Bridge too high on Loar LH600 VS?

WillH

Thanks for posting this, Billy.

I'd say the bridge on mine was even higher than this. As soon as my luthier saw it he told me that was going to have to be changed or I was running a serious risk of the bridge collapsing forward onto the top of the instrument.

This has been by far the worst guitar buying experience I've ever had. And I'm not exactly a young man anymore, so there we are.

Russell Letson

Just checked the geometries and intonation of my own 600VS and found everything as it should be. The saddle section does lean forward, as it does on my other archtops, though mine is adjusted almost as far down as the screws allow. Not much relief, but no fret buzz, either, so I haven't needed to mess with the truss rod. Playability is well within what I'm used to for an acoustic archtop.

Factory guitars are famously variable, and some factories clearly have looser QC controls than others--I've heard a lot more complaints about Loars (especially the 350 model) than, say, Eastmans. And the Loar complaints can be pretty serious, including major neck-geometry issues. (The top-of-the-line 700, though seems to get better QC.)

I bought my 600 more than a decade ago, and while I might have been lucky, it's much more likely that its playability was due to the fact that the old Podium in Minneapolis had an experienced repairman/technician doing their setups. The Eastman I bought there was similarly fine right off the wall.

It's possible that WillH's sample is a lemon, but it's also possible that the dealer didn't do a proper setup before sending the guitar out. Or both. And while I have no idea of the consulting luthier, I will note that setting up and maintaining archtops is a particular skills subset--I am able to turn to three with first-rate build/maintain/repair/restore experience.

Lango-Django

Hi WillH,

I used to own a vintage archtop, a mid-thirties 16-inch Epiphone “Blackstone” model.

As much as I loved the vintage look of its adjustable bridge, that guitar sounded a lot fuller, louder and more Lang-like after I had a luthier swap the original bridge out for a one-piece non-adjustable rosewood/ebony bridge

You might consider experimenting with this idea before you totally give up on your guitar..?

Good luck!

Will W.

Buco

That sucks man, sorry to hear that. Likewise, as Will said, I still think all wood custom bridge would be useful. Seems like the biggest problem is bad intonation. Can your luthier get to the bottom of why exactly it intonates so terribly out of tune? Refret, even the neck replacement is better than junking the whole thing. Maybe try to put pressure on the seller to give you a partial refund to cover some of the labor and parts cost.

But even more surprising is that Loar didn't offer anything along the lines of warranty. If the guitar intonates so badly that it's nearly unplayable that should warrant a warranty, no? They should authorize the neck replacement, done deal. My 20 year old Martin had internal braces started to unglue, I took it to a local guy who's Martin authorized repair tech, Martin approved the repair and I picked up the guitar all fixed up.

daverepair

I have repaired and setup numerous vintage archtops. The Loar series gets many good reviews, often with the caveat that some degree of post purchase setup is needed(usually fretwork). What is the string height above the top at the bridge(i.e what is the bridge height?)

I like to see a bridge height of around 1"(although 3/4" is 'ok'). Assuming that is the height on the OP's Loar, then I would suggest replacing the original bridge with a quality aftermarket bridge(from Stewart-McDonald or Cumberland Acoustics), that gives that height, and provides sufficient support in the base for the threaded posts, and has a saddle depth that ensures support against the posts(to resist leaning). The base will likely need fitting to the guitar top.

Intonation on an archtop is usually a simple matter of shifting the bridge, forward or backward as necessary, until the intonation is correct (which assumes the frets have been correctly located in the fingerboard). Does the OP mean that the guitar will not plan in tune with itself, even with correct octave intonation?

Neck relief is a separate issue from bridge height and action: if the relief is correct, it should not be changed as a way of lowering the bridge height(it will simply worsen playability). if the relief is good on the OP's Loar, the problem of the bridge should be addressed elsewhere. If the relief is not good, and the truss rod does not work, it can be adjusted with fretwork.

With respect to the OP's luthier, does that person have experience setting up acoustic archtops? If not, I suggest finding someone who does.

Good luck with the Loar. The OP did say it has a good sound.