Larrivee D-05

Bought in 2007. I imagine it was also made in 2007.

It's a Mohagany back/side Dreandought. If you've read down this far, you've read the features already, so I won't list them.

The compimentary case is a beast. It's seriously made to carry and protect a fine acoustic guitar. And it fits the guitar like a glove. There isn't even room to put your strap around the side. This was impressive to me.

It doesn't tune iteslf or anything, but it does have all the features an acoustic player really needs. That's the exact amount of features I want in a guitar.

The tone is just what I'm looking for. Rich bass, clear treble. Sounds like a beauty. I'm especially impressed with the dynamic response: it really responds to the slightest difference in your strumming strength. Rich and loud is easy, while soft and lovely is also easy.

A true 10. This is, in my opinion, the step between a nice Martin/Taylor and a hand-made Froggy Bottom or other custom guitar. The only guitars with better tone than this are made by one person in his shop, not buy companies. I think Larrivee bridges the gap between those two classes.

No flaws that I can see, but I have only had it a month.

The same I said earlier about the tone applies to the feel as well. I haven't played a better feeling guitar that wasn't made by a custom luthier.

I am less than impressed with the look of the pickguard. It just doesn't go with anything else on the guitar- doesn't match one piece of wood, one appointment, anything. I asked my store to take it off and they were afraid it would mess with the finish. I didn't like the black headstock at first, but it's growing on me. Still, the picguard is plain ol' ugly.

However, the quality of the mohagony is brilliant. It's got the smallest flame pattern to it, which sparkles when the light hits it.

The finish is also very nice. She shines very beautifully, and the finish on the neck (i imagine tung oil) makes for great playing.

Minus three points for the ugly unremovable picguard and the ok headstock, but plus two for that stellar mohagony.

Seems tough- can't tell yet. I'll let you know in ten years. With an acoustic, though, so much of it is in how you care for it. They seem to have done their part in making it.

One of their customer support guys was happy to exchange several emails with me about the guitars, how they're made, what they're like, ect. Very personal and likeable. You got the feel that he liked talking about guitars and didn't mind all the questions.

You can't beat this, especially for the price. Their prices have gone up a good 60% in the last five years, and I imagine they will continue to do so. (Compare the prices of the '99 and '00 models in these reviews with today's street price of $1500.) That's because their guitars are worth far more than they cost, and people are figuring that out, thus increasing demand.

I truly believe that Larrivee guitars are the step between a top brand name guitar and a custom luthier guitar. If you can't afford the ten grand a Froggy Bottom is going to cost you, this is the way to go.

I have been playing for seven years. Just graduated seminary and needed a good acoustic to lead worship from for probobally the rest of my life. I've put a K&K Trinity pickup in it and it sounds perfect plugged in. I think this setup will last me a while, or at least until my church can handle an electric.

I got my Larrivee on-line in 2000. It is a '99 model from Vancouver.
14 frets to the body, with very pretty silking/light bearclaw on the spruce top. The finishing gloss is high quality and looks good on the mahogany and spruce. The 1 11/16 neck is perfect and aids to comfortable playing.
The only modifications I have done with it is enlarge the endpin hole for the output jack for putting in a Pick Up the World #54 Acoustic Guitar Dual Element SBT. There was a small problem while enlarging the endpin hole. The gloss began to heat while drilling and started to melt slightly and spread just to the edge of the diameter of the endpin. SO, be careful while drilling if this is an upgrade you are considering.
The tuners are standard from the factory and are functional. I have always had problems with these covered tuners giving too much "slack" while tuning. Losing their tightness and ability to precisely and evenly tune.
This guitar came with a HSC and two hoops on the handle side of the case for a strap to be added. The convenience of hauling your guitar
in a case on your shoulder is so nice.

This was my new dreadnaught guitar I used for playing bluegrass. If it is well miced and you are not beating the hell out of it to play rhythm, you're fine. Sometimes if you're really overloading and really chucking out the rhythm chords, it's almost the case that the guitar has an overdrive and begins to lose some of its natural tone and the sound begins to break up a little bit.

This guitar does allow for a good live miced tone through my AKG-451 C in a live application. Also, with the PUTW pickup I have installed, if it's necessary to play electrically, running through a Para-DI box the electrified sound is a natural one as well.

BUT, if you are using it in a single-mic style with a band, your sound is almost completely lost. It just doesn't have the volume to cut through the other instruments for this type of application...rythm or lead.

Other than that this guitar sounds clear and clean. Not too bright or boomy, it has a good even tone from bass to mids to treble. Also, this guitar has proven well for recording-especially for lead playing.

