If you thought Larrivee made acoustic guitars; well, you're right because they do.  If you thought I must be drunk because I'm writing about an acoustic guitar on a blog about a specific style of electric; well, you're wrong.  Not only sober for nearly 8 years, but I'm completely convinced the folks at Larrivee need no schooling when it comes to electric guitar building.  If you, like many, find their acoustic guitars nice, you'll love the new Bakersfield.

They don't even beat around the bush.  Instead, they get right to it.  If you're inspired by guys like Merel and Buck, this is one will take center stage.  I still can't get over how surprised I was to play this guitar.  Sure, I expected something nice from Larrivee, but this nice?!  There's no need to be skeptical, this is the real deal.

Being a distributor for nearly all of the guitar wood sold throughout North America is a luxury Jean Larrivee can use to his advantage.  Not only in the coin pocketed by the companies buying his planks, but he has full pick of the litter, which means the Swamp Ash and Rock Maple used for these guitars is the best of the best.  Jean didn't stop with the wood.  Vintage paper-in-oil capacitors, Callaham all-steel hardware, Seymour Duncan custom hand-wound pickups, hand-sprayed high gloss varnish finishes, and a number of other ingredients are used to ensure Larrivee meant business when they decided to put everything into the oven and bake the Bakersfield.

While the vintage appointments are enough to make Happy Days stand out as historically inaccurate, Larrivee is up to his usual self by throwing a slight curve ball into the mix.  Traced from a 1953 blackguard, the body bridges old and new with a very smooth cutout on the back for some appreciated belly relief, along with a nod to Seymour Duncan's  "Telegib".  For those of you thinking that sounds like something you'd see pickled at the front counter of a Quickie Mart in the South , the "Telegib" is a forearm contour that keeps your arm from wanting to fall asleep.

Now remember, just because there's some neat new benefits to the Bakersfield, don't think you're going to get some ultra-new-age neck that even a 3-year old can play.  For those of us who dig a full, rather fat, palm-filling neck that oozes sustain, you've finally met your match.  Patterned after the 1952 blackguard, the igloo shaped nape blossoms from its 1.75" at the first fret to a robust 2.024" width at the 12th register.  It's nice to have a classic feeling electric you don't have to worry about fretting out on.

There's so much to love about the Bakersfield, and so many reasons why this guitar will be seen in many studios and on lots of stages.  Whether you're a professional or simply love playing the absolute best, this model will be aspiring for more than just walking the streets of Bakersfield.