDT, I receive an email from Larrivee Service stating that they had received it, and it had arrived safe and sound. It was being put into the queue, for assessment. As soon as the assessment is complete, they will notify me.  Being a Friday afternoon, I figured I would not hear anything until the next week at the very earliest. But no! 42 minutes later at 5:00pm CDT I receive another email from Larrivee Service stating that the assessment was completed and they did find the issues that I stated in the RA letter. They also stated that the guitar was very dry. On a scale of 1-10 they graded it a 3. Then the unexpected happened. The told me that they will repair the guitar, replacing the bridge with an OO Bridge with Vine Inlay Bridge Wings. Then stated that there will be no charge for any of it!  HUH? All I would be responsible for is the return shipping. I was floored. I'm not the original owner, I send a guitar in for repair, fully expecting to spend money for said repair. And the company repairs it, and even "upgrades it" IMO, for no charge. They did state that they didn't think the drying out was 100% responsible for the bridge lifting, so maybe they found a manufacturing issue? The guitar is only 3 years old. Maybe that played into this? Or maybe, they just like me?  lol

I haven't head anything since sending the payment for the return shipping. I suspect it will take several weeks to repair.

I did send Steve this information as I wanted to be fully upfront about this with him. I was quoted an amount for repair, Steve refunded that amount. I didn't have to spend that amount yet, I feel that the guitars value reflects the net amount I paid for it after all of my expenses after the sale, and the resale value hit it will take for having been repaired.  He agreed and thanked me for being upfront about this situation. I felt bad that he had to find out about it this way. Had he known, he could have sent it in, and had it repaired before selling it. He probably would have an extra hundred or two in his pocket. But as they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Now I can't wait for its return. I get to have another NGD all over again!  :)
1977 Classical
2015 OO-40
2017 LV-10 50th Annniversary #2/50
2021 LSV-03 Forum VI
2023 Hatfield BJG Strong Tenor low G Ukulele #003

That's great that Larrivee is taking care of things like this, *class act* as far as I'm concerned. What a great guitar company!
Herman.

L-10, L-03FM, OM-05
Forum VI, & "others"

Agreed!  And two, second generation of Guitar players in my family, feel the same way. I am sure when it comes time for either of them to buy a new guitar, a new Larrivee will probably be their choice.
1977 Classical
2015 OO-40
2017 LV-10 50th Annniversary #2/50
2021 LSV-03 Forum VI
2023 Hatfield BJG Strong Tenor low G Ukulele #003

The OO-40 is heading back from the factory repair. It is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.  I will have another NGD for it, but keep it contained in this thread. I will post photos of the new bridge, etc. 

I'm like a little kid on Christmas eve...
1977 Classical
2015 OO-40
2017 LV-10 50th Annniversary #2/50
2021 LSV-03 Forum VI
2023 Hatfield BJG Strong Tenor low G Ukulele #003

Thanks for sharing your whole experience from start to near end, I loved reading this thread, real life drama!!  But most of all, I love how Larrivee knows the meaning of customer service and how they stand behind their product!!!  I didn't need another reason to buy and own a Larrivee guitar but this experience you shared only solidifies my feelings for the great family company Larrivee is.  I feel we are all part of that family!!!  Enjoy NGD 2 when it arrives!!   :nice guitar:
Lord of the STRINGS * Kronbauer TDK *  Taylor 614ce  *  Larrivee LV-03RE  *  Taylor 810ce  *  Martin D-18 Custom  *  Gibson ES - Les Paul  *  Gibson J-45  *  Fender Telecaster  *  Jason Romero banjo  *   National Estralita Resonator * Muth mandolin

Wow - that took a long time to repair! But I'm sure they did an excellent job - and the price was right!

My '92 OM-05 had the bridge start lifting early in it's life (it was under 3-5 years old). My dealer contacted Larrivee, and they agreed to pay for the warranty work done by a local luthier (one with an excellent reputation). They did an excellent invisible repair, and now over 20 years later, I've never had another issue with it, and the guitar has blossomed and sounds phenomenal.

:donut :coffee :donut2 :coffee
2021 C-03R TE left-handed
Larrivee owner since 1992

It was a long time but then, I requested a new bridge be made and not a simple bridge. They made a new Vine Inlay OO bridge for it. I figured they would have those in stock but apparently they do not. So I had to wait. I am sure if they had just re-glued the original bridge back on, it would have turned around a lot faster.
1977 Classical
2015 OO-40
2017 LV-10 50th Annniversary #2/50
2021 LSV-03 Forum VI
2023 Hatfield BJG Strong Tenor low G Ukulele #003

And, she's home!   :nana_guitar

I fell in love with the sound all over again.


1977 Classical
2015 OO-40
2017 LV-10 50th Annniversary #2/50
2021 LSV-03 Forum VI
2023 Hatfield BJG Strong Tenor low G Ukulele #003

Glad to hear about the happy resolution. Respect to Steve for making good, he seems like a great guy.
I almost went after that guitar when I saw it listed but I had just bought a 00. Enjoy that beauty!
D-09 Brazilian w/ Eagle inlay. D-02-12
Used to own and love; SD-50, J70 maple Mermaid, SD60sbt, D03R, LV03E.

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