0-sized bodies have been around so long (Martin introduced the first before the Civil War) that they have, just by virtue of being available, been used in making every kind of music imaginable. But they will likely remain, first and foremost, country blues and folk guitars in the estimation of most. With it’s dry and husky bark, the Loar LO-215 will do little to dispel that notion. But it’s a better guitar for those virtues and one of the more sonically interesting and fun-to-play guitars of our small-body bunch.
Like many of Loar’s guitars, the LO-215 is a very reverent interpretation of an early mid-century classic, and apart from the glossy, fresh-off-the-factory-floor look, feel, and smell, it appears to be a 70-year-old guitar at ten paces. The Loar is a pretty idiosyncratic guitar in many respects. The 25.4" scale is long, and the shallow heel would make the upper frets very accessible, except that with a 12-fret neck, most of them are impossible to reach.
Unusual for a small-body flattop, the Loar uses laminated maple on the back and sides, and the maple back has an almost tiger-stripe pattern that provides a surprising and pretty cool spoonful of flash. The fleur-de-lys headstock inlay is another classy touch. And the visual sum suggests a guitar more expensive than its sub-$400 street price.
Country Honk
The LO-215 could be the best country-blues machine of our roundup. It’s percussive and snappy with a nice midrange honk that’s just plain funky. It’s fantastic for John Lee Hooker-style thumb and fingerstyle blues, where you move from subdued chord rhythms to hot two-string leads and double-stops. The same qualities make it perfect for fast, syncopated rhythm playing. It’s responsive too, and boasts a perfect decay and dry-as-summer-hay midrange that makes funky chord vamps sound full of attitude without eating up a lot of a recorded or stage mix.
Ratings
Pros: Funky and versatile. Great playability.
Cons: Might prefer solid back and sides for $450.
Tones:
Playability:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street: $449
theloar.com
The guitar’s playability also makes barre chords inviting. And playing a barred E-chord at the 7th fret generates a tight, growling tone that’s ideal for driving rock rhythm tracks or ringing Keith Richards-style stabs.
A very hip nasal and compressed voice makes percussive, thumb-driven pentatonic leads sound full of intent. It can be pretty brash in the high-mids when you push it hard with a flatpick, and in general, single notes have a kind of compressed, compact resonance. But if you’re looking for a different approach to the same old blues lead, this guitar could be just what the witch doctor ordered.
As good as the Loar is at country blues textures, it’s not a one-trick pony. The dulcimer-like aspects of the guitar’s tone palette work well for Celtic picking. The dry attack is also perfectly suited for driving Gypsy-jazz comping or jazzier vocal accompaniment.
Unless you’re really used to the boxy, succinct, and dry tones of a small body like this, it can take a few jams to learn how to respond to the Loar’s strengths. But they are numerous and capable of wildly varied applications. As a composing tool, it has a distinct voice that can steer you out of standard folk phrasing. And it can surprise in the studio, deliver as a rock rhythm machine without sounding too boomy, or lend a funky individuality to a blues lead. It may not be the only guitar you’ll have at hand on a session, but for just around 450 bucks, it’s a second guitar option you almost can’t afford to be without.
Watch our video demo:
Read the rest of the reviews in the roundup:
- Epiphone EL-00 Pro
- Simon & Patrick Woodland Pro Parlor
- Guild M-120
- Loar LO-215
- Martin 000X1AE
Revv G3 Purple Channel Preamp/Overdrive/Distortion Pedal - Anniversary Edition
The Revv G3 revolutionized high gain pedals in 2018 with its tube-like response & tight, clear high gain tones. Suddenly the same boutique tones used by metal artists & producers worldwide were available to anyone in a compact pedal. Now the G3 returns with a new V2 circuit revision that raises the bar again.
For over five decades, audiences worldwide have marveled at Baxter’s inimitable and instantly recognizable guitar playing and generational songcraft. His output spans classic records as a founding member of Steely Dan and member of the Doobie Brothers in addition to hundreds of recordings with the likes of Donna Summer, Cher, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, and many more. During 2022, he initially unveiled Speed of Heat, showcasing yet another side of his creative identity and introducing himself as a solo artist.
On the Storytellers Edition, his fascinating commentary pulls the curtain back on both the process and the message of the music. This version traces the journey to Speed of Heat and its core inspirations as shared directly by Baxter in the form of detailed anecdotes, candid stories, and insightful commentary on every track.
The 12-songalbum, co-produced by Baxter and CJ Vanston, is a riveting and rewarding musical experience that features a host of brilliantly crafted originals co-written by the guitarist and Vanston, as well as inspired versions of some of the great classics. Along the way, Baxter is joined by guest vocalists and songwriters Michael McDonald, Clint Black, Jonny Lang and Rick Livingstone. Baxter notably handled lead vocals on his rendition of Steely Dan’s “My Old School.” Other standouts include "Bad Move" co-written by Baxter, Clint Black, and CJ Vanston, and “My Place In The Sun”, sung by Michael McDonald and co-authored by McDonald, Baxter and Vanston.
As one of the most recorded guitarists of his generation, Baxter’s creative and versatile playing has been heard on some of the most iconic songs in music history, including “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton and “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer.
The stunningly diverse collection of material on Speed of Heat presents a 360-degree view of the uniquely gifted musician.
STREAM / SHARE / PURCHASE HERE.
If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
