Body And Neck: | |
Hardware: | |
Sound: | |
Value: |
As one of the highly sought-after models of the parlor domain, the Larrivee P-03 is a premium travel-sized guitar boasting a heck of a sonic punch. It comes as a part of a limited-edition series, featuring top-level craftsmanship, high-quality materials, and a sound not many of its peers are capable of matching.
From smooth looks to smooth sound, this fella is a little beast. We had the privilege of taking it out for a spin, check out the review below.
The instrument utilizes mahogany back and sides combined with a Canadian sitka spruce top and bracing. This is all solid wood construction, allowing the tonewood to really shine through with the true nature of mahogany, which is booming, powerful, strong, yet mellow and occasionally light at the same time.
The neck is crafted from a single piece of mahogany, which makes it durable, sturdy and less prone to bending. If you travel with your guitar often through areas of different humidity and temperature, you are bound to appreciate this feature very much.
Also included in the mix is an African ebony fingerboard of the highest quality. Sleek and strong, it will reduce the level of fret noise to a zero and giving a comfortable feel even after many hours of jamming. High-quality craftsmanship is one of the factors that made this guitar so great, hence we're left with no choice but to give maximum rating in this department. Good stuff!
The guitar is loaded with a set of six die-cast tuners that do a fine job in keeping the instrument in proper tune. On the other side, the ebony bridge with white pins keeps the strings firmly locked in position, causing no rattle whatsoever. Finally, the six-string features an intricate pick-guard right below the circular rosette around the sound hole.
As for the sonic attack, we are looking at a small guitar that can take on any big guitar! The manufacturer took on the approach of developing all frequencies and getting them to shine through a mixture of resonant mahogany and booming Canadian sitka spruce.
As a result, P-03's sonic attack is warm and rich with low-end frequencies, which is not something many travel instruments can brag about. But that's NOT where the story ends, as the middle and high frequencies are also well present in the mix, resulting with exquisite punch and bright clarity to round up the final audio output.
As noted, the level of noise from frets and the bridge is pretty much at an all-time low, making this one of least noisy guitars of this niche.
There's one thing that needs to be pointed out from the get-go here – the price of this Larrivee guitar frequently varies from one retailer to the other. In our opinion, the $1,000 price tag hits the sweet spot here in terms of quality – price ratio, but some sellers are putting it up for as high as $1,500, so keep your eyes peeled on what type of deal you're after.
Overall, if you are after a top-quality travel guitar that will deliver a sonic boom that can put many full-sized six-strings to shame, give this fella a try, we believe it might be it!
For more info about Larrivee P-03 Parlor Acoustic Guitar, click here.
For more top travel acoustic guitars, click here.
Reader Interactions