any Lowden players out there?

[riffmeister]

I tried a new one, from George's own hand, a sitka/maple F35. It sounded Incredible for fingerstyle work! Very responsive, strong smooth sounding fundamental, balanced across frequencies. Very tempting.........

[Ogre]

I have an O25 that I bought new in 1998. It is by far my favorite acoustic guitar. It has a full rich tone that I just love.

[riffmeister]

ogre, how do you use your Lowden.......flatpick, fingerstyle, other?

[B Vance]

Originally posted by riffmeister
I tried a new one, from George's own hand, a sitka/maple F35. It sounded Incredible for fingerstyle work! Very responsive, strong smooth sounding fundamental, balanced across frequencies. Very tempting.........


There is a store about three hours from me called Wild Wood Music. It is entirely dedicated to hand made acoustic guitars, mandos, lab steels and banjos. The last time I was there I got the chance to play several of over 20 different Lowdens they had there.

You are right, for fingerstyle playing the Lowdens were by far the most responsive guitars I played. In comparison to several Larrivees I was also looking at, the Lowdens seemed to be more conducive to my finger attack. Great for acoustic blues playing in my opinion. My favorite of the bunch was an o-12 with sitka spruce and mahagany.

Although I do not own one, Marty, the woman who co-owns the shop, says that aside from the out-of-this-world, one-of-a-kind Martins, Lowdens would be her next choice. She knows what she is talking about too.

Give their website a look. Great selection.

www.wildwoodmusic.com

[riffmeister]

BV.......thanks for topping off my GAS tank! :D

[Dave Orban]

I had an 0-32 for a while. Guitar sounded like a cross between a cannon and a piano! LOL!

Unfortunately, I could never get comfortable with its considerable size...

Great instruments, though!

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by Dave Orban
I had an 0-32 for a while. Guitar sounded like a cross between a cannon and a piano! LOL!

Unfortunately, I could never get comfortable with its considerable size...

Great instruments, though!

I've got my sights set on a smaller F model. A little mo comfy and a little mo focused sound. :)

[Ogre]

I mostly play fingerstyle with it. I can use a pick as well, and it's best not to dig in too much, as the cedar top will compress sonicly. I have played many Lowdens, and I believe the O series are special. My O25 is an absolute joy to play and hear. Highly recommended!

[riffmeister]

I hope to get back to the music store soon to test drive the sitka/maple F again! Last time I was there I played it for about 20 min, fingerstyle most of the time and was really impressed. I was then somewhat surprised and elated to hear that it sounded equally good with a flatpick! Next test drive I'll dig in a little more with the flatpick to see what the headroom is like.

[Ogre]

With a spruce top, headroom will not be a problem. It's the cedar tops that require a lighter touch. Don't leave the store without trying a O series with a cedar top! I have never(in 40 years) heard anything else like it.

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by Ogre
With a spruce top, headroom will not be a problem. It's the cedar tops that require a lighter touch. Don't leave the store without trying a O series with a cedar top! I have never(in 40 years) heard anything else like it.

There's only one Lowden in the store, unfortunately. Have you played an F before?

Several years ago, I A/B/C'd an O, F, and S. I forget the woods, but I do remember liking the F the most......it had a bit more 'character' than the other two.

[royd]

I'm a longtime Lowden player (got my first one in '86) and one of the moderators of the Lowden user group.
I play a cedar topped O and beat it pretty hard sometimes and haven't had any issues with lack of headroom. You can hear both my original L25C (stolen in '99) on the pieces from "d" and the replacement O25C Custom on the pieces from "Big Job" at http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=106838
I haven't played one of the new ones yet but everything I've heard about them is that they are amazing.
roy

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by royd
.......I haven't played one of the new ones yet but everything I've heard about them is that they are amazing.
roy

The one I played (a 2005 from George's new shop) sounded fantastic!

[B Vance]

One of the best selling points for me about the cedar...the smell. There is nothing like opening that case and smelling that cedar. I loved all of the ones that I got to play. Spruce, cedar, it didn't matter. All wonderful instruments. I was partial to the O series though.

[AnthonyL]

I've got an O-23 - Cedar/Walnut - purchased from Wildwood Music by the way, and after a long day at the office there's nothing like sitting on my deck and playing for a while. There's no better stress relief.

