An Acoustic Guitar Unlike Any Other I Have Ever Played - Lowden F-25C Review

I was very excited to be invited to the pre-release conversation at Cosmo Music in Richmond Hill Ontario when they added Lowden Guitars to their acoustic guitar options. It was a great pleasure to sit in a small group with Andrew, Drake, and Steve for the presentation led by my friend and acoustic guitar expert Mark Collins. I have been playing for nearly fifty years and I have never heard an acoustic guitar before that sounds like a Lowden. I was very honoured to learn that I would be able to do an in-depth review on one of the guitars and spent time with Mark to pick one to cover. After playing a number of them again, we both ended up picking the Lowden F-25C which is a roughly OOO sized model with a Cedar top and Indian Rosewood back and sides.

A Bit of Lowden History

You can always jump ahead to the next section if you wish, but I think that you will find this short history of Lowden interesting.

Company founder George Lowden built his first guitar at the age of ten in 1961. While it may have been inauspicious itself, it set the path for what has become his life’s work. After taking a shot at electric guitars in 1969, he decided to be a career guitar builder in 1974, buying wood and woodworking tools to learn on his own in what he calls the school of hard knocks. By 1976 he had formalized his concepts for the still unique Lowden A style bracing and the Dolphin voicing profiles that persist to this day. Mr. Lowden always recognizes the great luthiers who helped him along his path. By 1977 Lowden Guitars was getting orders based on premier European guitar shops’ feedback on the original O-25 and the O-38 (Cedar over Brazilian Rosewood). That build studio was in Bangor Ireland with four young apprentice builders and produced roughly 100 guitars per year. In 1980, the principals of Servette Musique in Geneva Switzerland convinced Mr. Lowden to outsource building to the professionals at S. Yairi in Nagoya Japan. While working with the artisans at S. Yairi, Mr. Lowden discovered the magnificence of Japanese hand tools, a pit into which I too have fallen. With respect to fine tool makers around the world, my Japanese hand tools are second to none. As some will remember, by 1985 the bottom had fallen out of the acoustic business globally. There is an excellent podcast series from Taylor Guitars where Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug talk about their history in the creation of Taylor and they discuss this period in that episode. S. Yairi wanted to consolidate operations, so Mr. Lowden made the decision to make a go of his own factory back in Bangor, County Down, Ireland. In 1986, the classical guitar craftsman Micky Uchida came to work with George Lowden to learn about making steel string guitars. Mr. Uchida became Factory Manager and the company was producing 500-600 guitars per year for the next three years, growing to an output of just over 1,000 guitars per year. The continuing demise of the acoustic market resulted in the company going into receivership in 1988 but local investors bought the company out of receivership and founded The Lowden Guitar Company. The company formed a licensing agreement with George Lowden which allowed them to use his designs, and where he would oversee quality control. The company built a new facility in Newtonards, County Down, Ireland. The company also started to establish European and American dealer networks. The company continued to grow using Mr. Lowden’s designs while he continued to assist with training and quality control. His son Daniel joined the business and after a successful working relationship, Mr. Uchida moved back to Japan to open his own luthier shop. After 25 years building, the 25th Anniversary models were released in 1998. In 2003 the licensing arrangement between Mr. Lowden and The Lowden Guitar Company ended and in 2004, Mr. Lowden opened George Lowden Guitars Ltd. was opened in Downpatrick Ireland where Mr. Lowden supervised the entire operation. In 2006 custom builds were in demand, and Mr. Lowden’s son Aaron joined the company right out of school as an apprentice. Since that time, George Lowden Guitars Ltd. has released new models and grown with success. It was back in 2012 that Mr. Lowden figured out the secret to multi-scale fan fret acoustics that did not require any changes in the bracing systems or the voicing profiles.

To learn more and to see images of some of the spectacular special runs that the company has made, head over to https://lowdenguitars.com

The F-25C

This guitar falls into what Lowden calls their Original Series. There are five guitars in this series, the 22, the 23, the 25, the 32 and the 35. These guitars are hand built in the Lowden factory but are not in the series where the buyer picks all the options. I would call them the proven builds which reduces the investment price to the buyer, without any kind of compromise in construction or sound.

For those folks looking for bling, you are in the wrong place. George Lowden is fixated on tone and playability. Some folks have said that the guitars are very plain. To each his or her own, but lipstick on a pig still ends up being a pig. The satin-esque ultra thin poly finish is not super shiny, but it is super durable but unlike a similarly thin coat of lacquer is not so sensitive to temperature changes that result in cracking and that aged look.

