NGD: Larrivee OM-02

[TBman]

Congrats!....

[Neil K Walk]

Nice guitar. I love my OM-03R and this 02 looks to be just as well-constructed. You should get years of enjoyment out of it.

I feel like Jean Sr. knows his wood - especially since he owns a big stock of Sitka that he mills himself - but I don't really think that that asymmetrical waver in the grain is bearclaw though. It looks more like the "shadow" of a branch that the tree changed its mind about growing. Other than that it's wonderfully straight-grained piece of Sitka. The grains look as evenly spaced and prominent as many Adirondack spruce soundboards I've seen.

I'm sure it rings like a bell and will age to wonderful honey color with a lot of resonance. From experience I know that Larrivees age quite well tonally so I'd play the heck out of it. There are prettier guitars out there that sound pretty bad; the measure of a good guitar is how comfortable it is to play. Just as the marking on the wood shows, guitars are living things that change with age.

Sorry if that's not a gushing review but FWIW I'm happy for your NGD. As a longtime Larrivee owner I feel like I am seeing a "diamond in the rough." Congratulations!

[jazzguy]

Great looking guitar. Larrivee's are terrific. I had a OM3Re years ago when leading music at church. Put a LR Baggs Anthem in it and it was wonderful. I should not have sold that guitar.

[maxtheaxe]

Very nice...love the way that top looks. It almost looks like Adirondack & even has a little bonus bearclaw. I've never had one of these in my hands, but Larrivees are so consistent in build quality/attributes that I wouldn't hesitate to buy one sight-unseen. JCL's mahogany stock is very high quality as well...this one will age beautifully although it will probably take it's sweet time...worth the wait. Congratulations!

[G-Money]

Where does the 02 series fit in the larrivee line? Is it an occasional thing? doesn't appear in catalog descriptions like this--

[Wade Hampton]

G, the Larrivee “02 Series” guitars are a step below the considerably more common satin finish “03 Series” guitars. Larrivee seems to produce the 02’s on more of an off and on again basis. The initial ones made in the 1990’s were extremely plain, lacking even body binding, if I remember correctly. This one is much fancier than those, and is fancier than my 1998 OM-03W, in fact.

Another quirk I’ve noticed over the years is that the “02 Series” guitars get marketed in Europe more than they do in North America. The OP here is in the United Kingdom.

Why Larrivee provides these to the European market more plentifully than to the North American market, I couldn’t tell you.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Sonoma2]

I have a D-02. *Most* 02s have three piece necks (mine is a once piece), most 02s are sapele (mine is specified as mahogany). The rosette is different, but otherwise the 02 series is identical to the 03's, I think.

In all, instruments that play far above their cost. Larrivees are great.

[SpruceTop]

Congratulations, Bristol, On Acquiring Your New Larrivee! I, too, just bought a new one, a Larrivee D-40M, and it's the best-sounding Sitka Spruce/Mahogany dreadnought I've ever owned, even beating my spectacular-toned 2016 Martin D-18. Enjoy Your Larrivee OM-02 For Many Years!

[BRISTOL86]

Thank you all for the well wishes. Unfortunately when I posted this NGD thread I didn’t notice a knock that the guitar took in transit. The dealer was great about it and so today I took it back and made the mistake of playing some more expensive guitars whilst in the store.

BIG mistake.

I’m now about to come home with something that is considerably out of reach of the budget I started with...oops!

I won’t ruin the surprise, but I’ll oblige with another NGD thread in due course

[joseriverasound]

My OM 02 Probably one of the best bang for your buck acoustic guitars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLDBbKS8R5A