The Loar LH300

[superswing]

I've just taken delivery of one of these, having for the first time bought a guitar without seeing or trying it. I have to say that overall I am pleased , and am also grateful to those on here and on Youtube who have posted their reviews which helped me with the decision. I know some have been negative, but am pleased to say that mine is OK. As others have said, the finish is not perfect, but it is surely good value for money. I have two hand made Selmer style guitars (both bought used) and this is one of the least expensive instruments I have ever bought. I'd recommend it !

[dmorash]

Thanks Superswing. I'm looking at the LH 309 right now and it's tough to buy sight unseen so these reports are helpful.

[bborzell]

The Loar instruments present a real paradox, in my view. Because they cost less than many comparable designs, it is natural for people to not set their expectations higher than the amount of money they are going to be paying, and that sounds both reasonable and prudent.

Where it gets dicey is when the instrument arrives (all this is predicated on buying sight unseen) and it has flaws that one would not find acceptable had he/she bought the instrument in a store at the same price. I found myself getting caught up in the, "you get what you pay for" logic when my Loar LH-650 arrived. It sounded great. It played well enough that some fret work would get it right in short order. Along with the anticipated need for a "tune up", my 650 also had a 2 piece back that looked stunning until your eyes got to the bottom of the seam. For reasons that are beyond me, the builder ended up with a 1/16" separation of the back seam for about 1 1/2" as it ran into the side rim binding. Oh, and one side was lower than the other. It looked like the builder decided to use some filler but not make any effort to make the seam level. How it got through the final finishing/buffing with that flaw was beyond me.

What was almost weirder, though, was the fact that I got myself into comparing what I had to what I would have had to pay for an Eastman or Peerless, for example, and started down the road of just getting a setup and let it go at that. What I should have done was compare what I had in my hand for what I paid to the instruments that any number of other 650 buyers probably were playing that didn't have a construction flaw. The fact that the flaw didn't appear to affect the performance of longevity of the guitar added further to my willingness to make do with the instrument.

That all stopped when I took it into my luither for a setup. He looked at the back and then looked at me and ask, "If they were bold enough to let this go through production with an obvious build flaw, I wonder what might be going on that is not readily apparent".

At that point, I decided to return the instrument and get a replacement. I now have the new guitar and it is very impressive; not just for the money, but simply a well constructed and finished guitar. It plays and sounds very good. I am very satisfied.

In my view, the issue with buying a Loar guitar or mandolin is whether you have a cost free or reasonably inexpensive way to get a faulty instrument replaced. I used Amazon and they were great. No cost shipping either way and overnight shipping for the replacement (I use Amazon Prime). If I had had to risk paying 2 way shipping for a flawed guitar and another shipping charge for a replacement, I don't think I would have ordered a Loar.

The local dealers I contacted didn't have a 650 and they both sounded reluctant to order one unless I pretty much committed to the purchase before they ordered the guitar. There was no way I was going to commit to a purchase of a guitar I couldn't see and hold unless I could be sure that it wouldn't cost me to decide that it was not what I wanted. That left an online purchase as the only reasonable option and it worked out for me. Maybe I'll use the money I saved from not buying an Eastman and get a Loar 309. If I do, you can be sure I will order it through Amazon.

Here's the new one:

[voxwerx]

your diligence appears to have paid off.

[AlohaJoe]

If it sounds as good as it looks it was worth the hassle.

[Little Jay]

bborzell, that guitar looks stunning!!

[bborzell]

bborzell, that guitar looks stunning!!

Thanks, guys. I certainly agree that patience proved worthwhile in this case. The finish looks deep enough to dive into.

I'll post another picture after I swap out the stock floater for a Bartolini and the rather frail bridge for one of the Ultimas like Mr. Beaumont put on his 5th Ave.

