Larrivee D-10E

The pickup is a Fishman with both an undersaddle and under top pickup with a mixing 'valve'. Through my Stawberry Blonde amp , I can get a nice approximation of the acoustic sound. This is a professional grade instrument.

One might wish for a tad more bass, but the tone is well rounded and the guitar literally vibrates in your hands. There is no need to wail on it as it projects beautifully even fingerpicking.

A couple of very minor sanding flaws in the top but the tone is not affected in the least. Binding and back are beautiful. The action was just right for me as is the neck size and shape. I rate a 9.5.

I don't play in a band. I think though I would leave this at 'home'- it is simply too nice to be banged around as a gig instrument. I have owned a Larrivee L-09 for 10 years and never had any issues with it except to lower the action a little.

I have no experience with this except I emailed to Larrivee with a question and Jean himself responded the next day.

For the money this is the best instrument I auditioned. The martins are a great bluegrass guitar in this size but the Larrivee is more balanced and 'jangly'. This guitar is a joy to play.

Mahogany 1996 model D10 E. (Never used the E). I love to pick it up and play. Each time it seems to sound better than the last- its an old mate now! Paid $ 1750 US on Ebay six years ago. It came from New York and I have no regrets except for the top surface cracks that appeared a few years ago. My good luthier says that these are normal with this type of finish and that its likely to add to the value in future. He says the wood is in perfect nick- Not bad in Australia's hot climate!

I play in a trio of bluegrass, folk-rock and jazz-blues singers and players. The Larrivee blends with our harmonies like a good Pinot-Noir wine. There's a debate re. Brazilian versus East Indian rosewood. This 12 y o. East indian Larrivee sounds magnificent! Dont be fooled by the floggers of worn out Brazilian acoustics who heap it on the East Indian sound.

The playability is brilliant for my 60 year old picking fingers. The dreadnought body is a little cumbersome ,but tolerable.

You would be hard pressed to get a comparable back-up instrument within this price range. You would not need to. This thing is going to my musician sons when I'm gone. My friends Martin D28 of similar age has had neck repairs.

I am 60 and have played acoustic guitars since I was a 14 y o. Kays,Guilds Yamahas,Taylors,Gibsons and Martins- great makers of acoustics for people like me,but my Larrivee D10E and LO3 are sweet instuments as good if not better than guitars I've played from these famous builders. Perhaps its too pretty and not macho enough, but who really cares as long as it sounds sweet, voluminous and accurate.

you know the drill...only this one is a special edition, it doesnt have the inlay on the neck & it has the darker wood used on the neck. even with the loss of such nice inlay work this is a beautiful guitar....select sitka spruce top (if you start to look at diffetent models you can see the difference in the finer woods used on this guitar)....Rosewood back & sides ,realy nice glossy finish give it that 3 d effect...i give mine a 9 because of the loss of inlay work ...

like all fine guitars this one rings like a bell !! ...i have been playing for 22 years the last 6 i have played my dads ovation he gave me..i loved it. i gave the ovation to my daughter & went looking for me a new guitar... i played (& have played ) a lot of realy nice sounding guitars...my brothers own & play a Guild D-50 , a Less Paul, a martin D-28..& other lesser guitars...I'm not trying to say im a pro but i think i know a good sounding guitar when i hear one...
even so , i went out ( expecting to buy a martin ) & played a martin , taylor , & others not worth mentioning ..when i played the larrivee D-10 i could tell this was a fine guitar...& then i found this guitar on line at e bay & saw the price of 1375.00 & there was no problem making the choice to buy this guitar!!!

action was high....i brought it to my local music store & had the man lower the saddle ...i was told by larrivee that this would not effect my warrenty....I'm glad i did ...now its perfect.

good solid feeling guitar...no complaints here ...i installed the strap button on the heel but i dont use a stap to often ...finish is realy nice ....feels heavier than any taylors i played & about the same mabey a little lighter than the martin.....but its still a new guitar & i dont know how long it will last so i give it a 9

i like their site www.larrivee.com
but havent had to deal with them yet.

i guess i have no more to say that i havent already said .
I'm glad i found this guitar...i am very happy with it

Made in Vancouver, BC, Canada. 20 frets. Dreadnaught. Solid spruce top. Solid Rose back and sides. Fishman Matrix PU under saddle, no controls. Larrivees do not come with strap buttons, except for the input jack, which doubles as a strap button. I had one added to the heel.

