About Lowden Guitars
The Lowden guitar is the result of unique design, workmanship and assembly techniques along with our choice of woods.
History of Lowden
Throughout 2024 we are celebrating 50 years of the Lowden Guitar, since George designed and built the very first under his name in 1974.
In the late 1980’s George Lowden accepted an invitation to visit the main Lowden dealer for Switzerland, Servette Music in Geneva. Upon his arrival, co-proprietor Yves Imer thanked George for coming, because some of the Lowden customers he was to meet had not realised he actually existed – they thought “George Lowden” was merely the figment of some marketing man’s imagination – a leprechaun, in fact! This served to enlighten George to the principle that an ‘information vacuum’ will always be filled – sometimes benignly, sometimes bizarrely. So, for the record, here is the complete story of George Lowden and his guitars.
Design
“Curvy, smooth soundbox shapes combined with carefully voiced internal bracing and soundbox profiles, and use of natural wood...
decorations with our unique hand rubbed satin finish all combine to make the Lowden guitar what it is today.
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Workmanship
“Introducing unplanned or unmitigated stress into any musical instrument deadens the tonal response. Our 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!"
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Wood
“We still hand-split our bracing stock and re-grade soundboard wood. We scour the world for the best (and often most decorative)...
tonewoods which are the real ‘stars’ of our guitars, and not man made. It is this combination of many details which determines how our guitars sound, feel, and play. Today more than ever, I am constantly evaluating our guitars and striving to further adjust the voicing, the feel and the playability. 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’."
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