The action was set med-hi when I received it, so I had it lowered. I did have a problem from the saddle after about 2 years. A bur had developed and was causing me to break D strings about everytime I played more than about 30 minutes. This was easily fixed by just filing down the saddle.

I installed the PUTW #54 and it has turned out to be a very fine pick up for this guitar. Very natural tone...no slappy metal tone you get from so many other crappy pickups. Also, this pick up needed further alterations [i.e. holes drilled for under saddle pickups, etc...] for installation other than enlarging the endpin hole.

The rest of the instrument has been put together very precicely from quality of wood, Larrivee headstock inlay, and neck playability.

Well, this guitar has turned into the backup guitar for live gigs-strictly for volume reasons and the single mic application. Unless there is a good sound system along with a good sound man we're using, I prefer to use the Larrivee. Actually, the AKG 451 C has solved alot of that problem lately.
Anyway, other than live, I really love this guitar. I think the comfort factor of how easy it is to play is my favorite thing about it. I can always depend on the D-05 for ease of playing and low amount of effort to get an awesome tone live, recording, or playing alone.

N/A

I am happy I own this guitar. I hope to never sell it or get rid of it, BUT if it were stolen I may not buy another one. It has been a very good experience owning it and playing it. I know it's reliable but I would want to move on and find something else-IF it were stolen or lost in some other irreplaceble fashion. I've been playing guitar about 13 years, and flatpicking about 5. I play a 2002 D-18 for jams and single mic application, and sometimes a '72 Gallagher G-50 for gigs.

I want to tell you about the playability one more time here...To me a Martin's playability is a little rigid mainly because it's built to be a stellar guitar to last and perform for years. The Gallagher is more similar to the Larrivee tone and maybe a little louder, but I still think the D-05 is a superior instrument to either of these other two listed guitars. The Larrivee is also the same quality as a Martin and Gallagher, but there is somemore elegance in it that it offers. There is more beauty in its tone, I suppose, is how I could describe it. You can get a pretty soft tone playing it lightly, or you can get a strong ring if you're playing like you're cutting through some sound to pull of some lead licks. The tone has an always reliable and consistant ring about it from all aspects of sound. I hope I never sell this guitar because I know it will last and age well.

Made in 1999, I purchased new in 2000 via internet. 14 frets clear, dreadnaught, all solid wood, mahogany back/sides, Sitka spruce top, Abalone sound hole rosette, gloss finish, micro-dot fret markers, flamed maple binding. Non-factory B-band AST/UST combo with A4 on-board preamp. Hard shell arched top tight-fitting black velvet lined case.

My modifications: B-Band pickups, John Pearse slim-line armrest, replaced original Ping tuners with chrome Gotoh 1951 drop-in replacements

I?ve had this D-05 for about 5 years now. I love the sound of this guitar. It has great woody tone, with deep rich bass, great mids, and crystal clear treble. Extremely balanced with wonderful note separation. This guitar excels at all playing styles. I play mostly finger picking country-blues based stuff with thumb pick and bare fingers and this guitar sounds wonderful. The bass has that great palm muted ?whump? but is easy to control. Drop tunings sound fantastic I use Open D, Open G, double drop D, and more.

To hear this guitar, go to http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/berchtold, and click on Thoughts. The acoustic you hear is my D-05, recorded in 2003.

Larrivee gloss finish is on of the best in the business. Factory action was a wee bit high but one trip to my trusty luthier did the job. My only complaint on fit/finsish here is that Larrivee fret ends sometimes have sharp edges. The could dress the ends a little better, but that?s also easy to fix.

This guitar is 5 years old. I?ve done maybe 200 shows with it, and played countless hours at home. Got a few digs and dents, nothing serious. Never had a problem. I expect this guitar to last a lifetime ? and that would be MY lifetime as I?ll never sell my beloved D-05!

Lifetime limited warranty. I have had with Larrivee many times via phone, email, and post. They are always friendly, helpful, and reasonable quick to respond.

I?ve been playing acoustic guitar for 35 years, mostly finger picking for the last ten. This D-05 was my first quality solid-wood instrument and it just keeps getting better with age. I compared it to everything I could get my hands on and it sounded as good or better as guitars 2-3 times the cost. I have since purchased a Collings D1A, and just recently another Larrivee ? an OM-05MT (see my review). The all get played frequently, but I still love my D-05 and will NEVER sell it.

I bought this guitar when my beneteau was getting a neck reset. It is a no frills great sounding guitar. BC made with excellent build and sound. It is balanced but bright and plays beautifully.