I've tried most of the high end acoustic stuff out there and besides some of the recent Bourgeois stuff I've played, nothing speaks to me like a Lowden...

[fatback]

I've had an F-32 (Sitka/Rosewood) for 7 years now. I love it. For it's size it has a nice deep tone and is very rich in harmonics.

Sylvian music in Santa Cruz had 7 different Lowdens when I bought mine. The F just fit me best and had the most amazing upper frequencies. It has great dynamics but can't hold up to power strumming like the O model. For fingerpicking and relaxed strumming my F-32 is just stunning.

[ROKY]

I miss the hell outta my F-32; sold last year during an amp
buying frenzy .. awesome guitar, that Lowden F-- awesome !!

[rhys]

i've had an o-10 (jumbo cedar on mahog) for about 6 years now. wonderful woody, natural, rich tone. great for alt tunings. i find the cedar does lose clarity with very hard strumming, and the guitar always seems to have intonation issues. still working through that. any other guitar would've been out the door but with that tone you just can't let it go.

[bigredhaus]

I have an 035x that I've been using for the last year or two ... spruce top with rosewood back and sides. I heard the fingerstyle comments about Lowdens before getting this guitar and almost hesitated to get it ... but man am I glad I didn't. I have a Taylor 912c that I use for fingerstyle and wanted a "bigger" guitar that had a fuller sound with a deeper low end than the Taylor. My wife used to laugh at me when I said guitars sound different. The first time I had both of them at home she stopped ... listened for a moment ... then said, "Wow, they really do sound different!"

Anyway, I love the Lowden. It really sounds huge.

Scott

[Claytone]

I've been Lowdens for a number of years after discovering them through following Richard Thompson's music. First I found a Japanese-licensed Lowden made I think in the 80's, an excellent playing and sounding guitar. My current is an O-12 with a Highlander pickup installed. Great for all kinds of music, picks and fingerstyle, a great live guitar with projection and clarity.

[Ogre]

I played a S model with Blackwood(Australian) back and sides, and was knocked out by the big sound coming from this smaller bodied guitar. You owe it to yourself to check out these wonderful guitars.

[Jon C]

Originally posted by Ogre
I played a S model with Blackwood(Australian) back and sides, and was knocked out by the big sound coming from this smaller bodied guitar. You owe it to yourself to check out these wonderful guitars.

yes... I have a wonderful S12 (mahogany sides, cedar top) that was NOS at Victor's in NJ and got it at a steal of a price. Huge sound from a little box and a wonderful neck profile.

My acoustic maven friend who's performed for years advised that he thinks Taylors work better if you're playing in a group and Lowdens can't be beat for solo work (that big piano like midrange for ex.). I mostly flatpick my S12 and it does just fine, though I don't disagree w/ my friend's general view, of course it's not an absolute.

Jon

[TomK]

I love my Lowden F-25 cedar / rosewood. I had the opportunity to play through the entire line (2000 I think...) and chose this one from among the NAMM guitars that year. It flatpicks just fine but really shines on finger work.

[Izy]

I always wanted a lowden but by the time i could afford it, the company became avalon and thereafter no one here in my country carried Lowdens anymore.

How i wish i can get my hands on one now. :(

[royd]

Izy,

I don't know where you live but I'm sure that a dealer would be glad to ship one to you. I know there is some hesitation about spending that kind of money for a guitar that you haven't played but Lowdens have always been very consistent and from what I hear, the new guitars are amazing.

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by riffmeister
I tried a new one, from George's own hand, a sitka/maple F35. It sounded Incredible for fingerstyle work! Very responsive, strong smooth sounding fundamental, balanced across frequencies. Very tempting.........

I'm just about ready to move on one of these.....wow, they are great sounding guitars for fingerstyle!!

[royd]

we're sponsoring a concert next Friday with Thomas Leeb (http://www.thomasleeb.com) Thomas has played an O25C for years but recently got a new maple F with, I believe, a sitka top. He has said he loves it. I can't wait to hear it. Hopefully he'll let me play it a bit too.

[riffmeister]

I'm going to try a cedar/mahogany cutaway model F.

Should be neato!!!!! :cool:

[royd]

I had an O10C for a time while my O25C Custom was being built. At first I didn't like it... it was more brash and forward than the 25 but boy did it grow on me. By the time my guitar was due, I was beginning to wonder whether I could give the borrowed O10 back.
Personally, I always prefer the cedar tops... with any side and back wood.
The F models are a little more compact in their sound and can be a bit more aggressive sounding than the O.

