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Larrivee Twelfth Fret Special 2009

It is not very often that I surf the net after I get home from sitting in front of my work computer for 11 hours, but once in a while I'll poke around a bit. A couple of months ago I stumbled upon the Larrivee Forum and saw that the nice folks there had ordered a special run of custom instruments that were based on the LS body size, but with a 12 fret neck-to-body joint, just like we used to make in the mid '70s when I was with Jean and Grit Laskin in a small workshop on Mt. Pleasant Ave. in Toronto. What a great idea! I asked Jean and Ricky Thompson if I could order a small batch of similar guitars and they graciously accepted my order. Thanks guys!

So why would I want to jump on the Larrivee Forum bandwagon and bring in some 12 fret neck joint LS guitars? Because, as anyone who has owned one knows, a shorter neck necessitates pushing the bridge further down the body (to maintain the proper scale length) which can yield significant sonic improvements. The torqe-like mode of vibration seems to really like the added real estate between the bridge and soundhole on this style of guitar. Twelve fret neck joint instruments often produce a more robust overall response with a bass that is disproportionate to the smaller body size ... quite a shockingly big sound really!

Of course the only downside of this style of guitar, for some players at least, is the slightly limited access to the upper registers ... enter the elegant Larrivee Venetian cutaway. Intuitively, you might think that any gains realized by the repositioning of the bridge on this instrument might be negated by the reduction of top surface and internal air volume that a cutaway necessitates. Not so.

The upper section of the top on any flattop guitar is heavily strutted and reinforced to support the fingerboard extension, help stabilize the neck angle, and prevent soundhole flutter. No valuable vibrating surface is lost therefore, if some of this heavily reinforced top area is removed to accommodate a cutaway.

The reduction of internal air volume might also seem a detriment to some, but again this is not the case in my opinion. If larger guitar bodies with proportionately greater internal air volumes produced better sounding instruments ... then all guitars would be big! The internal air volume produced by engineering a cutaway, simply raises the main air resonant frequency of the guitar ... usually by around a semi-tone. In the case of these Twelfth Fret Special LSV-03R guitars, Jean has placed this main air resonant frequency (or "Helmholtz Resonance") at G# minus 50 cents. By using the reduction in air volume created by the cutaway to place this resonant frequency right between G and G#, Jean has effectively made a more even note-to-note response in the lower registers ... spreading the effect of the Helmholtz Resonance between two notes rather than placing it directly one ... a very smart strategy!

In short, these compact 15" bodies with their shorter necks have a surprisingly big sound with excellent bass/mid/treble balance, the signature Larrivee clarity, with a strong sweet note fundamental that launches one of the most complex overtone series I've heard in ages! Check out David Martin's sound sample to get a taste of this stunning sounding instrument!

Sorry, only five of these instruments are available in total.

Link to an mp3 of David Martin playing one of these
Larrivee Twelfth Fret Special LSV-03R guitars!

Link to our David Martin web page.

Thanks again to Jean Larrivee, John Junior, the entire Larrivee family and Ricky Thompson for indulging me once again. It is truly an honour to be able to offer yet another special small run of custom Larrivee guitars. You folks are the greatest!!!

Specifications
Larrivee Twelfth Fret Special 2009

* 1 3/4" wide bone nut
* bound ebony fingerboard with micro dot markers
* 12 fret neck-to-body joint
* one piece tropical mahogany neck
* hand fit dovetail neck joint
* adjustable truss rod
* medium elliptical neck profile
* enclosed chrome plated tuners
* 65 cm scale length (approx.25 9/16")
* bookmatched Sitka spruce top
* abalone shell soundhole rosette
* East Indian rosewood back and sides
* maple body binding
* ebony belly bridge
* intonation compensated bone saddle
* 2 3/16" string spacing at the bridge
* Venetian cutaway
* 15 3/16" lower bout dimension
* 4 1/4" deep sides at end pin area
* matte finish
* Larrivee hardshell case

To see if this piece is still available
please go to the main index of our What's New section

MSRP: $2252.00 U.S. dollars
Note: The "Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price" (MSRP) or "list price" is rarely if ever the actual sell price of an item. Typically a store would discount between 10% and 40% off this figure depending on the wholesale structure.

MAP: $1689.00 US dollars
Note: A "Minimum Advertised Price" (MAP) is required by some suppliers who's policy does not permit its resellers to advertise prices below a specified amount.

Please email us at sales@12fret.com to receive the actual sell price of this item.

Currency Conversion to U.S. dollar, Euro, Canadian dollar etc.

We ship internationally & domestically on a daily basis. Please email us at sales@12fret.com for a shipping rate.

We fully set up our instruments to your specifications with your brand & gauge of strings before shipping.

If shipping within Canada but outside of Ontario, only 5% GST applies.

When shipping outside of Canada, no taxes are charged by us.

Shipping to the U.S.A. : There are no taxes charged and no duty at the border for North American made products

Current as of April 2009
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Link to main What's New Index for most recent Larrivee reviews

Link to the Larrivee Snakewood Limited Edition L-09 and C-09 guitars

Link to a Twelfth Fret 30th Anniversary LV-03R-TF from Larrivee Guitars

Link to a review of the Larrivee F-33 F-style mandolin