Lowden guitars

Moe_Zambeek

And they smell great Honest!

Stevepage

So after a year of making this thread, I still didn't buy one. I ended up buying 2 electrics, just can't seem to want to make the jump into acoustic playing though it still interests me.

I know I'll get one eventually, maybe when I get tired of the shredding and sell the electrics and go buy an S or F series with a figured Walnut back. 

[-O<

crunchman

I played an O-35 at the show at the show at Olympia on Saturday.  It was absolutely brilliant.  I've always loved their sound.  I just don't like the 45mm nut width.  The guy on on the Lowden stand said I could order one with a narrower nut so that is sorely tempting.  Not sure where I'd find the money though.

ToneControl

Stevepage said:

Recently I've been listening to a lot of acoustic music and checked out a few acoustic videos. I came across Lowden guitars and I think they're some of the most beautiful instruments made.

Now I'm not an acoustic player, though I have been itching to start taking it up, what do you guys think of them? Do any of you own them?

They are excellent, but there are many other manufacturers at that level

they hold their value very well, which is great if you buy new, but not so good if you are buying used

A visit to :

http://www.theacousticmusicco.co.uk/

in Brighton will allow you to try many brands and form a firm opinion 

in London, I'd say Ivor Mairants has the best selection

http://www.ivormairants.co.uk/

Bluesman1989

I won't play anything else now.

 

thomasross20

Are they worth the price?
Would love to try but scares of want one and at that cost....!!
My £700 larrivee is amazing...

Stevepage

I still haven't played one, I may pop to Coda today and see if I can but just from looking at them up close they look perfect. Especially the Walnut backed ones. The fit and finish look flawless.

ToneControl

Stevepage said:

I still haven't played one, I may pop to Coda today and see if I can but just from looking at them up close they look perfect. Especially the Walnut backed ones. The fit and finish look flawless.

be wary, walnut ones can sound very bright - not to everyone's taste

Plectrum

I love my O25C. The wide neck has never been an issue for me. Perhaps because the neck is also quite shallow. I can do the thumb-round-the-neck and I don't have large hands.

Wazmeister

Which Lowdens have the sweetest 00 kind of sounds ?

BigLicks67

Wazmeister said:

Which Lowdens have the sweetest 00 kind of sounds ?

Size wise probably the S series, like this one :

but as you can see & hear they have a deeper body and don't have a Martin 00 type of sound.

BahHumbug

I have an O32 and an F23 (which is for sale). They are fine, beautifully crafted instruments and absolutely worth the price. Remember they are completely hand-crafted and the woods used are all top drawer, quality. I really like the fact that their lower end stuff is exceptional, without being blingy. Bling is an option you can pay for.........In terms of tone, the few Lowdens that I've played have all been quite punchy to my ear. My O32 is starting to settle down and sweeten a bit after 2 or 3 years.

bensherman

BahHumbug said:

I have an O32 and an F23 (which is for sale). They are fine, beautifully crafted instruments and absolutely worth the price. Remember they are completely hand-crafted and the woods used are all top drawer, quality. I really like the fact that their lower end stuff is exceptional, without being blingy. Bling is an option you can pay for.........In terms of tone, the few Lowdens that I've played have all been quite punchy to my ear. My O32 is starting to settle down and sweeten a bit after 2 or 3 years.

Hi, as an owner of F and O models, I'd be really interested in hearing your opinion on the differences between the two.

I've got my heart set on an F50 with Sinka redwood and cocobolo. I plan to use it primarily for Celtic finger-style open tunings. I want a warm tone, with clarity and clear string-to-string separation, masses of sustain and overtones, and for it to basically sound like an ethereal choir-like chorus of angels! From your experience, which of these two models would be best suited for this sound and style of playing.

Also, what is your opinion on the choice of woods I mentioned?

Cheers!

Ben

AliGorie

said before that I've played half a dozen on so over the years, all but one were the larger models  - a couple for extended periods, I like what they make u do as a player, well for myself anyway.
Like trying new / different things, something to do with the way they play / feel.
way out my league price wise -2.7 k upwards.
One or two I've tried in shops were the dogs bollocks, I can see why they get the love they do.

