Opinions on the Larrivee F33??

[Perry Babasin]

Larrivee builds beautiful guitars, and I know they were very particular and worked very hard developing their mandolin line. I keep seeing the F33 model pop up from time to time (very beautiful BTW) at a pretty reasonable price point for this quality of instrument. What's up? Has anyone played one and if so what do you think? Inquiring mind needs to know... Perry

I haven't found one close enough to Sacramento to be able to play...

[NotJethro]

Perry, I've been very interested in hearing more about Larrivee mandolins myself. I've got a couple of Larrivee guitars I quite like, but don't hear much about their mandolins, either here or at the Larrivee forum. Guess they haven't made much of a splash. Too bad. Jean Larrivee certainly has a knack for well built, affordable wood products.

[Perry Babasin]

NotJethro... There was an article about Jean and his son in Fretboard Journal (the Chris Thile issue) and I kind of got excited at the potential. The mandolins look really nice! There is one on ebay right now (NFI) and the wood and detailing is amazing! If it sounds as good as it looks it's a winner...

[Mike Snyder]

They had a vendor booth last year at Winfield. Of course, they probably brought selected instruments, but they were beautifully done.
The scroll on the F was just a bit off of what a "standard" Gibson-style scroll looks like, and it hurt my eye a little. Good volume on all of them. I played one F and two As, as I recall. They were brand new, but sounded very even from high to low and up the board. They are NOT built to sound traditional. Describing the sound ofan instrument is harder than herding cats, for me, but I'd say more modern, lots of bass, and a "zing" or brassy sound on the trebles. Not dry woofy like a Gibson. It was not a sound that I look for in a mandolin. The mandolin contest winners took, as prizes; Collings- 1st, Weber- 2nd, Larrivee- 3rd. The scroll is finished real nice, but just looks lopsided. No telling how the sound would change as the mando matures.

[Geiss]

I tried one for a long weekend and agree that fit and finish are pretty darn good.
The tone and volume did not talk to me; YMMV.
Neck a bit on the chunky side and, had I kept it, would have had the finish removed and some wood removed as well.
The instrument had a nice substantial feel while playing but the sound did not match the feel, if that makes sense.
Might have been a less than stellar exemplar but likely any dealer would just have one at a time so tough to draw conclusions.
All of this said, I enjoy very much an L03R guitar..great tone and playability.
David

[Mike Snyder]

Yes, I forgot to mention that the neck was of the big round style becoming more popular lately. That's certainly not my preference.
The big festival here in Kansas starts in two weeks, and they may be there again. Come on over and check them out.

[Marcus CA]

I tried one for a long weekend and agree that fit and finish are pretty darn good. The tone and volume did not talk to me; YMMV.
Neck a bit on the chunky side and, had I kept it, would have had the finish removed and some wood removed as well. The instrument had a nice substantial feel while playing but the sound did not match the feel, if that makes sense.
Might have been a less than stellar exemplar but likely any dealer would just have one at a time so tough to draw conclusions.
All of this said, I enjoy very much an L03R guitar..great tone and playability.
David

I played one a week ago and had the same reaction about the tone. Maybe it's going to open up really nicely, but at this point, its tone was pretty thin.

Like David, I was drawn to it because I have a 12-year-old J-03 guitar that is always music to my ears.

[lazydog]

Hello everyone,

This is my first participation on MC. I am looking for my next mandolin and have narrowed it down to a Collings MF, Weber Yellowstone (Fern $$$), Ratcliff R5 and possibly the L'Arivée F33. I am planning a 6 hour drive to the 12th Fret in Toronto to try the Collings, Weber and L'Arrivée... I'm not ready to buy yet but for that kind of money I really need to feel and hear it. After that I'll be better prepared to make a decision.

From what I am hearing the jury isn't in on the L'Arrivée as it may be too soon for such a recent product. There are mountains of info here on the Collings, Webers and Ratcliffs from which I have gleaned and from which I have been educated. Thankyou very much for your perspetives, they are very much appreciated.

Maybe when I get back from Toronto I'll have something to offer.

leon

[Denman John]

I've had a Larrivee A-33 for almost a year now and really love it. When I first received it, it sounded a bit tight to me, but it has turned into a tone monster. I don't really have much to compare it to other than my son's Breedlove, but I definitely prefer the Larrivee over the Breedlove. I didn't want to go down the slippery slope of MAS like I had done with guitars ~ buying and trying a bunch if different guitars until I found what I was looking for. I've had a few Larrivee guitars and have always been really impressed with them. You'd be surprised at some of the guitars that I sold while I kept the Larrivee (Victoria era L-05). There are probably better mandolins out there, but I'm more than happy with what I have.

Here's a video of my son playing the Larrivee at an open mic a couple of months ago ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUaHgnqFjn4

John

[Willie]

Lazydog...That R-5 are you sure it isn`t a "Ratliff" and not a"Ratcliff"...I have an R-5 Ratliff and I use it as my number one mandolin now and I have two Gibson made F models and it plays and sounds as good as either or those but that is just my opinion...Yesterday I made three recordings using a different mandolin on each one just so I could play them back and see what they sounded like through a recording machine....I listened to it for quite some time and I will stick with the R-5 for now....

Audey will treat you right also, hes a great guy to do business with.....Willie

[Willie]

Did you pass the hat and get enough to buy him a new pair of jeans...Just kidding, I know that is the style now days....Keep him interested don`t let him quit playing, he`s got a good start....Willie