So here's my recently purchased (from Elderly) Loar LH-500-NA. There's some confusion in various listings as to exact specs on this model guitar, but here's what info I've been able to collect from guitar blogs: it's a solid, pressed spruce top (not carved, but many vintage 30's + 40's factory built archtops have pressed tops), laminated maple sides and back, ~24.75" scale. Purchase included a very clean (as far as I can tell, new) TKL hardshell case. Arrived strung with light gauge nickel wound strings (definitely not the proper strings for a guitar like this), but some thoughtful person (perhaps someone at Elderly?) put a D'Addario medium set in the case so I could restring it for my audition. How thoughtful! Anyway, after a couple of days checking-out at home (only adjustment after restringing was bridge height - truss rod has not been touched...!) it went out for a tryout to a couple of Scottish dance classes with the D'Addario set on, and it performed quite well. Since I started playing for SCD dances with my regular flattops I've wondered if an archtop guitar with it's reduced overtones and less bass-heavy sound would blend in better with the piano usually played at such dances; and also with the cello that I play with even more often than a piano. Fortunately, the guitar was met with approval with my musician friends; Jane the cellist has already named it "Blondie" - apparently it's a "girl" guitar, so I'll have to refer to her in the feminine from now on... (you might have noticed I don't give my instruments names, but in this case it's out of my hands; like it or not Jane will refer to this guitar as "Blondie" from now on so I had just better get used to it)
Anyway, the D'Addario medium .013-.056 set I put on seemed to be a bit loose for my taste, perhaps due to the slightly shorter scale length, so I did some research + found a set from Dean Markley with the same 1st 2nd + 3rd as most medium sets but with a slightly heavier 4th, 5th + 6th strings - sort of a medium version of my highly favored Martin M240 "Bluegrass set". So as of today (12-6-09) it's - sorry, she's strung with a Dean Markley Vintage Bronze 2006 set - .013 .017 .026w .038w .048w .058w
Changed strings on my 2 Wechter 3135 Pathmakers before playing for the DelVal RSCDS Lansdowne social Saturday night. Would have done it Friday before playing for the LCD contra with Mr Darcy, but was too tired when I got home from work and decided to have some rest instead. Too bad, because when we were playing that night I wished I had put fresh strings on at least one of the guitars - but sometimes that's how things work out. So now both Pathmakers have fresh strings (Martin M240 Bluegrass gauge: .012, .016, .025w, .035w, .045w, .056w), waiting for the next time they're needed.Sometimes people who've seen me play a variety of different instruments ask, "How many guitars do you have?" Usually I'll just shrug and say something like, "Oh, too many" or something equally evasive. I don't think of myself as collector, and I certainly don't buy rare or vintage museum pieces; it's more like if I happen to find an instrument that I know is useful for a particular type of music, I'll buy it + then see what other kinds of music it might work for. I almost always buy used rather than new and if I find something that's well made and priced substantially below the price of the same or similar new model, I figure I've found a good deal. I'm going to try and list all my various instruments in future posts, first to see exactly how many I actually have, and second to list why I bought a given instrument in the first place and see if I'm actually using it for the reason I bought it.
Last night, on a whim, I took out a rarely used guitar - an Epiphone EF-500R VS. It's a rosewood grand concert (000) size, a discontinued model having a satin vintage sunburst finish, purchased used from Elderly ( elderly.com/vintage/items/20U-10196.htm ). It was listed as EC+, but as far as I could tell it was virtually unplayed. And - it's loud. Not just loud for a 000 - just plain loud. Nice dry, very woody tone, and loud. I currently string it with Martin M175 80/20 "custom light" gauge strings: .011 .015 .023w .032w .042w .052w - because it doesn't need anything heavier to get a volume and a good tone. I restrung it last night (Aug 1) to play for a Scottish Country dance house party with an open band. We had a very nice band, consisting of Jane Roberts on cello, Josh Burdick on violin, Dan Emery on flute and pipes, Larry Miller on whistle, and myself. And now I'm making plans to use this guitar at my next gig, the LCD 1st Friday English Country dance this coming Friday.
So here's my recently purchased (from Elderly) Loar LH-500-NA. There's some confusion in various listings as to exact specs on this model guitar, but here's what info I've been able to collect from guitar blogs: it's a solid, pressed spruce top (not carved, but many vintage 30's + 40's factory built archtops have pressed tops), laminated maple sides and back, ~24.75" scale. Purchase included a very clean (as far as I can tell, new) TKL hardshell case. Arrived strung with light gauge nickel wound strings (definitely not the proper strings for a guitar like this), but some thoughtful person (perhaps someone at Elderly?) put a D'Addario medium set in the case so I could restring it for my audition. How thoughtful! Anyway, after a couple of days checking-out at home (only adjustment after restringing was bridge height - truss rod has not been touched...!) it went out for a tryout to a couple of Scottish dance classes with the D'Addario set on, and it performed quite well. Since I started playing for SCD dances with my regular flattops I've wondered if an archtop guitar with it's reduced overtones and less bass-heavy sound would blend in better with the piano usually played at such dances; and also with the cello that I play with even more often than a piano. Fortunately, the guitar was met with approval with my musician friends; Jane the cellist has already named it "Blondie" - apparently it's a "girl" guitar, so I'll have to refer to her in the feminine from now on... (you might have noticed I don't give my instruments names, but in this case it's out of my hands; like it or not Jane will refer to this guitar as "Blondie" from now on so I had just better get used to it)
