Loar players role call

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  1. Michael Thompson
    Michael Thompson
    If you have a "The Loar", introduce yourself here and what you play.

    My Loar is an LM-700 VS



  2. billkilpatrick
    mine's an LM-600-VS - looking (outwardly) much like yours
  3. John Gass
    John Gass
    I'm here!
  4. doboing
    doboing
    My Loar is an LM-300 VS
  5. mfeuerst
    mfeuerst
    Mine is a Loar LM-600 VS from mid-2010. Update: I've had this for ~18 months now and I appreciate it even more as it's opened up. I've had flirtations with other mandos in the same price range but this continues to compare well. Not the perfect mandolin but for under $1K, it's a pretty darn good value.
  6. Marion Rose
    Marion Rose
    Mine is an LM-600VS from 08.
  7. mandopaul
    mandopaul
    I've got a LM-600VS. It is a 2009 year Got it last spring, only thing i changed is the bridge, to a Randy Wood that i picked up on the classifieds used (the bridge, that is) Big Joe did the fitting, and took care of sharp fret ends and leveled the frets, because it used to buzz on the third fret.

    Right now i'm using D'darrio J65 EXP's. They last a long time, and sound good especially after breaking in for a few weeks. Next set I have are the Exilir nano medium coated, and I'll put them on when it gets hot outside for festival / camping picking.

    This mando sounds great, and even better since i have had a tone rite on it for 1/2 year, whenever it is sitting alone not being played. It seems more "alive" and vibrates more when i pick it up, also sustain is better and it rings longer. (Tone rite is a first generation model that was on craigslist for $50, i don't think i'd have sprung for it otherwise, but it works)

    I love to listen & play along with anything by Butch Baldassari, (check out Butch's Nashville Mandolin Ensemble "All the Rage" CD, and the Bach/Beatles tribute CD) Garcia/Grisman, Garcia acoustic band at Oct.'87 shows in NYC. Bluegrass festival jams are very good for me to pick up much style.

    I had an old 1920 Gibson A oval for about 1 year - loved the tone, but it kept me bothered most of the time ungluing itself from the cracks around the top.
    Also had a nice Weber Bitterroot F that didn't really open up, so I sold both and got the Loar.

    Great instruments, aren't they? I don't think I will need any more now.

  8. Kentucky Lineage
    Kentucky Lineage
    Bought a The Loar LM-600-VS last September. After much research, I talked to the guys at The Mandolin Hut in Knoxville, Tennessee. Talking with one rep. there (Tom, maybe), and stated what I was interested in, immediately he responded by telling me that HE owns a Loar-600, and really does like it. He went on to tell me that. for the money, it is an excellent mandolin. I told him to write it up, Card Purchase.

    On the Loar web site, and the photos of the LM-600 on the Mandolin Hut web site, I tried to very carefully study the photo, to get an idea of what mine would look like once it got here. The photos do no justice. These things are just beautiful. Several times showed the 600 to friends, and their faces showed the stunned look of amazement. Many of my friends had never seen a mandolin up close, much less being allowed to hold one. Showed them a C or G notes and let them strum a little. Took it to church during the week and got it up on stage. This thing is LOUD! Pastor says I won't have to get pick-up or anything to hook it to studio equipment.

    I do not like Country Music of today. My interests are in Bluegrass. Saturday evenings (PBS Television) are when I watch Michael Jonathon's WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Enjoy carefully looking at the playing style of the mandolin players on the show.

    Not being able to understand reading music, I just Pick around and play chord combinations. Study a few learning books.

    This morning I changed out the strings. I really like the D'Addario J74 strings. Yes, replace them when the Phosphor Bronze strings are no longer bright and shiney.

    My question is, What does everyone use to clean nitro-cellulose finish with? I'm not able to find a straight answer.

