Introduction
It was a confluence of events and cognitions that lead me down the path to purchase a different new guitar. First, I was becoming increasingly disaffected with my Collings 0002H. It was an excellent instrument that sounded great and it was my first Collings, which made it special; however, the guitar was, from the very moment I started playing it at home, difficult to play.
There are things about the playability of a guitar that sometimes elude me in the store when excitement overrides critical assessment. Or, perhaps it’s the change in ambient environment when the guitar arrives at home that causes the guitar neck to shift around and alter the instruments action. At any rate, It was just hard on my hands and more of a challenge to play when compared to my other guitars, including my Martin D-28 Authentic, the Collings C10-35, and my recently purchased Santa Cruz H-13. The playability issues continued despite having a shop luthier at Dave’s Guitars do a full set-up some weeks later. In sum, I was not playing it very much, so I knew in my heart of hearts that it had to eventually go.
Further, the 0002H was constructed with a Sitka spruce top and East Indian Rosewood back and sides which is fine; however, my Martin ’37 Authentic is composed of an Adirondack spruce top and Madagascar Rosewood back and sides which is arguably a more choice version of the Spruce and Rosewood combination. While it’s worth repeating that the 0002H was a marvelous sounding guitar, it did not compare to the incredible sounding Martin on the level of playability and wood quality (splitting hair here), so it became an ever so slightly “less than” and redundant guitar in my stable, leaving it in the category of high trade potential.
My thinking was that If I were to trade the 0002H it would be for a guitar with a wood combination and body shape that I did not already possess. One of the guitar manufacturers that I was particularly interested in was the Irish company Lowden. Many years ago I had owned an all Koa Lowden guitar that was quite beautiful, but I traded it off because the neck was a bit narrow for finger-style guitar which I’d recently adopted. Over the years I regretted parting with it.
Lowden manufactures guitars in a small shop in Northern Ireland with great individual care. George Lowden was in the same mid-century generation of successful guitar builders who started from the ground up decades ago with their own idiosyncratic approach to constructing the instruments. This would include builders like Richard Hoover of Santa Cruz, Bill Collings, and Bob Taylor.
There were no Lowden sellers in Iowa where I was residing and I was not interested in purchasing one online without trying it out. Further, I was totally unsure of which particular Lowden I was interested in. I wanted to visit a location where I could try a variety of them. I knew, for example, that Casino Guitars in Southern Pines, North Carolina was a major dealer in Lowden Guitars. I was familiar with Casino Guitars because the owner, Baxter Clement, was a highly visible Youtube personality uploading several videos every week about different aspects regarding guitars and the associated industry. Baxter was an advocate for Lowden instruments and offered a healthy variety of them in stock. Below you can watch one of Baxter’s videos about his commitment to Lowden guitars.
While my thoughts about guitars in general, Lowden’s in particular, and trading the 0002H were percolating somewhere in the back of my mind, my wife Annette and I decided to move from Iowa to North Carolina. The state of North Carolina has a strong pull on my life. It’s where I came of age decades ago, having graduated from High School in Durham and then subsequently completed undergraduate degrees at both the University of North Carolina and NC State. We were both retired and thought it was the right time for a change of venue. We had multiple children and grandchildren who lived in NC and we were both worn down by the long and brutal Iowa winters. So, we purchased a new home outside Chapel Hill, NC, sold our Iowa home, packed up and settled into NC in early June of 2023.
Casino Guitars
I think it was as early as the second weekend that we were living in North Carolina that we planned to head to the coast to visit one of my daughters and her family. I decided that we would leave earlier then necessary and take a side trip to Casino Guitars in Southern Pines on the way to Wilmington, NC. While I was not planning on buying a guitar on this particular visit, I packed the 0002H in the event that I wished to make a trade on a guitar that I liked.
An hour away from my home, Casino Guitars is located right in the heart of the Southern Pines historic downtown district. The building itself was, back in the day, a casino, bowling alley, speakeasy and a brothel. Baxter Clement, a Southern Pines native recently renovated the building, built an apartment for his family on the second floor and established his guitar retail space on the main floor. As you can see from the images below, the shop is well stocked with premium electric and acoustic guitars, including PRS, Fender, Gretsch, Martin, Taylor and of course, Lowden. Besides the awesome inventory, the interior space is absolutely stunning. Just a great place to be!