I play hard with a very heavy flatpick. Not really bluegrass, but more old-time music, you know, the stuff that came before bluegrass. OK, I play some bluegrass too. Some folky singer-songwriter stuff too, but no fingerstyle. I think most people would consider the D10 best suited for fingerstyle, but it suits my flatpicking style just fine. It has the full, bassy sound you'd expect from Rosewood, but not as boomy as, say, a Martin D28. The D10 is a bit more complete all the way across the strings, IMO. I've played Martin D28's, Taylor 410's, and the Larrivee sounds best in my hands, to my ears. Plenty of volume, this guitar has NO PROBLEM hanging in with the big boys with the Collings and Santa Cruz's.

As I said, I play it hard with a big stiff flatpick. I hit this sucker hard. Therefore I keep my action higher than your typical sensitive singer-songwriter would want it. I have had some problems with buzz, but after a few trips to my set-up guy, I have it just right for my playing style. Plenty easy to fret way up on the neck, and no bothersome buzzing. However, I would say the factory setup sucked. The action was way to tall. I have learned to keep my expectations low regarding "factory setup" (that's an oxymoron).

The finish and inlay work on this guitar is beautiful. Cool abalone around the soundhole and intricate inlays in the fingerboard.

This is a very light and resonant guitar. I would not recommend using it to drive railroad spikes. However, given reasonable care for a $1500 instrument, it should last a lifetime doing what it was designed to do. The case is extremely solid and I do not worry about the instrument, traveling and so forth, with this superb case. It has a clear pickguard, with the bluegrass/Martin crowd generally scoffs at, but it's very functional. The finish seems plenty good enough to last. I use this guitar at gigs with no backup. Also worth mentioning, I've had no problems with the tuning machines.

N/A - I have not had any correspondence with the manufacturer.
My setup guy has never charged me for adjustments. I do not recall what the manufacturer's warranty is.

I have been playing guitar for 30+ years. I also own a Larrivee Parlor guitar and a handfull of other acoustic instruments. If I lost this guitar, yes, I'd probably get another Larrivee just like it, or very similar, if I could find a good deal. This was a great buy at $1500. If I had twice that much to drop on a guitar, I'd get a Collings. I compared this to Martins priced much higher - the Larrivee sounds better in my hands, with my style of playing. Taylors, for about the same money, sound plenty good, but the Larrivee just suited me a little better. It's a bit fuller than the Taylor sound, to my ears. I think those Martin D28 and D35's sound muddy (*gasp* sacrelige!) . The D10 is cleaner, with more separation between notes. I cannot comment on the Fishman Matrix, I have never used it. I just use a straight mike, when I need amplification. The Larrivee D10E is a great value. If your experience with Larrivee is similar to mine, you will be very pleased.

Jean Larrivee, Canadian Guitar. 20 frets, all solid wood construction, rosewood back and side, solid spruce top, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard. Abalone rossete and purfling, transparent pickguard. Sterling silver headstock border, special inlay, ebony headstock overlay. Actually, I don't like abalone purfling on the soundboard, but abalone rossette looks good.

I sing for some folk songs and some semi-classics. Even if I bought D-10E, I don't really use the pickup. That accoustic sound it has is just rich, full, and well balanced. I think you can use it almost any kind of style. Both the strumming sound finger style are great for me, and, personally, I like it very much than Martin D-35 which I considered to buy. Sound is just amazing!

Action is pretty low, and sometimes, it buzzs when I strum it very hard which has no problem with Martin standard series. The finish work of the frets is somewhat tough comparing to others: Martin, Takamine, Guild, Talyor and so on. Other than that no problem at all.

Absolutely, I will not change my guitar again in my life. Everthing seems to be good enough. But I don't really know about reliability and durability of this guitar. But I really like it is no endpin. Of course there's one, but no hole on the neck (look at Talyor's - pretty ugly pin position on a great guitar)

As far as customer support, they have to improve their support program. The email turnaround time is good, but lack of information I have asked and I have difficulties to call them. Wonderful guitar, but poor customer support. The other disadvantage is 'possible warranty service.' Should I really send it to Canada? when I have to get serviced?

I have played several guitars for 13 years. Ovation, Takamine, Cort, Yairi, and Fender. But now I just have Larrivee D-10E. Well, if it were stolen, I will try to kill the thief. I save the money for this guitar for a long time!!! I love the sound of this guitar, but, again, I hate the abalone purfling. My favorite feature is transparent pickguard... really really really nice feature. I wish I had my signature, just like Martin 000-28EC model, but it cost $250 according to Larrivee customer service. I am sure that it costs less than that if you consult your dealer when you order the guitar. Like I said, I considered and dreamed about Martin D-35 for a long time, but when I tried this Larrivee, I changed my mind on the spot. Cheaper than Martin, but better sound! I mean just compare to it's level of Martin guitars.

