The Loar LM-600-VS

This is without doubt the best mandolin I have played for the money. In fact, it would be very easy to spend considerably more and get a worse instrument.

Straight out of the box, setup and playability were good but the tone and "bark" were such that with a full setup, I know it could become a great mandolin.

I am a trained violin maker and have been making instruments since 1975. I still work full time as a professional luthier in Nottingham, UK.

During setup, it became clear that the only slight criticism I had was that the bridge could be improved upon, and this was the only component I decided to change.

The tuning machines are of very good quality. The frets were well seated, with none sounding dull when tapped. They benefited from a small amount of levelling and polishing in other to achieve a really low, buzz-free action. The truss rod adjusted positively and worked perfectly. To find any finish flaws was very difficult. The fingerboard was a little dry and benefitted from some lemon oil, but this could be expected on any new instrument.

In summary, this is the first instrument I have rated with a clean sweep of 5 stars. If it had cost twice as much, I would have only given 4 stars for features, because the bridge could be improved upon... but as it stands, I will repeat what I said at the start of this review: This is the best mandolin I have played for the money.