Larrivee vs Martin

thomasross20 · May 2014

The sigma ooo15m is way cheaper. How is that???

richardhomer · May 2014

Sigmas are very decent low cost Martin-alikes (though the brand is no longer owned by Martin). Check out Recording Kings too, if your looking at lower-priced alternatives.

I played a used (very pearly) RK OM type a few months ago that was astonishingly good. It's the only one I have ever played, so I can't vouch for the brand beyond that particular guitar - it may just have been one of those rare 'gems'. It was seriously impressive.

That said, if you can afford it, I'd by a Martin. If you look after it, it will be a companion for life.....

thomasross20 · May 2014

Just bought the larrivee om02 for £750... Absolutely amazing guitar. But I also want an ooo15m!!

thomasross20 · May 2014

Well... I went back to the original shop and compared my new larrivee with the ooo15m with the intent of biting it but I must say... The larrivee had blown it out of the water completely! VERY happy with the larrivee I have to say. It is phenomenal!

richardhomer · May 2014

thomasross20;235878" said:
Just bought the larrivee om02 for £750... Absolutely amazing guitar. But I also want an ooo15m!!

I believe it's customary to say at this point "without pictures it didn't happen"!

Glad you got sorted out in the end. A good acoustic is a great thing to own - sounds like you've chosen well.

Hope you really enjoy it.

thomasross20 · May 2014

Thank you! It's taken some time but been worth it. Got £50 off the larrivee! It is light and sounds amazing, very loud, I will post pics etc as soon as I can

If I see a second hand ooo15m I'll think about it.. But £1.1k seems too much when looking at what I paid for this beast!

thomasross20 · May 2014

thermionic · May 2014

That looks very nice indeed. I can see myself going for a Larrivee, if only as a stopgap until I can afford a Martin HD-28.

Dave_Mc · May 2014

Wowsers

thomasross20 · May 2014

Honestly, I couldn't be happier... it's strength is blasting out chords and playing with a pick. Fingerstyle is still good but I suspect better sounding on the 000-15m. You barely have to touch the strings and it just blasts out; the entire body resonates and you can literally feel it vibrating - it's like a living thing! The first Larrivee I tried was a dreadnought and it was something special... The second was the version in the photos but with electrics.. it was still good but missing the wow factor. The one I bought had the same magic feel of the first, so maybe I was lucky.

There is something special about the B strings on these guitars, likely due to the compensation at the bridge. It almost sounds like a 12-string, it is so rich and full. I am going to put 11 lights on at some point and hopefully that wont affect the sound much.

The booklet which accompanies it is great and full of information. It's thorough and a little scary as it basically tells you everything that can go wrong with an all-wood guitar. Seems HPL guitars react better to different climates. Recommended to keep the guitar out of the case in summer and in it in winter (unless I read that wrongly) however I will always keep mine in the case.

I have a good microphone so will try and capture some recordings some point soon..

richardhomer · May 2014

Please take the humidity warnings seriously. A cold winter with the central heating cranked can seriously dry out a solid wood acoustic, which can lead to cracks/splits. My ex-wife used to love sub-tropical levels of heat. I took my Martin out of its case one day and the fingerboard had shrunk that much, that the frets were sticking out of both sides.....

A digital hygrometer in the room you keep the guitar in is a good idea and in winter, the case will offer some protection against an overly dry atmosphere. I run the radiator on a lower setting in the room my acoustics are in and dry towels in there to add humidity.

There's no need to be obsessive; just sensible.

thomasross20 · May 2014

Crikey! So... in winter, keep it in the case.

In summer... do you still keep it in the case?

Do you have a de-humidifier? I see they're the rage in guitar shops now...

Hygrometer - that was one of the recommended purchases... I will check it out!

thomasross20 · May 2014

This looks excellent - no batteries... doesn't record max/min as not digital but hey:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Climate-Buddy-Thermometer-Hygrometer-Condition-Monitor/dp/B0052BGDMQ/ref=pd_sim_lp_1/276-8899695-8442604?ie=UTF8&refRID=01WPSHS26MQG3ETVQAJ8

I'll probably go for the cheap option, though:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hygrometer-Humidity-Thermometer-Temperature-Meter/dp/B009IBM564/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399804548&sr=8-1&keywords=home+hygrometer

ToneControl · May 2014

unless you have the guitar in a hot room that needs air-con, or have serious damp problems, then a dehumidifier is not needed

In any non-damp house, the whole house will have dry air in winter, regardless of whether you turn off the radiator in the room the guitar is stored in.

Guitars do suffer in the Uk from dry air in winter - especially when it is dry and cold outside, or snowing. Laminated guitars will not split as easy, but the necks can still warp, and frets can come out of the fingerboard

cheapest solution is to dry towels on radiators, and keep the guitar in the case with a case humidifier

best solution is one of these: http://www.airandwatercentre.com/boneco-s150-steam-humidifier-1224-details/

with one of these: http://www.airandwatercentre.com/plug-in-humidistat-259-details/

thomasross20 · May 2014

Wow, thanks!

I will definitely be looking into this - first thing's first - hygrometer!

I really appreciate your help, guys!!

EDIT - will the humidifier do much if the guitar is in its case? Along the same line of reasoning... does the hygrometer readout have much truth in it if the guitar is in its case (e.g. wont the conditions in the case be different to ambient)? Is the best solution to have an in-case hygrometer & humidifier.... and also out-of-case versions? Seems a bit much..

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007W1EA6/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00026053Y&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=08KDRCAQFV90XBG45YV5

This site seems pretty good:

http://www.redmountainguitars.com/guitarcare.html

Don't know how I'd place a hygrometer in with the body of the guitar other than through the soundhole..... And as for placing any sort of humidifier in the accessories compartment, surely you'd have to rip the top off the compartment?

