new member, old guitar

[deadrunner]

Hi, all. I am caretaking an estate owned Larivee which may or may not be sold in the near future. Sorry to be cryptic.

It's a C19M, maple back and sides, with a hidden pickup and two knobs on the shoulder. I have a Taylor with the same build and configuration, and I know the maple on maple not to everyon's taste, but oh, my, what a splendid guitar. The neck and action are not quite to my taste, but the tone and resonance and overall acoustics are simply spectacular.

So on the business end, I have read only a little on Larrivees (you had me at Tommy Emmanuel). This is a 1991 in close to, if not excellent condition. A couple of superficial dings, possibly repairable. Is this vintage (and this model) more or less desirable? Where would I fetch the most appreciation and the best price? Any ideas for first choice for shipping such a wonderful instrument? Yes, it comes with a well fitted hardshell case.

Any directions on the path are greatly appreciated. Hurry please; I'm falling in love with this guitar.

[deadrunner]

 

Uh, whoops . . .

. . . have a donut! (I'm trying to cut back.)

[ducktrapper]

Hi, all. I am caretaking an estate owned Larivee which may or may not be sold in the near future. Sorry to be cryptic.

It's a C19M, maple back and sides, with a hidden pickup and two knobs on the shoulder. I have a Taylor with the same build and configuration, and I know the maple on maple not to everyon's taste, but oh, my, what a splendid guitar. The neck and action are not quite to my taste, but the tone and resonance and overall acoustics are simply spectacular.

So on the business end, I have read only a little on Larrivees (you had me at Tommy Emmanuel). This is a 1991 in close to, if not excellent condition. A couple of superficial dings, possibly repairable. Is this vintage (and this model) more or less desirable? Where would I fetch the most appreciation and the best price? Any ideas for first choice for shipping such a wonderful instrument? Yes, it comes with a well fitted hardshell case.

Any directions on the path are greatly appreciated. Hurry please; I'm falling in love with this guitar.

Hi and welcome. Thanks for the donuts. Way desirable! If I was only going to have one, I'd keep it and sell the Taylor but that's just me. 

[Mikeymac]

Well, you may as well plan on keeping it, cuz resale on Larrivees is horrible! They're great guitars, but not widely known (like Taylor, Martin, Gibson, Guild) - mostly because Larrivee has never invested much in marketing like Taylor and others.

(You could probably expect to get between $1,200 and $1,500 for it, maybe a little more with the right buyer and circumstances. Sad - I know; it's worth so much more.)

I'm sure it's wonderful, and I'm glad it's not a lefty - that way I'm not tempted! 

[jpmist]

To add to MM, that's a very rare niche guitar and I'd agree with that price. The maple back and side would put me off unless I had it in my hands to play and hear.

Selling options are to post it on eBay and/or Reverb with a buy it now price 15% over what you'd settle for. A better option would be to join the Acoustic Guitar Forum, pay their $25 fee to post guitars for sale and post it there.  The AGF has a lot of old guy collectors like me checking the For Sale section daily for niche guitars they can't find anywhere else.

As far as shipping, I think all of them have been guilty of flinging guitar boxes like it's an Olympic sport, but my bias is FedEx, UPS and USPS in that order. Be sure to get a free used guitar shipping box from a near by guitar store and make sure it's sent insured. Sorry about the circumstances.

Best of luck!

[B0WIE]

Being a 19 series I think you're likely to get $1,500 to $1,800. We're at a weird point economically, where the pandemic buying spree is winding down and people are starting to buckle down. So, that may affect your ability to sell it. You're not going to get what it's "worth" so I recommend keeping it if you like it. If it were me I'd sell the Taylor and keep the Larrivee.

As far as where to sell, Reverb is popular because fees are low, but there's less eyes on your listing so you generally make less and sell slower. EBay is the quickest way to get it sold, especially if you ship internationally, but the fees are rough. I wouldn't bother with AGF as there's little interest in Larrivees there and they want you to pay to be able to list something. Guitars like this often get bumped for ages with no love on AGF.
Having owned a number of nice Larrivees, I'll say this forum has always resulted in the best transactions. Good folks that are easy to work with and willing to pay a fair price.

[deadrunner]

For the record, under ordinary circumstances I would most likely keep the Larrivee and sell the Taylor, but the Taylor was a gift (a really, really nice gift) and has a personal provenance. My temptation is to keep the C19 in the estate's keeping so I can visit from time to time.

[mike in lytle]

Did I miss something? What is the serial number?
Mike

[deadrunner]

No, I did not post the serial number, although I did run it through the Larrivee "authenticator."
Build date was May/June (as I recall) 1991.

This group is great. You guys really know your stuff and present without a lot of patter and fluff. On the maple on maple combo: I specifically selected that on my Taylor. Crisp highs and thumping bass, with pretty damped down mids. It's just how I roll, though arguably not classic acoustic set up. FWIW, I EQ most of my electrified stuff (guitars, PAs, stereo stuff) that way as well Purely preference, nothing more.

