Loar LM 700 VS information

[Lefty665]

Hi All, I've just succumbed to scroll lust and long necks and have ordered a mandolin. Most of the threads about these I've been able to find are older. What are they like recently, how have they evolved? Specifically, have they improved the bridges, and if not what in particular is wrong with the bridges? Are they poorly fitted, made out of balsa, or ??? Have the nitro finishes improved? Overall I expect cosmetic imperfections, what I care about is sound. What tweaks make a difference? Currently how do they stack up against the competition? Thanks, and it's nice to have entered the Cafe instead of just looking in the windows.

[Br1ck]

No experience with them, but as with any new instrument, live with it a while and evaluate for yourself. The 700 is far up the the Loar food chain. I can't imagine much being wrong with it. Manufacturers are not dummies. Competition dictates if they could improve it with little cost, they would.

As to scroll envy, I played my MK a bunch when it was my only F.

[Lefty665]

Thanks for the response, I'll live with it, just trying to learn a little more about a couple of specific issues. The better part of a decade ago there was a lot of chatter around here about the Loars. The most critical, and it seems most knowledgeable, was about the bridges. The almost universal recommendation was to replace the bridge with one from Cumberland Acoustics, and that would make a significant audible difference. I am curious, did the Loar folks respond to observations from their distribution chain and customers, or were bridge improvements too costly for the price point of these mandolins, and does the bridge upgrade recommendation still stand? They apparently had some issues with the nitro finish applying differently than the poly they had been using. Have they come up on the spray booth learning curve over a decade, and are finishes thinner than they were back then? Same question about some of the other cosmetic issues folks were griping about, is Loar generally producing tidier products than they were a decade ago?

[noah finn]

I had an lm700 a few years back.

Im in Ireland and at that time they were hands down the best value for money. I think the main issue was massive variance between each instrument. A good lm700 was a great sounding instrument however there were alot of quality control issues.

Worth also nothing in alot of the older threads the lm700 was being compared to km1000 mandolins. I always thought this unfair as here in Europe at that time an lm700 would set you back around 800 euro while a km 1000 retailed for double that.

My advice with these instruments is always play before you buy....my lm700 was a fine sounding instrument and I considered it excellent value at that time. For an instrument at this price point you cannot expect perfection.

[pops1]

I had a 520 that after refitting the bridge sounded quite nice. I wouldn't worry about the bridge, but would worry about the fit. Take some time and fit the bridge to the top and then decide if you need/want a different bridge.

[Lefty665]

I had a 520 that after refitting the bridge sounded quite nice. I wouldn't worry about the bridge, but would worry about the fit. Take some time and fit the bridge to the top and then decide if you need/want a different bridge.

Thank you. Believe I can do that, I know which side of the sandpaper goes up and why to paraphrase Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein. The videos I've seen with guys fitting bridges were moving them side to side. I'd have thought moving the bridge on the other axis, in line with the neck, would be the way to fit one.

[Lefty665]

Noah Finn, thanks, expect you're right. This was a phone order to a place on the other side of the country, so no picking first. They do a lot of mandolins, makes me think their setup will be pretty good. It is my understanding that much of the variability in the Loars is in the setup, or lack of it. I will find out in the near future. Got my fingers crossed it will be good value for the money.

[pops1]

Thank you. Believe I can do that, I know which side of the sandpaper goes up and why to paraphrase Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein. The videos I've seen with guys fitting bridges were moving them side to side. I'd have thought moving the bridge on the other axis, in line with the neck, would be the way to fit one.

I have a jig that goes tailpiece to neck, I still use the side to side method, it is more accurate as far as I am concerned.

[Lefty665]

Thanks, that helps.

[Stephen Perry]

The bridges were a bit soft and clunky. Cumberland Acoustics made a bit of difference Mainly fitting. These always responded to my mandovoodoo work well. Some were really excellent at that price point!

[Lefty665]

The bridges were a bit soft and clunky. Cumberland Acoustics made a bit of difference Mainly fitting. These always responded to my mandovoodoo work well. Some were really excellent at that price point!

Thanks, makes sense. Sounds like I should start by making sure the bridge is fit well.

Your mandovoodoo work looks interesting, especially that it is subtle adjustments. However, that raises a question, how do the improvements hold up over time? As a mandolin matures, dries out and opens up are those changes enough to swamp your voodoo adjustments? Should I figure on sending you a new mandolin now and then again in several years?

