Larrivee 00-10-12

This is 00 size, 12 frets to the body twelve string guitar. It was made in late 1997 in Canada for the winter NAMM show in LA. Otherwise, it is available only by special order. It is a 10 style guitar which is the rosewood deluxe level and has a high level of ornamentation and master grade woods. It has very ornate abalone inlay work on the fretboard, which is ebony, in the shape of torches. The soundhole has an abalone inlay also. The headstock (which is large due to the 12-string tuners) has a beautiful striped ebony overlay with Larrivee inlayed in silver, which is also used to outline the headstock. The nut is 1 15/16 inches, which feels a little tight at times given the 12 strings and my big hands. The upper bout is 10 inches and the lower is 13 7/8 inches, so it's parlor size. No pickguard. Very nice feel to the mohogany neck. Solid spruce top with bearclaw figure and very dark chocolate Indian Rosewood back and sides, also solid. Gloss finish, very nicely done. Clean construction everywhere, no glue drops or visible defects, very nice fret work and a fully bound fretboard with ivoriod. Silver Larrivee/Ping tuners, which work very well. No end pin and no electronics. A strikingly beautiful guitar. Came with a sturdy, form fitted case.

It's a special purpose guitar, being such a small body with 12 strings. When I bought it, I played it for some time in the shop (Buffalo Brothers in S.Cal)and I found the sound angelic, like a harpsicord. The shop at the time had a high ceiling and it seemed the sound was flowing and swirling all around the shop, or at least that's what one of the owner's, Bob, said when he came over to see where the sound was coming from. It's not a cannon by any means and works best in more intimate surroundings, although it does amplify well with my Duncan Mag Mic soundhole pickup. It doesn't have much low end but has that even response that Larrivee's always get due to their unique bracing. It is very responsive and can work equally well on bluesey fingerpicked numbers and flatpicked lead lines, which sound very neat given the doubling of the strings. It has taken some getting used to the 12 frets to the body, but it adds a demension to the sound, I think, and some fullness that otherwise might not be there. There is quite a bit of variety in the sound depending on how you play. If you dig in, it can be very punchy for blues while sounding very sweet when lightly strummed for vocal accompaniment. It has a 4 1/4 body depth at the deepest point, so there's some nice bass response too. The sound is what made me buy it in the first place. I wasn't even looking for a 12-string at the time. It keeps sounding better as the wood settles in.

Larrivee is really amazing in their quality for the money you spend. I have a Goodall, a Kevin Ryan and a Santa Cruz, and this guitar is right in there with the best of them. The beauty of the wood is amazing. No defects at all I could find, however, the luthier that did the first set-up after I'd had it awhile, noted that the bridge was pulling up. He fixed it under warranty, so no problem, but I guess that's a fit/finish issue, so a slight deduction. I should note that it's a very light guitar, although somewhat neck heavy due to the need for such a large headstock to accomodate the 12 tuners, but the construction seems very tight.

The finish is top notch and protects well. I really baby it so I don't really want to find out how it would do in a bar. That said, all the hardware seems very durable. The construction is so solid and the case is very sturdy, that I would have no worries.

They answered all my inquiries promptly. The one warranty repair was done right away without my need to even contact the company, but it helps that the defect was discovered by a Larrivee certified repair guy. The warranty is lifetime for the original purchaser, so I'm covered. Given that some builders like Goodall limit their warranties to only 5 years, Larrivee and other builders who give lifetime warranties (even if limted to the original owner), are to be commended. Only Tacoma does one better by making the warranties transferrable. Larrivee seems like a caring, careful company that respects their products and their customers.

I've been playing off and on since 1969. Mostly acoustic, but I have electrics too. I have a fair number of guitars, more than I probably should, but I really like guitars. I like smaller body guitars and have a Goodall Parlor and Ryan Mission Grand, as well as a Santa Cruz D/PW and Go Guitars Parlor (awesome player). I fell in love with this guitar over a 3 week period visiting my dying mother every day or so. The shop was close to the hospital and I really needed to deal with emotional overload on a daily basis. Playing that guitar was like creating my own choir of singing voices. I had to buy it when all was said and done. Larrivee told me it is a very rare guitar for them, only a handful have ever been made. Even without the special circumstances, I think I would have had to find it sometime, somewhere. It's a great model, but you'll probably never see one unless you order your own. For what you get for the money, it's a great deal.