This is a 1998 Larrivee D-10E. It is completely solid wood; no laminates! The D-10 has a Sitka spruce top, East Indian rosewood sides and bottom, mohagany neck, and an ebony fretboard and bridge. It has mother of pearl inlays in the headstock and the fretboard and has abalone purfling and around the soundhole. This is easily one of the most beautiful guitars I have every seen! The fit and finish is perfect!

This first time a strummed this guitar I new that I would own it for the rest of my life! It has the most balanced sound I have ever heard. The highs are crisp and clean and the lows are tight. When you play this guitar you can actually feel the guitar vibrating in your hands and against your chest.

Absolutely perfect. I haven't adjusted it at all because it was perfect when I got it. There were no cosmetic blemishes when I got it.

I'm sure that if I continue to take care of it, it will live longer than I will!

I have talked with them once and they seemed very helpful and genuinely interested in my satisfaction with my instrument.

I also play electric guitar which is a lot of fun, but whenever I pick up my D-10E after play electric it feels soooo good! There's just something about the way an acoustic feels in your hands as opposed to an electric. I have another steel string acoustic and a classical, both of which a nice guitars in their on right, but they can't touch the D10E!

It's fairly new made at the Larrivee factory in Vancouver, BC, Canada. If you ever have a chance to tour the factory as I did, you'll walk straight out and buy one...as I did. The back and sides Rosewood and the top is Sitka (possibly Engleman) spruce, the neck of one piece mahogany. The fretboard is ebony as is the headstock facing. I owned one (a basic model) back in the early 80's and regret the day that I traded it for an electric. This model comes with a factory installed Fishman Matrix pickup. I wanted this particular model because of the MOP inlay on the front binding, soundhole and the fretboard. The inlay on the fretboard has sharp ends in its design and there is not an ounce of filler to be found. There is some very precise craftmanship here. One model above (D-72) gets you a wonderfully intricate headstock design (cut by Jean's wife Wendy) but I felt hat that would be overkill for my style. I'm a solid rhythm player with an electric and an expressive acoustic player...but I'm not wailing great guitarist when it comes to the technical stuff. To sum it up, this guitar "fits".
Regarding the features rating....I was going to put a "1" because who needs features when you have a guitar that sounds this good. But that would have hurt the overall rating...

There is nothing that I can say that can do this guitar justice. This guitar resonates throughout your body. I've owned Martins, Gibsons and a whole slew of lesser models but this one is magical. This thing just oozes exactly what you want to express. I play a bunch if styles, rock, blues and folk..and this guitar does it all with style, clarity..and emotion. The sound is well balanced with a punchy low end that lets the top end just hang up there without sounding tinny...again, you have to play one to know. I've played many D-10's and I've only found one that sounded better. They all have their own personalities. I play in a fun pickup band and play it through the board but most of the time I play it through a Twin in my living room or at open mic nights. Truth is, it sounds best all by itself. It fills a room beautifully. I'm you're classic test driver in a music shop...nothing has compared to it...nothing.
If you're in the market..do yourself a favour and figure that if you owned this guitar for the rest of your life..the premium works out to very little per year. Treat yourself.

Action is right where it should be, it has the thin frets that give a very concise feel. I play a Strat as well and although not as smooth, I wouldn't expect it to be. This is after all..an acoustic. The finish is again..flawless. The workmanship is that of a craftman's in every respect, like any premium guitar. There is a small imperfection in the radius of the neck that is undetectable by feel, only when looking at the reflection in the light. Other than that...perfect. Gotta remember...it is handmade. But oh man... the sound...

I'll own this guitar until the day I die.

As I mentioned, I've been through the factory. Matthew, Jean Larrivee's son gave us the "Full Meal Deal" as he puts it. I'm reading up and collecting tools to build a guitar and it was quite the experience. I expect that I won't have to deal with them with a problem but I'm certain that it will be dealt with as it should should that day come.

I've been playing for 30 years. I own a 79 Gibson J-200, a 62 Gibson B-25, a 73 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top, a 70 Martin D-35 and a mid 80's Strat Plus. My next toy will be a Larrivee cutaway. I play them all through my Fender Twin with a moderate selection of pedals. This Larrivee is my fav. We don't live forever. Having a quality instrument enhances your life in ways that can never be explained. Get one alone in a quiet room and just let loose. I sense a "life" in this guitar. Check one out...