I was lucky to find a parking space reasonably close to the store because Southern Pines was mobbed with visitors there to attend a concert that night. Leaving Annette and our dog Nike at an Ice Cream parlor, I crossed the railroad tracks that cut through the center of town and eventually found the store, which delighted me! When I entered the shop, a fellow I did not recognize from Youtube videos was manning the main desk. I later learned that he was was James Villone. Since the shop was pretty quiet at that moment James was kind enough to quickly show me the way to the Lowden’s.
Initially, James thought the only store inventory was the three Lowden’s in the glass cases. I was a little disappointed at first but thought, “what the hell,” I ‘d give those three a try out. James pulled out all three Lowden’s and brought them to this lovely audition room in the back portion of the shop. While I was playing the first one, James went out, at my request, to find me a music stand so I could play some tunes off of my iPad Pro.
Not long after, just as I looked up from my music, Baxter Clement burst into the audition room! I was delighted to finally meet him after seeing him with my morning coffee for several years. He was every bit as fun, affable and accessible as he seemed on his Youtube videos and like magic, he filled the room with Lowden guitars that he produced from his inventory hidden somewhere in the shop. He walked me through the different Lowden styles and produced various wood combinations for me to give a go. I was particularly interested in playing a guitar with a Cedar top because I’d owned a Taylor years ago with a Cedar top and I liked its warm sound; however, the Cedar topped Lowden’s on that particular morning did not work for me enough to get seriously interested in a purchase.
Undaunted, Baxter kept showing me additional Lowden’s of various wood combinations and sizes; however, after playing numerous guitars, I was about to give up, collect my wife and dog and head to Wilmington. Then finally, he dropped a Lowden constructed with Cocobolo back and sides and a Lutz Spruce top into my lap and it was magic to my ears as compared to all the others I’d played. It was a style F-50, which I would learn later meant the guitar was made from all master grade tone woods, which are the best of the best tone woods available anywhere, chosen for their exceptional tonal and visual properties!
I played the F-50 for quite a while, including some tunes with Baxter accompanying me, which delighted me to no end. Later, I met his wife, Taylor, and one of his sons. At Taylor’s behest, Annette and Nike were even invited into the shop. The whole experience was quite marvelous. Sometime thereafter we made a deal, which included a trade on the 0002H. Baxter even carried and then packed the Lowden F-50 into my car, and after farewells we headed out for a weekend in Wilmington.
I Review My Lowden F-50 Cocobolo and Lutz Spruce
My First Impressions
Much to my regret, my earliest experiences with the newly purchased F-50 were somewhat dismal. It began when I arrived in Wilmington to visit my daughter, Sally. Having just purchased the Lowden, I travelled cross state with the guitar from Southern Pines. After settling in at Sally’s, I disappeared upstairs to the guest bedroom and pulled the F-50 from its case and right away, despite the guitar still sounding great, I noticed the action was far higher than I’d observed during the Casino shop audition. In fact, the guitar was quite difficult to play, particularly in the treble section. Had my enthusiasm in the store again overridden my ability to critically analyze the guitar’s playability? On the other hand, was the Lowden exceptionally sensitive to ambient conditions and did the neck start shifting around? It should be noted that I keep D’Addario moisture packs in the guitar case, so my attempt to control guitar conditioning was functioning during the drive.
When I got back home, I measured the string height distance from the frets and observed that the the guitar was out of specification on the high side across the fretboard, this being based upon data from the Lowden website. I was subsequently welcomed back by Casino Guitars for an adjustment and returned a few days later. Sean Diesfield, Casino’s resident guitar whisperer did some work on the saddles and the neck relief and sent me on my way. At the shop the guitar seemed improved, but when I got home and played the instrument at length it was somewhat better but not good enough.
At this point I was suffering some major buyer’s remorse! Did I trade the Collings 0002H because it was a pain in the ass to play for a different guitar that might, in fact, be a worse pain in the ass to play? At that moment it seemed so.
