mking Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I have been looking for a not so expensive small body guitar and I have been looking at the Loar LO-16BK which gets some pretty good reviews. Any of you own one of these and if so, what is your take on the guitar. Kind of my very inexpensive Gibson 1932 L-OO. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mking Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Nobody on this entire web site owns or has owned a Loar LO-16BK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bram99 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Don't own a Loar but I do own a cheep small body that I just love... Gretsch Jim Dandy. I picked it up for $150 about two weeks ago for a travel guitar and I can't put it down. The Loar as well as the dirty thirties Recording King have it hands down over the Jim Dandy on materials and specs, but there is something really cool about the Jim Dandy. I thought the 24 inch scale might make it feel like a toy, but it is not. It came perfectly set up and it is as easy to play as it gets. I played a recording king dirty thirty which has a solid spruce top and I liked the Agathis top, back and sided Jim Dandy more. I was experiencing some remorse over a Keb Mo I returned several months ago, but I have found the Jim Dandy fits my desires for an old timey sounding cowboy or blues guitar. Here is someone else playing one on you tube.....good representation of the tone in these little guys... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 None here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EScottG Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Hey kingme- I have one and like it a lot. IMHO it has a really sweet tone for fingerpicking. I wouldn't say it sounds the old beat up L-00 that I used to have but it's cool in it's own way. Totally different sound than everything else I have and that seems to give it a nice place in the mix when jamming with other acoustics. Something to consider is the neck- 1 3/4 nut width but it is also bulky and deep front to back (which I like) But it is a handful compared to say, a standard J-45. I haven't found the right pickup for it yet but will be experimenting and will probably try a K&K style pretty soon. Mine needed some setup work and tweaking when I got it. I had also planned to swap the tuners but the stock set has worked fine so I left them alone. Mine is black but I also like the look of the natural and I've thought about picking one up sometime if I run across a used one. Hope this helps. Good luck Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EScottG Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 You've probably already searched them on youtube but check out this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvdaNjHe04I for some videos of the guitar strummed. And, for a different style, check out this JT Earle show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvdaNjHe04I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill67 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Don't own a Loar but I do own a cheep small body that I just love... Gretsch Jim Dandy. I picked it up for $150 about two weeks ago for a travel guitar and I can't put it down. The Loar as well as the dirty thirties Recording King have it hands down over the Jim Dandy on materials and specs, but there is something really cool about the Jim Dandy. I thought the 24 inch scale might make it feel like a toy, but it is not. It came perfectly set up and it is as easy to play as it gets. I played a recording king dirty thirty which has a solid spruce top and I liked the Agathis top, back and sided Jim Dandy more. I was experiencing some remorse over a Keb Mo I returned several months ago, but I have found the Jim Dandy fits my desires for an old timey sounding cowboy or blues guitar. Here is someone else playing one on you tube.....good representation of the tone in these little guys... I have one of those Gretsch guitars,I bought it about 5 years ago on sale for $100,It was called Way Out West guitar.It is easy and funny to play guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 About as good as you can expect for a sold top - laminated b/s import. It kinda sorta has a ball-park L00 sound, only the ball park is the Astrodome, not Wrigley Field, if you get my drift. Does have a chunky neck, and wider than epi ELOs, which is a plus. But, at the end of the day, a cut-and-dried laminate sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacamartin Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 About as good as you can expect for a sold top - laminated b/s import. It kinda sorta has a ball-park L00 sound, only the ball park is the Astrodome, not Wrigley Field, if you get my drift. Does have a chunky neck, and wider than epi ELOs, which is a plus. But, at the end of the day, a cut-and-dried laminate sound. Good assessment. I'll ad it's built like a tank>heavy! But you can throw 13/56 on it and not worry about pulling it apart. Nice looking reproduction, and the used pricing is very good. But also look into the Rnj-25(Recording King) if you can find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eltonwce Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I have had mine for over a year. Like it real well. Neck a little thick but I got used to it right away. Better built than I expected. Stays in tune real well.It came set up pretty good. It came with Daddario strings and I still use them on it. I usually use Martin but these sound good and last a good long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlejohnny Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I ordered one last summer , but send it back after two day, Though it looked good, it was dull and dead sounding and the fretboard was sticky and the frets were pretty rough. I've been there with electrics. Had a couple of cheap ones over the years, but always got back to my gibson les paul. But if you are looking for a cheap guitar the lo-16 is worth to consider, especially when you find a nicer example than I had. From the vid posted above the gretsch sounds a lot better than the lo-16 I had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mking Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Thanks for all the feedback. The LO-16BK arrives this coming Wednesday. I bought it from a seller that deals in these "manufacturer refurbished" guitars. The seller says this one is mint and the cost was $239.00, shipping was free. I have some good guitars to compare it to, not to see if it is better, just comparing the difference in the sounds. As far as small body guitars go, I have a 1947 LG-2, and a 2011 Taylor Grand Concert BTO with the swinker redwood top and rosewood back and sides. Of course I have my go to guitar, a 2007 Gibson J-45TV. I'll send a note out when I get it and let you all know what I think. Thanks again for the responses. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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