lowden vs beneteau

[KlassicKeith]

Hi all,

anyone have any experience with both? I Love lowden guitars, but the new ones seems to cost about the same as beneteau guitars, and I don't forsee being able to AB them side by side myself.

Thoughts? If you had 6k to spend on either a lowden or a beneteau, which would it be(not that I or you have 6k to spend on a guitar...ha!)

[zmf]

No experience with Beneteau, but depending on what level of Lowden you're after, you should be able to get one for considerably less then $6K.

[Mycroft]

I own a Beneteau, abet a Baritone bought used, and have played several more. And have played a number of Lowdens. Of the two (and this is a generalization) I would probably lean more toward the Beneteau. I find them to have the clarity that I like, while the Lowdens are much more harmonically rich, but have less note to note separation because of it.

Great guitars, just not my great guitars.

TW

[KlassicKeith]

zmf: totally true, you can get a lowden for considerably less than 6k, but if you go to their redesigned website, a brand new one will cost around there.

Mycroft: interesting! I think what I like most about the lowden guitars is their harmonically rich sound, but clarity isn't something I've thought a lot about.


good notes!

[Wade Hampton]

Mycroft now owns the one Beneteau I've owned, a 28 inch scale acoustic baritone guitar heavily used and battered by its original owner, the rip-roaring Canadian fingerstyle player Don Ross:

Don Ross

A couple of years while visiting my daughter in Michigan I made the drive over to St. Thomas, Ontario, where Marc Beneteau lives and works. There at his shop I was able to play a couple of his regular six string guitars. Both were magnificent instruments, as you might guess. What's more, Mycroft's speculation about how they'd compare to Lowden guitars is correct.

To me the two I played sounded a lot like guitars made from similar woods built by James Olson and Kevin Ryan: just great clarity and balance, and, of course, impeccable materials and workmanship.

They didn't have the "European" sound I've heard from all the Lowden and Avalon guitars I've had my hands on, which is such a lush sound that it's difficult to make the tone spare and flinty when that's musically appropriate. In the recording studio I've found it difficult to mic Lowden guitars, as well, probably due to the prodigious amount of overtones flying around.

Just based on my limited experience with Beneteau gutiars and my considerably greater experience with Lowden guitars, if you can afford either I think the Beneteau will probably be more musically versatile. At least the Beneteaus I've had a chance to play (all three of them) have been.

Naturally, your mileage may vary, and I'm sure there are legions of Lowden guitar owners who will find my perspective inaccurate. In fairness, I've never spent a great deal of time with any Lowden guitars and have never gigged with one, which is where you really figure out what a guitar can and cannot do.

But I've played upwards of fifty or sixty Lowdens over the years, and they've been very consistent in terms of their response and tone. They're like Goodall guitars in that they have a huge, lush sound, and also like Goodall and Breedlove guitars, that's not a guitar sound that's particularly well-suited for what I do and how I play.

So take my observations about them with a grain of salt. You might have just the right touch for a Lowden and a repertoire that can take full advantage of what it offers.

Still, my own preference in this Beneteau versus Lowden comparison would be for the Beneteau.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[KlassicKeith]

wow That's incredibly cool to have had one of don ross's tour beaten guitars! I'm a huge fan, and I bet there is still a lot of don ross mojo built into after all the time playing on the road! Also, personally, i'd rather have a guitar that's been played in and been around the bush over a brand new one anyway!

That's some really interesting perspective, thank you! I play a lot of kaki king over the top playing with percussive elements, but more recently have moved into more fingerstyle type tunes(albeit I'm nowhere near these masters, of course!), and so a guitar with really rich overtones would be really great for that kind of playing in my mind, however i am concerned with versatility and recording as well. you can check out if your interested what I'm talking about: https://soundcloud.com/klassickeith

at the same time they are both wonderful guitars, and i mean, don ross played both so i'm sure i couldn't go wrong with either!

[royd]

it seems like apples and oranges... so which sound profile do you prefer?