Rather than give up, I decided to find a local skilled luthier who could give me a full set-up and lower the string action to my comfort level. That was easier said than done. Though there were a number of “repair” luthiers in town, they were either booked up for months, non responsive to my request, or occupied with life trauma and unavailable. I finally left the Lowden for over two weeks at my local shop, Twin House Music, where I take lessons and and a couple of luthiers (including the owner) do their magic. Eventually the Lowden was properly cared for. In the end, the neck relief was adjusted and the guitar now plays as well as any other in my collection! In the past, I’ve adjusted the neck relief on many of my guitars, but in the case of the Lowden, the adjustment is very difficult to make and requires a tool that I did not possess. Further, I thought the guitar had more serious problems than neck relief. At any rate, badda bing, badda boom, the guitar is great now!
In the end, I don’t know how to account for the difficulties I had getting the guitar to a state of acceptable playability. Perhaps Lowden’s are more sensitive to ambient conditions? Was it the long voyage from Northern Ireland to the U.S. that caused the neck to shift? Why did I not notice the guitar’s issues when I tried it out in the store? Did the guitar’s action shift between Southern Pines and Wilmington? On Lowden’s website, they are clear to point out that a new guitar will settle-in during the first months of playing and would probably require adjustment. There is no truer statement than that!
Basic Lowden Observations
Lowden builds three basic guitar shapes with the F being their middle size between the Jumbo O and the smaller S. Originally designed to compete in the flat-picking market, the F guitar is now favored by finger-stylists too, hence my interest. For example, world renowned finger-stylist Pierre Bensusan plays an F shaped signature Lowden.
Lowden builds the F style with a variety of wood combinations. According to Lowden specifications, the 50 designation means that the woods used to construct this F shaped guitar are the best of the best that the company acquires, being selected out for a combination of tonality and appearance. In my case, the guitar body is topped with Lutz, which is a hybrid White and Sitka Spruce, characterized by a light creamy color with a very tight grain. On the other hand, Cocobolo is used for the back and sides with a showy reddish color and swirly grain lines.
According to one leading U.S. guitar manufacturer, “in terms of acoustic response, Lutz blends the positive characteristics of Sitka and White spruce and its close cousin, Engelmann. Lutz tends to exhibit characteristics of Adirondack spruce. The result is powerful sonic horsepower that translates into strong volume, projection and tonal richness.”
The back and sides of the body are composed of Cocobolo, a member of the Dalbergia species, which includes other various Rosewoods. According to the aforementioned U.S. manufacturer, “Cocobolo is a dense, stiff tropical hardwood from Mexico, which produces a fairly bright overall tone emphasized by sparkling treble notes. The tone is fast, responsive, and articulate.” Cocobolo is a substantial, heavy and oily wood that requires skill and competence to draw out its potential as a guitar tone wood; however, when it is properly deployed Cocobolo has been described as “Brazilian on steroids!”
Below is a video in which a luthier interacts with a sample of Cocobolo tone wood:
Below, George Lowden discusses various types of tone woods that he’s used for guitar building. While he briefly describes Cocobolo, he seems more enthusiastic with back and side woods like Walnut, Honduran Rosewood and especially African Blackwood:
Perhaps a more uplifting analysis of Cocobolo is given by the incomparable Lindsay Straw for the North American Guitar:
In the end, George Lowden says play the guitar and choose the one that speaks best to you, which is what I did when I chose Cocobolo from the crowd of Lowden’s at Casino Guitars.
To me, my F-50 is an example of high craft and understated physical beauty. The ratio of upper and lower bout sizes combined with the curvy narrow waist and sloped shoulders speak to classical Greek proportions. The satin matte finish, the understated wood bindings, the lack of decor on the fretboard and the dark veneered headstock create a sense of elegance without the gaudiness that some high end guitars self-consciously display. The figured koa/abalone rosette is a tasteful embellishment, but also holds back visually enough to avoid seeming overdone.
Other Aesthetic and Structural Features of the F-50
The Lowden paddle-type headstock has a handsome dark Ebony veneer on the face and backstrap with the brand logo inlaid top front. The tuners are the most excellent Gotoh Gold 510’s with Ebony buttons. I’ve owned several guitars in the past that were equipped with Gotoh’s. My current other acoustics are inspired by vintage Martin and Gibson guitars so they’re equipped with Waverly tuners, which are nice, but not near as supple as the Gotoh’s. I am delighted to have a guitar again with Gotoh’s. They tune like butter. As far as the nut goes, it was unclear to me based on the paucity of specs available on the Lowden website what it’s made of; however, Lowden’s website has a nice chat function and their tech rep, Simon, confirmed that bone is used, which is not surprising given the general excellence of the F-50.
