Larrivee Soprano (90s Vintage) All Mahogany

INSTRUMENT HAS BEEN SOLD

I am selling my older Larrivee all solid mahogany soprano because I have too many instruments that don't get played as they should. This one doesn't only because it is a 12 fret neck. 12 fret necks have become deal breakers for me, I want at least 15 frets.

As you may or may not be aware, Larrivee made very nice sopranos and a few concerts back in the 1990s but stopped making them about 15 years ago. The serial number of this soprano is 32182 but I don't know for sure what year it was made. I am thinking late 1990s.

This instrument has a lovely tone, warm with lots of projection and sustain. It is, quite simply, a joy to play and hear. Action is nice and low with no buzzes or playability issues. The sustain on this instrument is exceptional, rare on a soprano sized instrument.

The abalone purfling, rosette, and bridge inlays place this model near the top of the line for Larrivee. The maple binding and sterling headstock inlay add to its clean beauty.

Here is a video for a sound sample:

https://youtu.be/CyIqnEzZjY8

Cosmetically, there is one minor issue that needs to be pointed out. I upgraded the original friction tuners to Gotoh UPTs which required a small amount of reaming to the tuning peg holes on the back side of the headstock. On the A string tuner hole, a small part of the headstock split off and the UPT tuner does not completely cover the split off area. You can see this in the photos. The C string tuner hole has a similar issue but it is much tinier than the A string. One would have to look closely to detect these small cosmetic "blemishes". I did not keep the original tuners.

The instrument is currently strung with Seaquar clear fluorocarbon fishing line with a wound low G.

Included is a Uke Crazy faux alligator hard shell case, Oasis humidifier, and original Larrivee gig bag.

I am asking shipped within the CONUS. I prefer and accept PayPal.

Thanks for looking...!!!

Price reduced to. Includes hard shell case, Oasis humidifier, and original Larrivee gig bag.

Superb sound example. And very nice sounding Uke. I like the Low G on the Soprano ...

It is indeed a beauty, and if I had the cash, I would be all over this.

Who knows - if you haven't sold it in a week, (and I get reimbursed for some significant expenditures by then), I may be able to do something...

Cyber Monday bump...!!!

Pre-Christmas Sale price reduction to including shipping, Oasis humidifier, hard shell case, and gig bag.

Final price reduction to shipped CONUS w/hardshell case, original gig bag, and Oasis humidifier.

Lavrrivee Mahogany

I"d liKe to buy the Larrivee Mahogany $600
Can get you cash and local pick up
jamiewoodburn@yahoo.com[/email]

I just want to chime in to say this is a STEAL, for a fantastic ukulele. I imagine the new Larrivees are diluting the market for these, so I want to weigh in with my recent comparison.
I have a 90's Larrivee spruce/mahogany soprano. I love it. It has the most comfortable neck/fretboard of any of my uses, and is the easiest to play with accuracy. The scale is perfect too.
I pre-ordered a new Larrivee spruce/rosewood soprano from Elderly. I was thrilled that Larrivee was making ukes again, and I was keen to get one like the one I had, but with (I hoped) a slightly deeper timbre, owing to the rosewood. There were no pictures available at the time of my pre-order, so I was buying blind. When it arrived, there were a number of spec changes, some good, some not for me. The fretboard was extended to the sound hole, which was nice. The top and sound hole had rope purfling, which was a pleasant surprise. The geared elephant-ear tuners were an unfortunate tweak, and completely unnecessary with all the fine tuners available today, including some with enclosed gears. The headstock was missing the signature silver inlay border (yes, that's silver folks!) that was so classy and understated in the older models. The body binding on the newer model is much thicker and less elegant than on my 90s soprano. The fretboard was bound, which is new, and sounds like a good thing, but for whatever reason, the fretboard is notably thicker than before, and this adds to the profile of the neck/fretboard. Whereas my older Larrivee has the most comfortable neck of any use I own, the new one felt chunky and uncomfortable. This was the main reason I sent it back.
In short, give me one of the older Larrivees (like the one listed here) over one of the re-releases, any day.

Ernie said:

I just want to chime in to say this is a STEAL, for a fantastic ukulele. I imagine the new Larrivees are diluting the market for these, so I want to weigh in with my recent comparison.
I have a 90's Larrivee spruce/mahogany soprano. I love it. It has the most comfortable neck/fretboard of any of my uses, and is the easiest to play with accuracy. The scale is perfect too.
I pre-ordered a new Larrivee spruce/rosewood soprano from Elderly. I was thrilled that Larrivee was making ukes again, and I was keen to get one like the one I had, but with (I hoped) a slightly deeper timbre, owing to the rosewood. There were no pictures available at the time of my pre-order, so I was buying blind. When it arrived, there were a number of spec changes, some good, some not for me. The fretboard was extended to the sound hole, which was nice. The top and sound hole had rope purfling, which was a pleasant surprise. The geared elephant-ear tuners were an unfortunate tweak, and completely unnecessary with all the fine tuners available today, including some with enclosed gears. The headstock was missing the signature silver inlay border (yes, that's silver folks!) that was so classy and understated in the older models. The body binding on the newer model is much thicker and less elegant than on my 90s soprano. The fretboard was bound, which is new, and sounds like a good thing, but for whatever reason, the fretboard is notably thicker than before, and this adds to the profile of the neck/fretboard. Whereas my older Larrivee has the most comfortable neck of any use I own, the new one felt chunky and uncomfortable. This was the main reason I sent it back.
In short, give me one of the older Larrivees (like the one listed here) over one of the re-releases, any day.

Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to explain the differences between the old and new Larrivees. I purchased one of the new Larrivee concerts, all mahogany. In short, it is a wonderfully nice instrument. My only complaint with the new concert is that the neck is a little thicker than what I am used to but after playing it for a while, I have become used to the extra thickness. It sounds amazing, loud with loads of tone, one of the better ukuleles I have ever owned.

I would keep this (older) Larrivee but it only has 12 frets and I like to have 15 frets, a small point I know, but it makes a difference to me.

Another interesting point is the serial number of this (old) Larrivee is 32182 whereas the new Larrivees have serial numbers in the 122000 range.

I have the older Larrivee 10k model. Stunning Koa and abalone. Excellent tone!

This instrument has been sold...!!!