FS/FT - 1989 David LaPlante Brazilian Classical

[lcgeek]

NO LONGER FOR SALE

For sale or trade - a very fine classical guitar by David LaPlante

I have come to accept that classical is another world, and I'm not worthy of this guitar.

Brazilian back and sides
European Spruce top
664mm scale
52mm nut width
Tuners are Sloane's "Moresque" pattern which have been long discontinued.

This is the earlier body shape that David used from late 1980's until 2006. It is based loosely on a Kohno 50.
Bracing is David's own 7 fan with treble and a single cut-off bars (illustrated on his web site)
www.guitarsbydavidlaplante.com

Guitar has been played, and has a few recent repairs but has recently been shored up by David himself, and it is in great shape, ready to go.
It had a center seam separation for lack of humidity and a small top crack on treble side upper bout.

For years this very guitar was used for recording CD and lesson recordings for Allan Alexander who runs http://www.guitarandlute.com/

A few pics






More pics in the album including close ups of the repairs. Some of the pics are before the repair but most are current and after the repair.
http://s193.photobucket.com/user/lcg...te%20Classical

Asking $3100 which includes all paypal fees and shipping overnight CONUS

[lcgeek]

Straight grained braz classical bumperooski

[lcgeek]

Price drop - $2900

[lcgeek]

$2800

I thought a hand made Braz classical that has recently been shored up by the builder himself would be of interest here. Is it priced wrong? A local high end guitar shop in Tempe AZ valued this between $4-5K. Any feedback greatly appreciated.

[handers]

Have you tried listing on the delcamp classical guitar luthier board. Lots of folks go there for serious guitars such as this. Good luck

Hans

[lcgeek]

thanks for the honest feedback. I will get my mm ruler out and do some finer measurements. Also, thanks for the heads up on delcamp forum - I think I visited there once

Just to be clear, most classical players are looking for 650mm scale or less these days?

[Ct20]

The majority want 650mm. Shorter scales are growing in popularity with people with smaller hands or arthritis/injuries.

[lcgeek]

Measured again:
Scale length 664mm
Nut width 52mm

A few more pics - tried to show to repaired seam separation up close. David did a real nice job splicing that and giving the whole instrument fresh french polish. The instruments shows well and plays smooth - wish I could do it justice.









And finally, here is someone named Muriel playing one of David's guitars. Granted not this exact guitar that I am selling, but you get the idea of the company he keeps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz6MoEzMCqU

Price drop to $2500 - trying to find this wonderful guitar a good home.

[smwink]

As others have said, the 664mm scale is a tough sell these days. It was more popular in the late 60s-70s when the Ramirez 1A model dominated the higher-end market, largely due to the influence of Segovia. It has fallen out of favor in the past several years, in my opinion a bit unfairly. Scale length is one of many factors that impact the feel and playability of a guitar, and there are plenty of 664mm guitars out there that are easier to manage than some poorly set-up 650mm. String spacing at the nut is another piece of the puzzle, but with the glare on the ruler in your photo I couldn't make a definitive estimate. This would be the spacing from the center of the low E to the center of the high E as they pass through the nut slots. Looks like maybe 44mm on this guitar?

David makes great guitars, so hopefully someone will give this a chance. Unfortunately, the classical guitar market is very soft right now, and between the longer scale and repairs, you may have a tough time. One suggestion would be to see if there is any interest at local universities that run a CG program. A needy college student may see the value here and snap it up!

[lcgeek]

Originally Posted by smwink

As others have said, the 664mm scale is a tough sell these days. It was more popular in the late 60s-70s when the Ramirez 1A model dominated the higher-end market, largely due to the influence of Segovia. It has fallen out of favor in the past several years, in my opinion a bit unfairly. Scale length is one of many factors that impact the feel and playability of a guitar, and there are plenty of 664mm guitars out there that are easier to manage than some poorly set-up 650mm. String spacing at the nut is another piece of the puzzle, but with the glare on the ruler in your photo I couldn't make a definitive estimate. This would be the spacing from the center of the low E to the center of the high E as they pass through the nut slots. Looks like maybe 44mm on this guitar?

David makes great guitars, so hopefully someone will give this a chance. Unfortunately, the classical guitar market is very soft right now, and between the longer scale and repairs, you may have a tough time. One suggestion would be to see if there is any interest at local universities that run a CG program. A needy college student may see the value here and snap it up!

Hey thanks for feedback.

The string spacing is actually 46mm.

I guess we are just growing a generation of smaller and softer-handed people these days Variety is the spice of life so maybe someone will actually get a chance to play this and see what a great guitar it is.

I'm no classical player so I offer no expert opinion but I do know it frets effortlessly, is super loud, and resonates for days.

[lcgeek]

How about a price decrease to $2400 includes overnight shipping to your door.

[lcgeek]

One last try - $2300

[Dave T]

Just a thought but instead of dropping the price every day either give it a few days or, accept that you don't have to be a "classical guitarist" to play a classical guitar.

If that was so I'd have to sell two of my favorite guitars. I play mostly old hymns and spirituals on mine, along with Christmas carols in season. The guitar police haven't yet served a warrant to confiscate my classicals so I'm going to keep playing them. They're my favorite style of guitar for sound and playing.

Dave

[lcgeek]

Originally Posted by Dave T

Just a thought but instead of dropping the price every day either give it a few days or, accept that you don't have to be a "classical guitarist" to play a classical guitar.

If that was so I'd have to sell two of my favorite guitars. I play mostly old hymns and spirituals on mine, along with Christmas carols in season. The guitar police haven't yet served a warrant to confiscate my classicals so I'm going to keep playing them. They're my favorite style of guitar for sound and playing.

Dave

Thanks Dave. Although I am poorer than dirt, I still have more money than sense, which tells you I don't have much sense. That's why I was dropping price at an accelerated rate. I guess I was sort of just challenging (in a nice way this forum to try to refuse this super-fine hand made Brazilian guitar at a ridiculous price point....and well, they did The market, or at least this forum, has spoken.

I agree with you though, one can play a Nylon without being classically trained, etc. I do like the sound of Nylon and have on older cracked beater 1960 Martin 00-18G for that

This LaPlante deserves a good home, and I've been too lazy thus far to list on delcamp. I'll probably do that next.

[lcgeek]

Sunday bump for a great classical.