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by royd
I had an O10C for a time while my O25C Custom was being built. At first I didn't like it... it was more brash and forward than the 25 but boy did it grow on me. By the time my guitar was due, I was beginning to wonder whether I could give the borrowed O10 back.
Personally, I always prefer the cedar tops... with any side and back wood.
The F models are a little more compact in their sound and can be a bit more aggressive sounding than the O.

so is the cedar/rosewood combination a bit more warm than the cedar/mahogany combination?

[royd]

Both have the Lowden sound and are warm and complex but they get there in a different way.
I would describe the rosewood/cedar as being more elegant while the 10 is more in your face. I know that metaphors are so difficult... It is like the difference between a really hot 25 year old (think Victoria Secrets) and a more mature, classic beauty (Catherine Deneuve maybe). The 25 doesn't grab you so forcefully but then you stop and think and are dumbfounded.
Does that make any sense at all?
:confused:

[riffmeister]

Sounds like cedar/mahogany with a dose of Victoria's Secret is the one for me. ;)

[neastguy]

do they have a website? cant find one : lowden

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by neastguy
do they have a website? cant find one : lowden

http://www.georgelowden.com/

I just found out that if you order a new one today, it won't arrive until 2007........apparently the first run of guitars was very successful and now they are backordered for quite some time.

I should have a cedar/mahogany F with a cutaway coming in a couple of weeks through The Podium. :cool:

[stucker]

I've had an F10-C for several years now and it still amazes me how dynamic an instrument it is. It can't be beat for fingerstyle playing but isn't bad for lighter-touch flatpicking (it's definitely not a bluegrass guitar though).

Scott

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by stucker
I've had an F10-C for several years now and it still amazes me how dynamic an instrument it is. It can't be beat for fingerstyle playing but isn't bad for lighter-touch flatpicking (it's definitely not a bluegrass guitar though).

Scott

This is good to hear. :D

I'll keep my dread for bluegrass (and other) stuff, for sure. I'm expecting the Lowden to rule the roost for my fingerstyle musings, though.

[customandrew]

i have a lowden d32 rosewood/sitka from 5 years ago when their factory was in newtonwnards...

and i have a f32c walnut/redwood from his current factory.


Beautiful guitars he makes.

[Dave Orban]

I had an o32 for a while. Great-playing, FANTASTIC sounding guitar. Sounded like a grand piano...! Smelled good, too...! LOL!

The body was just way too big for me to get comfortable with it. That's about the only "bad" thing I can say about it.

[suttree]

Don Ross played a lowden for a long time... he's moved to a beneteau lately, but i remember him playing that lowden, i've wanted one ever since. unfortunately, this being canada, i've only actually SEEN one other lowden, and it wasn't for sale. i played a few at the NAMM show one year, they're incredible fingerstyle guitars..

[reentune]

My O10 has blown away everyone who has ever played it (including me).
They're my all-time favorite acoustics.

A funny note: My wife always complains that it's too loud. That should give you an idea of it's sonic largesse.

If anyone wants to sell theirs, send me an e-mail.

[James]

A good friend of mine is a Lowden O10 player and I've always loved the sound he gets with it. He's a pro musician, tours all over the place and unfortunately over 10+ years the guitar has worn to the bone and is currently un-playable!

Great guitars, I wish I could find him an original O10 as a replacement.

[reentune]

You know my super-awesome Lowden? The one that sounds like God?

I opened the case tonight and the strings were all slack-like.
I scratched my head, then I looked at the bridge that was standing on its front edge and the bare wood underneath. Seems as if the darn thing came undone from the guit-fiddle. It has been super humid here, and hotter than hell.

That explains a sound I heard the other day that I couldn't figure out. Must've been the bridge popping off. I sure wasn't expecting that.

Well, I'm gonna go clean the mess outta my britches.

Dang!

I need some sympathy.

[Bryan T]

I need some sympathy.

You've got it! Sorry to hear about the bridge lifting. Any competent acoustic guitar tech should be able to get it back in shape in no time.

Bryan

[James]

Hi,

If it makes you feel better, the same thing happened with my friend's Lowden O10. And I've heard of it happening to yet another Lowden, too!

