Official Luthiers Forum!

Anyone familiar with this brand, The Loar, It is a model 600

One of my very good customers just purchased this instrument from a friend who bought it on e bay. It had light strings on it when he bought it and last weekend he changed them out for 13-56s. The extra tension caused a gap to open up between the heel and the body, Randy says it's about .040 . What kind of joint is this. I suspect it to be a dovetail but I don't know.
A bolt on doesn't make sense on an arch top due to limited access. If this is one of the cheap Asian copies it could be a doweled joint. I haven't seen it yet( I just got off the phone with him) so I don't know what I I'm getting in to. I'm hoping someone here has seen or heard tell of this beast and can offer some insight.

HELP!!!
cecil

here is the loar website. You might be able to contact them and ask them.
http://www.theloar.com/about
The AG magazine review says they are made in Korea.

Hope this helps.
Dave

Also, lots of chatter re Loars & other makes on this forum.
http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guitar-amps-gizmos/
BTW, don't discount bolt-ons in archtops, that's how I do mine. (Look closely through f-hole)

_________________
Dave
Milton, ON

Thanks guys. I've emailed the company and am waiting for a response.

Anyone with knowledge of this beast feel free to chime in.

cecil

I received a response from The Loar folks last night and the LH 600 has a dovetail neck joint. Researching the type of joint lead to some interesting revelations about this manufacturer. Several comments were posted concerning bad neck geometry on these instruments. According to the posts, they just don't seem to be able to, consistently, get it right.

My customer stated that the bridge was adjusted all the way down when he first received it and that the action was still too high. This may have been due to the loose neck joint, bad geometry, or both. I'll find out this Saturday when he drops it of for repair.

cecil

Hmm, I have one of these, the LH-650 and it's set up really nicely. Maybe just an inconsistent brand. I note that mine was made in China, not Korea.