I play folk, rock and frequently use a tele on stage. This is for bluegrass with another band. It has no pickup( spare me peizos!) but sounds great through a sm57 mike. It is easy to play and the action was good from the factory. it is light and attractive in an understated way.

The build quality is great for the money, comes with a satin finish. Jean should be proud of his product. I understand he has set up a factory in california, and I played on of those guitars and it also sounded great too. Our loss .

Once i got back my beneteau I sent this one to my dad. I was worried about having it in a very dry climate as I have seen some messy cracks on these. However i have not experienced one myself so suffice it to say, keep it in the case when you're not playing it, or better yet humidify it. ( I can't be bothered to do that as i figure it works for me and not vica versa.
Last month I bought a breedlove and that finished me for buying guitars. My dad however rules at campfires in a more humid climate. This guitar is better than any d 28 martin i have tried and the price difference equals a fantastic value. No laminates here!.

I have not dealt with them. My dad takes good care of it and enjoys killing the old gibsons and martins with it.

This is a great guitar. However I took a chance and bought a 3100.00 breedlove. I cannot compare them for the price. If you want a professional guitar then buy this one. Don't bother with an onboard pickup, as they all sound bad IMHO. I'd also suggest to the younger players that they never buy one with an eq built in on the side as i believe that will prove to be a devaluating factor.If you want to do that buy a 500 dollar takamine. Learn to use it with a good MIC and you won't be disappointed. ( You can buy a shure sm57 for less than $100.00 bucks). I have played professionally for 30 years. This guitar has what I need It is not a breedlove but then again you can have it for a third of the price. It is not a beneteau but you can have it for a fifth of the price. It is a wonderful instrumment for the cost.

I bought a Larrivee LV09QM in Jan 04. and liked the guitar alot, until I played this one year old D-05. I traded my 09 straight accross for this awesome guitar. It is the stock model with a company installed I beam pickup system. It also has Jean's signature on the label in the soundhole. Bear claw top, just killer flame mahogany sides & back, and a great friendly neck.

Now this is the best part of this guitar. I have a Martin 1946 00028, and it has the holy grail type tones for fingerpicking, this guitar I think is even better. I have a few friends that have the killer Martin bluegrass guitars, D-28's & D45's, and I allways loved the tones & snab of the high end, well this guitar sounds alot like em. the bass strings have a rip to each note, then a piano type ring, the midrange is on the punchy flat side, and the high end is bright crisp & clean. I gave up a cutaway guitar for a non cutaway, and I don't miss it at all. The electric sound is very sweet, and I put a Rio Grande dogbone in the soundhole and it sounds like a big jazz box electric, very cool...

this guitar is perfect, no kidding, its just awesome. I looked all over it and it is flawless..

I had my other Larrivee for 4 months of heavy stage use, and it chugged right along. I needed to use 12's on the cutaway 09, but I am useing 11's on the D05, and it feels killer.

I called them when I was gonna buy my 09, and they were great to work with, they just bend over backwards to get you into the right guitar.

I am an electric guitar player 1st. and a part time acoustic player. It took me over a year to find the right guitar, and it seems I love all the Larrivee models, they just rock. If I lost it I would go right out and buy another. I played all the new Martins, and Taylors, and found some I liked, but most I did not like, but I gotta say I love every Larrivee I pick up..

This a mahogany guitar with maple binding (very nice) and a spruce top.

I have a washburn and bought this - it was a big switch. Sounds great and I play finger style celtic stuff on to blues. Balanced for chord play as well.
I ran the guitar through a practice amp in a studio and got a lot of fead back if I turned it up. Seems like an add on that is not as thought through as the guitar production. The only down side is the plug in portiion.

I use to play on a really high action Washburn and I was very confused when I tryed playing on the great low action of this guitar. Like butter I would say. One of the best guitar makers I think after reading up on the history and other reviews.

I just dinged it slightly putting it in a case. The guitar is sturdy - will last and last I think. Everything is in place and no problems. Not as thick wood as a Guild but it sure playslike a dream.

They gave me the date and features when I e-mailed the support staff. In fact I got about 3 replys.

Great guitar for the price - I would replace if lost. It is so nice to just look at with deep wood colors and nice edge binding. Size is fine - plain inlays but modest beauty. I play everyday and love it.

I have a 1998 Model I bought new in 1999. It's made of all solid woods and the top has darkened from a almost white color to a nice golden yellowish brown. It's kinda plain to look at but thats not why I bought it.

