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Lowden Guitars: Modern steel-string acoustic guitars
At the age of 10 the Northern Irishman George Lowden began his first attempts at building his own guitars. George, who started learning guitar-making in his father's workshop and was a big fan of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, quickly developed into a creative and professional luthier whose guitars, with their curvy body shapes, became famous far beyond the borders of Northern Ireland and were known for their unique sound.
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The complete story of Lowden Guitars
In 1961, at the age of 10, George Lowden first came into contact with guitar-making. Together with a friend he made two instruments from wood that the friend's father used for boat building. These “guitars” had fret wires made from nails and strings of fishing line; the body was square instead of resembling the shape of a conventional guitar.
The guitar theme didn't let young George go, and at 18 he made a new attempt, this time with an electric guitar that more closely resembled the shape of a typical electric guitar. George was playing guitar himself at the time; his biggest influences were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
George Lowden makes a name for himself
During the 1970s George Lowden built up a small but loyal dealer network and the number of Lowden dealers grew steadily. Across Europe demand for George's guitars increased; among the most popular models were the O-25 and the O-38 with a cedar top from the original series. Demand soon became too great for George alone, so he initially hired four new employees as guitar-making apprentices. In the mid-80s he rented a larger factory and took on further trainees and luthiers. Production became increasingly professional: in the early years in the new factory in Bangor production was 500 guitars, later 600, and from the late 80s about 1,000 instruments a year.
George's guitars convinced people above all with their distinctive design and a particularly warm sound created by the new and unusual tonewood combinations.
Today George and his numerous qualified employees at Lowden Guitars can look back on over 45 years of experience and success in the construction and distribution of high-end steel-string acoustic guitars. The successful company now offers many new models and has a large fan base, including professional musicians. There are a number of signature models, for example by Alex Di Grassi, and even master George Lowden himself was gifted two signature guitars for his 70th birthday. Ed Sheeran is also a big fan of Lowden Guitars and owns several guitars from the brand. Together with George Lowden he has created his own guitar brand, positioned in a more affordable price segment, which also allows budget-conscious guitarists to purchase genuine Lowden quality.
In addition to collaborations with well-known artists like Alex Di Grassi and Pierre Bensusan, George and his crew occasionally team up with rather unusual partners. For example, the Bushmills models were created in cooperation with one of the world's oldest distilleries. As both Bushmills and Lowden Guitars come from Northern Ireland, this collaboration made perfect sense.
Other special models include the Genesis model with serial number 20,000, the Shanghai model and the Expo guitar, which was displayed in the United Kingdom pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai and presented during the visit of Prince William. Lowden Guitars also unveils new special models each year at the NAMM Show.
What makes Lowden guitars special
- GL Standard neck profile
- Dolphin Profile Intonation
- many different tonewood combinations
- hand-applied finishes
- unique body shapes not used by any other maker
The cornerstones of the Lowden sound
Design
Curved, soft body shapes combined with carefully tuned top bracing and new body profiles, as well as the use of high-quality natural tonewoods, make up a large part of the Lowden sound. Decorative elements with the unique hand-rubbed satin finish make the Lowden guitar what it is today and give it a highly recognisable look.
Craftsmanship
Lowden's construction techniques include the use of hand tools to improve the quality of all joints and to enable the Dolphin Profile intonation of the bracing. These and many other design and technical factors ensure that the guitar's sustain, volume and balance are not compromised. George has built a team of craftspeople who hand-build Lowden guitars using Japanese chisels, planes and knives.
Wood
The Lowden team searches the world for the best tonewoods. It is this combination of many details that determines how a guitar sounds, feels and plays. Today George Lowden is more than ever occupied with evaluating his guitars and further improving intonation, feel and playability. At Lowden Guitars only people with a talent for concentration and an eye for detail work.
The Lowden story in motion
