Howdy. Thought I should join this group and link to the post I wrote last November. I love playing this mandolin. Only been playing about 3 years, but I was so ready to buy an F-style instead of my "beginners" A-style.
Hi Richard, I started learning mandolin about seven months ago. I have an LM-590, and I love it. I had it imported from Ireland, and had a Cumberland bridge added during the setup. Mine plays really well, and I hope yours does, too. Del
And nearly 8 years later, I’m waking up this thread. I’ve a Loar LM-590. It was my first “little bit better” mandolin. Before it I had a couple Rogues, and a Mexican Lone Star that I lent to a niece and they then hocked it, and said they thought I gave it to them. Ha. Anyway I’ve had the 590 for a while. I’ve also got a Kentucky KM-472, an oval hole type A. I got it about a year later. About 6 weeks ago, my Mando lust awoke and I began playing again. I do that about once a year. I was always happy with both mandos, but they did have quite a different sound. But, this time it was different. They sounded the same but the Loar just didn’t have the purity of tone the Kentucky did. so, I figured it was strings. I had some Daddario coated 11s on it before. I replaced them the same string, just not coated. The sound improved, but still had that certain hollowness it had before. Two days pass and I’m sitting in the living room watching YouTube on the tv, and strumming the Loar trying to get the strings settled in and stabilized. For some reason I held the mando up towards the TV and looked to see how well the bridge was fitted. Holy smokes, it wasn’t. The treble side looked good but the bass side had at least a millimeter of air under it except for the very tip. And when I first got , it took it to a bluegrass store and had it set up. I guess his idea of a setup was not my idea. So, I got some sandpaper, 160 grit was handy. Loosened the strings to as far as I dared without them falling from the pegs, put a piece of sand paper under the bridge and began moving the bridge back and forth just like I’m sure you’ve seen videos on before. After about 10 minutes I was done. Both ends had finally been sanded to the right contour. I tightened the strings back up and intonated. I finally play a chord. Holy smokes, again! It sounds completely different! The hollowness is gone. Every note of every chord is clean crisp and clear. I am enjoying this Loar more than ever before. It’s a whole new instrument. It sounds a huge amount better. I’m happy. So, just saying check your bridges for fit. Or if the do, maybe resand it for a better fit. I was shocked. I knew it would better but not this much.
