Any love for the Loar arch tops

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by RJVB

Also, if that 405e has the controls in the top (or even a set PU) its acoustic tone will suffer.

My LH650 can bark and be strident, but if you learn to coax the velvet out as they said back in the day (I do that by using bare flesh and silk-and-steel strings) it can also have a surprisingly warm and deep sound.

Definitely. A good archtop has a surprisingly wide tonal and dynamic range...but it takes some finesse to realize it!

The Loars might have some setup issues out of the box but the raw materials are very, very good.

[29er]

On a related note: I recently picked up this used Loar LH-319. With the two P90's it is obviously not a true acoustic guitar. It does have a solid spruce top and if you string it with PB acoustic strings it sounds OK unplugged but the volume/projection is pretty well muted by the hardware attached. I took a few photos when I got it and you can see the thickness of the top in the 2nd shot. It's a good sounding guitar when plugged in but it doesn't pass muster for true acoustic tone.

[bfm612]

Thanks for all the input on the Loar vs. the Eastman. Very helpful!

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Definitely. A good archtop has a surprisingly wide tonal and dynamic range...but it takes some finesse to realize it! [...] raw materials are very, very good.

I've (just) started working on Richard Charlton's "Black Cockatoo Flying Alone" and on whim I tried it on my Loar tonight. I think it'll sound very nice with that instrument too (once I get the notes and melody in my fingers ...).

Originally Posted by 29er

you can see the thickness of the top in the 2nd shot.

I guess that's about 6mm? For the centre of a carved-arch top that isn't too surprising I think. But it's true that these do seem to like pretty heavy strings.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by 29er

On a related note: I recently picked up this used Loar LH-319. With the two P-90's it is obviously not a true acoustic guitar. It does have a solid spruce top and if you string it with PB acoustic strings it sounds OK unplugged but the volume/projection is pretty well muted by the hardware attached...

Try a set of Martin Monel MM13's - better electric response than PB's (until LaBella introduced the first flatwound electric strings circa 1940 monels - which first appeared on mandolins during the WW I era - were the go-to for the first generation of electric guitarists) and a prewar time trip on acoustic archtops (many old-time compers favored them, and they were readily available through the late 1960's) - and while they won't compensate for the effect of the substantial built-in hardware on your Loar, they should provide you with a dual-purpose instrument that'll serve you well for home practice, recording, and low-volume unplugged jams...

Similarly, if you were looking from the get-go for a true dual-duty archtop the single-pickup LH-309 - TMK loosely modeled after a few uber-rare postwar ES-125's that were built on the carved-top L-50 platform - might be better-suited to your needs. FYI back in the days when even the smallest neighborhood venues featured live music 4-5 times a week (and a player could make a decent living teaching days and playing out at night) and strolling guitarists were commonplace, similar all-laminated instruments were often chosen for their combination of durability and tone. FWIW all-laminate construction has a far less-deleterious effect on an archtop instrument than a flattop: all-lam upright basses have been built for the last century (many of which - the now-rare New York-era Epiphones in particular, along with '40s-60s Kay and the early Engelhardts based on the Kay design - are prized for their tone as well as roadworthiness); the all-laminated postwar acoustic archtops (Gibson L-48, Guild A-50, nearly all of the post-1955 Gretsch lineup, and the recently-discontinued Godin 5th Avenue acoustic, among others), while not in the same league as a D'Angelico New Yorker or Stromberg Master 400, can be fine-sounding instruments in their own right; and many a savvy '50s semi-pro would use a 17" ES-150 or Epiphone Zephyr - the best of which could rival their all-carved L-7/Triumph counterparts for tone and volume, thanks to their relatively lightweight construction (in comparison to later offerings, built for amplified use in higher-volume settings where feedback was a potential problem) - as a dual-purpose acoustic and electric workhorse...

[29er]

Thank you, Steve. I will give the Monel's a try. The Loar is a decent instrument and the beefy neck profile with the V shape is just about perfect for me.

[mefoolonhill]

I have 3 of them. One has a stock P-90, another has a Charlie Christian pickup added by a guy in Ohio, and the third one is a #600 model, which is all solid woods. The #600 has an unusual black finish. The Loars have the best necks I've ever found-- 1.75 at the nut, and a moderate 'V' profile.