The Loar LH-600-VS Archtop Acoustic with Hard Case - Sunburst
Description
No sales tax for US customers outside California.
All-solid, fully hand-carved archtop acoustic at a price point that would have seemed impossible twenty years ago. The Loar LH-600-VS is modeled directly after the great American archtops of the 1920s — the pre-war Gibsons that defined the sound of early jazz and Western swing — and it's built with the same essential recipe: hand-carved graduated spruce top, hand-carved figured maple back and sides, nitrocellulose lacquer finish, ebony hardware, and a vintage V-profile mahogany neck. This one comes with its hard case.
Condition
The guitar is in near mint condition and plays well. The frets show little wear. The neck is straight and there is room in the truss rod for future neck relief adjustments. There are no repairs or issues. The case is a stout SKB hardshell that is in similar condition to the guitar.
A Bit of History
The archtop guitar was invented by Orville Gibson around the turn of the 20th century, borrowing the carved-top construction of the violin family and applying it to the guitar. Gibson's master luthier Lloyd Loar — the man this brand is named after — refined the design dramatically in the early 1920s, producing the L-5, widely considered the first modern archtop and the template for virtually everything that followed. The sound those instruments made — projecting, punchy, rhythmically forceful, with a dry woody bark and a singing upper register — was the backbone of jazz and Western swing for three decades. Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and Joe Pass all built careers around variations of that voice. Getting that sound today from a vintage Gibson L-5 or L-7 will cost you serious money — these instruments have been collectible for decades and well-preserved examples regularly sell for $8,000–$25,000 and up. The Loar LH-600 was designed specifically to fill that gap: all-solid hand-carved construction, parallel bracing, nitro lacquer, and vintage appointments, at a fraction of the price. The archtop community took notice. Jonathan Stout — widely regarded as one of the finest pre-bop swing guitarists working today — has specifically recommended the LH-600 series as the best affordable all-carved archtop on the market for playing authentic pre-war jazz. That's not a casual endorsement.
Excerpts from real online user forums and reviews
"The guitar is clear and articulate — I played a D9 up at the 10th fret and I could hear every note — and loud. It really barks. Notes just echo inside the body and ring out. It has a nice chunk to its bottom end and a sweetness in its top end. All in all, I can't keep my hands off of it." — Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum
"The LH-600 and LH-700 are the best affordable all-carved archtop guitars on the market for playing pre-bop jazz — word of Jonathan Stout, one of the most respected swing guitarists anywhere. None of the other offerings — Gretsch New Yorker, current Epiphone Masterbilt, D'Angelicos — can compete acoustically." — Strat-Talk Forum
"The more I play this guitar the more I can't believe the price. It has punch and thump and sparkle and sweetness. It can growl and be nasty or urbane and refined. I've only had it a week and I'm already hearing its future." — Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum
"I play the hell out of my 600. It's a great box. The more I play it, the better it sounds. Get a Djangobucker on it and you've got a serious gigging option." — Jazz Guitar Forum
"Strung her up with 85/15 12s and it sounds really great — warm and punchy. Even though it's loud, it's quiet enough to play in the living room while the kids are asleep. I got lucky — perfect neck angle, and the action can be set so it's very playable but has enough angle for plenty of punch." — Jazz Guitar Forum
A properly set-up LH-600 is one of the genuine bargains in acoustic guitar — all-solid hand-carved construction with a pre-war voice, complete with hard case and ready to play. Ships securely packed with full insurance.
SPECS:
Color: Sunburst
Weight: 4lbs 12.5oz
Top: Solid Hand-Carved, Hand-Graduated Spruce
Body: Solid Hand-Carved Maple
Neck: Mahogany
Neck Profile: V
Fretboard: Ebony
Inlays: Dot
Frets: Original
Fret Count: 19
Nut: Original
Nut width: 1.75"
Radius: 16"
Scale: 24.75"
Neck thickness at 1st Fret: .922"
Neck thickness at 9th Fret: 1.07"
Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 3/32"
Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 3/32"
Body length: 20-1/4"
Lower bout: 16"
Body depth/thickness: 3-3/4"
String gauge: 12-53
Bridge: Compensated Adjustable Ebony
Tuners: Grover Open-Geared Butterbean
Case: Brand New Gator HSC
Notes:
Shipping policy:
There are multiple shipping cost options for purchases made on our site. Select Ground, 3 Day, 2 Day, or Next Day Air Saver. For Reverb purchases, there is one cost option for Eastern states - customers from any state that is more than a 3 day UPS ground shipment from our shop will get their shipment via UPS 3 day air. Otherwise, ground shipping will be used. Shipments will require signature on delivery, no exceptions. If there is damage, the buyer must retain all packing materials intact and picture them immediately and send them to . Less than 1% of our shipments are damaged in transit, and we are committed to making sure your item arrives safely, but we are taking these additional measures to make sure you are happy with your purchase.