    Mike Kitchen Son of Kentucky
    Galveston County, TEXAS
  9. mandopaul
    mandopaul
    Hi Mike, I just use one dab of dishwashing liquid on a damp soft cotton cloth, use other side with just plain water (damp) then a separate dry cloth to wipe the streaks off, and you are done.
  10. P.D. Kirby
    P.D. Kirby
    Greetings, I have the LM400VS and the LM520VS currently the 400 is by far my favorite. The 400 has a much more complex tone and a considerable amount of volume according to my Banjo player. With tax time rapidly approaching I have made a deal with the Boss that I will sell one of my many guitars and trade the 520 back in and take home a LM700VS. I don't really have to have the scroll but if I going to have one the 700 has all the qualities of my 400 +. Not to belittle the 520 it is by far the best F style Mandolin in it's price range. I have become a believer that the good folks at The Loar have discovered something that other shops never even considered and that is to produce a top without the tone bar bracing which equals the tone and complex sound of Mandolins costing thousands more.
    Phillip
  11. brian77
    brian77
    hello all, I bought a 700 from big joe with ca bridge love it. I take lessons from Herschel Sizemore so i get to compare it with a couple real loars and a few altmans I think it holds its own well. Herschel is impressed so thats good enough for me.
  12. billkilpatrick
    phillip - my loar LM 600 cured me of MAS (i think) - seems like it's just begun for you! (envious smiley symbol)
  13. Keith Witty
    Keith Witty
    LM 500, Upgrading to the 700 VS as soon as my local dealer gets it ordered.
  14. Ron McMillan
    Ron McMillan
    Haven't got it yet, but after months of wondering how I (in Bangkok) can get hold of a The Loar (from the States; availability in the U.K. where I come from is poor-to-non-existent; Thomann in Germany sell the LM300, but I really want a 400), the most unlikely solution presents itself.

    Getting one shipped from the States was a non-starter because shipping would add a huge chunk to the purchase price, then greedy customs officials might take anothe couple of hundred dollars - so I was thinking I would have to buy one in the States, have it delivered to friend there - then wait perhaps months until someone could hand carry it to Thailand for me.

    In the meantime I kept sending out emails, so many that I actually forgot firing off an email to the parent company in the USA, suggesting that they really, REALLY ought to appoint a distributor, say, in Bangkok. Two days ago I got an email from one of the two Thailand distributors of The Loar guitars, saying he had heard from AXL, and would I like him to order me a mandolin? So today I said 'you bet', and an LM400 will be mine in a few weeks or longer, depending on availability. In Bangkok. Legally imported. Duty paid.

    And the GREAT thing about this unexpected solution? In a city the size of some small countries, the guitar store is about 150 metres from my apartment. A two minute walk.

    Now all I have to do is wait until it arrives.

    ron
  15. billkilpatrick
    ron - kismet! - serendipity!! - i'm told knitting helps pass the time
  16. Ron McMillan
    Ron McMillan
    Serendipity indeed, Bill. I'll try knitting if I run out of mandolin straps to make, but there's no sign of that happening yet. I'm perfecting another design, a four-strand round rope braid from flat nylon parachute cord in two tones. Distractions, distractions.
  17. rf37
    rf37
    I"m in
    I just traded 2 Morgan Monroes and got one of the new "The Loar" 500vs and very impressed. Here is a pick of it
    and the back Gotta a beauty
  18. martin77
    martin77
    Getting the new version of the 500VS for my birthday, had a quick chance to play it and wow does it sound good. Big upgrade from the Ozark OM-100 I am playing right now.
  19. CA_1
    CA_1
    Hey all,
    I've been playing guitar for a few years and recently got a hankering to pick up the mandolin so for the last few weeks, I've been researching different instruments in the beginner range. One local shop had a few mandos but mostly cheap laminated top stuff. I ended up deciding I'd buy either a Kentucky km380, Eastman 505 or a Loar LM300 whichever I happened on at the "right" price. Just today I found a great deal on a used LM300 and will pick it up tomorrow. After reading the posts here, I'm terribly excited to get it and play.
  20. Padre
    Padre
    Hi Y'All
    just got a LM520 few weeks ago.
    I haven't played a mandolin for a few years - started with some Chinease c... which neck turned to a bow after setting it up with deacent strings.
    after few years of terrorizing my fiance with tenor banjo I'm gettint back to 8 strings ;-)
  21. Michael Thompson
    Michael Thompson
    Welcome, Padre -- enjoy the new mandolin. And have fun terrorizing people with a more easily concealed instrument. Haha.
  22. jdawson
    jdawson
    Hello,

