They are both great mandolins. Will Kimble is one of the great young luthiers of our age. Anything he builds is incredible. He has been at it long enough to build enough instruments to have all the little things figured out. He can make a great loar sounding mandolin and it will be excellent fit and finish. I can think of nothing but good about Will's instruments. I have longed for an A model mandola for a few years. Maybe when I am old and rich
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Bob Altman is also an incredible builder, though he has not been building as long as Will. I really love the newer Altman's. Hershcell has helped him substantially in trying to recreate a very close Loar sound. You would not be disappointed in his Loar sound mandolins.
Another couple guys to consider who are very high in the game as well are the Red Diamond series in the last few years. Don McRostie has built some of the most fantastic mandolin I've heard. He would certainly be worth checking out.
The final one I can think of off hand is Chris Stanley. He has built some very incredible mandolins. There is one that he built that is as good as any mandolin I have ever played. I have had dreams of that instrument. All of his are extremely good, that one just did it for me. I even have one of his in the shop for sale. It is an incredible instrument, and priced below what you could get any of the other F styles from the builders mentioned.
Two more come to mind quickly, and their work is impeccable as well. Gayle Hester and Tom Ellis. Any of the six builders I've listed would be able to give you an excellent Loar tone instrument without any problem, and they all have the experience needed to do the job. They have all proven their excellence over a period of time, and they would all be good choices.
I know there are others I should mention, but just cannot think at the moment. We have a wonderful world today where we can get absolutely superior instruments. This has not been the case for long. It was not too many years ago when you would have a hard time finding a really great mandolin unless you had big bucks. The internet has brought so much to the table for us, and this website is certainly a big reason for this. Thank you Scott for having the insight to start this site a number of years ago. The information available today makes all of us better at what we do.
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