Larrivee L03MT or L03R...

[SilleeSpyder]

I am about to purchase my first very decent acoustic guitar. Where I work, our high end guitars consist of Larrivee, Martin, and Taylor. Larrivee has become a favorite amongst me and most of my fellow associates. I tend to like the sound of the concert style body and the warmth that rosewood has to offer. However I do have another favorite in the store. I really enjoy the Martin D-15 for its deep, mellow tone, however I also appreciate the Larrivee for its very balanced yet warm tone. We do not have either the L03R nor the L03MT in stock, so based upon what I have heard from the L03 and the D03R, I have concluded that the L03R would be the best sound for me, however -I have no idea how the solid mahogany L03MT sounds, but based on the sound of the D-15 and reviews saying the high end was a little more prominent yet still mellow on the Larrivee MT -it might be the right guitar for me. Soooooo, which one would you rather have and why, as well as what you think would be best for me.

 

Description of my playing style:

 

I like to be soft on my guitar and let the chords breathe out when I strum, however I often find myself finger picking as well. I am usually not a very hard player, but can get into it. I never SLAM the strings or beat the guitar. I also like to use 12s or 11s on my acoustics.

 

My favorite tuning is DADGBD. In fact, most of my songs are written in that tuning...

 

I'll include a vote as well just to see what people personally prefer out of curiousity.

 

[SilleeSpyder]

I have also heard the clips on the sticky and still can't friggin decide. They both sound awesome!

 

 

...come to think of it the question should be worded: "Which one should I get first?"

 

[kwakatak]

Between the two I'd say go for the L-03R. When playing drawn out notes like that I like to have the complex overtones. From what I hear, you can't really get that from a MT anyway.

 

FYI: there will be no more L-03MTs made. One of the online dealers claims to have "the last one". There's a used OM-03MT for sale over at the Larrivee forum though.

[SilleeSpyder]

Okay, well that isn't a real heartbreaker. In fact it makes the decision a whole lot easier.

 

Thank you!

 

...hmmm, this is the first time I've noticed our post counts have been resetted... when did this happen?

[JasmineTea]

 

Originally posted by SilleeSpyder -I have no idea how the solid mahogany L03MT sounds, but based on the sound of the D-15 and reviews saying the high end was a little more prominent yet still mellow on the Larrivee MT -it might be the right guitar for me. Soooooo, which one would you rather have and why, as well as what you think would be best for me.

I would'nt judge a Larrivee MT based on the sound of a Martin MT. Larrivees have symetrical bracing, Martin has..whatever that pattern is called. Another apple-to-orange kind of thing is the Martin D size vs the Larry L. Even though they are both mahogany, they realy have nothing els in common besides the MT.

 

One thing about Larrivees that seems to get overlooked is the scale length.

Larrivee is 25.5, Martin 25.4.

 

I'll vote for the L03R just because there's likely to be more

of them around for you to try, and find "the one".

[t60 fan]

I voted MT 'cause I can always get an R later.

[SilleeSpyder]

Well, unfortunately I wont be able to hunt for "the one" because I am going to have one mailed to me from Larrivee for special reasons .

 

Either way the guitar should be worlds above the Fender DG10CE I own right now... lets just hope the guitar was built on Wednesday.

 

Thank you!

 

-Rick