[superswing]

Have had this guitar for a few days now and been playing it a lot and experimenting a little with setup. Perhaps not surprisingly it seems in need of adjustment. It came with a .013 -.057 PB string set - a bit heavier than I'm used to. The bridge seems to fit ok, and it's moderately loud - but not as loud as either of my Selmer type guitars. In general the action needs to be set around 3.0mm to get clear tones at all positions, any lower and the 3rd/4th fret area is a bit dead. It's very responsive at this setting. Lowering the action also reduces volume and brightness, especially pick noise. I use a heavy pick. I'm finding it hard work at this high action - it's ok for rhythm work ( a bit tiring) but for chord-melody its clunky. So it looks like a luthier setup - perhaps fret levelling is needed. I've never tried a truss rod adjustment myself, but I'm tempted to try it - does anyone know what the correct tool is - doesn't look like a hex key?

[mr. beaumont]

I'm pretty sure I used a hex key to take a little relief out of the neck on my LH-600...it will be a metric key.

3mm is actually on the low side for an acoustic box like the loar...I have mine set up right about there, a shade higher on the bass side...yeah, nothing competes with a Selmer-style for volume! Have a friend play your Loar to you though, you might be surprised--it's definitely "louder out front."

I wish you lived close by, I'd love to compare the sound of the solid topped/lam back/sides 300 series with the all solid 600 (see if that was worth the extra dough I laid out!)

Mine had a high 15th fret that I was able to get down with a rubber mallet after I wrapped the neck in an old t-shirt and marked the fret with a marker on the shirt...perhaps not the way a luthier would do it, but it worked.

Mine also had nut slots that were cut too low for the A and D string. I did not get open string buzz with the factory .13's, but I prefer .12's and I did notice a buzz when the strings were played hard...I did the old "bone dust/superglue fill" trick and refiled the slots...perfectly buzz free now.

I've settled (for now) on Dunlop jazztones with this guitar...anything thicker doesn't seem to add much more volume, but it does get a little harsh...I'm assuming that will even out over time as the wood gets played in...I'm also going with John Pearse nickel wound acoustic strings--tames the treble a bit but still gives me plenty of volume.

I'd never reccomend the Loar to anyone who doesn't mind doing some tinkering...but if you enjoy a little play with a guitar to get things "right," the Loar is a hell of a bargain.

[PTChristopher]

>>> Have a friend play your Loar to you though, you might be surprised--it's definitely "louder out front."

100% agreed.

In my opinion, the only way to test an acoustic archtop is sitting or standing in a corner with hard walls (no curtains, etc.). Get pretty close to the walls (like 3 feet away at most) and hear what your guitar really puts out.

[PTChristopher]

[Mr. Beau] >>> I wrapped the neck in an old t-shirt and marked the fret with a marker on the shirt...perhaps not the way a luthier would do it, but it worked.

Now Stewmac will come out with a "Fret Target" shirt, pre-marked for corrective hammer work. "The can't miss solution for optimal use of 'through-the-shirt' fret seating."

$69.95 with marks for both Gibson, Fender, and PRS fret spacing.

OR

$89.95 with fret target marks, our custom "Ground Zero" hammer centering marks, and front inscription: "My guitar got hammered and all I got was this lousy T-shirt with inexplicable lines all over it."

[mr. beaumont]

Cool, as long as I get my cut.

I'm tall, I think I'll get the baritone scale shirt...

[superswing]

Thanks, Mr Beaumont, very useful comments and advice. Yes, I had the same thought about comparing the LH300 with the 600 - but as I'm in the Uk it's pretty much ruled out!

I decided on the Loar after trying a Peerless - nice guitar but the model available in our nearest shop was a laminate top with built-in PU. I was interested in having a vintage guitar (and still am) but was concerned about fragility and so came to the conclusion that for £300 it's less to pay than I did for my used Epiphone (Peerless?) JP, and it was worth a chance.