All-solid, fully hand-carved archtop acoustic at a price point that would have seemed impossible twenty years ago. The Loar LH-600-VS is modeled directly after the great American archtops of the 1920s — the pre-war Gibsons that defined the sound of early jazz and Western swing — and it's built with the same essential recipe: hand-carved graduated spruce top, hand-carved figured maple back and sides, nitrocellulose lacquer finish, ebony hardware, and a vintage V-profile mahogany neck. This one comes with its hard case.
Condition
The guitar is in near mint condition and plays well. The frets show little wear. The neck is straight and there is room in the truss rod for future neck relief adjustments. There are no repairs or issues. The case is a stout SKB hardshell that is in similar condition to the guitar.
A Bit of History
The archtop guitar was invented by Orville Gibson around the turn of the 20th century, borrowing the carved-top construction of the violin family and applying it to the guitar. Gibson's master luthier Lloyd Loar — the man this brand is named after — refined the design dramatically in the early 1920s, producing the L-5, widely considered the first modern archtop and the template for virtually everything that followed. The sound those instruments made — projecting, punchy, rhythmically forceful, with a dry woody bark and a singing upper register — was the backbone of jazz and Western swing for three decades. Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and Joe Pass all built careers around variations of that voice. Getting that sound today from a vintage Gibson L-5 or L-7 will cost you serious money — these instruments have been collectible for decades and well-preserved examples regularly sell for $8,000–$25,000 and up. The Loar LH-600 was designed specifically to fill that gap: all-solid hand-carved construction, parallel bracing, nitro lacquer, and vintage appointments, at a fraction of the price. The archtop community took notice. Jonathan Stout — widely regarded as one of the finest pre-bop swing guitarists working today — has specifically recommended the LH-600 series as the best affordable all-carved archtop on the market for playing authentic pre-war jazz. That's not a casual endorsement.
Excerpts from real online user forums and reviews
"The guitar is clear and articulate — I played a D9 up at the 10th fret and I could hear every note — and loud. It really barks. Notes just echo inside the body and ring out. It has a nice chunk to its bottom end and a sweetness in its top end. All in all, I can't keep my hands off of it." — Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum
"The LH-600 and LH-700 are the best affordable all-carved archtop guitars on the market for playing pre-bop jazz — word of Jonathan Stout, one of the most respected swing guitarists anywhere. None of the other offerings — Gretsch New Yorker, current Epiphone Masterbilt, D'Angelicos — can compete acoustically." — Strat-Talk Forum
"The more I play this guitar the more I can't believe the price. It has punch and thump and sparkle and sweetness. It can growl and be nasty or urbane and refined. I've only had it a week and I'm already hearing its future." — Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum
"I play the hell out of my 600. It's a great box. The more I play it, the better it sounds. Get a Djangobucker on it and you've got a serious gigging option." — Jazz Guitar Forum
"Strung her up with 85/15 12s and it sounds really great — warm and punchy. Even though it's loud, it's quiet enough to play in the living room while the kids are asleep. I got lucky — perfect neck angle, and the action can be set so it's very playable but has enough angle for plenty of punch." — Jazz Guitar Forum
A properly set-up LH-600 is one of the genuine bargains in acoustic guitar — all-solid hand-carved construction with a pre-war voice, complete with hard case and ready to play. Ships securely packed with full insurance.
SPECS:
Color: Sunburst
Weight: 4lbs 12.5oz
Top: Solid Hand-Carved, Hand-Graduated Spruce
Body: Solid Hand-Carved Maple
Neck: Mahogany
Neck Profile: V
Fretboard: Ebony
Inlays: Dot
Frets: Original
Fret Count: 19
Nut: Original
Nut width: 1.75"
Radius: 16"
Scale: 24.75"
Neck thickness at 1st Fret: .922"
Neck thickness at 9th Fret: 1.07"
Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 3/32"
Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 3/32"
Body length: 20-1/4"
Lower bout: 16"
Body depth/thickness: 3-3/4"
String gauge: 12-53
Bridge: Compensated Adjustable Ebony
Tuners: Grover Open-Geared Butterbean
Case: Brand New Gator HSC
Notes:
Shipping policy:
There are multiple shipping cost options for purchases made on our site. Select Ground, 3 Day, 2 Day, or Next Day Air Saver. For Reverb purchases, there is one cost option for Eastern states - customers from any state that is more than a 3 day UPS ground shipment from our shop will get their shipment via UPS 3 day air. Otherwise, ground shipping will be used. Shipments will require signature on delivery, no exceptions. If there is damage, the buyer must retain all packing materials intact and picture them immediately and send them to . Less than 1% of our shipments are damaged in transit, and we are committed to making sure your item arrives safely, but we are taking these additional measures to make sure you are happy with your purchase.