The Loar is a relatively new acoustic guitar maker that’s been making waves in the entry to mid level market. They offer a wide range of archtops and flat top acoustics that come with impressive features at lower price points.
The LO-215 is part of their small body guitar line, featuring parlor guitar style aesthetics and compact body while still retaining a longer dreadnought scale length. This gives you the best of both worlds, so to speak, having extra volume because of the longer shape and retaining familiar playability for those that are used to playing regular sized acoustics.
It starts off with a small “0” style body, featuring a solid sitka spruce top and flame maple back and sides. This is an interesting combination because the use of maple for the body will emphasize the upper middle frequencies more, when compared to traditional mahogany body ones. The body is then finished in vintage sunburst, giving the guitar an overall classic appeal. This particular model has toned down aesthetics but it does have ivory body binding that others in the same price range will probably not have.
The neck is crafted from mahogany, carved into a thick “C” profile, reminiscent of vintage instruments. It is topped by a rosewood fretboard that has a scale length of 25.4″ and has a total of 19 frets. The neck meets the body at the 12th fret, which give it a convincing vintage parlor guitar appearance.
Other features include a 1-11/16″ bone nut, vintage style Golden Age tuning machines, and a rosewood bridge with compensated bone saddle. Check out The Loar LO-215 in action below:
The Loar LO-215 is currently retailing for just under $450.
