Northern Ireland

Lowden Guitars

We're proud to have been George Lowden's first U.S.-based dealer many decades ago, and continue to recommend his instruments enthusiastically on what seems like a daily basis. "What's the best thing you can say about a Lowden? They're not like anything else." In a crowded marketplace, that's why we keep coming back to them.
George Lowden
"To make Lowden guitars we need individuals with a talent for focus and an eye for detail plus a passionate commitment to no compromise. We have built a team of real craftsmen who build Lowden guitars by hand using Japanese chisels, planes, knives and spokeshaves. We are currently building a state of the art jig and tool department to ensure our craftsmen can fine tune their skills and understanding of wood, and in so doing create guitars which feel and sound like individual works of art."
Buyer Guide

Lowden Body Shapes

Understanding the various body shapes that Lowden offers can provide valuable insight into which model might suit your playing style and needs the best. We've put together a brief overview of the four Lowden body shapes to help you make the best choice for your style.

Lowden Features

Design

Curvy, smooth soundbox shapes combined with carefully voiced internal bracing and soundbox profiles, and use of natural wood decorations with Lowden's unique hand rubbed satin finish, all combine to make the Lowden guitar what it is today.

Workmanship

Introducing unplanned or unmitigated stress into any musical instrument deadens the tonal response. Lowden's assembly techniques involve the use of hand tools to improve the quality of all joints and enable the “Dolphin Profile” voicing of the soundboard bracing. This and many more design and technique factors ensure that sustain, volume, and balance are not hindered in any way. No short cuts are possible, just great workmanship and attention to detail.

Wood

Lowden still hand-split their bracing stock and re-grade soundboard wood. They scour the world for the best (and often most decorative) tonewoods which are the real ‘stars’ of Lowden's guitars, and not man made. It is this combination of many details which determines how their guitars sound, feel, and play. Today more than ever, George Lowden is constantly evaluating their guitars and striving to further adjust the voicing, the feel and the playability.

Lowden Artists

Richard Thompson

Richard has been playing Lowden guitars since the 1980s, and his exceptional, unique talent has been widely influential over his lengthy career.

The “F” model particularly suits his playing style with its powerful yet more focussed voice and the combination of the rare Ziricote with selected Western Red Cedar provides a very warm and dynamic tone with articulate clarity.

Alex De Grassi

Grammy nominated artist Alex De Grassi’s fingerstyle exploits convey the greatest emotion from even the quietest moments. A talented improvisational artist, his contemplative work conveys exceptional clarity and subtlety, and Lowden are very proud to celebrate decades of collaboration with this masterful player.

Pierre Bensusan

Lowden is delighted to have worked with Pierre designing this signature model, which is in many ways a celebration of a relationship which has remained for four decades.

A Few Previously Sold Examples

F-50 Church Pew Mahogany & Adirondack
F-50C Brazilian & Sinker Redwood
F-23C Driftwood Cedar
Pierre Bensusan F Model
WL-35 Alpine Spruce
F-50 Brazilian & Redwood