The Loar: LM-400VS

Submitted by Fstpicker on 4/5/2011

Where Purchased: Private sale

Year Purchased: 2010
Price Paid: 400 ($US) (bought USED)

Sound

This mandolin has plenty of volume. The trebles are clear and ringing and cut through the mix. The mids are strong and the bass is decent and also strong, although not overpowering. It has developed a deeper voice in the few months I've had it. Still has more room to go, but sounds great right now. The sound is somewhat bright yet, but not too thin, and it is slowly beginning to develop a small amount of warmth, which I like. It has a good chop sound and the open chords ring with a lot of sustain and resonate very well. The back of mandolin vibrates when playing full chords...you can feel it against your chest.

Sound Rating: 8

Setup

The set-up was decent when I received it used. It had been set-up when sold new to the previous owner last April, and still was set up well. My only gripe is that the bridge is adjusted very high, which is a consistent issue with this particular model with most all of them. I may replace with a CA bridge at some future time. However, the bridge is flush with the top surface and well-fitted as it is. The neck is medium V thickness, and feels just right in my rather large hands. The string spacing seems adequate to me and I don't have any problems with playing melody leads on it. I don't get any buzzing when playing with normal volume, and even up to medium hard playing it is still buzz-free. If I play really, really hard, the low G may buzz just a tad, but this is not unusual on most mandolins. As it is, the action is set at 4/64" on the G at the 12th, and 3/64" at the E on the 12th, which is just right for playing hard to get good volume when needed, or playing soft.

Setup Rating: 9

Appearance

The sunburst blends well on the top, and the finish is fine, although some say it is thick, I don't have any problems with it. The finish was applied well from the factory, and only a few very minor pin-point defects can be noticed when looking for them. The finish under the fretboard extension was rough and not sanded very well, nor was the dark finish applied thoroughly there. I understand this is not an uncommon problem with many mandolins, even some high-end ones. A little black magic marker darkened up the areas where needed. The inlay at the headstock is very well done and looks beautiful. I may upgrade the truss-rod cover (plain black) to a nicer, fancier looking version someday. The tuners are Grovers and work very well, and I don't feel a need to upgrade unless I decide to go with gold tuners some day. The body, neck, and headstock trim is done in ivoroid and is a vintage off-white color that looks like the bindings of a vintage mandolin...it really looks beautiful and sets the looks of the overall appearance just right. I get a little turned off by some guitars that have pure, bright-white plastic binding, so this is a nice refreshing look on the mandolin.

Appearance Rating: 9

Reliability

The tuners are very solid and work well with little to no backlash. The finish is solid and thick enough that it doesn't mar easily. There are only a few surface scratches on the top from picking, and the back and sides are decent. Remember I purchased this used, so I don't expect it to be perfect like a new one would be. The neck is very stable and doesn't move an iota after a truss-rod adjustment. The action height stays the same and doesn't vary, unless I go from light guage strings to mediums, or vice versa. The back of the neck is smooth and very comfortable. The top is unbraced (like the 700), but seems very stable with no sinking so far.

Reliability Rating: 10

Customer Service

Purchased this used, so no warranty. I don't anticipate any problems in the future.

Customer Service: 9

Components

The only possible area that I may decide to upgrade someday would be the bridge. It is set-up well and fits the top beautifully, so I am not in a hurry to upgrade. The tail-piece seems average, but adequate for my needs. I did put an armrest on which helps with arm placement while playing.

Components Rating: 9

Overall Comments

An excellent mandolin with a sound that has some vintage qualities to it. It is finished very well and looks to be of decent quality construction. The "F" holes are a little rough on the inside edges, but again this is pretty common on many mandolins from what I understand. Some advocate sanding the inside bottom edge of the "F" holes to improve the sound. I haven't tried this, so can't verify if this is so or not. I've gotten compliments on the sound and the looks from other mandolin players. I am very pleased with this mandolin, which has the sound I am looking for. I traded my Mid-Missouri M-1 mandolin straight up for The Loar, and I couldn't be happier that I didn't have to put out any additional monies to acquire it!

Lastly, this mandolin has a serial #2, which means that it was the first production mandolin to be sold to the public. Mandolin serial #1 was a prototype, and may have been sold later on. The quality is very good, and I imagine that the quality of these mandolins will only improve as more are made and the factory perfects their production techniques.

Overall Rating: 9