Loar #72212 in performance for the first time in 50+ years

[journeybear]

This is a wonderful-sounding instrument, very nicely played! The volume at the start of the video was so low on my laptop I had to switch over to my desktop, with much more sound possibilities, and when you got close to the mike with it - wow! Nice arrangement, however impromptu, of that old warhorse. The smile on your face at the end - priceless! Congratulations on a job well done to everyone involved in this!

[f5loar]

The American Pickers on History Channel Cabel TV Show like to call items like this "Farm Fresh". How about call it "Farm Fresh" !
No doubt the original owner had a love of this mandolin to slap wear out the first 6 frets, wear the finish off the upper part of neck and knock off the points. I hope it finds a new home soon so it can continue to make beautiful music for another century.

[mrmando]

Well, you could call it Goldie for "Golden Slippers."

[greg_tsam]

Nice video, tony. I was moved by it, surprisingly enough. Thanks for the post!

[Mandoe]

How about Leonard, Robert De Niro 's character in the movie Awakenings - the true story of a doctor who awakens patients after decades of catatonia to a new life in a new time!

[mandopete]

Great video - thanks for sharing!

Tony is such a wonderful presenter when it comes to this sort of thing. I'm curious about the worn fret replacement. He mentions that 6 frets were replaced and the frets were taken from another Gibson mandolin. Why would it be neccesary to utilize "used" frets as opposed to new ones? Is it due to the gauge of the frets?

[Lynn Dudenbostel]

MandoPete... there really is no modern fret wire that is an exact match for what came in mandolins in the 1920's. The Jescar stainless 0.040" is very close, but does have a slightly different appearance. If a complete fret job were necessary, it would have made sense to use it. But, with only 6 frets needing replacement, it helps maintain the originality to use period correct wire. Fortunately, Tony had an old F2 neck that we were able to use as a donor. Old tenor banjo necks often had the same fretwire too. I've known folks to buy an old F2 or F4, just for the fretwire... pull those frets and put them in the Loar, then refret the donor with modern wire.
Lynn

[mandopete]

That's what I thought

[Mandolin Central]

[QUOTE=Lynn Dudenbostel;1062837]MandoPete... there really is no modern fret wire that is an exact match for what came in mandolins in the 1920's. The Jescar stainless 0.040" is very close.....Tony had an old F2 neck that we were able to use as a donor...

As Lynn knows, I am a big fan of the Jescar stainless wire (and, maybe even more importantly, of Dudenbostel fret work!)...and recommend it based on my experience with my mandolins. I play Lloyd #1 every day and have had the stainless on there for two years and absolutely no sign of wear. For a guy who wears the entire fingerboard and used to have the almost yearly nightmare of parting with my mandolin long enough for fret work, this is huge. In the case of #72212, we had a mandolin that had absolutely no wear except in the first position, and the rest of the mandolin except for the point caps is so purely original it was a no-brainer to make the decision to do the transplant. The F-2 in question is one whose body had been completely crushed (the story I got is the wife El-Kabonged her polluted husband as he staggered in with his mandolin late one night!!) and the body hasd been used for parts years ago. The frets above the 7th were unused and are the exact frets used in Kalamazoo in 1924! Attached, photos of the donor and the patient after the transplant.

[Mandolin Central]

The American Pickers on History Channel Cabel TV Show like to call items like this "Farm Fresh". How about call it "Farm Fresh" !
No doubt the original owner had a love of this mandolin to slap wear out the first 6 frets, wear the finish off the upper part of neck and knock off the points. I hope it finds a new home soon so it can continue to make beautiful music for another century.

I love the nickname suggestions! keep em coming...

[terzinator]

I love the nickname suggestions! keep em coming...

Rip. As in Van Winkle.

[mandopete]

Thanks for response Tony! Your depth of knowledge of these little instruments is truly impressive.

Are you saying that you use stainless steel frets on your Loar? I have only recently (like last weekend) heard of this material for frets and wonder about the use and if there is any negative side affects. Having frets that don't wear out sounds like a huge advantage to players that don't want to go through the hassle or expense of replacing frets every couple of years.

[mandopete]

The F-2 in question is one whose body had been completely crushed (the story I got is the wife El-Kabonged her polluted husband as he staggered in with his mandolin late one night!!) and the body has been used for parts years ago.

[RCarrier73988]

Finding the right nickname has to be a very natural and organic process that cannot be rushed...a few ideas have cropped up, but none have stuck. Out of respect for the privacy of the family we will not be using their name...soooo....any thoughts? anyone?

Hey Tony, How about calling it Rip Van Winkle, (Or some derivative thereof) After all, it has been asleep for 50 years? RCarrier73988

[Wilbur James]

Why not call it "WILBUR"

[greg_tsam]

Rip. As in Van Winkle.

Hey Tony, How about calling it Rip Van Winkle, (Or some derivative thereof) After all, it has been asleep for 50 years? RCarrier73988

If we're going there why not "sleeping beauty" or "princess"? Precious? Velvet Glove? Cashmere? Sally? Cupcake?

[greg_tsam]

212 is the area code for NY Call it Yankee.

[Glassweb]

The Closet King

[greg_tsam]

72212 is the area code for Little Rock. You could call it Bill or just plain "Goober".

[greg_tsam]

Little Rock's nickname is City of Roses. You could call her Rose.

[mandopete]

I know, you could call it the "The Loar"......ooops, sorry, that's already taken.

Nevermind.

[Bigtuna]

Great story!

[Mandolin Central]

(Do)... you use stainless steel frets on your Loar?

Yes, on Lloyd, Fred and Cleveland, who had both been refretted many times, I have Dudenbostel refret with stainless and I love it. Playability is nearly effortless on both mandolins (which I think says more about Lynn's ability to get the fingerboard profile right than the material used) and no wear. That's right, two years of playing every day, and no wear whatsoever.

The sound? Check it out on my CD "Lloyd Loar Mandolins" and compare those to other mandolins, some of which have original frets (like the twenty-two and Mon) and some which have modern refrets (like short fern and Golden). There IS a difference in the sound of stainless, but I like it. ( you can find the CD & more info on these mandolins here: http://www.mandolincentral.com/lloar.html)

I like the original wire that was used in the 1920s and the mandolins I have had the opportunity of owning that had original wire have held up well, several years in fact with hard use. However, all the other modern wire that I have used in various refrets over the years last only about a year or so with daily playing.

The initial cost of stainless is more than conventional wire, clearly worth the expense, however, for someone who plays a lot.

[Justus True Waldron]

Very nice playing... not sure why, but listening to you play I kept thinking of the name "Gusty"... maybe because it sounds like it's moving so much air! At any rate an awesome find, you're one lucky guy!

[grassrootphilosopher]

I love the nickname suggestions! keep em coming...

Is there a chance of naming it with the first name of the first owner? The mandolin sounds so nice. Hearing it I was reminded of hearing my first Lloyd Loar. The first owner surely did right.