The F indicates the midsized body which is available with a cutaway if desired. The 25 series is available in the O, S and WL body sizes as well, but Mark and I selected the F body because it will fit most any player and is large enough to deliver a great tone at reasonable distance without needing processing.

The guitar uses a Cedar top with solid Rosewood sides and back. We liked the 32 series which is the slightly more common Adirondack Spruce over Rosewood, which to be clear is not the same as Sitka Spruce over Rosewood, but in the end felt that the voice of the 25 series just sang to us most.

There is no plastic in this guitar at all. The rosette and the binding are all real wood. In this model the woods used in the rosette and the purfling are Rosewood, Sycamore, Walnut and Mahogany. The binding is Mahogany.

The tuners are the well proven super smooth Gotoh SG381 gold tuners with Ebony buttons. If you are a bit of a wood lover as I am, the selection of the woods used is immediately apparent. No off cuts or weirdness any place here.

The neck is a five piece design made of Mahogany and Rosewood. Multi-piece necks are not only found in really cheap guitars to offset low quality woods, but are also used in the finest guitars to bring the required stability and resistance to bending and twisting expected in a quality acoustic instrument.

While the 25 series is a generally available build, there are options available. Left hand models are available as are models with slightly narrower necks and shallower neck carves. 12 string versions exist although they go with Sitka Spruce tops instead of the softer Cedar. I cannot offer any insight into the 12 string version as I have neither seen nor played one. You can also order a pickup if you wish, either an LR Baggs Anthem or a Highlander IP1/IP2. You can also order this in fan fret. I must confess that the guitar I fell in love with immediately is Lowden’s Fan Fret Baritone that is the finest acoustic Baritone that I have ever had the pleasure to play.

The guitar came strung with Lowden’s own branded strings. I was initially thinking that because of the microfine coating over Phosphor Bronze and the coloured ball ends that they were OEM’d from D’Addario’s superb XS acoustic family, but I have been assured that Lowden does them themselves. All I can say is that they feel as great and sound as rich as the globally proven D’Addario XS strings that now come standard on all steel string guitars from Taylor Guitars.

My Playing Impressions

I admit to being both a tone nerd and a construction nerd. Lowdens ARE different. They use a very unique internal bracing style that I have never seen anywhere else. Immediately obvious when looking into the soundhole is that the braces are A shaped and quite tall but also very narrow at the base. From the perspective of physics, while they will provide the proper stability and stiffening needed, the smaller surface area between the base of the brace and the guitar will mean less deadening of the instrument’s resonance. Being the nerd I am, I strummed an open Em and used a timer to determine when I could no longer hear the ring from the body which was about 54 seconds, and I could feel the vibration to almost 70 seconds. This is a very live bodied instrument.

I found the nut slots cut perfectly so fretting at the first fret required no more pressure than fretting at the fifth fret. I am more cognizant of this following taking another class in guitar setup, but more so because I am working to reduce my left hand pressure to only enough to have the string contact the fret and not drive my fingertip into the fretboard. I found the narrow and not overly tall frets a real advantage here and the tonality with a light touch was superb whether I was playing with fingers, a pick or fingerpicking. I did not try the Lowden with finger picks or thumb picks.

The neck was, for me, perfect, because while some players like a bit of relief, I prefer a very flat set up. I will say that the Lowden design compensated bridge is wonderful and intonation was never a concern. You can see in the images that the strings in the Rosewood bridge load from the rear in a completely pinless design.

The F25C did not have a forward strap lug, so I used a leather thong strap system at the headstock to connect my preferred Walker and Williams all leather strap. The end pin strap lug is Ebony and slides into its hole. The pin was not seated deep on arrival, consistent with what I have found with other high end guitars that do not screw the strap pin into the body.

I am most accustomed to a pickguard / scratch plate to protect the top of the instrument and liked the compromise of the clear pickguard. When I use a pick, I use 2.0mm or thicker because they contribute to my efforts to build a lighter touch in my right hand. A lighter touch allows for improved fine motor control and this is a concept that I know very well from a sport that I used to participate in significantly.

When I first played the Lowdens at the pre release, I thought that there was something not quite right with my hearing. The instruments sounded amazing but even when the woods were of the same species, they sounded very different from fine North American built guitars. I own standard builds from Martin Guitars, Taylor Guitars and Gibson Guitars, and also have Custom Shop versions from Boucher, Taylor and Gibson. All fine guitars to be sure, but all sound very different from the Lowdens. I have heard this referred to as the difference between an American build sound and a European build sound. I confess I am not sure that I know what that means when it’s at home, but I can absolutely confirm that Lowdens do sound different. Whether that difference is better, is in the ears and brain of the player, but I really like it and I fear that someday it’s going to cost me money.

