Help me upgrade! Larrivee or Breedlove or

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

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.

Yeah...sadly...good point.

But...as a thought on a guitar...with all the caveats implied from my previous post...

For the style of music the OP says that he plays one guitar that stands out to me for his needs would be a Yamaha LL-16ARE.

Yamaha is remarkably consistent on the tonal quality of their guitars, and the basic tonal signature that Yamaha builds to in their LL series instruments...more modern, lush, firm but not boomy bass, firm, sweet, crisp mid's and trebles, and great sustain and overtone/harmonic content would suit the OP's stated style and tonal objectives perfectly. They have a nice pickup system in those as well...AND...they are well within the OP's price range...even brand new I believe.

That could be a great guitar brand/model for him to consider.

duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[petrivoges]

I hear what you are saying but some brands and woods have created trust. I did not see the Tak TSF48C i bought but i knew they were made with care in Japan and the materials, bracing and finishes were quality.
Being Rosewood and and NEX body type gave me what i expected so there is definitely some reason to have an expectation.

I have nothing against Taylor, but I want a solid wood Taylor and I'm not going to pay $1500 for a new 310 if i can have a Larrivee 03/09 at $1100. There are a few very nice pre owned taylors but all in the range of $1800-2000 and that is way above my budget.

I do agree with you that I'm going in blind with the Larrivee because i've only listened to the miced recordings of it so I'm taking a risk...

Is it worth the risk for the money...

[petrivoges]

I will investigate the Yamaha LL-16ARE. That i might actually be able to find in Cape Town.
Thanks for the suggestion

[Nctom]

I have an L-09 and a LS-03, although they are Canadian built and 10-20 years old. The -09 is lush, beautifully built, and used great woods throughout. The -03, a custom shop-type guitar, is much plainer and, while using good solid woods, doesn't compare in looks to the -09. That said, I prefer the -03 for its simplicity and "glow". Both sound great and are beautiful in their own ways.

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by petrivoges

I do agree with you that I'm going in blind with the Larrivee because i've only listened to the miced recordings of it so I'm taking a risk...

Is it worth the risk for the money...

Well...it is worth the risk for the money if you get the sound you are after.

Even as excellent and consistent a maker as Larrivee is, you still get variance in the tone from guitar to guitar within the same model. So is one of these two Larrivee's perfect for you?

That's the wonder...


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[petrivoges]

@Nctom i'm also leaning towards the L03R. I read very few negative reviews

[Nctom]

The L-03R would be a good, reasonably priced choice, I'm sure. As I said, the -03 and 09 models are both good, the 03 is just plainer. You might try, after the new has worn off, polishing your L-03 out as I did. I found the satin finish a little too plain and somewhat noisy after a while. I rubbed mine out with Virtuoso polish to a warm, soft semigloss and it is beautiful.

Enjoy your new Larrivee!

[jcpharm]

Originally Posted by petrivoges

I will investigate the Yamaha LL-16ARE. That i might actually be able to find in Cape Town.
Thanks for the suggestion

if you go the Yamaha route, i would caution you on the LL16ARE. i own a LL-TA which is basically an LL16ARE with the Transacoustic feature. i led worship for 3-4 sessions with it. although it does have an articulate mid- and high-range, i don't think it does well with heavy-handed strumming as the Englemann spruce top is almost "too" responsive and can muddy the sound. so although it can be the more "dynamic" instrument tonally depending how hard you play it, it doesn't provide as even a sound as say a sitka spruce model. i have since added a Martin GPC-MMVE which plays much more balanced no matter how hard i strum it so find it much better than my yamaha in the live worship setting. i still use my Yamaha at home for songwriting/inspiration/relaxing play. just my opinion.

[merlin666]

Originally Posted by jcpharm

if you go the Yamaha route, i would caution you on the LL16ARE. i own a LL-TA which is basically an LL16ARE with the Transacoustic feature.

I think the OP is interested in getting a U.S. built guitar, and an entry-level Yamaha might seem like a step down from his previous guitars. Though I agree that Japan built Takamines and Yamahas have excellent reputation and may also have decent availability in South Africa.

[petrivoges]

Merlin666 hits the nail on the head