1 Topic by easybeat (edited by easybeat 2013-04-19 23:25:19)

  • From: Wellington New Zealand
  • Registered: 2010-03-24
  • Posts: 1,388

Topic: Larrivee guitars

Gidday.

Always on the look out for another guitar.
i`ve just tried a Larrivee,it ticked a lot of my boxes.
but something not quite right,the guys in the shop
fitted martin strings for me,that made a big difference.
i would love a Martin but in NZ they are very over priced.
With the usa printing money the $ exchange rate with NZ
is favourable for a change. All USA made guitars have come down in price.
EG  Fender Amercian  Standard Strat  3yrs ago  $2600   now $1800.
Martin price unchanged.
So i`m looking for a quality guitar,but don`t want to be ripped off.
Any other quality brands come to mind???
Where would you rate the larrivees?

The King Of Audio Torture
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  • From: Virginia, USA
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Re: Larrivee guitars

Larrivees are well made. They're only good if they fit your hand and sound good to your ear.

Some other brands to consider, not all American:
Breedlove
Seagull
Guild (definitely, definitely Guild)
The Loar
Taylor
and many more...

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Re: Larrivee guitars

I don't know anything about Larrivee, but I have both a Martin (D-35) and a Taylor (814ce).  The Martin sounds better but is harder to play.  The factory action on the Martin is really high and once it gets lowered (if you choose to lower it) it loses some intonation, but still sounds great.  The Taylor sounds almost as good but it plays like butter without any setup.  If they (Taylors) are not overpriced, it's a better investment IMO.

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4 Reply by Tenement Funster (edited by Tenement Funster 2013-04-24 22:26:36)

  • From: Nova Scotia, Canada
  • Registered: 2013-01-20
  • Posts: 4,083

Re: Larrivee guitars

I've owned a Larrivee D-03 for some time now, and loved it from the first time I played it. It was being compared to some Taylor's in a slightly higher price range, and it sounded & fit better than they did (to my taste). If you're a flat-picker or finger-style player, Larrivee's have lots of rich tone and detail, and a really solid bottom-end sound when required. This last feature is nice when a higher capo location is being used, in the way many Jethro Tull songs are written. I would definitely buy another Larrivee when needed, and highly recommend them. And you've already experienced the difference that quality strings make. I've been using Elixir Nanoweb 12-53's on mine for about a year now, and they go great together.