I think it's really, really important to play a guitar before buying it, especially with brands that do not have a reputation for a very high degree of consistency--unless you have access to a remote dealer whose taste, knowlegdeability, and return policy you trust.
As for Loars--I have a 600 I bought off the wall because 1) it spoke to me immediately and 2) was very attractively priced. It's not my first-choice archtop, but I'm spoiled in that department. The Loar has been a perfectly decent summer-workshop guitar: good voice, good playability, and sturdy enough for the challenges of air travel and general dragging-around. With the addition of a custom pickguard and old Sekova single-coil pickup, it's fine for an electified gig, too, at least if the room isn't an RF nightmare. (If it were my only archtop, I'd have a humbucker on it.)
BTW, I agree with Steve above--the Gibson is definitely worth getting restored. My late playing partner had a battered '50s ES-135 (missing the bridge pickup) that was his main non-rock electric, and it had a wonderful voice. But a modern archtop is also worth having, and I'm happy to be able to choose which to take out. My '46 Broadway was my first and for quite a while my only archtop, but it was nice to add a modern, replaceable (and affordable) guitar to the collection.
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