I've never played a Beneteau but anyone who has read my posts knows that I'm a Lowden player and have been since the mid-late 80's. They work for me.

as zmf said,

depending on what level of Lowden you're after, you should be able to get one for considerably less then $6K.

I think the Lowden standard line guitars are consistently running in the $4.5k range for new these days and used in the $3K + range. You certainly get some nice details on a higher range Lowden and can get some interesting woods, but the standard range clearly give you the Lowden sound if that is what you're after.

[zmf]

Originally Posted by KlassicKeith

zmf: totally true, you can get a lowden for considerably less than 6k, but if you go to their redesigned website, a brand new one will cost around there.

You might try contracting Wildwood Music in Ohio and talk prices. I recently bought a new Lowden from them and was pleased with their dealing.

[KlassicKeith]

Thanks so much for the tips! I'm actually in talks with a member of the forum to pick up his old lowden too!

[royd]

Originally Posted by KlassicKeith

Thanks so much for the tips! I'm actually in talks with a member of the forum to pick up his old lowden too!

IME KlassicKeith, Lowdens are Lowdens are Lowdens. There certainly is a mojo with the 80's models and the newest shop guitars really are wonderful, but I would not shy away from a 90's model or even a Japanese built Lowden, especially given the lower prices those eras command.

As for versatility... compare either Thomas Leeb or Jon Gomm with Pierre Bensusan and you can see that there are folk who go the whole gamut with Lowdens. I do a more singer/songwriter thing with mine.

Some of the common wisdom is accurate. They are very complex sounding guitars so they don't work as well in a dense mix. Obviously, it is not the sound for everyone and is most similar to the other Lowden family tree guitars and Goodalls. Cedar scratches more easily than any of the spruces so if you bang the top a lot, you may want to lean towards spruce. Cedar might have less headroom but I've not experienced anything I'd called over-driven with my guitars (I've owned 4 Lowdens, all cedar tops). The F is a bit more focused than the O but to my ears, the O is the Lowden signature sound. The S is my least favorite body shape. YMMV. And the Wee Lowden is very cool but I wouldn't choose one as my main guitar. It's low end is a bit different than the rest of the Lowdens.

[Mooh]

I love Lowden guitars, but I've never owned one, just played several and heard very many in live settings from house concerts to folk festivals. The classic Lowden combination of cedar and rosewood is tough to beat, and definitely on my short list of desirables, however remote the possibility of owning one.

However, I do own four Beneteau guitars, two 6 strings, a 6 string baritone, and a 12 string. All are spruce tops on rosewood except the baritone which is maple back and sides. Obviously, I'm a fan. One of them, a '79 spruce/IR sort of modified jumbo shape, is very Lowden like in shape and tone.

Frankly, I wouldn't hesitate to buy either brand, though finding a suitable used Lowden would be easier than finding a suitable used Beneteau if the Lowden vibe is what you're after.

[muzz76]

I love Marc's work so personally I'd lean in that direction.

The thing I've loved about every Beneteau I've owned/played was the power and clarity. Lowdens are much different and are more overtone rich.

Both are great though.

[Sticky_fingers]

You could try and get input from Don Ross himself as he is a player of both brands. He is active on Facebook, and may very well have direct contact information that leads himself on his website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MooE3RQgY4

EDIT: I know this is an old clip, but he posted some pictures on Facebook of his recent recording session, and he had both Beneteaus and a Lowden in his guitar rack, so he still use both brands.

[fregly]

Lowdens have more overtones, however I don't find them less clear than Beneteaus. Marc made me two nice OMs. In his voicing he has the overtones a little farther back from the fundamental, the choir is a little farther back from the soloist.

[dberkowitz]

I love both of these builders, but they are very different beasts.

As many folks have remarked, Lowdens are harmonically rich, a characteristic I'd describe as chime-y in their upper partials. They tend to cover over the presentation and to a degree, mask the fundamental of the notes.

Marc's guitars are much darker in aspect, and more traditional in their presentation. It's not that they lack harmonics, but they do not have that upper partial chime-y thing that the Lowden's have.

Really different animals, and shouldn't be viewed from a price point comparison, but rather whether they speak to your style of playing.