I remember hearing someone mention that the glue doesn't hold well with a cedar top.

Should be a simple repair - good luck!

James

[stucker]

Cedar is a softer wood than spruce. Still, I know from experience that excessively, hot humid weather combined with strings tuned to pitch can pull a bridge off the face of any guitar (never keep one in an non air conditioned car for very long). As long as the finish didn't pull up, too, it's not a serious, expensive repair.

[fatback]

I made the mistake of trying a Lowden S model recently. Wow! Big tone and gushing harmonics from such a small package. Maybe I'll have to find my F-32 a little bro.
;)




After an overdose of disto-fuzz box clips the last month, I find myself really enjoying playing the Lowden again.

Here's a link to some vids I recorded with it:
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?p=1447491#post1447491

( oooh... my precious ;) )
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/fatback2/IMG_3840.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/fatback2/IMG_1811.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/fatback2/IMG_3846.jpg (http://www.thegearpage.net/board/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/fatback2/IMG_3846.jpg%5B/IMG%5D)

[fatback]

Here's a link to a new thread I put in the soundclips section of some vids I just recorded with the above F-32:
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?p=1447491#post1447491


cheers.
:)

[Voxshall]

There is a store about three hours from me called Wild Wood Music. It is entirely dedicated to hand made acoustic guitars, mandos, lab steels and banjos. The last time I was there I got the chance to play several of over 20 different Lowdens they had there.

You are right, for fingerstyle playing the Lowdens were by far the most responsive guitars I played. In comparison to several Larrivees I was also looking at, the Lowdens seemed to be more conducive to my finger attack. Great for acoustic blues playing in my opinion. My favorite of the bunch was an o-12 with sitka spruce and mahagany.

Although I do not own one, Marty, the woman who co-owns the shop, says that aside from the out-of-this-world, one-of-a-kind Martins, Lowdens would be her next choice. She knows what she is talking about too.

Give their website a look. Great selection.

www.wildwoodmusic.com

Just wondering why you loved the O12 model the best. I might buy a Lowden soon and can't decide over a O12C or O25 model.

[pedalcr8z]

My Lowden is a cannon! Grand piano like sustaining detailed basses, even mids and highs in sustain, tone and amplitude. It is so rare to find acoustics that offer even string response in tone, volume and sustain. Normally a larger bodied guitar would not be the best choice for intricate finger style but that's not the case with my 0-23 as it's every bit as capable finger style or using a pick. It's been said that perhaps slotted head 12 fret 000 sized models are the best for finger style and after owning both a Martin 000-28VS and a Collings 000-2H I would have to agree but when I first played the Lowden expecting it to NOT compete I was completely re-educated on what I THOUGHT was the norm. Lastly the oil varnished satin finish is just a joy as there is no stickiness and it's simply a sensual treat to touch and feel just as a finely finished piece of furniture is. It feels as though it's just been waxed it's so smooth but requires no maintenance at all as it doesn't show fingerprints. The 0-23 is Clairo Walnut and Western Red Cedar top with Sycamore bindings and ebony tuning keys.http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e51/hifivic/Guitars%20and%20Amps/Lowden_O23_WalCed_04.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e51/hifivic/Guitars%20and%20Amps/Lowden_O23_WalCed_05.jpghttp://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e51/hifivic/Guitars%20and%20Amps/Lowden_O23_WalCed_06.jpghttp://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e51/hifivic/Guitars%20and%20Amps/Lowden_O23_WalCed_01.jpg

[Fred McMurray]

SHoot, did I respond to this already? LOL - Ok, I've had my Lowden S7C since I bought it new in '91/'92, a closeout from Mandolin Bros. Perhaps the best gear purchase I've ever made. My #1 all-out guitar - use it for fingerpicking new acoustic, jazzy stuff, rock around the house, recording. The spruce top sounds better than ever. It holds alt tunings like nobody's bidness.

[Bryan T]

I've had my O25 for about nine months now. It was built in October of last year and I put it on layaway right after it was delivered to my local dealer. There's something really special about this guitar for playing fingerstyle. It responds really well to my right hand and is really pushing me to develop new/better techniques. I put a K&K pickup in it and gig with it regularly. I've probably used it on a half dozen recording sessions and it has done well. It isn't perfect for everything, but when it works, it really works.

Bryan

[The Pup]

My O-25C sounds better each year that goes by...great guitars!