The sound on this guitar is the reason I bought it. I tested it against $2000 Taylors, Gibsons, Guilds in the acoustic room, and the D-05 had the best sounds out of all the guitars in there. When strummed it sounds like a recording with crisp sparkling highs, evened out mids, and nice punchy bass. The tone was so balanced and good to the ears I couldn't pass it up. After the guitar is nearing 6 years of age the sounds has gotten even better, the resonance and sustain has increased, the bass has opened up more, and it has an even fuller sound while still maintaining the balance.

The action is really easy on the fingers. It feels like Im playing an electric.

This guitar is very durable. Even though I treat it with such care, it still has managed to get banged around and has a few nicks and dents in a few spots but you have to look closely to really see it.

I havent had to deal with them thankfully.

I love this guitar and wouldnt trade or get rid of it even if somebody offered me twice what I paid for it. I feel attached to it already and I plan on playing this guitar until the day I die. I play all styles with it from bluegrass fingerpicking and flatpicking to modern alternative ballads. If it were stolen I would fall into a deep depression seriously. This guitar has given me hours upon hours of entertainment and pulled me up when I was feeling down.

The D 05 is a year 2000 dreadnaught style acoustic guitar made from all solid woods, with a spruce top and mahogany back, sides, and one piece neck with ebony fingerboard. The body has a maple binding and a high gloss finish. I like the light coloured mahogany finish, as opposed to the chocolate brown colour often used to cover the wood grain. There is no pickup installed, as I don?t require one. The other fittings are all of good quality, and complement the overall structure of this instrument. A detailed description is available on the Larrivee web site.

This is the most important feature I evaluate when choosing a new guitar, and the D 05 has a pleasing well balanced tone when finger picked, flat picked or used for rhythm accompaniment - (trebles are bright but not tinny, with a tight bass). I have tried both light and medium gauge strings with good results. The bass E string tends to sound a little ?thumpy? as it ages compared to the other strings. The tone continues to improve with time, as the guitar is only two years old. I traded a relatively new Gibson J 185 because the tone and playability of the Larrivee was superior enough to justify the exchange.( I have since acquired a new Gibson J 45 to replace the J 185, see my review recently posted ).

I was able to inspect and evaluate all aspects of this instrument before purchase and returned to try it several times before making my final decision which was based on the overall quality. The assembly was near perfect with no obvious faults. The action was lowered slightly by shaving the saddle when the strings were changed and the truss rod adjusted when changing string gauge.

This guitar is reliable and I have maintained it in near new condition, and there are no signs of deterioration. It is played mainly at home. The neck is very stable and maintains the action, tuning, and intonation in all climate conditions. This guitar is definitely my ?number one keeper?.

I have dealt with the store owner for a few years and have never had to go beyond him for service, so I don?t foresee any problems.

I am entirely satisfied, and the guitar has lived up to my expectations. No guitar is perfect, thus the 9 rating. My Gibson J 45 shares many of the same traits as the Larrivee, the main difference being the shorter scale length and factory installed pickup in the J 45.
This has been a hobby for 40 years. I have owned several guitars and now have a new Gibson J 45, Fender US Strat, Yamaha AES 1500 B, Norman B 20 folk, early 60?s Supro Coronado, and 1965 Harmony Sovereign, - all bought new!.

The D-05 has all the features a musician needs in a serious instrument: Solid spruce and mahogany, top notch binding and fretboard, the high gloss finish is perfection itself and the overall craftmanship second to none and the quality of the woods is terrific. Scored an 8 only because I opted to pass on the rosewood and other cosmetic options available to keep the price within my budget

After testing all the other popular main-stream high-end guitars I found the Larrivee D-05 to have the best sustain, the most balanced tone (not too boomy for a dreadnought) and a crisp, clear voice. I'm amazed at how dampened or muted some of the other guitars I tried our while shopping around that were more than twice the price.

I bought my guitar on-line after trying several Larrivees out at guitar shops and finding remarkably high uniformity in their quality. Larrivee obviously has their supply chain and manufacturing process in a high state of control to consistently deliver this kind of repeatability. There aren't many hand-made products I'd buy sight unseen over the internet but I didn't think twice about this purchase.I knew what I would be getting.

I've only had my guitar for a week but the high quality of the materials and workmanship tell me that this instrument will have a long healthy life and even improve with age. I'm generally a very particular consumer and I value quality above all else. The D-05 is an amazing piece of work.

Haven't had any direct interaction with the company but I did appreciate and find useful the owners booklet that came with my guitar and I like the on-line warranty registration at the Larrivee.com website.

I've been playing guitar on and off since 1966, including a stint with a band in Santa Barbara, California. Other past and present instruments include Fender US Strat, Tele and Rickenbacker electrics and Yamaha and Epiphone acoustics