ToneControl · May 2014

this is the in-guitar, in-case one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Waves-Acoustic-Guitar-Humidifier/dp/B0002D0COE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1399808053&sr=8-3&keywords=planet+waves+humidipak. these are not as accurate as a room one AFAIK

If you prefer to keep the guitar ready to play, a room one is easier, and can obviously care for many guitars at once

thomasross20 · May 2014

Excellent, thank you!

thomasross20 · May 2014

Quite a few 000-15M's on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-Made-in-USA-Martin-000-15M-w-hard-case-/321400379278

Still tempted but girlfriend would kill me lol

thomasross20 · May 2014

Guys at work seemed to love the Larrivee. Even non-players commented on how good it sounded.

Just filling out the registration/warranty card... But it says on it that I will receive no notification of whether or not they receive it. So what's the point lol?

richardhomer · May 2014

thomasross20;238358" said:
Guys at work seemed to love the Larrivee. Even non-players commented on how good it sounded

Er, you're not David Brent are you?

I you are, please post a demo of said Larrivee singing 'Freelove Freeway'.

I could do with a laugh....

thomasross20 · May 2014

Is that the guy Ricky Gervais played? He's my satan - can't stand the guy lol.

I WILL try and get Larrive sound clips, perhaps for the weekend.

spacecadet · May 2014

Love it. I love my OM-10. Took me ages to find one and picked one up in Frailers. Alaways worth checking him out.

Here's mine.

http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af135/roscoe2911/Guitar_zpsa34782c7.jpeg

Jalapeno · May 2014

Remember with the upper range acoustics the sound is going to get better over the years, where with low-end Taylors/Martins- that's as good as it will ever sound. That's why 50+ year old Martins are so sought after.

thomasross20 · May 2014

Nice one, spacecadet!! Looks amazing!

Got any sound clips?

Jal, good point. Got to say I've never heard an older guitar like you mention played in front of me compared to a newer model!

Evilmags · June 2014

Tom, if you are in Edinburgh all you need is a decent hard case. It never gets dry enough to damage a guitar unless you have central heating blasting all of the time. I´ve kept loads of acoustics in the UK and never had problems. Not storing them near radiators and keeping them in a hard case is pretty much all you need to do with them. If you move them to more extreme climates (ie dry) then the change can effect them and that is when you need an in case humidifier. But the UK climate is gentle on wood.

Misty · June 2014

Just wanted to say this is an excellent thread, very informative and a good read! I do have some nice acoustics, Martin D28 and OM28V, and a Taylor 814CE, and I agree it's absolutely the right thing to try as many acoustics as possible before buying. I can't say I've ever worried about humidity though; I'm in Sussex, and the guitars are kept in their cases away from radiators when not being played, and so far no problems...and I've owned the Martins for eight or nine years. The 814CE is relatively new, but I had a 314CE before that, again no issues. Perhaps I should worry, but if it ain't broke.....

Anyway, kudos to the guys who have given good advice here, and congrats to Tom on the L'arrivee, I've never tried one and probably should have done.

CloudNine · June 2014

Evilmags said:

Tom, if you are in Edinburgh all you need is a decent hard case. It never gets dry enough to damage a guitar unless you have central heating blasting all of the time. I´ve kept loads of acoustics in the UK and never had problems. Not storing them near radiators and keeping them in a hard case is pretty much all you need to do with them. If you move them to more extreme climates (ie dry) then the change can effect them and that is when you need an in case humidifier. But the UK climate is gentle on wood.

Wouldn't reallly agree with that. Unless you are keeping the guitar in the garden, it is best to really forget what the local outdoor humidity is altogether, and just focus on on what it actually is in your house. And the only way to do that is to monitor it.

He is in Edinburgh, it is cold in winter, the heating will be on a lot, therefore there will be a very real dnager of low humidity. I live in Glasgow and have some nice acoustics, and Hygrometers for the room they live in. Several to ensure accuracy. It gets well below 30% on many winter days and my CH usage is just normal. And yesterday when it was quite warm it was up at about 67%.

All stuff that could easily damage a guitar. Particular cracking at the lower humidity levels.

ToneControl · June 2014

yes, humidity should not be ignored in the UK. Most houses will get down to low 30%-34% during the winter, enough to damage an acoustic. Very simple physics: heat outdoor air by 20C, and it's RH drops by half, so 60% outside becomes 30% inside.

Cold dry, snowy weather is worst, by rights indoor RH should be 10%, but humans and cooking help this up to 25% + usually

thermionic · June 2014

When I bought my first solid-wood guitar (a Taylor) over 10 years ago I bought a hygrometer straight away - Taylor give you lots of good information on how low or high humidity might affect your guitar, and I think their factory humidity is controlled at 47%.

My experience is that the humidity in my house is almost always higher. With typically wet summers, it might be at 65% for a few days, and rare winter sunny cold spells with a lot of central heating might see it creep down to 40% or very slightly lower. An unscientific guess at an average would be 55% or so (maybe I should record it over a year and plot a graph...)

This concurs with my observation that the action on acoustics rises over time. Tops belly up over time due to string tension anyway but the wood absorbing water and swelling contributes to this. Not enough to cause any real damage, but enough to be noticeable.

Misty · June 2014

Hmm...I've never worried about it before, but you've all given me food for thought. I'm tempted by this hygrometer, as it's not expensive and the reviews are mainly positive:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermometer-Hygrometer-Instrument-Room-Control-Anthrazit-White/dp/B002U9U4B4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I just wondered if anyone has any knowledge of this one?

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