23 Loar Setup Video

[Andrew B. Carlson]

Don't know if this has been posted yet. Apologies if so. But I thought I'd share.

[mtucker]

i particularly like the part around 4:12 where he's wrist wrestling with two strings at once…shade tree Loar

[George R. Lane]

Where the heck is part 2???

[Andrew B. Carlson]

Where the heck is part 2???

I know. Drove me nuts too.

[Tavy]

Where the heck is part 2???

Maybe he stopped the video right before he dropped the Loar?

[mtucker]

i knew i shoulda used some duck tape to hold that dang lloyd loar to the bench... sorry, I couldn't resist.

[Dobe]

Nice to see meat and potatoes luthiers w/ balls. Tape/sandpaper up to 800 or so/ steel wool/ razor blade the board very lightly / oil . All standard for me, even on way lesser instruments. To each his own I suppose. Might have brought my Loar somewhere else. (or just done it myself) !! :0
Sure hope he used Tri-flo on those tuners.

[jim simpson]

I wanted to see part II as well. I seem to remember Rosa String Works having a catalog with an F5 kit, this was quite a while back. I don't see anything like that listed on their website. I enjoyed the video.

[Tavy]

Nice to see meat and potatoes luthiers w/ balls.

Indeed, the way he went about levelling the frets scared me crazy: if I tried it like that I'd probably end up stuffing that file through the top of the instrument! But I bet he's always done it that way, and never had a slip... which is to say each to their own... lots of ways to get the job done.

[Mark Seale]

i particularly like the part around 4:12 where he's wrist wrestling with two strings at once…shade tree Loar

Yep, how many times did you hear the ends of the strings rub across the top?

[SCIFIDELITY]

I coincidentally came across and watched that video on youtube last night. I would not let that fellow work on my ~$2.5k mando, let alone a loar if I had one. He justifies his sloppy work with comments about how he's been doing it for 30 years, it saves his customers money (in regards to him working fast). I'm pretty sure the owner of a $100K+ mando can afford a bit of extra time and therefore carefulness from a luthier. I can't believe he didn't have the thing in a cradle/ stand (neck support). I can't believe he didn't tape off the fret board. I can't believe he didn't protect/ cover the top- I cringed many many times watching it, but I almost lost it when I heard and saw the back of his fret file hit the top just in front of where the bridge would be. As someone mentioned above, I can't believe he let the sharp string ends rub the top of the body. I can't believe he just tugged on the crimped end of the strings to pull them out of the tuners- right after he finishes explaining how important the original/ old ones are. Sorry for the rant, but this drove me nuts.

[JohnnyFiddle]

I was also wondering where part 2 was? I thought it was a great video and enjoyed the "speed filing" section. Either you put it in a vault and never play it, or you play it and maybe get a few scratches on there at some point?

One thing I was amazed by is the Loar's don't even look that fancy really not this one anyways...I like that he was careful with the file but it looked like something I could "try at home" on one of my old banjos even! (They all have conversion necks anyways)

If I had a prewar RB banjo with a real neck I might be more careful, but that's about 20G's just for an archtop. For a flathead you're talking Loar values as well.

Oh, I didn't really hear the strings rubbing across the top I was just in awe by the Loar... also watching the video helped me to realize it's not "mystical" but just another old gibson!

I was at the Reno Revival (banjo workshop) in 1995 and Geoff Stelling was backing his truck up to leave and he asked me to look for banjo's on the grass and he joked "Probably just a bunch of old Gibsons anyways!" (There was at least one Prewar RB Flathead on the grass...) I thought that was incredibly funny coming from Mr Stelling!

I have seen and heard one Loar in my life, up close. Never really played it though... Love this site!

[mtucker]

i particularly like the part around 4:12 where he's wrist wrestling with two strings at once…shade tree Loar

Yep, how many times did you hear the ends of the strings rub across the top?

Yes, exactly ...it scared the loving bejezus out of me! I'm not that brusque even when launching into a full-scale attack on the old '50 chevy truck..I have blankets and pads, and wipe rags everywhere...dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun!