MikeDearing

I've gigged an O 12 cutaway (is it ) for 20 years and it biffs it out, it's a bit ragged around the edges but I reckon it's done 400 gigs.. and these are 2 hour restaurant stylee ones.. it's now getting a bit big for me physically but it still punches like rocky marciano

thomasross20

ICBM said:

They're beautifully made, and beautiful sounding - but they're a fingerpicker's/soloist's guitar really, not a strummer's. I had an O10 years ago, which I loved when played by itself but it had no punch in a band mix. Too delicate-sounding for my clumsy thrashing, and the volume in the sound is at the very bottom end not the midrange, so it gets lost easily. They suit open 'Celtic' style tunings more than any other guitar I've heard though, except maybe for McIlroy. (McIlroy used to work for Lowden originally.)

Be careful if you're buying an older Lowden, the company has been through a few changes and not all the guitars are 'proper' Lowdens - some were made under licence, and although they're not bad, they're not in the same league as the handmade Lowdens and are worth a fraction of the price. But you can also quite often find bargains if you don't mind wear and tear - a lot of folk players seem to treat their instruments very badly, and Lowdens don't escape unfortunately.

I finally got a few hours to myself yesterday so went to a guitar shop for the first tim ein about half a year (or so it feels like) to see what's new. Surprisingly I was preferring the Taylors to the Martins, and yet the Lowdens beat them all IMO. Pricey... But I noticed the dip in mid-range as you say. Probably harder to get that out in a band mix, whereas [sorry to mention yet again] Larrivee has a pronounced mid-range and I find needs next to no EQ. Saying that, I couldn't imagine playing an acoustic as part of a band mix - it'd be solo fingerstyle (I'm REALLY into acoustic now...) - so maybe not a huge issue? 

thomasross20

I also wonder... ok, so you're meant to go out and gig guitars, but acoustics are more susceptible to environment changes, they're more "fragile" - I think for any sort of performance acoustic, I'd opt for something a tad cheaper with maybe less of a celtic sound? While the overtones sound amazing, I've often wondered if the sound is a bit too Celtic. Or maybe I'm talking b@llocks. Satin finish for the win, obviously... (I'm warming to the idea of getting Sheena's signature imprinted on the headstock of an acoustic... or even a plate screwed on with it inscribed on the plate).

CloudNine

I went into Guitar Guitar acoustic store in Glasgow the other day to try a specific guitar. While I was there thought had may as well take the time to play pretty much everything in the shop. Tried every Lowden I think. O's, F's, S's, all kinds of woods. I do like the sound of a Lowden for fingerpicking, but they don't work for me for much else. Overtones are overkill sometimes.

I have owned a few in the past, an S series and a few F's, the best being a lovely F50 Redwood/Koa, which was better than all but one in the store on this visit. The best by a country mile was actually the most expensive, a used S50 Redwood/Brazilian, about £9k I think. It had incredible volume and clarity and was just alive, I think it is a pretty special guitar, but not what I was looking for anyway. Most controversial thing I have to say is that I think the build quality on the Lowdens has dropped a bit in the recent guitars. Just little finish issues here and there I noticed, less precision in some areas, wondering if it is as the volume of production has increased... There seems to be millions of them in stores all over the world. And I hate the satin/matt finish. I think it looks so cheap on such high end guitars, and especially with the beautiful back woods, that would really pop with some nice gloss nitro. Really drab looking.

As I said, went through a whole load more, and can't say anything else was truly blowing me away. Was a bit disappointed with most of the Collings, the build quality is as astonishing as ever, but nothing I would have bought from a tone perspective, and I have owned 6 of them before. I do think a lot of them will come into their own in 20yrs or so, a little tight from the outset. Although the C35 is a very cool guitar, like it's big brother the CJ35. Two of the best in the range.

All just my taste of course and ymmv.

Anyway I left with what to my ears was head and shoulders above everything else in the shop, or you could say on a par with the Lowden S Braz, just very different.

AuldReekie

ICBM said:

 They suit open 'Celtic' style tunings more than any other guitar I've heard though, except maybe for McIlroy. (McIlroy used to work for Lowden originally.)

Re MciLroys - I'd go a step further and say that based on my A30, they really should only be played in open tunings.  Mine does not suit  "ordinary" tuning well, but sounds great in a modal tuning

thomasross20

I notice up near the nut end some Lowdens .. the wood protrudes at the back of the neck. What's that about?