A friend of mine owns a music store and is kind enough to be bringing a couple Lowden guitars and a Larivee for inspection. I've seen the web sites for both. Apparently Lowden is in Northern Ireland and the Larivee folks are in Canada.

But... have any of you played these brands? I think I'm ready to buy my "ultimate" acoustic, but am becoming somewhat disappointed in the Martins, Gibsons, Taylors and Guilds in our music stores. These folks seem to be trading on their reputations with a price to match.

To date, I have not found one that approaches the sound of my '76 Martin D18 (maybe I'm a mahogony person).

Any experience with Lowden or Larivee?