to order L03R (with bearclaw figure) from factory or not?

[shellback]

Hello other proud Larrivee owners.I'm Shellback & own a wildwood L03 Red Spruce top-figured mahogany that is well,that even tone is accurate discription & now wanting a second L03R this time
with bearclaw figure,rosewood or Laurel,
But no more Don & Marty to go to,so,order from factory,or other,thanks for any suggestions. Shellback.

[eded]

Hello other proud Larrivee owners.I'm Shellback & own a wildwood L03 Red Spruce top-figured mahogany that is well,that even tone is accurate discription & now wanting a second L03R this time
with bearclaw figure,rosewood or Laurel,
But no more Don & Marty to go to,so,order from factory,or other,thanks for any suggestions. Shellback.

I believe you still need to go through a dealer to do custom orders.

Ed

[B0WIE]

As mentioned, contact a Larrivee dealer.
Bearclaw will be an availability thing and you'll have to accept however it looks because it can vary so much. They might have better sounding tops that aren't bearclaw so I can't recommend paying for cosmetic extras on an 03 just in case you ever decide to sell it, because 03s have a bit of a resale ceiling.

[Mikeymac]

As mentioned, contact a Larrivee dealer.
Bearclaw will be an availability thing and you'll have to accept however it looks because it can vary so much. They might have better sounding tops that aren't bearclaw so I can't recommend paying for cosmetic extras on an 03 just in case you ever decide to sell it, because 03s have a bit of a resale ceiling.

Also, I'm not personally a fan of bearclaw, so I tend to pass on guitars with bearclaw spruce tops. It's not for everyone - as a resale consideration.

[AZLiberty]

You want Bearclaw?   On purpose?

I am sure Larrivee can accommodate.   I'd work with a dealer like Ted.

[B0WIE]

If we're recommending dealers, I highly recommend Jason from Notable. Of the 3 Larrivee dealers I've dealt with, he's the only good experience I've had.

[rbpicker]

Jason is no longer in business.  OO bad, I bought a couple from him.  Website is still up, but I talked to him some time back and he said he was out of the game.

Rb

[Rockysdad]

Dave's Woodstock Guitars, gave me a deal on my L-10 that Notable wouldn't touch, he as much called me a liar on the price I was quoted, told him okay thanks for his time and ordered through Dave.

[Mikeymac]

I've also bought from Dave at Woodstock Guitars (I think the name has changed over the years...did he used to have Guitar Adoptions?) and was treated well.

[B0WIE]

Dave's Woodstock Guitars, gave me a deal on my L-10 that Notable wouldn't touch, he as much called me a liar on the price I was quoted, told him okay thanks for his time and ordered through Dave.

My experience with both sellers was the opposite. I won't get into the details here but I had to go through PayPal to get it resolved.

[shellback]

wanted to thank you all for insightful feedback about 03's and ordering bear claw figure sound boards,as for the umm.. soundness of my liking them I've never had one with a bad tone,well,because I only have one with a bear claw figure top which is a Martin guitar center Rosewood custom-so long to break in,however worth it (to my ears) thanks again! Shellback

[Dale_I]

Larrivee can deliver on bearclaw... but it is rarely seen in an -03 series. Due to the nature of bearclaw, it is next to impossible to view it in a picture and still experience the detail of it. I purchased mine sight unseen relying on Dave (at the time, Guitar Adoptions) and am so glad I did. Excellent experience, both dealer and guitar.

[shellback]

That's one stunning guitar Dale_I ! Thank you for sharing pics,very striking!  my experience-albeit limited to my Martin is that, bear claw takes time to open up as they tend to come from older trees,the stiffness to weight ratio blah-blah... anyway it finally opened up and sounds-again to my ears worth the wait & as You say Larrivee delivers indeed! instead of the L-03R I am thinking of a J03-R or J-09? or-geez GAS,pardon me... a Martin J-40,any opinions on Jumbo's out there? thanks all & be well! Shellback.

[Mikeymac]

instead of the L-03R I am thinking of a J03-R or J-09? or-geez GAS,pardon me... a Martin J-40,any opinions on Jumbo's out there? thanks all & be well! Shellback.

I've played a couple Larrivee J's (which are shaped like a Gibson or Guild J) over the years, never owned one.

BUT - I have owned and own several Martin Jumbos, and they are my favorite guitar for balanced tone, volume and comfort in a larger body size. Here's a quick review of each:

J-18 (Custom Shop, 2018) This was my first Martin Custom Shop experience. I ordered this one to replicate some specs of a limited edition Martin, the JDP-II. So it is basically D-18 cosmetics (woods) with a Jumbo body, a large soundhole, a rosewood bridge and wider saddle spacing (2 5/16") for fingerstyle comfort. I LOVE this guitar - it is currently my #1. Great Mahogany-Sitka tone, sounds big because of both the body and the large soundhole. Gives a dread a run for the money.

