Larrivée D-02E

My story has come about because my trusty Alvarez 5225 some ten years old started doing some annoying things. The action among other problems was my biggest beef. Anyway so I went to my local Guitar Center and cheesed with a sales guy there for a couple of months before one day I noticed a really plain looking guitar (which I like. He told me it was a Larrivee, I had never heard of it. I picked it up and was able to play like it was my electric. 400.00 used no case, 60.00 for deluxe Larrivee case and I didnt have to sweat out the first year of humidity control, whichh is so crucial in solid wood guitars first year. The electronics was a bonus, I am so happy with this guitar. I love the thin neck for playability, and the tone is very warm. I would tell anyone looking for an acoustic to get a Larrivee. It is the most quality guitar for the money. If you have no budget......Well that obviously isnt the case if you came here. Oh and one more thing, I called the Larivee people and told them my story, they sent me a Truss rod wrench(unique to the Larrivee) no charge and even asked me to tell them the serial number, they in turn told me everything about the guitar when it was started, finished and when it left Vancouver. Its an entry level guitar that should be the first choice for professional musicians. Ill shut up now. Go get one! Its as simple as that.

Tone, action, woods used in its contruction.

No peg for strap.

Top shelf.

I think I already have...NOW GO GET ONE!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Larrivee D-02E is an acoustic/electric dreadnought style guitar. They first made this guitar in the late 1990's and stopped making them soon after, and I was the first owner of mine and have had it about ten years. The guitar has a Fishman Deluxe SC pick up built into it which is activated when you plug your guitar in, which is a pretty cool feature. I don't know what sorts of woods this guitar is made out of, but it deifnitely seems to be of a high quality in terms of it's build.

UTILIZATION

Using and playing the Larrivee D-02E isn't difficult under any circumstances. As far as the pick up is concerned, it's got a simple three band equalizer, as well as brilliance control, a notch filter, and phase. Playing the guitar is really a pleasure as it feels nice and easy on the fingers and is in general a pretty easy guitar to play. It's best for playing chords, but it's more easy than average to play lead parts for an acoustic guitar.

SOUNDS

Getting a good sound from the Larrivee D-02E acoustically is as simple as knowing how to play, as is the case with getting a good sound plugged in. It has a full bodied and vibrant sound, which translates pretty well to the electric end of things. The Fishman pick actually sounds great, and I'm really more skeptical than anyone when it comes to acoustic/electric guitar pick ups. I haven't used this for recording, but judging from it's open sound it will work well in any situation you put it in.

OVERALL OPINION

While they were only made for a brief period of time and have now been replaced by the D-03 series of acoustic/electric guitars, the Larrivee D-02E is a great all around guitar. I don't think that it would be all that easy to get your hands on one of these, as it doesn't seem that they made too many of them, but if you do come across one the price should be very reasonable used for a guitar of this ilk. In my opinion the D-02E is as good of a guitar in this mid range price as you'll be able to find.