View Full Version : the smell of a Loar.
GTison
Mar-31-2005, 12:16pm
Does it smell like an old A Model? or is it different.
Darryl Wolfe
Mar-31-2005, 1:40pm
Interesting question..I can't really say for sure. #It's certainly similar, but usually not as noticable as the A-models. #
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that most of the smell might actually originate from the case. #My Loar has not spent very much time in the orig case. #The mandolin has the distinctive samell, but it is very faint.
On the other hand, I just bought an A-model case, and the smell will knock you down
Charlie...what do you think on the subject....and, do you have any words to describe the smell. I've never been able to capture it with words.
Most of the "A" had a birch back compared to maple. I have no idea how either smells in the raw.
Ken Waltham
Mar-31-2005, 3:54pm
Good point Darryl.
My Fern, which was unmolested since 1927, has spent decades in the original case. It has that "smell" in spades.
My Loar, which has seen a lot of time in my Calton, and been out more does not have it nearly as much.
I am very inclined to say the smell comes from the case, and the hide glue, etc, used to assemble them.
My luthier says that keeping a vintage instrument of any kind in it's OHSC for VERY long periods of time is a bad idea. It's OK if you're using them, but he has had damage occur from long term storage. These cases are actually decomposing to a degree. I think that's the smell, really.
He showed me a lovely Gibson ES 175 the other day with a lot of finish deterioration from just such a circumstance.
An interesting thing I've learned is that pickguards decompose if trapped in a sealed environment. Closed tightly in the case for 30 years or so, they will even scorch the inside case lid. Many many gibson A cases are worn over the PG for this reason! A friend bought would would have been a dead mint style o... not a scratch on the case, the back & sides perfect.. but around the pickguard, the gasses released damaged the finish on the top, and the case has the "scorch" inside
El Rey del Mando
Mar-31-2005, 4:28pm
Hey Darryl,Scrape some of that smell out of the case that will knock you down and send it to me.I will make after shave out of it and wear it.
John
El Rey del Mando
Mar-31-2005, 4:30pm
Discription: Eaude de grandmas attic.
John
Big Joe
Mar-31-2005, 5:06pm
Yes. The case is not the cause of the problem as much as the plastic deteriorating from the pickguard. The gases from the pickguard can eat the finish off an instrument. The biggest danger in the case for long periods of time is the humidity in the case. Just because the room is the right humidity does not mean the inside of the case is the same as the room. It could be much drier and cause damage. Best thing is to get them out regularly and check them out. If they have a removeable pickguard, take it off before storing and store the pickguard seperate. Just my advice.
Jack Roberts
Mar-31-2005, 5:18pm
Big Joe: Is it OK to store vintage Gibsons by hanging them on the wall? I make sure the heater/air conditioning is not directly blowing on them, and my music room never gets too damp or too dry (lots of books act to buffer humidity changes). But I heard someone say that the mandolin should never be stored anywhere but in a case. They sure look pretty hanging on the wall, and it is easy for me to reach up and grab one whenever I want to play, which is most of the time I'm not asleep.
Charlie Derrington
Mar-31-2005, 6:07pm
Yeah Darryl...
They do smell differently (to me). And I do believe the majority of the smell comes from the case (probably the glue as it ages). But I also think some of the smell comes from the kerfing (basswood in Loars). Add to that the varnish/lacquer (yes, Ferns smell differently than Loars) and whatever other mojo you can think of, and there you have it.
I would mostly describe the smell as "musty" although that's not complex enough of an adjective to even come close. The one thing that I've found that has a similar odor, is an old record player that's been in the attic for a few years. Go figure.
Charlie
sunburst
Mar-31-2005, 11:12pm
Most of the "A" had a birch back compared to maple. I have no idea how either smells in the raw.
Birch smells like tinker toys. (Actually, tinker toys smell like birch.)
Maple smells pretty much the same as birch, but not nearly as strong.
If you play with tinker toys as a kid and "grow up" to be a wood worker, it's hard to work with birch without being transported back to the second grade.
Juice6120
Apr-01-2005, 12:08am
Thank goodness , I think its the case and somewhat the F2 itself. They do have a distinct smell very hard to pin down the smell. It is #very cool for sure. My 23 F2 has that smell and I love it ! I think its one part fine Cuban Cigars in a Humidor, One part Wine cellar .
This happened in 1923 Swiss John Harwood invents the self-winding watch. Jacob Schick patents the electric shaver. 16mm home movie camera is launched by Kodak. Frank Epperson invents the popsicle when he leaves his lemonade mix on a windowsill overnight.
They forgot something #Lloyd Loar Is Makin History And Leaving A Legacy http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif
Rroyd
Apr-01-2005, 12:04pm
MandoMedic needs to chime in here and tell of the formula used by some Loar counterfeiters to try to get that smell. I don't recall the exact formula, but it seems like it had to do with specimen cups and turpentine, or something like that. Are you there, Ken?
glauber
Apr-01-2005, 12:12pm
I think the proper word is scent of a Loar.
Unfortunately, ultimately the source of it was Loyd's aversion to hand soap.
Spruce
Apr-01-2005, 12:24pm
There are place like this one (https://www.dshperfumes.com/reproduction_eo.asp?page=20), who said they could duplicate any smell...
For a price...
It wasn't all that much. #Maybe 3-400 bucks...
Think you could sell a hundred bottles of "Essence of F4"?
Hard to say...
I'd buy one for sure...
Jamie Wiens told me once that you get that smell from belt sanding basswood.. as it heats up..