On that subject, the F25C retails for $ 6,849.00. CAD. Considering the quality of the build, the components and the amount of handwork, I will say that this is a bargain compared to a small luthier’s fine hand built instrument that sells for over $15,000 USD. It is not priced out of line with a Canadian made Boucher, or a higher end Martin, or Taylor, but is, in my personal opinion, a better sounding guitar for the investment. Of course, my opinion is only relevant to me and you will have to decide for yourself. The F25C comes with a Hiscox hard case. Hiscox cases are made in England and are incredibly well made, not some material stretched over plywood. The fit is snug, made perfect by closed cell foam positioning pads covered in cloth. The cases also have multiple D rings should you wish to carry it using straps. Most important to my arthritis is that the case provides great protection, great balance and is very lightweight. I have a Hiscox case that came with my Emerald Virtuo and I remain very impressed.

Example Sounds

The Lowden F25C did not come with a pickup, which is just fine with me. To do the sample recordings, I used a matched pair of RODE NT-5 microphones on a bracket, positioned in accordance with the guidance provided for recording acoustic guitars from Warren Huart and Bobby Owsinski, two producers whose work and educational materials I have enormous respect for. I ran the microphones directly to a UA Apollo Twin and used the API 2500 Channel Strip LUNA Plugin for each channel. I really like the sound of that channel strip device for acoustic guitars. I then used an API Summing plugin to send the tracks to the Master track and that’s it.. All the plugins are from Universal Audio.

When Mark and I were selecting the guitar for review, we both felt that the overall balance of the F25C was optimal. I tried an Adirondack over Koa model as well as an Adirondack over Rosewood and while both were extremely pleasing, we both preferred the sound of the the Cedar over Rosewood. A couple of the fellows preferred the WL sized Red Cedar over Mahogany and as a fan of small parlour type guitars like my well loved Gibson Custom Shop 1932 L-00 it was grand but would, in my opinion, require a bit of EQ work in the low end, and for my first review, I wanted something as neutral as possible. A good engineer or sound person can always tweak, but I prefer to start with a consistent response across frequencies and go from there. My choice, yours may be different and we will both be right for our own preferences.

Following some learning from the brilliant Jazz guitarist Jocelyn Gould and to address some of the effects of increased planetary tenure (aka getting older), I have modified my hold to be more headstock high and to have the back of the guitar not rest so much on my chest and belly. For me, it alleviates some of the left hand concerns, and I get nicer resonance out of the guitar body whether acoustic, semi-hollow or solid body. These changes are one of the big reasons that I have come to love multi scale fan fret necks as on my .strandberg electrics. Unfortunately, that love keeps pulling me towards the Lowden BAR 35 FF which is the multi-scale Baritone guitar that is Sitka Spruce over Walnut. Lowden does not specify if this is Black Walnut (which isn’t really black but pale brown to chocolate) or Claro Walnut which comes from a different, smaller tree that is denser and harder. I have tried an American Black Walnut Boucher and a Claro Walnut Boucher, and advocate for Claro Walnut generally. I know that I am wandering a bit and thank you gentle reader for your patience.

Wrapping Up

Let me be crystal clear. If I could afford it, the F25C would never go back to the store. It’s fantastic, as good as, but quite different from my beloved custom Boucher Guitars. I also really would love to be in a position to own that Baritone but at this time, neither is possible. There are however, some guitars in my collection who tenure with me is now at some level of risk. That is to be continued.

I have never heard an acoustic guitar that sounds like a Lowden. I am really blown away by how wonderful they sound and still how different from the instruments that I know very well indeed. You will not find them everywhere, they are a higher end instrument and you will need to consult with a seller who handles higher end instruments. I would never encourage buying a guitar like this over the Internet, but you must do as you wish. Also please do not confuse these guitars with the Sheeran by Lowden series. While Ed Sheeran is a Lowden artist, Sheeran by Lowden is a completely different kettle of fish, built for different buyers, with different goals. At the risk of sounding a bit like a dick, the one I am reviewing is the real Lowden.

If you want to try out a Lowden, head into Cosmo Music, but I would propose calling ahead to be sure that Mark Collins or Drake Metcalf are available to assist. I have enormous confidence in their talents and no BS attitudes. I would call them more instrument consultants than sellers, and I do not mean either in a disparaging manner. I myself am an instrument consultant, and know the difference. And so will you.

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