[mtucker]

i gotta agree with aDobe, creds for big cajones! I'm sure it probably played better after said tuneup!

[tim noble]

I was also shocked by how he handled the instrument. I've leveled lots of frets and always mask off the fretboard and usually either color the crown with marker to clearly see what is being taken off so minimal lowering of the frets is accomplished. Never heard "when you don't feel resistance" or whatever he said. Always thought it was a visual thing. And then a few swipes with a Stew Mac crown file and wala its ready to go. What ever happened to progressively polishing with grits up to micro mesh? The groves in the frets probably reduce the life of the strings by 80% and wear grooves in a players fingers - like filing calluses.
Tim

[Jim Hilburn]

Didn't Loars have a truss rod?

[JFDilmando]

This one has a truss rod, Jim, you can see it a 11:51 or there abouts.

[Jim Hilburn]

Yeah, I was thinking you might want to check if it had any tension on it before you took off hacking away at the frets.

[mtucker]

I was also shocked by how he handled the instrument. I've leveled lots of frets and always mask off the fretboard and usually either color the crown with marker to clearly see what is being taken off so minimal lowering of the frets is accomplished. Never heard "when you don't feel resistance" or whatever he said.
Tim

Yes, I agree, that is the correct way….and, as you know...and as Jim suggests, adjusting the truss so it's flat before you launch. Thank god he opted not to take the scratch paper to it! Someone please send him a block to at least support the neck and peg….snap...boing!

[Jeff Mando]

[QUOTE= I was just in awe by the Loar... also watching the video helped me to realize it's not "mystical" but just another old gibson! [/QUOTE]

I was lucky in my younger days to have had the chance to repair many rare instruments. I never got my hands on a Loar, but I have worked on pre-war 45 style Martins, 58 Les Paul "Bursts", original pre-war Flathead banjos, plus countless 50's Fender Strats and Teles and tons of 30's-50's Gibson acoustics. It was quite an education to have that opportunity to see firsthand how the instruments were constructed and peek inside. Although the prices today do make some instruments seem "mystical", they still must be repaired in the same manner as a lower priced instrument--using files, glue, clamps, etc. Of course, treating the instrument with respect, regardless of value. Pretty straightforward stuff, actually.

[FLATROCK HILL]

I just happened to stumble on Part 2. Looks like it was posted to Youtube a month or so ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQdM94b4beU

Maybe not as suspensful as waiting for the next episode of Justified, but I just had to see what happened.
I don't want to give anything away, but right around 8:56 there's some pretty scary stuff involving a razor blade.

[pfox14]

That was truly scary. He leveled the frets with a file that was not flat. He even said to turn the convex side up. WHAT?? He re-crowned the frets without protecting the fretboard at all. No polishing the frets, because it is a "Loar". Just filing was "good enough". WOW!

I was also puzzled that he didn't mention once that it was an F-5. All he said was '23 Loar.

[Hendrik Ahrend]

I'm missing some finesse and attention to detail. Whenever I put back machine heads on an old instrument, I make sure that I make a gentle left turn in order to make the screws fall into their original thread. (And I'm not aware that 13 mm pearl knobs are considered particularly small or have ever been a problem to anybody.)
Also, when I keep rocking a Loar on an old rug that keeps eating goop and filings, I make sure I (vacuum) clean it frequently. Would like to see the back of that - what was the model?

[FLATROCK HILL]

Little things like taking care not to strip 90 yr old threads...making sure the work surface is clean...well I guess those things seem like too much bother for some people. Everyone has their own yardstick when it comes to being cautious, or over-cautious. I'd rather err on the side of over-caution when dealing with an antique work of art that is virtually irreplaceable.

I don't claim to know much about professional mandolin repair/maintenance. I do know this. If I entrusted the repair of my mandolin, any mandolin old or new, to someone who carelessly and repeatedly dragged the back of it across a razor blade, I'd be PI$$ED!!!

It's like taking your classic car into the shop and watching the mechanic lean over the front fender wearing his rodeo-star belt buckle. A capital crime.

[pfox14]

Plus the fact that he never checks to see if the frets are level with a straight edge. He just looks down the neck.