Interesting that there are so many Lowden guitars around for sale

Antique_Guitars · May 2017

Seems to be a few on here and loads listed second hand in various dealers, I guess its a result of their popularity and I suppose these things are cyclical and after a while people move things on.

CloudNine · May 2017

I think it's partly a result of people being seduced by their beautiful tone, then realising they are not as versatile as other guitars, and ultimately don't actually deliver that classic acoustic tone that many people love from classic records. I have been there a number of times with Lowdens, I love them, but not as my main guitar, so when something has to go it has been the Lowdens.

jellyroll · May 2017

They're ugly.

richardhomer · May 2017

I think in the right hands (specifically Richard Thompson's) they can sound wonderful. But in mine, they just don't work.

I think @CloudNine is spot on - they sound very different from the classic flat top sounds on most records - they're not really an 'all rounder'.

AliGorie · May 2017

I got one 'n no way do I do it justice

this is what they’re for - '90's pickup sound I'm afraid

Tuning Bb1Eb2Bb2Bb2Eb3G3Tuning Bb1Eb2Bb2Bb2Eb3G3

tuning is B D A B E A

there's a few pointers here in these two videos as to what they DO excel at..

TimmyO · May 2017

I think it's because they take a while to sell they kind of stack up - if I were a rich man (thank you Topol) I'd relieve someone of one but they hold their value very well it seems!

artiebear · May 2017

3 ads in the acoustic section for a great UK builder, one of those for an earlier guitar. There was a close proximity in those ads, thats all. Lovely guitars for proper acoustic players. TBH if one likes acoustic guitars, one should aspire to having a Lowden around the place ( def an O ) but possibly not as a sole acoustic .

ICBM · May 2017

Beautifully made, but just not the sound I like from an acoustic guitar. I had an early O10 once - didn't get on with it.

The most stupid guitar-related thing I ever did was to sell my '61 J-45 and keep the Lowden.

mellowsun · May 2017

I don't get on with the O models but the F models are great all rounders.

They do sound best in open tunings and with folk/Celtic styles. But not the best choice for blues and rock.

There are more Taylors for sale in the classifieds however.

TimmyO · May 2017

mellowsun said:

I don't get on with the O models but the F models are great all rounders.

They do sound best in open tunings and with folk/Celtic styles. But not the best choice for blues and rock.

There are more Taylors for sale in the classifieds however.

Well Taylors yes - but then there are a lot more of them in the wild I'd have thought.

When I did my big 'want an expensive guitar' exercise I was PM'd a mind-boggling number of Taylors for sale (many more than were publicly up for sale)

The couple I've tried in shops were extremely playable, flawlessly built but the sound didn't really grab me by the feels.

Moe_Zambeek · May 2017

One of the ones for sale here is my O23. However, try as I might I can't find anything I like as much as the O. Everything else sounds small in comparison, and I am now reaching the conclusion I need to deal with the size issues in order to get the sonic benefit.

Having said that, I have developed a thing for the d35 at my loca emporium, though it's lacking control in the bass.

AliGorie · May 2017

there's a funny thing that goes on in the interaction between player / instrument.
It’s my experience that when ‘taking up’ playing in the mid ’80’s after a 15 year layoff I very consciously chose a big ‘O’.
On playing one I had for repair - I couldn’t put the damm thing down - I hadn’t felt like that for a long time.
This is the thing - IT was making ME play in a different way from what and how I’d played when I was younger.
Sure it had an intoxicating sound and beautiful made but I obviously was in need of a kick up the arse regarding WHAT I was wanting / trying to ’say’ on guitar.
GL’s instrument ’design’ is very strong, the hole ‘feel’ when playing, certainly the more ’traditional’ Lowden neck / string spacing proportions lends it’s self to a different approach to how you play and consequently what you play.
Ive heard this about certain ‘classical’ instruments from top players - violins, oboes, flutes, pianos AND guitars, it’s kinda like - it’s built into the instrument that IT knows best.
Quite an odd phenomena when you come across it, I think it could be quite off putting, it’s like the guitars challenging you - in a, come on, is that the best you can do ?.
Anyone else had this vibe from an instrument ?.
GL has addressed some of this by offering different neck, string spacing model sizes, wood combos and so on but as I said - it’s different instrument from the trad American model.
Remember the original two models O & F evolved out of of a need for players who had mimicking American fingerpicking blues / folk players and wanted to play ‘other’ music types using those fingerpicking techniques and tunings.
I spent <> 10 yrs developing what I wanted to do on guitar and went out occasionally did solo gigs (in the ’90’s /00’s) -
the Lowden allowed (made

) me do that.

PS. the 'L'25 model MH is playing in the two videos above is Cedar topped - but he's struming with a flatpick - how many times have you heard - Cedar topped guitars don't do strumming - aye right !

Epsilon · May 2017

Similarly to what others have said, I think if you're trying to do what might be classed as more conventional styles on a Lowden you'll probably find it differs too much from the sound and feel that people are used to. This is particularly true if you're playing music in the more American tradition, for lack of a better word.

I play fingerstyle primarily in open tunings, and as far as that goes I've not come across anything that comes close to my early 90s O-10 other than some more recent Lowdens (I would love an F23C, but with the current price I struggle to see a time when that will happen). Whenever I tune it up to standard I do notice how other instruments seem to sound and feel more familiar in that tuning. That's why we have more than one guitar I guess! I would agree with an earlier post saying a Lowden might not be the best choice as a sole acoustic.

mellowsun · May 2017

I wonder if one reason we see mostly O model Lowdens for sale second hand is that some people buy them with the idea that their size and shape means that they will play and sound something like a dreadnought or a Gibson jumbo.

But they don't.

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Interesting that there are so many Lowden guitars around for sale

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