First post, first mandolin, great deal on LM-600 I stumbled onto

[Jim1954]

Hi, new to this place, been finding out a lot about mandolins here, it's been very helpful. Sorry for the long first post here but it has a very happy ending for me at least! Been playing acoustic guitar since I was 12, and have been getting into groups like Nickel Creek, Allison Krauss and Gillian Welch a lot, love the sound of mandolin so thought I'd try it out.

Was at a store a few weeks ago looking at guitars, pulled a cheap $160 Ibanez mandolin off the wall and thought, Hey this could be fun. So, after much researching and going through the seeming endless routine of "If I spend just a little more I can get this one!", I watched my budget quickly go way up from that $160! Couldn't justify spending too much but wanted quality, so hunted for a deal.

Mandolin dealers are nowhere to be found in Wisconsin so I thought I would call a dealer mentioned here that seemed reputable, to ask about their low price Loar LM-600 factory seconds for $100 off, $649. He immediately said those were now down to $549! Wow, that's low. I wasn't fond of how that extended fretboard may get in the way but liked the quality, reviews on tone here and price, so thought for $549 I'll either make it work, have it scooped or cut off (tastefully).

The flaws he described sounded minimal and he offered to pay shipping both ways if I didn't like it, so I went for it. First impression when I got it was it could of almost been sold as new, overall it looks great, although after studying it more up close there were some minor finish issues and some very minor scratches but nothing to bother me for only $549.

Serial # starts with 090**** and someone at The Loar told me his best guess was it was made March 2009. He also confirmed it's a ebony fretboard and not rosewood as in specs on their website, a very nice surprise, looks great.

There's no warranty on factory seconds unfortunately but at that price I see this like buying a barely touched, high quality used mandolin in great shape, and it fit my budget perfectly... and I think I just snagged one hell of a great deal on a "starter" mandolin!

Jim

[BlueMt.]

Welcome and congrats on the new mandolin. I've never played a LM-600 but others have said good things about them. That mandolin should take you a long ways.

[talbotpat]

Glad you are digging your LM-600. I bought one a few months back as well, having played guitar since the age of 15...I'm 42 now. So, I basically took the same path as you did to the LM-600, only I have a great dealer locally and didn't deal with the factory. I've tried a few different types of strings, and am currently using EXP74s..I'm sure I'll work my way through some other types as well in order to figure out what sounds and performs best. Have fun with your new The Loar. Here's a few pics of mine.



Pat

[Jim1954]

Thanks for the welcome Eric. Yes, I've seen some good reviews here of it so feel very lucky to have this as a first mandolin.

Thanks for the strings tip Pat, I could use some tips when it comes to mandolin strings. I'm a little surprised people are using medium gauge on these little instruments, I saw in a article on Sarah Jarosz, that she uses medium nanoweb. I'm guessing it gives a bigger tone and lights may be too tinny? I assume mine are still the factory D'Addario still on it (medium guage?). Hard to tell how old they are with my inexperience with mandolin tone.

My fingers have been a little more sore than expected so thinking maybe I need to start with light guage or need a better setup. I like Martin PB lights on my Martin M-36 and it's set up very low so fingers never hurt on it, maybe mando strings are harder on fingers?

The setup looks low and he said he was setting it up low so that seems okay but need to measure it. What is correct average low clearance and at which fret? Thanks!

Jim

[Capt. E]

Mandolins can be a bit harder on your fingers, mainly because the strings are thinner. Most bluegrass players use medium strings, D'Adarrio J74's being one favorite. You can easily start with light strings, something like the GHS A250's I use on my Flatiron. I find that slightly over 1/16" at the 12th fret is a pretty nice height for the action, though if you lay into the strings very hard you will want a bit more.

[Big Joe]

Good setup is more than just how high the strings are at any point. In any case, welcome to the cafe and to the Loar experience. They are probably the best value for the money in the market today. I'm glad you like it. They do get even better with playing. We have used both EXP 74's and 75's on the LM600. I think the 75's do drive it a bit more. On some mandolins the 75's are a bit too much, but so far it seems to be a great string for the 600.

[talbotpat]

I have a set of GHS LS250 Regular Silk and Steel strings that I plan on trying. Have seen some good feedback as far as tone being mellower or 'woodier' but not so good feedback on life. Have also seen the Silk and Bronze feedback around similar tone to S&S but with much longer life. I'll have to try the LS250's out and let you know my thoughts. Would be interested in comments from others on their experience with the silk and steels.

Pat

[Jim1954]

Thanks for the info everyone, I have a good idea what strings to try now and will have to experiment a bit. Also need to slowly get callouses a bit harder again too, I wasn't playing guitar as much as usual before buying the mandolin so playing it with softer fingertips made it harder on fingers than it will probably feel in a couple weeks or so.

[GDAE]

Pat, I love silk and steel...they feel better and sound better to me than anything else I've tried. They do some to last a slightly smaller amount of time...but I still keep going back to them.