Lava Me Pro

[JJOJR]

Found the Lava Me Pro available directly from the online Lava Music Store for $769, took a chance on it, based on the price, and reviews of the sound quality in various YouTube posts. The package arrived in less than 6 days. I have played it almost daily since late November 2023. It sounds quite good without any effects turned on. I tried the effects standalone as well as when plugged into my small Acoustasonic Amp; I wasn't impressed and no longer turn on the effects when I use the guitar. The guitar is impossible to play in a sitting position due to the rounded, Ovation-like back. I removed the inside of a honeycomb-type gel seat cushion, cut about 6" off one side, and drape it across my leg to hold the guitar in place. That works for a while but I have to still have to reposition the guitar about every 5-10 minutes.

I had an issue with buzzing at one point but I made it stop when I moved the wires between the pickup and the preamp, they were brushing against the back of the guitar, making it resonate abnormally.

My reason for posting is this: the carbon fiber top has popped off of the body along approximately one-quarter of the lower end. There's a ridge along the edge of the body that the top rests on; I can see the glue fragments there. It appears that the amount of glue used to secure the top was very limited. I'm evaluating two potential solutions: regluing it myself with viscous, slower curing CA glue, or taking it to a local luthier to get the top reattached. Any thoughts on the best way to fix it would be appreciated.

I did contact Lava service, but I'm not anticipating that their solution will be my best option, since I'd probably have to pay for shipping to and from one of their approved repair facilities.

[Earl49]

Cannot see the picture, either logged in or not. But that is common around here -- pictures are always problematic, and a problem that I have never solved.

It is unfortunate that this happened, and I don't have any good advice. I have no clue what the appropriate adhesive would be. A local luthier may not know either. My thought is that you are probably better off sending it back to them, even if it costs a few bucks in shipping. This seems like a clear warranty issue, so they should at least ship it back to you on their dime. Good luck! And welcome to the forum.

As for a slippery back, my solution with Ovations has been to either play with a strap or use a new clean auto chamois draped over my leg. That provides enough grip to hold it in place acceptably. Given right shoulder issues, I now play with a strap 100% of the time.

[KevinH]

Thanks for the review, and welcome to the forum.

That's a bummer, and it's surprising they'd have you pay for shipping on such an obvious warranty claim. If that's the case I'd be inclined to glue it myself, as you mentioned. BTW, I'm not seeing the image you posted.

[JJOJR]

I dropped off the guitar at a local repair shop. Norm the owner is going to use CA glue to reattach the top where it came loose. Estimated cost to repair is $60. It's worth it since I'd be taking a guess at the best choice for the CA glue viscosity and cure time, and finding the appropriate set of clamps to hold the top while the glue cures. He's going to use straps in two directions and tap over the edges from the top over to the side.

My initial attempt to post a photo of the damage was unsuccessful, I'll try again another day.

[JJOJR]

368x600 pixel image of the damage posted on Imgur:

[mountainmaster]

Wow, that looks bad. I am sure your repair shop can easily fix it though.

I thought Lava Me guitars had a one piece body but apparently that only applies to their cheaper lines. Which is the opposite of what I would expect.

[SpruceTop]

It looks like a Lava Me guitar is now off my future purchase list.

[JJOJR]

I just heard from Lava Music's service department. They offered to ship the guitar to their "authorized" service facility in TN, and they will send me a prepaid shipping label. That's an unexpected but very reasonable offer.
I've asked Lava Music if they would approve the offer of my local repair shop to complete the fix, at my expense. I'll wait to see if they agree to it, without specifying that it would invalidate my warranty. I'd prefer to pay $60 to get the guitar back in two weeks or less; sending it to Tennessee is likely to keep the guitar out of my hands for a lot longer, and risk having it damaged during the shipping to and from TN (I'm in CT). The molded case for the Lava Pro is very substantial, much stiffer than a gig bag, that should protect it, but a significant "bump" during the return leg could potentially break the top loose again.