I might try lighter strings at some point, I was surprised to find these were 13s and actually measured them. Did you fit a pickup at all? I'm not yet sure this is what I want to do - I prefer playing acoustically and I might try to fit my clip-on mic that I use with the Selmer stypes. It works ok on those, though I do get some feedback problems.

Once again, thanks for the tips.

[mr. beaumont]

I cannot reccomend the "Pick up the World" pickup highly enough. You'll need a preamp and an amp with a flat response, preferably an acoustic amp...the most natural sounding pickup I've ever used, and no feedback issues.


I don't gig my Loar, so I don't have it attached right now, but I have some acoustic-type gigs coming up in a few months and will likely take the Loar out for them, re-fitting the pickup...I'll try to make some recordings when I do...

In the meantime, the Loar has become my "couch guitar," which means while I don't perform or teach with it, I still probably play it more than any of my others...

[Norman931]

I did an A-B comparison of a 300 and 600 at Corner Music in Nashville. I actually preferred the 300, but YMMV. They were both set up about the same. I was about to take the 300 with me when I noticed that there was no adjustment left on the bridge wheels. 600 was the same. Still, very nice guitars.

[bborzell]

After having had two LH-650s in my possession along with playing several "The Loar" mandolins, I have come to the conclusion that it is pretty much impossible to get a good sense of what any of these instruments are capable of until after they have been properly set up because so few arrive at dealers showing real attention to detail regarding setup.

Rattles, buzzes, undressed frets, high action, bent bridge posts are but a few of the likely aspects of a The Loar that has been pulled from the box and tested. In my case, I had to go through a guitar with a flawed back seam that also needed a full fret dressing. The replacement guitar came with impressive build quality, a very acceptable finish (very small finish bleed at the junction between the neck and body) and it came with 9 frets at odds with each other. In addition, it had a loose washer on the inside of the jack that buzzed at certain frequencies.

That said, I am still sufficiently impressed by the basic guitar to keep it. By the time I get it back from rehab on Friday, I will have spent $1,300 (street price ranges from $1,199 to $1,399 online) in total on a well built, nicely voiced, very visually appealing carved top/bottom guitar with a professionally dressed fretboard, a Bartolini floater and an UltimaGuitar bridge. No, the Bart and the Ultima bridge didn't come stock on the 650.

I believe that these instruments are generally well constructed for tone. Sometimes there are finish/appearance issues that are not acceptable and the odds of a unflawed fretboard seem pretty long. If you can inspect beforehand, you are a step ahead of the game. If you can't inspect, a fair return policy is a must, in my view. In either case, plan on springing for a setup and maybe a fret redress. As they come from the USA distributor, I can't give the instruments any better than a "C" grade for playability.

As for the difference in tone quality between a carved top/lam back and sides vs. a carved top and bottom with solid sides Loar, I would be surprised to find that a properly setup 600/650/700 would not sound very different from the carved/lam models in the Loar line. Whether that difference translates to "better" is in the ear of the beholder, but the difference between my all carved Eastman mandolin and a very good sounding carved top Kentucky with lam back is dramatic enough to make blind tests a slam dunk even though mandos don't provide as colorful a tonal palet to consider as an archtop guitar, in my view. In addition, my 650 sounds better to my ear than any lam side/back archtop I have played to date. YMMV.

[Norman931]

Just pulled the trigger on a 300; Memorial Day sale. Hope I get a good one!

[Uncle Meat]

I love my Loar! My favorite strings for if are Pyramid 13's. With the big V neck, they feel like 10s, though.

[valriver40]

the guitar looks great!

[Norman931]

My 300 arrived today. First impression: It's a keeper. I tuned up and played the thing for about an hour. I would like a little more adjustment play at the bridge wheels, but all of them seem to come that way, so I guess I can live with it.

[superswing]

Yes, just to add my input on quality issues when delivered :

visually rough overspray on end of fingerboard
truss rod not tightened
high frets
bridge adjustment insufficient
bridge adjustment pillars bent

Still happy though - sensible value-for-money.