Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Sooo, I had some old friends in town over the holiday weekend and needless to say we had a little too much fun on the town. A good friend of mine went to play my Martin late night and in the morning was in two pieces. So, I am once again in the market for an auditorium sized electric acoustic cutaway to replace my Martin 000C-16GTE.

I loved that Martin, played great, fantastic intonation and a beautiful sound raw and amp'ed. I played some guitars yesterday morning at the local GC as it is a mile from my place. And really grew fond of the Taylor x14-CEs they had there. Keep in mind this was a GC so the selection was not spectacular. I am going to be shopping for a used model no matter what I decide on so I was just playing a few to check them out.

My model is no longer in production so the closest thing is the 000C-16RGTE which has white binding and rosewood back and sides. My favorite players from the other day were:

Martin 000C-16RGTE
Taylor 414-CE (or similar X14-ce models)
Gibson J-45 (Not an auditorium I know. But my lord what a beautiful boomy voice on these girls)

Any thoughts, experiences or mindless banter appreciated.

Check out some Larrivée guitars, such as the LV-09E or LV-10E, both with generous cutaways, or if you are not into the cutaway models, the L-09E or L-10E. There are a lot of different body sizes and shapes to consider along with price, of course.

I have a rare model called the LV-19 that was only produced for a short time.

Is it possible for your Martin to be repaired?

Larrivees are excellent acoustics, but those 000 sized electric cutaways are pretty pricey for what I am looking to spend.

Yes the Martin is going to be fixed, my friend gave me the money to replace it and he plans to either have the headstock glued or replace the neck altogether. I am assuming the glue repair would be vastly cheaper. The neck split was pretty clean, and at an angle that would allow for a lot of bonding surface if glued.

Darkhollow wrote:Larrivees are excellent acoustics, but those 000 sized electric cutaways are pretty pricey for what I am looking to spend.

Keep in mind that selling prices will be considerably lower than those list prices. Sam Ash is a dealer. I got mine from Heights Guitars in Cleveland Heights, also a dealer, although mine was second hand.

That's a beauty Jeff. There is a Larrivee OMV-05 E for sale local and the guy is looking for $1200. Not a lot of into on this particular model online, I am wondering if the newer model number for this is LV-05 E ?

The OMV-05E is an 'orchestra model' shape first made by Martin in the early '30s. The '05' designation indicates Mahogany back and sides, the 'V' means cutaway and the 'E' means with pickup. This guitar would be the same as a LV-05E but with the OM shape. The 'L' shape is an original Jean Larrivée design, but similar to a classical guitar shape.

Here is the OM-05E.

The OMV-05E is a much nicer guitar than that Martin IMHO. That is a great price, snap it up if you can!

Has this "good friend" been re-assessed?

jingle_jangle wrote:Has this "good friend" been re-assessed?

Haha never. Guitars can be replaced. 20+ year friends, not so easily. But in all honesty, he is an exceptional guitar player, and an even better friend. The second I woke up and saw it I knew it was an accident and must have killed him. He put the guitar on in the dark, and the front strap must have been folded over on itself and just peeled off the strap button. He cut me a check for more than it was worth that same morning.

Regardless, my boss has lent me his extra acoustic which is an OM5 Larrivee. Very impressed, the action isn't set up to my liking but plays very nice regardless. Now that I have a loaner, I will probably take my time and go play a wider selection of guitars. There is a shop that reps Larrivee about 30 minutes from me I will be sure to visit soon.

I love the Martin 000C-16s, they are an extremely dynamic instrument for fingerstyle, strumming, lead, pretty much anything. I also like the Aura / blender fishman electronics they come with. Having the mic and piezo was a lot nicer than I thought it would be. How are the electronics on Larrivees?

I will throw a few pictures up of the break when I get the chance.

I have no experience with the electronics Larrivée uses but they are the usual top shelf stuff.

So.... did you buy anything?

I played countless guitars and when all was said and done, I bought the Martin. I love the auditorium Martins, and after playing nearly every brand I could get my mitts on nothing else felt quite as right. Got a great price on a "used" one from someone who bought it earlier this year and just never really played it. Factory strings, case candy and the guitar shop tag still on the case matching it to the guitar. There wasn't a mark on her.

From my 00C-16GTE, the new one has rosewood back and sides vs Mahogany, white binding instead of black with a bound fretboard, and the Aura Fishman which is actually a nice upgrade from the blender on my old one. All in all I got an upgraded newer model of what I had.

Good call, Justin. I bought a new Martin D-16RGT dreadnaught last year by the same process of elimination. No regrets at all. Tried your model too but couldn't afford it