Members joey1234 Posted November 13, 2008 Members Share Posted November 13, 2008 2 Totaly different guitars, 2 totally different pric points- but how do these compare- i havent been able to find a gs8 in my area yet to try- but it looks very intersting???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted November 13, 2008 Members Share Posted November 13, 2008 The Larrivee D-03 is a classic "dreadnaught"-sized body, larger than the Taylor GS8 which is an "auditorium" or "orchestra" sized body, usually more suited to fingerstyle guitar. The dreads are the classic bluegrass boomers. The Taylor also has a slightly wider neck. Another significant difference is the wood. The Larrivee will be made of nice but average quality rosewood back and sides and spruce top, while the Taylor uses a premium master grade spruce top and master grade East Indian Rosewood back and sides. The Larrivee has a satin finish, while the GS8 has a high quality nitrocellulose finish and other adornments such as an abalone rosette. You really cannot compare the two. They are each made for a different style of playing and sound, not to mention the price difference and the premium grade materials in the Taylor. But those are the main differences, to answer your question. While you can really use either for many styles of playing, they are sort of optimized for certain types of playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hadden Posted November 13, 2008 Members Share Posted November 13, 2008 I tried one of those Taylors recently and it didn't do much for me -- as for Larrivees I'm a huge fan. I used to own a D-03r and liked it a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moctzal Posted November 13, 2008 Members Share Posted November 13, 2008 The Larrivee D-03 is a classic "dreadnaught"-sized body, larger than the Taylor GS8 which is an "auditorium" or "orchestra" sized body, usually more suited to fingerstyle guitar. The dreads are the classic bluegrass boomers. Not quite true. The GS is it's own shape, while it's based on Taylor's GA (auditorium) size, it's actually slightly larger in terms of top surface area. It's lower bout is actually larger than your standard dread (16 1/4" vs 16"). It feels like it's inbetween a jumbo and auditorium sizes. It handles strumming and fingerstyle equally well. It doesn't boom out like a dread, but it has significantly more bass reponse than a Taylor GA. GSs are also fairly loud. Mine drowns out my friend's J-45 and is on par with my other friend's Guild F-50R. The Podium: www.thepodium.com has soundclips of both guitars. Hope that helps. Both are great guitars and I don't think you'll go wrong with either of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joey1234 Posted November 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted November 13, 2008 the main thing i was wondering is how the taylor holds up to strumming- I have yet to play a taylor that sounds good strummed- I mean tey sound good, but there is very little low end on them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted November 13, 2008 Members Share Posted November 13, 2008 The GS8 is a nice strummer, but Larrivee 03 series beat them for cost every time. I like that while both are produced with the help of automation, from what I've been able to tell Larrivee still has more of a "hands on" approach. That being said, I've never played a D-03R but have played various L-03's (L-03 mahogany/sitka, L-03R rosewood/sitka, LV-03RE rosewood/sitka/cutaway) and IMO they bear a striking resemblance to the "new" Taylor GS. Both have good bass, hold up well to strumming and do fingerstyle very well - though IMO they can sound muddy doing the latter, especially the rosewood models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted November 13, 2008 Members Share Posted November 13, 2008 the main thing i was wondering is how the taylor holds up to strumming- I have yet to play a taylor that sounds good strummed- I mean tey sound good, but there is very little low end on them I owned a GSRS (same as the GS8) and it was an excellent guitar. Handles strumming as well as a dread or jumbo. The GS is the "Anti-Taylor" from Taylor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joey1234 Posted November 13, 2008 Author Members Share Posted November 13, 2008 i got to finally play one today- guitar center just got it in, and i dont know if it is just that guitar or what- but it sounded terrible, the DN4 and 414 sounded much better, and the larriveee sounded better than all of them.. guess i sticking with the larry.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftync Posted November 13, 2008 Members Share Posted November 13, 2008 The GS is my favorite Taylor. I like Taylors generally, but the GS spruce and rosewood I once played didn't have the characteristic Taylor bright sound, and added a nice bass. But I own a D03R and the wood is hardly average, nor is the instrument. Mine, which is lefty, and at least three others I've played were among the best sounding guitars I've ever heard. The top is gorgeous and the workmanship is flawless. The D-03R is one of the best guitars out there, and Larrivee's 03 series is the best value out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Broadus Posted November 14, 2008 Members Share Posted November 14, 2008 The GS8 is a nice strummer, but Larrivee 03 series beat them for cost every time. I like that while both are produced with the help of automation, from what I've been able to tell Larrivee still has more of a "hands on" approach. That being said, I've never played a D-03R but have played various L-03's (L-03 mahogany/sitka, L-03R rosewood/sitka, LV-03RE rosewood/sitka/cutaway) and IMO they bear a striking resemblance to the "new" Taylor GS. Both have good bass, hold up well to strumming and do fingerstyle very well - though IMO they can sound muddy doing the latter, especially the rosewood models. Neil, Can one man's "muddy" be another man's "complexity"? Or is there a better word which would be a positive interpretation of what one might negatively call "muddy"? The reason I ask is that I like the sound of the L-03R played fingerstyle. Help me out with the terminology. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted November 15, 2008 Members Share Posted November 15, 2008 Neil, Can one man's "muddy" be another man's "complexity"? Or is there a better word which would be a positive interpretation of what one might negatively call "muddy"? The reason I ask is that I like the sound of the L-03R played fingerstyle. Help me out with the terminology. Bill I've been mulling this one over and came to the conclusion that my bare-fingered fingerstyle technique is not suited for the L-03R, that's all. I still have to say that the guitar's tonal properties (tusq saddle, 16" lower bout) are part of the problem. Oil and vinegar, I suppose but basically a bare thumb flesh just gives muted bass notes on those guitars. It's like the overtones make them even "mushier." I suppose it'd be different if I could ever bond with a thumbpick, but in the meantime the smaller OM-03R seems to balance it out. BTW, for some reason, mahogany L's take this and simply make it sound "warm" to my ears - as if the strong note fundamental keeps the bass notes from "mutating". FWIW, I still hate TUSQ and would recommend even basic bone as an upgrade. It really choked the life out of my guitar and upgrading to bone was as if I'd pulled a couple of pair of damp, dirty socks out of it. That being said, once upon a time I took a flatpick to an LV-03RE in a store and it changed my opinion on cutaways on acoustic guitars. That thing had great intonation and barre chords rang true all the way up to the 15th fret. Lead runs also flowed as easily as they do off my Strat. Still, I didn't like it bare-fingered. YMMV. Sorry. Rambling again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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