New Acoustic Day: The Loar

[Mr Grumpy]

I had a credit from Thomann, tried to buy a tele, but their stock is very low, and they have some new rules about sending guitars to different countries, so Squires, Fenders and many others that I like simply won't be sent to Korea...

I ended up getting this:



it sounds like this:

It wasn't much money (mainly due to my credit note - which linked to problems I had with the SG Special I bought a year or so ago....), and it arrived today. It's bigger and louder than I expected because I wanted a little thing to put on my lap while I'm just noodling around.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

I tuned it up then played through each fret position (absolutely fine; not a single bum note), then did a bit of strumming and it sounds full and musical - solid cedar top and mahogany (laminated) sides, so that's usually a nice sounding combination. Quite a powerful little beastie - actually, I was hoping for less volume, so I could play it late at night without disturbing others.

Here are some pictures; a pretty top (and the back/sides are nice enough too):



The nut is cut well/perfectly:


My favourite type of tuners (just like on an SG Special) and a nice enough headstock - simple but classy.


(These are Tonepros tuners and a bone nut.)

So, I'm playing the tele a lot thus it's all quite large and cumbersome for my liking (though it's very easy to play for an acoustic - easy fretting; and easy to get around to the first 10 frets or so - a bit tricky beyond that, imho).

It's actually an excellent little guitar for the money (I think they're about $500 in the US, but I ended up paying half of that). I'd never come across the brand before, but it has quality components, nice wood, excellent construction and a really full and musical sound. It's not really what I wanted, but it is very nice and excellent value for money - I can already tell it's a real player that'll grow on me.

But, the wife really liked the look of it, picked it up, had a strum and said she'd like to have it. That makes me very happy, so the wife has a new guitar. Happy Days.

 

[Ramo]

Acoustic guitars scares me man

I do want classical guitar tho, I like Spanish flamenco type music.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Acoustic guitars scares me man

Little ones are quite like an electric guitar to play (just a bit wider which pushes the fretboard away from you).

 

[Session 5]

Congrats on the Loar Grump!! looks like a nice little rig.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Congrats on the Loar Grump!! looks like a nice little rig.

Thanks, S5. I don't know why I got it really, just wanted to use up a credit note. It is pretty nice though. If somebody was in the market for a $500 parlour geetar then it'd be worth considering.

 

[Kerry Brown]

I like the tone of cedar tops. They have a tone I describe as sweet, quite different from spruce.

 

[Astral Traveler]

Looks great, congratulations! I've heard good things about those.

 

[Astral Traveler]

Looks great, congratulations! I've heard good things about those.

 

[jtcnj]

Really nice, and the demo sounds great!
Congrats and enjoy!

 

[syscokid]

That makes me very happy, so the wife has a new guitar. Happy Days.

Happy days indeed! To both of y'all, and your little doggie too...

I do want classical guitar tho, I like Spanish flamenco type music

Cool! Then we can call you: Paco de Ramo... :dood:

 

[eSGEe]

Congrats on the Loar

 

[Mr Grumpy]

I like the tone of cedar tops. They have a tone I describe as sweet, quite different from spruce.

Yeah, it sounds nice. Acoustics are interesting because you get so many different sounding guitars depending on the woods, size, shape, scalloping, etc. I don't think I've had a cedar top before; had a nice Ibanez, a bit larger, with a spruce top, so it'll be interesting to see how the sounds differ. This bugger sounds like a bigger guitar than it is...

Looks great, congratulations! I've heard good things about those.

Thanks, AT - I did some research, and they seem to get very good reviews; now I can see why; first impressions are good. I've been incredibly lucky with the two guitars I received this week; neither have any issues, and both look, play and sound great. Sometimes the guitar Gods smile upon us.

Really nice, and the demo sounds great!
Congrats and enjoy!

Thanks jtcnj. I wish I could play as well as in the demo. It's a bit louder than I'd like, so there's only certain times I can practice with it, but hope to pick up some ok playing before long.

Happy days indeed! To both of y'all, and your little doggie too...

Thanks Sysco. As I said above, I've been really lucky this week; guitars and wifey. The dog as always is top of the priority list, and he seems to like the guitar. If the wife doesn't play it much then I'll get down to it (although, I'm really focusing on the tele at the moment). Hopefully, the wife will take a liking to it and get some enjoyment from it. The balance of quality across all areas seems really good for a relatively low cost acoustic.

Congrats on the Loar

Thanks, eSGEe - strange name and headstock, but quite likeable.

 

[jtcnj]

ya the name reminds me of Dr. Seuss.