As the to C19, I've never heard bass like that from an acoustic guitar. Superb.

[Mikeymac]

On the maple on maple combo: I specifically selected that on my Taylor. Crisp highs and thumping bass, with pretty damped down mids. It's just how I roll, though arguably not classic acoustic set up. FWIW, I EQ most of my electrified stuff (guitars, PAs, stereo stuff) that way as well Purely preference, nothing more.

Yes, regarding Maple, many folks are suspicious or otherwise avoid it. The 600 Series Taylors are the ones I'm most impressed with (along with the new American Dream series, which are excellent in built, materials and tone for a great price point). And my Flamed Maple Larrivee L-09 (which Larrivee labeled as an L-04 for a brief time when Maple b&s guitars got that "04" numerical designation) is a wonderful sounding guitar.

It's not my loudest Larrivee L, but there is a clarity to the tone, while still being warm and having a solid bass - and I'm looking forward to putting a K&K pickup in this one, because, like you, I believe it will EQ very nicely.

[johnny37]

I have a lefty 1991 C19 that is EIR back and sides, Sitka spruce top with eagle headstock inlay that I bought brand new in 1991. At that time the guitar was about $2000 CDN.  I would not part with it at this point, but to sell it I know I'd only get in the $1500 range fir it in all likelihood. To buy the same guitar new today from Larrivee would likely run me about $4000 CDN. Shame that the market is not better, as the Larrivee 19 series guitars will more than hold their own with guitars from far better known makers (Taylor, Martin) and I think they are far better than anything from Gibson and Fender.  My opinion only though.   

[deadrunner]

Since you asked . . . 

. . . I made the mistake of hauling out the maple/maple Taylor 614CE and, well, while I slightly prefer the neck and action, it does have a very different sound profile from the C19. Got to say, to me the Larrivee "breathes" more, or deeper, or something.

The estate wants to essentially buy this wonderful guitar and gift it to me (!!) for the work I am doing on the rest of this rather eclectic collection, including two Suhr Strats that seem quite coveted as well. Another high end custom (electric) builder that stepped up his production game. As you might expect, I'm a Fender purist with more than I can play, so these are most likely to be sold. Any Suhr insights are welcome.

Just curious; what strings in particular would have been stock or recommended for the C19? I pretty much stick to Elixir Polyweb on most of my stuff.

[B0WIE]

Since you asked . . . 

. . . I made the mistake of hauling out the maple/maple Taylor 614CE and, well, while I slightly prefer the neck and action, it does have a very different sound profile from the C19. Got to say, to me the Larrivee "breathes" more, or deeper, or something.

The estate wants to essentially buy this wonderful guitar and gift it to me (!!) for the work I am doing on the rest of this rather eclectic collection, including two Suhr Strats that seem quite coveted as well. Another high end custom (electric) builder that stepped up his production game. As you might expect, I'm a Fender purist with more than I can play, so these are most likely to be sold. Any Suhr insights are welcome.

Just curious; what strings in particular would have been stock or recommended for the C19? I pretty much stick to Elixir Polyweb on most of my stuff.

Strings are a personal thing. It's like deciding what type of shoes are most comfortable, it's best if you to try them on yourself.

[deadrunner]

Yes, of course string choices are personal. Simplified, what strings does Larrivee use (stock) on a C19 olr something like it? Just curious.

[ducktrapper]

Yes, of course string choices are personal. Simplified, what strings does Larrivee use (stock) on a C19 olr something like it? Just curious.

D'Addario EXP16's I believe, although I could be wrong. 

[Mikeymac]

D'Addario EXP16's I believe, although I could be wrong. 

Yes, either the 16's or the XT's (extended life, I believe). Right now Larrivee is giving away a set of XT's if you purchase some other stuff from their online shop...

[C-10-4-me]

Yes, regarding Maple, many folks are suspicious or otherwise avoid it. The 600 Series Taylors are the ones I'm most impressed with (along with the new American Dream series, which are excellent in built, materials and tone for a great price point). And my Flamed Maple Larrivee L-09 (which Larrivee labeled as an L-04 for a brief time when Maple b&s guitars got that "04" numerical designation) is a wonderful sounding guitar.

It's not my loudest Larrivee L, but there is a clarity to the tone, while still being warm and having a solid bass - and I'm looking forward to putting a K&K pickup in this one, because, like you, I believe it will EQ very nicely.

Isn't that something how one man's ears hear so differently than another's? I had a Taylor 614-CE that forever ruined my impression of Maple guitars. It was one of the weakest sounding guitars I've ever owned, and can't imagine owning another Maple guitar. Glad you like yours!

[Manothemtns]

You're right, it is amazing the differing opinions after two or more people listen to the exact same sound. And, I think most people (including myself) run into trouble trying to describe sound types with words. Leads to a lot of misunderstanding. One person's "Dry and woody" is another's "Muffled and muddy". And so on...