I own 5 other guitars with varying neck profiles, and I am not that particular about the neck shapes other than by using it, it must not stress my old hands. Lowden is not forthcoming in their specs about their neck shape; however, I find it full-in-hand, and comfortable to play as it’s not too clubby or too thin. The neck is a five piece composite of Mahogany and Rosewood while the necks on my other axes are all solid wood, so the Lowden by comparison is somewhat exotic looking. Further, the five piece neck is theoretically more stable and less likely to twist over time. I had a Taylor solid body at one time with a twisted neck and it was ugly; fortunately, Taylor generously replaced the neck, but that’s another story. Finally, unlike the satin matte finish on the body of the Lowden, the neck has a glossier surface making it quite easy to move up and down while playing.
You can see the aesthetically pleasing “hockey stick” sweep of the Rosewood section embedded in the mahogany at the base of the neck. Again, it is hard to find out all the construction details on the Lowden website, but I am pretty sure that the neck is attached to the body with a traditional dovetail join. Also visible in the associated image is the contrast of the glossy neck versus the satin matte finish on the body, the figured Koa binding and backstrip, the beautiful wood grain striations in the Cocobolo, and finally the section of blonde sapwood running up the center back of the guitar.
To the right, you can see a section of the Ebony fingerboard with its Maple bindings. No blond streaks on the F-50’s fingerboard, with Lowden choosing only the most select all black Ebony wood for their Mastergrade model. The fingerboard extends into the sound hole to catch the highest possible treble notes, a place that I will probably never travel with my fingers. Nevertheless it is an aesthetically pleasing visual design feature. You can also see the unique and stunning sound hole rosette which is figured Koa and Abalone.
Unlike my other acoustic guitars which all have pinned bridges and one piece saddles, the F-50 and all other Lowdens are built with pinless bridges and compensated two-piece saddles. Put several guitarists in a room and they’ll debate the merits of pin vs pinless bridges. In my experience both approaches work fine. The pinless bridge makes for an attractive surface element on the guitar and certainly simplifies restringing although care should be taken to avoid having the string ball end slapping down onto the soundboard and dinging it during insertion through the bridge. Because the slap-down is almost inevitable, Lowden supplies a nifty little cardboard insert to slide beneath the bridge to protect the soundboard during stringing.
Finally the bottom of the lower bout can be seen on the right. Again, the wonderful Cocobolo grain patterns can be seen as well as a strip of figured Koa where the two side pieces meet. You’ll note a K&K Pure Mini jack installed at my request by the kind folks at Casino Guitars. I use this pickup on all my acoustics as it’s neat, simple and the amplified guitar sounds natural to my ears. If you’re interested in my tech for amplification you can click here.
To Sum it Up
Despite my initial buyer’s remorse before the F-50 was given a pro set up, this guitar is a real keeper! It is beautifully constructed, quite comfortable to handle and play, and the sonic palette available from this instrument is, as I had hoped, distinctly different from my other acoustic guitars. The body woods of Cocobolo and Lutz Spruce combined with Lowden’s exacting construction methods (of which they are quite mysterious) creates clean punchy bass tones, bell-chime like trebles with underlying warm overtones with tonal sustain that exceeds the eternal.
After I wrote this piece, Peach Guitars released a video in which some nice Lowden construction details are considered, particularly how the soundboard is manufactured:
For someone primarily used to Sitka Spruce combinations with Mahogany or the more accessible Rosewoods (but not unobtainium like Brazilian), a body of Cocobolo and Lutz is a nice stretch to something significantly different, but without being too exotic like Macassar Ebony or African Blackwood.
Tone Examples
I’ve reviewed several guitars on this website, but have never had the availability of linking to a Youtube video of my guitar being demonstrated; however, in this case Casino Guitars recorded a gentleman playing my F-50, which I show below:
I will also include a clip of me playing the F-50 also. What would be more appropriate than playing a selection of Piedmont Finger-Style Blues since I now reside in the Piedmont of North Carolina. This tune is credited to one of the most recognized and highly regarded Piedmont Blues players, Etta Baker entitled Carolina Breakdown!
