The Loar LM-520 Mandolin

Pictured case not included.

The new hand-carved LM-520 F-model mandolin is our response to players’ requests for a value priced mandolin with more stripped down appointments yet a similar sound to our best-selling Loar LM-600 and LM-400 mandolins. 

The LM-520 is the hands down best F-style available at this price point.

 The Loar LM-520-VS Mandolin was first introduced in 2010 and quickly became our best selling instrument. The Loar set a new benchmark for the price point with this mandolin and has continued to refine it over the years. You just can't get a higher quality F-Style mandolin without spending more money.

Players cite the larger frets as one of the key benefits to the playability on this. The Grover tuners are of high grade as well. These are as good as they get without dropping hundreds on just the machines.

The nut width on the LM-520-VS is 1-1/8". There is good string spacing and the combined with the neck, make this one of the best mandolins for the guitarist looking to give one a try.

Most people like the look, but not everyone is into sunburst. There are no other color options for the LM-520-VS, in fact, the "VS" standard for "Vintage Sunburst".  You can have it in any color you like, as long as it's sunburst!  Really though, don't get a lessor quality mandolin just so you can have another color. 

As an F-style mandolin, this does catch attention. There is no fancy inlay or gold hardware, yet it is still a really nice looking mandolin.

We are including a free wooden Hard-shell case. This is something we bundle ourselves. The LM-520 does not come with a case from the warehouse. 

Many all solid mandolins in this price range are actually pressed instruments. This means a solid piece of wood is loaded into a machine that heats and steams it into shape. The factory will then do a little bit of "hand-carving" and call it a day. This is not the case with The Loar LM-520-VS Mandolin. This model is fully carved. This is one of the main reasons this stands out among similarly priced F-model mandolins.

 The new 520 is carefully assembled in the same hand-carved workshop that gave birth to the LM-400 and 700, and have similar hand-carved, fully graduated spruce tops.  The solid maple back of each instrument is also hand carved, and the solid maple sides complete the package.  The maple neck has a comfortable rounded “V” profile finished with a rosewood fretboard.  The compensated adjustable ebony bridge and high quality vintage-style Grover tuning machines insure that these mandolins have great intonation and stay in tune no matter how hard they are played.

The LM-520 has the same bridge as the higher model mandolins. This is a compensated, adjustable ebony bridge. 

 Perfect for players who want a high-quality, great-sounding hand-carved mandolin but don’t need all of the bells and whistles, these minimally appointed instruments deliver the high-end tone, chop and projection the music community has come to expect from The Loar.

SPECIFICATIONS & FEATURES