Help me upgrade! Larrivee or Breedlove or

[petrivoges]

Hi guys, I lead worship and had a Taylor 114ce for 5 years but i developed GAS(guitar acquisition syndrome) and felt i wanted a solid wood guitar. I sold the Taylor for a profit and bought a Takamine 2005 Ltd which was a beautiful instrument. It was so well balanced and had this tight range and amazing playability.

Unfortunately the guitar didn't do to well with driving rhythm and my percussive style and i longed for a brighter tone, a wider range. So after some reading i found that rosewood back and sides should do the trick.
That lead me down the path of Americans and their love for Larrivee, which they are pretty convincing at. So i found 2 Larrivees in South Africa, I'm from Cape town but the guys wanted to much so I "settled" for a 2002 Takamine TSF48C which is actually exactly what i need but my heart yearned for the Larry i did not know.

So i put the TSF48 on for sale and have made 50% profit which puts me close to the $1000 mark, but the problem is there are 3 American guitars that i want but they are a 1000 miles away and nowhere near me is there any Larrivees or Breedloves in music shops.

I need your opinion, critizism, expertise and help to help me make the best decision from a distance. The guitar will be primarily used for rhythm, some percussive and finger style playing. I dont want booming bass, it should punchy, the mids should be pronounced with some overtones and the highs should preferable not be as shimmering as a taylor but broader range than my Tak 2005 Ltd.
I like the TSF48 solid spruce and and rosewood back and sides but I have sold that for my "last" guitar ever...

These are the 3 guitars in my price range - 2016(spotless) Larrivee L03RE, 2006 Larrivee LV09E(Lr Baggs Pro) and a Breedlove American series 000 SRE.

I welcome your opinion and feel free to ask me any questions.

I am open to suggestions not on my list.

[merlin666]

I have never seen a Breedlove in person, but I think that the 000 indicates a smaller body size which may be more suitable for finger style in an intimate setting than for the use you describe. I have played several Larrivee models in stores and have friends with Larrivees, and I liked them all in terms of playability and great sound. I would not hesitate to buy one if I needed another guitar. As for the models, the 03 is a very basic model and the 09 is several notches above in the model hierachy. So if it was used and in great shape then you might well end up with a lifetime guitar with the LV09, and no desire for further potential "upgrades". If it has issues and needs major repairs then maybe go for the newer model.

[petrivoges]

@merlin666 the Breedlove is probably on my radar because of its eye candy...
When you do a comparison between the L03 and LV09 then they are similar in construction and materials except for some nicer finishes. The main difference i can tell from 03 vs 09 is the satin vs gloss finish.
Is the 09 really so much better, because there is a 200$ difference between the 03 and 09

[AZLiberty]

I love both Breedloves and Larrivees, and find that in general they tend to occupy the same tonal "pallet space" for want of a better description.

For driving rhythm, I think a Larrivee would perform better.

I'd be drawn to the L-03RE. The LV-09 has a gloss finish, but otherwise construction is the same except for the cutaway. If you don't need the cutaway, I'd buy the less expensive L over the LV.

Larrivee polishes their gloss guitars by hand, and it's a lot of labor. That is the primary driver of the cost difference. They are not a big enough company to buy a bunch of polishing robots like Martin.

[merlin666]

Originally Posted by petrivoges

@merlin666 the Breedlove is probably on my radar because of its eye candy...
When you do a comparison between the L03 and LV09 then they are similar in construction and materials except for some nicer finishes. The main difference i can tell from 03 vs 09 is the satin vs gloss finish.
Is the 09 really so much better, because there is a 200$ difference between the 03 and 09

Ok, I was not looking at specs too closely more at MSRP which for the LV09 with pickup ($3800) is almost twice as high as the L03R ($2048) without PU. And yeah, I'm not really into gloss and bling, though I'm a sucker for Larrivee wood bindings and herringbone inlays.

[_zedagive]

Sent you a private message.

[der Geist]

I might be mistaken but i think that i read somewhere on the Larrivee website that the 09 series uses a much higher grade of wood both tonally and in appearance.

[G-Money]

My understanding is that larrivee reserves the higher aesthetic woods for the higher seriew (05 09 30 40 etc) but that the wood used in the lower models like the 03 is not tonally inferior. Would be interested in hearing whether that is right....

[petrivoges]

logically it makes sense that 09 would use better wood but the other issue is the pickup in the 09 is inferior to the 03. The 03 has the anthem system which I really like...
It seems the choice is between the Larrys

[petrivoges]

I’m a big fan of those bindings myself but the issue I have is the pickup in the 09. It’s the Stage pro where as the 03 uses the anthem. The Breedlove has it as well

Any other suggestions... Pre owned Martin within my raney

[petrivoges]

Thanks for explaining where the money goes on the 09.
Do you have any other suggestions that will compete well with the 03. Martin or Gibson?
I saw a Gibson 165 in the similar range but know very little of them

[AZLiberty]

How old is the L-03R?

Larrivee has used maple body binding on the 03 series since the early 2000s. (admittedly, I think the rosewood binding on the 09 looks classier)

If the 03 is old enough to predate the maple binding, it probably also has a narrower 1 11/16" neck.

[petrivoges]

The 03 is 2 years old and has not been played much at all. It’s for all intents and purposes a brand new guitar at a very good price

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by petrivoges

The 03 is 2 years old and has not been played much at all. It’s for all intents and purposes a brand new guitar at a very good price

But...

It may or may not have the "sound" you are after. None of the three guitars are guaranteed to sound like you want. Being rosewood back and sides does not guarantee anything tone wise, because in reality, it is the totality of the "soundbox"...the body size, shape, and dimensions, the top and top bracing, the sides, and the back and back bracing and how they all work together to produce sound that truly determines what tone the guitar will have. Oh...and the maker too...that makes a definite difference.

There just are no guarantees in the world of acoustic guitar tone. It's really a case by case, guitar by guitar basis.

Why are you not looking at Taylor? They have ruled the "worship band" world for quite a few years now, and certain models of theirs make fantastic guitars for what you want...on a guitar by guitar basis...of course.

Takamine, for that matter is super well respected for both their acoustic tone, and their Cool Tube pickup/pre-amp system. A lot of working pros...even superstars use them on tours. Our AGF member noledog I believe...is a serious working musician and a huge Takamine fan. He could offer some great advice, as could some of our worship band/worship leader members here.

The three guitars you mentioned are all very fine guitars, the Larry's are IMO a definite cut above the Breedlove...but that still does not guarantee that any of them will do what you want exactly as you hope they might.

If you have to take a flyer on a guitar choice, due to where you live, I completely understand...just go into it with both eyes...and ears...wide open.

And check our classified section here on the AGF. There are some stellar bargains out there right now, from fantastic member/sellers.

Best O' Luck

duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by mcduffnw

And check our classified section here on the AGF. There are some stellar bargains out there right now, from fantastic member/sellers.

Be advised that the OP is in Cape Town South Africa.
(Nobody ever sets their location on their profile anymore)

For a US or CA or even UK member I would say the same thing, look in the classifies, used values are down, lots of great deals.

With international shipping and CITES concerns? As a seller, I won't ship to Canada anymore, much less South Africa. He is going to be fairly limited to what is available locally.