Guitarquest: Narrowing the Field

[RupertB]

I've been spending a good deal of time hopping from one retailer to another, educating myself about acoustic guitars regarding woods, body styles, and most importantly, what sounds & feels right in my hands.

 

I play solo, duo, & trio gigs in places that make an onboard transducer necessary. I play a fair amount of lead & need a cutaway for some parts. I finger-pick, strum, & flat-pick (hard) so I don't want a guitar that is made for a single style of playing.

 

After some disappointing results (ie: most of the guitars I really liked were $3000-$4000), I was very pleasantly surprised when I tried a Larrivee LV-03RE. It covers the sounds & specs I want, feels great in my hands, and is reasonably priced at $1349. I'm going to spend some more time looking (I don't impulse buy).

 

So, what models/brands might compare favorably with this model? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Dave W.]

I don't have anything to add, other than I am not surprised at your conclusion. Larrivee gets some really great press around here, and not always because of price point. Someday I am going to add a 12 fret, all mahogany slot head to the quiver. It will need to be reasonably priced as it won't be my main guitar (I think), so Larrivee is the first brand that comes to mind to look at.

[PAC]

You might try a Guild GAD-40ce; the cutaway version of the GAD-50.

http://www.guildguitars.com/instruments/search.php?partno=3810405821

[BackPocket]

if you are not opposed to buying online - http://www.notablegutiars.com could get you a good price on it I'm sure. They sell well under most stores and seem pretty well recommended. You need to email them for the real price list.

 

Good luck searching.

[kwakatak]

I had exactly the same impression when I tried an LV-03RE as well. It's a very good multipurpose guitar and as much as I love the L in hog I could see the benefit to going with rosewood.

 

Another good alternative would be the Breedlove Atlas AC25/SR+, on paper at least since I haven't tried that particular model. I did try the AD25/SR+ (the non-cutaway dreadnought version) and was impressed with it.

[Markuster]

I've got to give a big for Larri

 

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x222/Markuster/Larrivee%20LV-05E/LV-05E600X800.jpg

 

I've got the Imix pickup system and I'm really digging the Ibeam soundboard transducer. The Baggs pre-amp that Larrivee puts in with the Imix also has a notch filter for fighting feedback and a mid slider.

 

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x222/Markuster/Larrivee%20LV-05E/LV-05EControls800X600.jpg

 

If you get a chance, listen to the Ibeam (or the K&K, or the B-band) soundboard transducers before buying anything with just an undersaddle pickup.

 

The drop-in aftermarket version does not.

 

http://www.lrbaggs.com/html/products/systems_imixonboard.shtml

[RupertB]

Thanks for the responses & info.

 

I'll definitely be checking all of this out thoroughly.

[guitarist21]

All this is great advice. If you check out the Guild GADs, see if you can check out Epiphone Masterbilt as well (the DR series is similar to the GAD-50). They're often compared to the GADs because they are both mid-range priced guitars made in China.

 

Ellen

[hotdog]

Have you tried a Tacoma??.I tried a lot of guitars and kept comimg back to a Tacoma and bought a DR14..Read the reviews here .