Loudon guitars (Lowden)

Subject: RE: Loudon guitars
From: GUEST,jonesey
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 07:59 PM

Thanks Chris! Hi again Allan, I forgot to mention in my earlier post that the best soumding 14-fret guitars 'I've' ever heard are Lowdens. I think it may have to do with the shape and the fact they use scalloped bracing. Twice when in Wales I borrowed guitars while at an 'open stage/session' and was startled by the sound. They were both Lowdens and I've a good friend here in the States who has one and it kills. All three were made of walnut/red cedar. I'm sure there are some pre-'67 Martins around that kick butt, too. But since CSN&Y Martin had to thicken the bracing to maintain the lifetime guarantee and sacrificed some resonance. There's a guy in Michigan named Jan Burda who builds great guitars for not a lot of money(compared to 'name' luthiers)and will scallop the bracing if you want. Ounce for ounce you can't beat a Lowden, though. And if you're in the UK they're your best bet. IMHO...Good Luck and let us know what you decide.

Subject: RE: Loudon guitars
From: catspaw49
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 04:30 PM

What Midchuck said. Lowdens are nice and if you get the right one it will fit rhe bill, but it's hard to beat slothead Martin 12 fretters. I would play a lot first with someone else along to listen and play too so you can get an honest evaluation. Beware too of special rooms for trying them out, the acoustics of the place can fool you.

The finish business is hooey.......Shiny black doesn't interfere any more with sound production than satin finish natural. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Loudon guitars
From: GUEST,Mike of Northumbria (at home)
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 03:53 PM

Alan,

I can only endorse what Ian HP just said. I've owned three cedar-topped Lowdens at various times, and each of them, in its own way, was/is superb. A mahogany one - bright, crisp and clear when flat-picked loudly, but with a lot of subtlety when fingerpicked. A rosewood one - dark, rich & mysterious sound when played quietly, but cuting through whith great authority when driven hard. A walnut one - now my regular gigging guitar - with a tone midway between the other two which will do everything I ask, and has never let me down.

All the Lowdens I've seen and/or played have been first class in materials and workmanship. They are clearly made by people who know what they're doing, and love what they do.

Buy one!

Wassil!

Subject: RE: Loudon guitars
From: GUEST,Ian HP
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 03:34 PM

I play two Lowdens - an 025 and an 010. As far as I'm concerned they're the best guitars in the world. Big sound that can also be delicate and beautiful, depending on how you play. They're *very* sensitive to your style. Lots of big sounding guitars lose clarity, but Lowdens are clear as a bell. Buy one!

Subject: RE: Loudon guitars
From: GUEST,Chris B (Born Again Scouser)
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 03:19 PM

Nice one Jonesy!

Subject: RE: Loudon guitars
From: GUEST,jonesey
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 11:11 AM

Hi Allan, MidChuck's right about the 12-fret slot-head guitars. They have a better balance of sound than the 14-fret dreadnaughts. I've been partial to them for years. Originally, the Ditson Company from New York built the prototypes for Martin in 1928. They were called the D1 and D2, respectively. The D1 was made of mahoghany, the D2 of rosewood. They became the D18 and D28. The luthier's from Ditson decided the 12 fret model had better tone, but Martin decided to release a 14 fret model as orchestral players of the day complained about needing to have easier access to the C scale at the 12-14th frets. The 'slotheads' were introduced in '33 with the 14 fretter's in '34. Ok, back to your question...sorry. What I've done to get a 'big' acoustic guitar sound is this: Get the best condenser mics available and use at least three. One near the upper bout, one near the lower and one about 8-10 feet away. Record on 3 separate channels. When mixing pan them like this: upper bout/wide left, lower bout/wide right, room mic/dead ctr. Tweak the bass response on the room mic until it overloads slightly then roll off a little. Can't overstress the importance of the room mic. You will get a real big sound. That coupled with a big dreadnaught should do the trick. The guitars I've used, woodwise are made of walnut and red cedar. Lowden makes several. Rosewood has tons of overtones and is a little tricky to mic and mahoghany can be a little on the 'thin' side, but is cleaner. Walnut w/12 frets and a cedar top is what I prefer. Oh yeah, if possible a little compression can be good if available and a touch of reverb. Ok, hope that's helpful.

Subject: RE: Loudon guitars
From: Midchuck
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 10:26 AM

Have I got the name right?

I assume you were thinking of Lowden

I couldnt find any web sites.

If it is Lowden you want, it's here.

I want a guitar with a really big sound for unplugged rhytmic work. Or are there any other suggestions?

The ultimate "really big sound for uplugged rhythmic work" would, IMO, be a 12-fret slothead Martin Dread. D-18VS, HD-28VS (probably the ultimate ultimate), or maybe the new D-15S, if you don't want to blow the kind of bucks you need for the others.

Is it true that a black guitar will have a thinner sound than one in natural wood?

Never tried one, but there's no logical reason why it should - unless they use inferior wood for the ones they're going to color because the dye will hide the defects....

Peter.

Subject: Loudon guitars
From: GUEST,Allan Dennehy
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 10:10 AM

Have I got the name right? I couldnt find any web sites. I want a guitar with a really big sound for unplugged rhytmic work. Or are there any other suggestions? Is it true that a black guitar will have a thinner sound than one in natural wood?