    I am 8 weeks into trying to learn to play my Loar LM600VS that I bought from the Mandolin Store. It is my first attempt ever to learn a musical instrument. I am already obsessed with it and I have telltale symptoms of MAS already. I hear there is no cure for it.
  23. Michael Thompson
    Michael Thompson
    Welcome, jdawson! No known cure for MAS, that's true, but you CAN delay it by curing symptoms with more mando-related purchases.
  24. jdawson
    jdawson
    That is exactly what I am trying to do. Picks, instructional media, etc. Seriously considering a ToneGuard now. The cost is going up.
  25. Larster
    Larster
    Just got a Loar 400! Love it.
  26. Larster
    Larster
    Question: what kind of strap are people using?

    Thanks.
  27. Michael Thompson
    Michael Thompson
    I'm currently using a Lakota braided leather strap. Very comfortalbe; it's almost like it's not even there.
  28. Jai
    Jai
    I have a Loar LM300, got it last year pretty much as soon they were announced. I would have got the LM400 but Loar don't seem to sell them to Europe...
    Very, very happy with it (particularly after getting it professionally set up), just love playing it. It was an upgrade, replacing a Crafter ovation-a-like mando. Regards straps... I've got a fender guitar strap and an old bootlace ;-)
  29. doboing
    doboing
    Where did you do the setup Loar LM300 in Europe?
  30. Jeffrey Sawyer
    Jeffrey Sawyer
    Hello everyone I am playing a brand new LM 500 and love it.

    Jeffrey
  31. Jai
    Jai
    hi doboing

    I'm in the UK (near Liverpool). I bought the mandolin from Thomann, a mailorder instrument supplier based in Germany, at the time they seemed to be the only people stocking the Loars in Europe. They had the LM300, LM600 and LM700. Now, there appears to be a shop in Ireland stocking the LM400, 600 and 700... I could have waited a year and then I could have got the 400!

    I got the mandolin set up by a local luthier: www.mjbluthier.co.uk an American based in the Wirrall, which is just down the road from Liverpool.

    cheers
    Jai
  32. Matt Spencer
    Matt Spencer
    I just received my new LM-600-VS yesterday and so far I am enjoying the mandolin very much. It is replacement for a 1923 Gibson A that I had to sell three years ago for financial reasons. I have not touched a good mandolin since I sold my Gibson (I have an 80's Washburn that junk) and this one is looking very good indeed. The fit and finish is excellent and the setup is prefect ( it was done by Steve at Gianna's in Friendsville TN) I am going to replace the stock bridge with a Cumberland one tonight and also but on Jazz Mando stings and see how it opens up.
  33. Pastor Chuck
    Pastor Chuck
    Got my LM-600-VS in June and I love it. Great tone and volume! Have been playing in several different jam sessions every month. Great way to improve your playing. Original bridge started to "bow" after 3 months so I had an original Brekke bridge installed (all wood no metal) The tone improved immediately! Really happy with it. Also had an arm rest installed and that has really helped my pick position on the strings. I swear I can pick faster now. Maybe a figment of my imagination, but... whatever. Love my Loar mando.
  34. Randy_R
    Randy_R
    A new LM520 here. Played my first tune on it yesterday. Its my first mandolin, so I can't compare it with anything.
  35. Dave Cowles
    Dave Cowles
    Mine's an LM500 (new series) with CA bridge, tone gard and speed neck. I bought it from Steve Perry and he was meticulous about fitting the new bridge and setting it up to my specs. It's a great mandolin for my frequent outdoor jamming in Florida's heat and humidity, which makes the poly finish a plus where otherwise it is looked down upon. It has great wood, a great chop, and a voice that makes me wonder why anyone would want to spend more on either a 600 or 700 series, but I haven't played those yet.
  36. Brad Little
    Brad Little
    I have an LM500-AV, bought about two years ago, but haven't played it too much. I've played guitar for about 50 years, and fooled on fiddle for a few years in the 80s. Have just started to play it for a few minutes every day, so hopefully I'll improve steadily.
    Brad
  37. wb4h
    wb4h
    My LM520vs nice player since setup. for some reason the picture keeps displaying sideways.