J-40 (2018) I ordered this sometime after the J-18. This took first place while I owned it. Just an incredible, rich full tone with great trebles up the neck - I owned a D-35 at the time, and this just had more of everything in a Rosewood-Sitka guitar; left that D-35 dread in the dust, so I sold the dread. This guitar was also beautiful, just enough bling. But... I couldn't get comfortable with the narrow saddle for fingerstyle (2 5/32", Martin's current standard series width), so I sold it with the goal of ordering a custom (see below).

J12-16GT (12 string, 16 Series Gloss Top) A great 12 string that I found online and took the plunge. At the time I owned a very nice Takamine 12-string, so I planned to A/B them and keep the one I liked best. The Martin sounded better, and also had a more comfortable neck, believe it or not! The Jumbo size is perfect for a 12-er (just ask Guild!) and it's a keeper.

J-28 (Custom Shop order...) I ordered this one last June 6, and it was originally supposed to be done in December - but - Covid changed all that. So it should be here in the next 6-8 weeks (March/April I was told). It replaces the J-40 with these changes: It's based cosmetically on the D-28, with a full profile neck, 2 5/16" saddle, Alpine Italian Spruce top and Golden Era (GE) top bracing. So the neck should meet my requirements and the Euro top and lighter bracing should take the tone and volume to the next level! If it does what I want, I'll probably have someone shave the braces on my J-18 to open it up a bit more. Pics and full review in the "Other Guitars" Forum when it arrives.

Some pics: J-18, J-40, both together and J12-16GT

[shellback]

Mikeymac thanks for the info & guitar porn ,those jumbo's look thunderous! I also am looking at the Martin custom shop J size 28 style ,seems the bracing pattern is different  from the J-40 in not being forward shifted "X" bracing ; I don't know how it would move the top-the J size 28 style that is, in being scalloped "X" bracing but from what you wrote and what I saw I think I would be a happy man with either indeed, just enough bling as you say on the J-40 bear claw figure or no ,still lots of soundboard & the Larrivee J03'S and J03-R's I've seen are just lovely guitars and that Larriveee tone! so one of those is going to help me explore open tunings a little more I hope and help make me a better guitar player even if my poor Art and Lutherie hasn't been able to travelling with me all these years,bless it's wee heart! Thanks Mikeymac! be well!

Shellback

[Mikeymac]

We should probably move this discussion over to the "other guitars" forum, but I'll just say one more thing about the Martin J-40: it DOES have forward shifted bracing, as per the specs on Martin's website (scroll all the way down the page to see)... are you thinking if you ordered a custom J-28 it would somehow have different top bracing? Can't see why it would...

https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/standard-series/J-40.html

[shellback]

  No disrespect to our Larrivee's, so pleased with my L03 wildwood custom! & proud of, I will post pictures of someday! in brief I was referring to a Maury's custom shop J size 28 style which differs from the J-40 in that it's bracing pattern is listed as scalloped "X" bracing rather then (J-40) Scalloped forward shifted "X" bracing so, I am not familiar in the nuances of those two different? bracing patterns tonal characteristics, in general  

[Jpurington]

I search out bearclaw tops.  When I look I usually only see it on very expensive guitars. 

My 1999 LV-04 bearclaw, flamed mahogany back and sides, gloss.

http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=52517.0;attach=32343;image


http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=52517.0;attach=32345;image

Unbelievable sounding

[shellback]

  Hi Jpurington! just got a chance to look at the pictures of your guitar and the bearclaw figure and silking I believe on the soundboard always (for whatever reason) has such visual appeal to me! contacting Larrivee about a J03R build very rapid response,however, my GAS may not allow for five to eight months "give or take" and those J-40's sound pretty darn good on you tube,just happen to like both the Larrivee & Martin tone as we describe it by a subjective consensus, can't go wrong either way really enjoy the tone right out of the box( I opened the guitar case and it sang!!) of my wildwood custom L03 with "Red spruce"-Sitka soundboard,looks like cedar! and that figured Hog,when I get off the ship I will send pics along and whatever guitar I am fortunate enough to purchase.all the best man!

[Mikeymac]

Mikeymac thanks for the info & guitar porn ,those jumbo's look thunderous! I also am looking at the Martin custom shop J size 28 style,

seems the bracing pattern is different  from the J-40 in not being forward shifted "X" bracing ;

I don't know how it would move the top-the J size 28 style that is, in being scalloped "X" bracing but from what you wrote and what I saw I think I would be a happy man with either indeed, just enough bling as you say on the J-40 bear claw figure or no ,still lots of soundboard & the Larrivee J03'S and J03-R's I've seen are just lovely guitars and that Larriveee tone! so one of those is going to help me explore open tunings a little more I hope and help make me a better guitar player even if my poor Art and Lutherie hasn't been able to travelling with me all these years,bless it's wee heart! Thanks Mikeymac! be well!

Shellback

I think ALL Martin Jumbo's have the same forward shifted scalloped bracing - it would be pretty safe to assume that Maury's custom J-28's are braced that way (as are my two custom shop guitars; J-18 and J-28).