Ok tell me if you think this is a good deal (followup on the Larrivee question)...

[BenderOfStrings]

Ok I have settled on the Larrivee dreadnaught model D-09. It has the sitka spruce top and rosewood back with double maple binding. The neck is mahogany back and ebony fingerboard. It has an abalone rosette with a quilted tortoise shell pick guard. It also has ebony tuning pegs.

 

The current Larrivee list price on this guitar is 2398.00 but my local dealer is going to sell it to me for 1599.99.

 

The cheapest I have been able to find this guitar online is 1735.00. What do you guys think?!? Outside buying one used, IS this a good deal?

[BenderOfStrings]

oops! double post

[BenderOfStrings]

Anyone?? Anyone?? Beuller??

[James-Italy]

Wait a sec Bender, your post says it's cheaper than you can find it elsewhere so you kind of answers your own question... so what's your real question?

 

Have you actually played one?

If so, what do you like about the one that is offered to you at $1599.99?

If not, how can you be sure that guitar is the "one"? How can you be sure that's what you really want?

 

You said "Ok I've settled"- it's just semantics but man, if you are gonna fork out $1600 on a guitar I'd think you'd be a little more excited than that. Makes me think maybe you need to keep looking till you find the "one". Call me stupid, but I think buying a guitar should be like falling in love. When you find the right "one" the price is kind of secondary.

 

I just bought an acoustic and there is a big difference between guitars, even of the same make and model. They say never buy an acoustic used but I wouldn't hesitate if I found the one. I'd say instead, "never buy an acoustic you haven't tried in person."

 

Good luck whatever you decide!

[BenderOfStrings]

Originally posted by James-Italy:

Wait a sec Bender, your post says it's cheaper than you can find it elsewhere so you kind of answers your own question... so what's your real question?

 

Have you actually played one?

If so, what do you like about the one that is offered to you at $1599.99?

If not, how can you be sure that guitar is the "one"? How can you be sure that's what you really want?

 

You said "Ok I've settled"- it's just semantics but man, if you are gonna fork out $1600 on a guitar I'd think you'd be a little more excited than that. Makes me think maybe you need to keep looking till you find the "one". Call me stupid, but I think buying a guitar should be like falling in love. When you find the right "one" the price is kind of secondary.

 

I just bought an acoustic and there is a big difference between guitars, even of the same make and model. They say never buy an acoustic used but I wouldn't hesitate if I found the one. I'd say instead, "never buy an acoustic you haven't tried in person."

 

Good luck whatever you decide!

Um, I thought I made it perfectly clear what I was asking. I said that this price was the cheapest that I was able to find it online. Dosen't mean that someone else on here might not know of a place with a better deal does it?? Does it hurt to ask?!? That's what we're all here for isn't it? To help each other out.

 

Yes I have played that guitar! Are you nuts?? Do you honestly think I wouldn't? It would be like buying a car without ever test driving it.

 

I know where you are coming from about finding "the one." Believe me, this IS the one! I have virtually tried every make and model you can think of. I love this guitar and cannot stop thinking about it. That being said, maybe you are richer than I am but price is never secondary to me. No matter how in love you are with something you intend to buy, it never hurts to try and find the best deal possible is it? That's all I'm doing.

[James-Italy]

Ok! Sorry!

I see there's no doubt about this being THE GUITAR!

And yeah, this forum is about helping others out, that's what I was trying to do.

 

The price you found locally is better than anything I could find on the net. Cheapest I found was $1719. I'd suggest you get the one that you've tried. If you found the guitar for $50 less from an internet shop wouldn't you prefer to buy it locally instead anyway? Your local shop's price is excellent and you will get good service if you ever need it.

 

Gonna pick it up tomorrow?

[BenderOfStrings]

Originally posted by James-Italy:

Ok! Sorry!

I see there's no doubt about this being THE GUITAR!

And yeah, this forum is about helping others out, that's what I was trying to do.

 

The price you found locally is better than anything I could find on the net. Cheapest I found was $1719. I'd suggest you get the one that you've tried. If you found the guitar for $50 less from an internet shop wouldn't you prefer to buy it locally instead anyway? Your local shop's price is excellent and you will get good service if you ever need it.

 

Gonna pick it up tomorrow?

Oh yeah I definitely would prefer to buy it locally. I was just looking for any extra bargaining leverage I could find

 

1599.99 seems like a pretty fair deal for the calibur of guitar this is. I had originally set my budget at a thousand but hey, the minute I started playing it, I KNEW it was the right one.

 

I'm actually going tomorrow to put a deposit down on it for him to hold it for me. I'm getting a nice FAT bonus check in about a week so I'm going to pay off the rest and take it home by then. Plus I didn't really want the floor model that everyone and their brother had played so he's ordering me a brand new one from the manufacturer. I'll post pics of it when I do get it.

[zeronyne]

That guitar is probably costing the dealer $1200-$1300 not including shipping from the factory. Add the overhead cost ($130-$200), and you will probably never see it under that price unless it's a blow out or the dealer bought 300 of them.

 

By the way, let's do a quick analysis to put it in perspective. Let's say it was all a best case scenario. So the dealer pays 1200 (known as an A mark, 50% of retail price), and let's say shipping is thrown in (the store owner has compromising pictures of the rep). Now, the cost of doing business is between 5% and 15%. it's called store margin, ad pack, overhead cost, whatever. It pays for the lights, air conditioning, store signage, rent, etc. Let's take the median percentage to make the math easy.

