Loar Picture of the Day

**Zigeuner** · Oct-11-2008, 10:11pm

Originally Posted by evanreilly

That was in 1963. There are live recordings from that West Coast tour of Monroe and the BGB as well as Monroe and Doc Watson available on the Smithsonian CDs put together by Ralph Rinzler

I would say that you are correct on the 1963 date. I was in my second year at UCLA at the time and so that would have been the year. I do recall that Bill Monroe's guitar player broke a string during one performance. This brought a sharp look from the master but they kept on playing. LOL.

The Ash Grove always had the best performers. Besides Bill Monroe and Merle Travis, I saw Doc Watson, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, The Kentucky Colonels with Roland and Clarence White, Lightning Hopkins and the list goes on. Sadly the place burned out at some point. I still have some fond memories, however. I got very interested in the mandolin after seeing Bill Monroe, too and got a Martin A mandolin the following year.

**Darryl Wolfe** · Nov-06-2008, 11:33am

72205 at Mandolin Bros (their photo, thanks)

This is out of the closet - new number

**danb** · Dec-28-2008, 5:09am

Hot off the presses from Frank over at Gryphon is this barely post-loar F5 #82932

**danb** · Dec-28-2008, 5:09am

Mint

**markishandsome** · Dec-28-2008, 1:27pm

The instrument looks hot of the press itself!

**Michael Cameron** · Dec-28-2008, 1:35pm

The '25 Fern...OMG !

**Christian** · Dec-28-2008, 2:10pm

25 or 26?? With a serial number close to the 83000 and a FON 8231, this might have been built months after Loar left the factory. There are over twenty F5 listed between this one and the last Loar signed, and they didn't built many of these in the months immediatly following his departure. Darryl??

**danb** · Dec-28-2008, 2:34pm

The last batch of style 5 instruments signed by Loar have a signature date of Dec 31, 1924. It's been more or less the convention to ascribe barely-post-Loar instruments with a 1925 date, though honestly these could have waited around in Kalamazoo for quite a while before they were set up with hardware, put in cases, shipped out to dealers etc. There have been plenty of signs that instruments stuck around the factory for a while past the signature dates, so these are really educated guesses and agreed conventions of what is meant by the dates we assign to them.

Isn't it something though? I think my year-old Wiens f5 has more playing wear!

**tree** · Dec-28-2008, 5:34pm

That sunburst on the back . . . be still my beating heart.

**Glassweb** · Dec-28-2008, 5:56pm

I've heard of at least 2 rare, rare birds... those being 1925 Ferns with varnish finishes and otherwise Loar-era appointments. I had a chance to buy one several years ago and balked at the price... stupid me. The Dude called it one of the best F5s he'd ever heard. That Fern shown here is exquisite... for sale or no?

**carleshicks** · Dec-28-2008, 5:59pm

the color of the early ferns is beautiful the red and amber just stand out nicely. i played a 29 fern but it had the same cremona sunburst as a loar. i wonder why they switched back and forth, and why did they switch immediatly after Loar left Gibson?

**Michael Lewis** · Dec-29-2008, 3:04am

3 mounting screws per plate. Old string post spacing?

**Darryl Wolfe** · Dec-29-2008, 10:18am

Beautiful mandolin

**danb** · Dec-29-2008, 6:43pm

Originally Posted by Glassweb

That Fern shown here is exquisite... for sale or no?

Family heirloom that has never been for sale

**Glassweb** · Dec-29-2008, 8:43pm

ah, i see... unreal condition... Happy New Year Dan & Scott!

**woodwizard** · Dec-29-2008, 10:28pm

OMG! Almost new looking. Very clean. I give it an "11+" on a 10 scale.

**f5loar** · Dec-29-2008, 10:36pm

In a post Loar era it would be hard to find a finer example then this one.

**Darryl Wolfe** · Jan-22-2009, 12:03pm

Here is some interesting information that Dan was able to pull out of the database. Loar signed instruments that have become known of after the Shultzs Loar showed up here.

Just for fun, here are all the ones we found after 76547...

+-------+--------+---------------------+
| model | serial | documented date |
+-------+--------+---------------------+
| F5 | 73994 | 2005-02-04 06:38:12 |
| F5 | 75844 | 2005-04-14 16:13:16 |
| F5 | 73006 | 2005-05-04 11:49:57 |
| F5 | 75554 | 2005-06-26 04:00:17 |
| H5 | 76498 | 2005-07-31 09:42:45 |
| F5 | 72055 | 2005-08-26 03:05:33 |
| F5 | 71629 | 2006-02-06 20:33:13 |
| F5 | 73485 | 2006-03-12 03:59:13 |
| F5 | 73486 | 2006-03-12 16:40:00 |
| L5 | 80264 | 2006-05-09 19:07:26 |
| F5 | 74012 | 2006-10-11 09:24:05 |
| F5 | 73479 | 2006-10-14 13:55:23 |
| L5 | 77401 | 2006-11-28 07:07:53 |
| F5 | 76550 | 2007-05-08 06:27:37 |
| F5 | 75316 | 2007-07-25 10:42:51 |
| F5 | 79756 | 2008-03-28 17:46:24 |
| F5 | 75841 | 2008-05-19 09:52:31 |
| F5 | 73997 | 2008-06-19 08:56:42 |
| F5 | 72205 | 2008-11-06 11:33:39 |
| F5 | 76782 | 2009-01-03 03:25:24|