FWIW, I've played older instruments all my life and figure regular care by a good luthier is as valuable as that from a good regular doc.

[Br1ck]

Instruments these days are very well built. Certainly most could go ten years or even twenty or thirty with no issues other than fret replacements. At thirty years, guitars can exhibit the need for neck resets. So other than a good look at the setup as needed, not much can go wrong provided some care is taken.

[Lefty665]

Instruments these days are very well built. Certainly most could go ten years or even twenty or thirty with no issues other than fret replacements. At thirty years, guitars can exhibit the need for neck resets. So other than a good look at the setup as needed, not much can go wrong provided some care is taken.

I've got a couple of guitars and a mandolin that are old enough to collect social security that have never had neck sets, and show no need for them. Also have one from the mid '90s that could have used one for a decade (go figure). All have needed attention of one kind or another over the years for things like loose braces, bridges, bridge plates, cracks and other miscellaneous stuff in addition to frets. That is why I have valued establishing and maintaining a good relationship with a couple of very good luthiers. Instruments benefit from periodic care from instrument docs just like people do from people docs. It would be nice if we could set 'em and forget 'em. But in my experience it does not work that way unless the instrument was built like a truck (like the warranty claim averse Martins and Gibsons from the '70's), and I have never been interested in those.

I have a couple of very specific questions about the current Loar 700 that came out of issues they had that were discussed here at the Cafe around 7-10 years ago. They are in the post at the top of this thread. Getting answers about those specific issues, or others I may not be aware of, from knowledgeable people here who have experience with this model is why I started this thread.

My thanks to Stephen and others who have been addressing those questions.

[Br1ck]

I'm not implying that your query has no merit, only that if you know nothing about anything, if you looked at an instrument and got the impression it was well cared for, the likelyhood of any well known brand with a good reputation that was,say, ten years old, having a major issue is unlikely.

Now an instrument whose case shows 25 years of wear with a bunch of scratches is entirely different. My A1 is 106 years old. Had I bought it from an individual, I would have had no qualms. It was an exceptional example. Would I have taken it to Gryphon for a look see? Sure.

[Lefty665]

I'm not implying that your query has no merit, only that if you know nothing about anything, if you looked at an instrument and got the impression it was well cared for, the likelyhood of any well known brand with a good reputation that was,say, ten years old, having a major issue is unlikely.

Now an instrument whose case shows 25 years of wear with a bunch of scratches is entirely different. My A1 is 106 years old. Had I bought it from an individual, I would have had no qualms. It was an exceptional example. Would I have taken it to Gryphon for a look see? Sure.

Looks like you'd be interesting to talk to, and to pick some tunes with. However, in this thread I was asking specific questions about a specific model of mandolin. While having some general merit, your responses have had nothing to do with the questions I asked. You started by acknowledging you had no experience with the model I was asking about.

The answers other commenters, here and on another thread, to my questions about the Loar lm 700 have been:

1) Current bridges are better than they were most of a decade ago, and need to be checked for fit rather than summarily replaced.

2) Cosmetics in the last several years are better than they had been.

That changes my task list when it gets here, and checking on shipping is next on my list. My thanks to those who have made responsive comments. Glad I joined the Cafe.

Also glad you're happy with your paddlehead A1. I prefer my '23 snakehead A with a truss rod. It's a wonderful world when we can both be happy with what we've got.

[Br1ck]

I'd probably be happier with your snakehead than my paddle head too.

[Lefty665]

I'd probably be happier with your snakehead than my paddle head too.

Could be. The Loar era instruments generally sound pretty good, even those that are not signed. I've had this one close to half its life. Serial number is about a dozen off from the real deal Loar the mandolin player in a band I was in long ago had. I'm a guitar picker, I just play at mandolin.

[Br1ck]

I've had the pleasure of playing a couple of A2z mandolins of that general vintage. They tighten up the sound of the earlier mandolins without dumping what was good about them.

[Lefty665]

That describes it nicely. Only thing I don't like is the narrow neck, it's about an inch. That's always been hard for me. I also have a '37 A-00. It's 1 3/16 which is almost too wide, but it's got a nice bark. We'll see how the neck is on this lm 700, I think it's in between the others. Makes me feel like Goldilocks, this neck's too narrow, this neck's too wide... OTOH the short necks on the A models keep me from getting in trouble too far up.