 

So the "baseline" cost of this fine guitar is hypothetically 1320.00 So if this axe is going for 1600.00, the gross profit of this guitar is $180.00.

 

The sales dude/tte makes between ten and fifteen percent of that profit if s/he is a commission salesperson. So that's 18 to 26 dollars BEFORE tax, FICA, etc., on a 1600 dollar sale. This is the best case scenario.

 

I think it's a great deal. Get it!

[Chad Thorne]

Yes. Deal of century. Be all over it like white on rice...

[LiveMusic]

Originally posted by BenderOfStrings:

I didn't really want the floor model that everyone and their brother had played so he's ordering me a brand new one from the manufacturer.

I'm not saying this is a bad move (I just bought one sight unseen... ten day trial) but you are not buying the guitar you fell in love with if you don't buy IT.

[BenderOfStrings]

Originally posted by LiveMusic:

Originally posted by BenderOfStrings:

I didn't really want the floor model that everyone and their brother had played so he's ordering me a brand new one from the manufacturer.

I'm not saying this is a bad move (I just bought one sight unseen... ten day trial) but you are not buying the guitar you fell in love with if you don't buy IT.

Yeah don't think I didn't take that into consideration. I know what you're saying. This is the exact same model guitar though and I will give it a test run before I actually buy it. Honestly though, I think it will feel the same. The guy had several Larrivee models and I tried out all of them. They ALL were fantastic in terms of feel and tone (though something about the ones with the rosewood backs I liked better than the ones with the mahogany backs). I just chose this model cuz it had the perfect combo of feel and looks.

 

I asked the guy if the neck settings on his floor model were straight from the factory and he said yes. He also said the strings were the factory strings as well so I really do expect the model that he orders for me to feel and sound just as great as the model the has on the floor.

[James-Italy]

Hey Bender,

I'm not so good with woods on guitars and stuff. I only pay attention to feel and sound (and price ). Anyway, you mentioned rosewood back and sides and it made me curious to see what wood my new Gibson acoustic is made from.

 

Guess what? The same as yours!

Body: Solid Sitka Spruce

Back and Sides: Solid Rosewood

Neck: Mahogany

Fretboard: Ebony

Inlays: Abalone Rosette

Pickguard: Sculpted Toroise

Binding: ??? yours is double maple, I couldn't tell mine from Gibson's site.

 

We must have similiar tastes in acoustics! Mine is quite percussive and you can hear each string quite distinctively while strumming, but it still comes together nice. Great for single note stuff too. I don't fingerpick, but I think it would be perfect for that. It doesnt' have that swelling flowing sound of a jumbo and I bet it's not for everyone, but I love it.

 

How would you describe the tone and sounds from your (soon to be yours) Larrivee? Does yours have the same characteristics?

[BenderOfStrings]

Originally posted by James-Italy:

Hey Bender,

I'm not so good with woods on guitars and stuff. I only pay attention to feel and sound (and price ). Anyway, you mentioned rosewood back and sides and it made me curious to see what wood my new Gibson acoustic is made from.

 

Guess what? The same as yours!

Body: Solid Sitka Spruce

Back and Sides: Solid Rosewood

Neck: Mahogany

Fretboard: Ebony

Inlays: Abalone Rosette

Pickguard: Sculpted Toroise

Binding: ??? yours is double maple, I couldn't tell mine from Gibson's site.

 

We must have similiar tastes in acoustics! Mine is quite percussive and you can hear each string quite distinctively while strumming, but it still comes together nice. Great for single note stuff too. I don't fingerpick, but I think it would be perfect for that. It doesnt' have that swelling flowing sound of a jumbo and I bet it's not for everyone, but I love it.

 

How would you describe the tone and sounds from your (soon to be yours) Larrivee? Does yours have the same characteristics?

I am so stoked! I put the deposit down on it today and it should be in in about a week!

 

I found the tone on the Larrivee to be very warm. Especially the ones with the rosewood backs. The mahogany backs sounded good too but the rosewoods just sounded a LITTLE warmer.

 

If you write or play songs that tend to favor the lower end "bassy" sounds (as I do) then the Larrivee is perfect. Having said that though, it really is a well balanced guitar. Other than the tone, the main thing that sold me on it was how the neck felt. I can't explain why but the neck on the Larrivee felt more comfortable in my hand than any other guitar I tried. The action seemed incredibly light, even the thicker gauge strings at the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd frets.

 

Have you ever bought a guitar that actually inspired you to want to improve as a player? Well this is how I felt when playing this instrument and that's how I knew I had found the one for me!

[tiger85]

I personally think that rosewood is the wood of choice for acoustic guitars, combined with the spruce top. You just can't go wrong with this combination. Both of my Gibsons were spruce/rosewood, both were great guitars. Someday I'll get another Gibson or Martin, most likely rosewood!

[BenderOfStrings]

Here's a quick pick of the model I ordered. Simple yet elegant. I can't wait. http://www.larrivee.com/data/products/guitars/D-09/images/front_reg.jpghttp://www.larrivee.com/data/products/guitars/D-09/images/back_reg.jpg

[tiger85]