Larrivee C-10 Custom

This guitar is a 25 1/2" scale, 20 fret acoustic with the old Florentine cutaway, which Larrivee only produces as a custom model. It has a 1 3/4" nut width which is great! This is an essential dim. for any guitar, & most guitar makers don't even list it. It has a flat radius on the fretboard, I'd say 16", something like a Godin. The top is one piece Sitka spruce, & the sides are rosewood, as is the one piece back. The neck is mahogany, but unlike many guitars, the grain runs laterally, which adds more strength. This guitar must have been custom made, since it has a mother-of-pearl inlay in the headstock, which has the Larrivee silver border. The frets are not Jumbo size, which really makes for easy sliding. The fret markers are inlaid pearl, something like a tudor rose. The fretboard & the bridge are both ebony, which is great. The abalone trim around the soundhole & the body, has hints of jade green, & it is immaculate work!! This guitar wasn't electric, & I would imagine the previous owner didn't want to cut holes in the sides, so he had an L.R. Baggs Dual Source pickup installed, which has the pickup & the mike, so you can blend them for custom sound.

I play mostly fingerstyle, jazz, & blues. I have a Gibson ES-335 that has great low action, plus I have another acoustic, & a Mosrite solid body copy, & this Larrivee outshines them all. The tone is rich and warm, & the intonation is perfect. I play through a Fender Deville tube amp, & the sound is utterly fantastic. I had a friend who is a professional player, & who has a Kirk Sand, & a Taylor high-end, play some music on the Larrivee, & I do agree with some of the other raters, the Larrivee is better. Can't compare to the Kirk Sand, but doesn't cost $4,500 either!!!

The strings may be a mite high for my playing, but lowering strings takes away form the sustain, so I leave them as they are. One other note mentioning is, I play a lot of artificial harmonics ala Lenny Breaux, & of all the guitars I've played, the harmonics produced by this guitar are really superb! The only minor knocks are, there are no strap buttons, & you have to go into the sound hole to replace the battery. Very minor, not enough to alter the rating.

This guitar is probably how it was set up at the factory, except for the pickup installation. This guitar is made of some of the best woods, & the workmanship is flawless, as it should be on any handmade, high-end guitar. I don't know whose tuning machines are on the guitar, but they work fine. May be Schallers??

I haven't had it long, & it seems to me that a guitar of this stature will last a long time, as long is it receives TLC, which it will. I don't play gigs, but I do play for friends, & may do some church soloing. There is no strap button on the rear of the neck, but there is one where the pickup input was installed, & I guess, you could tie into the headstock if you wanted to.

Never dealt with them, but I hear they are very customer conscious.

I believe that Larrivee doesn't honor the warranty on used guitars.

I've been playing off and on for almost 30 years. I had a Martin D-35 that I bought from someone about 22 yrs ago for $125 with fiberglas case. I think it was hot merchandise!! Anyhow, while I was single, female accompaniment was more my liking, than guitar accompaniment, so it sat for 12 years. It started to check so I sold it for $300. Beautiful guitar. If it were stolen, I'd probably beg or steal to get the money for another one!!

My favorite feature is the sound, & the intonation, as they would meet the demand of any professional.

I would never sell this guitar after playing it!

This guitar was made in 1997 and purchased new. Larrivees are all made in Canada. It is 14 frets to body, cutaway body, Indian Rosewood and Sitka spruce top, all solid woods and wood binding with an angel Headstock inlay and binding and rosette in abalone. Typical longer scale and flatter fingerboard from Larrivees classical tradition which makes fingerstyle a joy!

Playing this guitar mostly fingerstyle I love the neck radius (which is less than most others) and width. Over the years it is becomming even more full and responsive with wonderful volume. Strummed and picked single line it is fantastic.

The guitar is set up for medium strings with action just a tad higher than martins or taylors which makes for good fingerstyle playing. The fin and finnish are immaculate, along with the inlays. I don't believe any major builders pay as much attention to quality as Larivee does. The woods are wonderfully bookmatched and the rosewood is exceptionally full grained for an Indian rosewood.

I baby this thing so I can't really tell what kind of durability it will have if played hard. Is seems solid for such a light acoustic, and Larrivee's 90 degree bracing has a solid reputation.

Lifetime warranty......every question, either by phone or online has been promplty and fully answered.

I have been playing for over 20 years, either own or have owned numerous guitars from Silvertone and Alvarez to Fenders and Gibsons, electric and acoustic. never have I oned a guitar that moves me as much as this intrument....but since it is my dream guitar, I guess that should be the case. Would I buy it again? YES. In fact, since purchasing it I have bought another Larrivee and hope soon to get a 12 string from him.