The design of the Lava Me Pro guitar allows for very good resonance due to using a very thin CF top. The projection is decent due to the "Ovation" style bowl of the body. I like the way the guitar sounds and it's very playable. I have had extra light strings on my guitars for a few years now, but I got used to the Elixir 12's on the Lava guitar, and now I wouldn't go lighter on it, since it would probably reduce the volume and not sound as vibrant. But... the guitar's design has a clear weakness in the way the top is attached to the body. I have looked at Emerald's guitars many times; their design eliminates the weakness of different parts of the guitar being glued together. I'm now giving some thought to selling the Lava guitar, and then saving enough to afford a better-designed (indestructible?) CF guitar. I'll be watching the forum for comments on better CF guitars that are $2,500 or less. For that kind of investment I'm tempted to buy a used Martin D-28, but then I'm back to managing temperature and humidity. I have a Martin D-16e and an Alvarez MD60BG, both live in hardshell cases with multiple Boveda 49% humidity packs, MusicNomad high-density sponge holders, and Govee Bluetooth Hygrometer Thermometer units held inside the soundholes. I've had low humidity (during winter) and high temperature (during summer) alarms go off a number of times each year so the monitoring on my mobile phone app is really important.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by JJOJR

I just heard from Lava Music's service department. They offered to ship the guitar to their "authorized" service facility in TN, and they will send me a prepaid shipping label. That's an unexpected but very reasonable offer.
I've asked Lava Music if they would approve the offer of my local repair shop to complete the fix, at my expense. I'll wait to see if they agree to it, without specifying that it would invalidate my warranty. I'd prefer to pay $60 to get the guitar back in two weeks or less; sending it to Tennessee is likely to keep the guitar out of my hands for a lot longer, and risk having it damaged during the shipping to and from TN (I'm in CT). The molded case for the Lava Pro is very substantial, much stiffer than a gig bag, that should protect it, but a significant "bump" during the return leg could potentially break the top loose again.

The design of the Lava Me Pro guitar allows for very good resonance due to using a very thin CF top. The projection is decent due to the "Ovation" style bowl of the body. I like the way the guitar sounds and it's very playable. I have had extra light strings on my guitars for a few years now, but I got used to the Elixir 12's on the Lava guitar, and now I wouldn't go lighter on it, since it would probably reduce the volume and not sound as vibrant. But... the guitar's design has a clear weakness in the way the top is attached to the body. I have looked at Emerald's guitars many times; their design eliminates the weakness of different parts of the guitar being glued together. I'm now giving some thought to selling the Lava guitar, and then saving enough to afford a better-designed (indestructible?) CF guitar. I'll be watching the forum for comments on better CF guitars that are $2,500 or less. For that kind of investment I'm tempted to buy a used Martin D-28, but then I'm back to managing temperature and humidity. I have a Martin D-16e and an Alvarez MD60BG, both live in hardshell cases with multiple Boveda 49% humidity packs, MusicNomad high-density sponge holders, and Govee Bluetooth Hygrometer Thermometer units held inside the soundholes. I've had low humidity (during winter) and high temperature (during summer) alarms go off a number of times each year so the monitoring on my mobile phone app is really important.

Have you looked into the Enya products? I've had an Enya X4 Pro for a couple of years and it is well-built while being loud and resonant with good-sounding onboard electronics. Enya X4 Pro

[JJOJR]

Today I received a response from Lava Music's Service regarding my proposal to have the Lava Me Pro fixed at a local repair shop. They indicated that I can have the work done there and submit a copy of the invoice to Lava Music, then they will issue a refund for the repair cost. I did not expect that type of response - but it's very good news.

As far as the Enya products, I have looked at reviews on YouTube and checked out the deals on Amazon, if I can verify that the service and support for their guitars is satisfactory I might consider a purchase of an X4 Pro Mini, given that it comes with a hard shell case-since I'm not a fan of gig bags.

[OnTheFidele]

Originally Posted by JJOJR

Today I received a response from Lava Music's Service regarding my proposal to have the Lava Me Pro fixed at a local repair shop. They indicated that I can have the work done there and submit a copy of the invoice to Lava Music, then they will issue a refund for the repair cost. I did not expect that type of response - but it's very good news.

As far as the Enya products, I have looked at reviews on YouTube and checked out the deals on Amazon, if I can verify that the service and support for their guitars is satisfactory I might consider a purchase of an X4 Pro Mini, given that it comes with a hard shell case-since I'm not a fan of gig bags.

Great news! Thanks for the update