  38. acousticjazz
    acousticjazz
    Hello everyone, just joined up with ya! I currently have both a 520VS and a 220vs, I've been playing mando for about a year now and I just wanted to get a good feel for both an F and A style, but both are great. With my tax return I"m going to get em both set up again, thinking bout a new bridge (you all talk highly of switching out from the original it seems) too. Any advice on bridges? Thanks yall, great community we have here
  39. Gene Summers
    Gene Summers
    Hello there, I just climbed aboard and wanted to say I play an LM520VS that I have had for a little over a month. It is a nice mandolin, for the money, and has a wonderful tone and good volume. I like it!
  40. almeriastrings
    almeriastrings
    I would definitely switch the bridge to a Cumberland Acoustics. The material density on the stock bridge is generally not good. They are also quite roughly made and the screw fittings are not great quality either. A good bridge, properly fitted, is very worthwhile. I have an LM-700 which I'm planning on using with a pickup and as a 'road' instrument. I may fit a better tailpiece too, and am even considering a full or partial stripping of the finish and maybe re-doing it with varnish.
  41. Paul Edwards
    Paul Edwards
    I got a loar about a month ago.. and we've been in love ever since.. I got a LM-700 and added a CA bridge to it.. worth it.
  42. MichiD28
    MichiD28
    I'm playin a Loar LM 600 VS, made Jan 2010, bought June 2010.
    I just got a CA bridge, original will be replaced soon.
    I'm an acoustic guitar player and the mandolin is my 2nd instrument.
    Michael





  43. Ray Neuman
    Ray Neuman
    I just ordered a LM 520. Can't wait to get it!
  44. Michael Thompson
    Michael Thompson
    Welcome aboard, Ray. I'm sure you'll enjoy your 520. Have fun with it!
  45. playmandolin
    playmandolin
    I got a LM400 two weeks ago, I love it. The tone out of this thing is unbelievable. Stays in tune even after several days of hard playing! If my wife wouldnt kill me, I'd by another just because
  46. Cehanska
    Cehanska
    After having my Flatiron Artist A and a Gibson Army-Navy (reissue) stolen, I got an LM-520 from the Mandolin Hut in Knoxville. Great instrument, excellent setup and service from the Hut. Been playing 30 some years - owned a LOT of mandos. Frankly, this one (The Loar) sounds and plays better than many current Gibson models (played a "Jammaster" and it was a clunker).
  47. Don C
    Don C
    Just came across this group, and I figured I better join in. LM-520VS here. Lots of guitars over the years, but this was my first and only mandolin. Got it from Folk Musician out in Reno, and the set-up makes all the difference for this instrument. Yea, I know, that 700 looks mighty nice as a wishful upgrade.........
  48. Barry Wilson
    Barry Wilson
    Hi guys. Thought I'd join the group. I have a 600 I bought a few months back now. still first year playing mando, long time guitar/ bass player. I consider myself a vocalist first tbh and love to accompany with many instruments. that said I have owned 3 mandos now and have played a few at the music store. I adore the feel and sound of this thing over more expensive mandos I have tried. and it just keeps sounding better all the time. I'd sure love to be able to get some acoustic jams going.
  49. Nick Gellie
    Nick Gellie
    I have just ordered an LM700 mandolin from Robert Fear at Folk Musician. I did get hold of Big Joe to order one from him but there was a problem with his contact form. He is getting his web designer to fix it. I must say that I am really impressed with Joe's passion for the Loar mandolins.

    I will let you know what I think of it when I get it. I did not get an Acoustics Cumberland bridge. I can set that up myself in the future if need be.

    Robert sent some pictures. This is what it will look like. Not as much flame as others I have seen on this thread. I bought it for the tone and playability for the most part. It does not look too bad and it is pretty well finished off, according to Robert.
  50. Nick Gellie
    Nick Gellie
    I added a back and front to the pictures page to make up for the fact that I could not post it directly in my post
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