A/F vs L/O Avalon/Lowden/Mcilroy
Been playing several examples of the above. Never been a dread man, always OM, 000, etc. Sitting, the L/O felt ok on my 5'7'' 145 pound frame, albeit with a strumming arm position higher then I'm used to. The A /F shape felt a bit more comfy. Funny thing is, the specs are not that different. Liked the heavier droning of the L/0, the shape of the A/F. The bass in the smaller body was certnainly present. Double duty some strumming, mostly finger.
Anybody go back and forth, and favor one over the other? This animal will live in some kind of dropped tuning. In my dreams, I have a Celtic bar band to play in that will encourage drinking and frivolity, but occasionally will do a mournful solo lameting the loss of my clan's ancestral lands in the far north of Scotland to the Sutherlands. Thanks Scott No, really. |
What about a Lowden F? Smaller and more comfortable than an O, good bass, nicely ‘focussed’ sound.
I have both ‘O’ and ‘F’ Lowdens. I prefer the ‘F’ in every respect. The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc. |
Thanks for you reply.
Note title of original post regarding the F. I've played one with same wood as an O. Less intinsity of same flavor, to be expected. |
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To my ears, my F is more ‘intense’ than my ‘O’, but they have different back/side woods - Claro Walnut (F) and EIR (O). The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc. |
Jaybee,
Now worries at all. What I mean is: the medium body in Cedar/EIR blooms and booms a bit less then the large body. Same sound, just a bit less of it. I can see why the Walnut is more punchy then the EIR. My ear's hear the same thing in either size. The EIR blooms more, ne cest pa? I played a cedar over hog Avalon A model yesterday, A/B/C'd against large body Walnut and Rosewood under cedars'. And one of the 500 year old Bog Oak A's. Liked the hog the best. On a hunt now. Cheers Scott |
Im not knocking lowdens , but have you ever tried a Goodall ?
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Tony,
Even a used Goodall is not in my price bucket. |
I've owned a Lowden, Avalon and McIlroy in the past couple of years. I could distinguish no difference in the quality of the build for all three brands...meaning all are excellent. The qualities of the different body sizes were all predictable - louder vs focus vs overtones,etc....and tonewood differences were predictable and consistent regardless of brand. For my 5'8" body, I've settled on the A/F size...and my ears have settled on cedar/rosewood. (don't vote me off the island but) I prefer to have fewer guitars than more guitars and the A/F size covers all of my (quite limited) bases....exclusively finger style and DADGAD.
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I have the Avalon L2-320 (spruce/rosewood). Its big, but I play seated using a strap. This lets me shift the neck up and drop the lower bout. I'm 6', but I have a spare tire. Even with the larger lower bout my right arm never gets tired. The guitar has a lot of sustain and I use it for Celtic and my own compositions in various tunings other than standard.
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Barry,
Have you tried standing with it behind a mic? Scott |
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I've been curious to hear samples/read user reviews of the Avalon line as well. Bill at Fretted Buffalo thought I might like them (looking for Cedar/Rosewood and was considering Furch as well) and they look great but not a lot of material available.
I know they're Lowden-related but was curious to hear about how their L and A models compare and which is the better choice for a folky fingerpicker. |
And the verdict is..
An A body Mcilroy in Cedar over Walnut. Full sounding, warmer then either the Lowden or the Avalon samples of both body sizes.
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