Larivee
D-02-12 12 String Guitar Reviews
Larivee D-02-12 12-String Guitar Review
Guitars
5 out of 5!
Kevin Alan Mattson
kevin_mattson@hotmail.com
Monday, August 21, 2000
10:24:14 AM
I purchased this remarkable guitar at the North Chicago Guitar Center for
$650. MSRP is about $800. I needed a good sounding acoustic twelve for
recording. As a 12-string specialist for 30 years, I went to the store
expecting to choose a basic model Martin, Guild or Taylor in the
$1000-$1500 range (I've owned all of them at times previous). But I just
wasn't happy with the tone or intonation of any of the big names. What a
surprise when the salesman brought me this simple-looking dreadnought
twelve from Canada.
I'm telling you, this guitar stood out immediately from any of the big
name models I mentioned. The tone was immediately warm and loud. The bass
notes had that satisfying thump you expect from a dreadnought body. And
the the treble strings rang nicely with just enough "steel"
sound. Most surprising was the lack of the irritatingly loud G or A
resonance you often get from dreads. The action was close to perfect, and
the notes were so close to being in tune all the way up the neck, I won't
have to have a compensated saddle made, like I have done for my twelves in
the past.
At this price, there are only these nits to pick: It would have been nicer
if it came with more information about the specific model I bought. And
this supplication to all manufacturers: Please put a strap button near the
butt of the neck. Do they really expect us to tie the strap with to the
headstock with shoelaces?
The D-02-12 is the most basic model dreadnought twelve from Larivee. It
has mahogany sides and back, and a solid spruce top. The guitar feels surprisingly
light in weight for a twelve. It has an extremely light satin finish and
an elegant, transparent pick-guard you can't see from across the room. I
found this quote from Larivee's website to be absolutely true: "The
guitar's symmetrical bracing eliminates the low-midrange boominess that
makes dreadnaughts difficult to amplify and record. It creates focused
sound with impressive low-mid clarity when compared with any other
dreadnaughts on the market today."
Money's worth? In spades. After I bought a case and new Elixir strings I'm
still $600 under budget! That's more than I need for the Fishman
electronics I will add when I can stand to have the guitar in the shop for
a week.
Jean Larivee deserves all the success he can get. I can't wait to try his
other instruments.
Larivee D-02-12 12-String Guitar Review
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