Sheeran by Lowden - Coming soon??!!

[Akousticplyr]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Kindnes

Absolutely, but a lot of people on this forum keep talking about them as cut price Lowdens.

"At launch, the Sheeran by Lowden range features eight individual models across two small body sizes familiar from the Lowden range, the ‘S’ and the ‘W’ series. Ed Sheeran plays both player friendly sizes which are ready and responsive at home, on stage, and on the road.

George Lowden designed the guitars for the player, for uncompromising tone and playability with a careful choice of woods to ensure innate natural beauty. An ‘almost bare’ finish enhances this."


Where would forum members get such a crazy idea?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by perttime

...Don't know what exactly happened between Ed and George, but I suspect George Lowden might not be happy with producing these directly under his own high end brand. Acknowledging that he produces them for somebody else's brand evidently appeals.

Sounds like Gibson's original plan for the Les Paul - until they saw the potential and decided to put their own name on it...

[hagerty]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

It’s entirely appropriate, I believe, that they ‘say Sheeran in such a pronounced way’ on the headstock - Ed has gone into partnership with George, and it has been hinted that he has made a substantial financial investment in setting up the new operation.

There is a way to avoid having ‘Sheeran’ on the headstock of a guitar from Downpatrick, and it will undoubtedly be of better quality, but be prepared to pay significantly more for it!

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

I do have a lowden, its am amazing guitar. and it was expensive. doesn't change how I (potentially) feel about the sheerans coming out.

[hagerty]

Originally Posted by Akousticplyr

"At launch, the Sheeran by Lowden range features eight individual models across two small body sizes familiar from the Lowden range, the ‘S’ and the ‘W’ series. Ed Sheeran plays both player friendly sizes which are ready and responsive at home, on stage, and on the road.

George Lowden designed the guitars for the player, for uncompromising tone and playability with a careful choice of woods to ensure innate natural beauty. An ‘almost bare’ finish enhances this."


Where would forum members get such a crazy idea?

Thats how I feel about it.... and they are make in Ireland, by LOWDEN. I don't think anyone (at least myself) is expecting it to be on par with the 'pro' lowdens, but I expect it to be better than the GS mini, Taylor 100/200 series and the similar priced martins- road series, D1, DM . Which are good guitars in their own respect and have their place in the market.

[lowrider]

I think the Sheeran's will be very good guitars, if you like small guitars. And they are both small guitars. I've played one of the full size Lowden's and it was glorious. I've also played the Lowden S model. It's a small guitar with a small sound. After I played the Lowden S, I realized that the Sheeran wouldn't be for me.

Unless you are looking for that specific tone, I don't think the Sheeran's will compare to the lower priced models from Martin or Taylor, or the less expensive models from Yamaha, Alverez, Ibanez, Sigma and the like.

[frankhond]

I owned a big Lowden and now own a small one. The sound is so specific and afaik dependent on the special bracing and construction details. I have a hard time believing that a cheaper guitar can deliver that. Sure, the shape and some character can be similar, like those Avalons that looked the same but used a bracing that was easier to massproduce.

I’m guessing the Sheerans will be very good guitars, but no substitutes for real Lowdens. Kind of like those cheaper Martins, they are very good, but the real Martin sound starts at the Standard series.

[Malcolm Kindnes]

Originally Posted by frankhond

I owned a big Lowden and now own a small one. The sound is so specific and afaik dependent on the special bracing and construction details. I have a hard time believing that a cheaper guitar can deliver that. Sure, the shape and some character can be similar, like those Avalons that looked the same but used a bracing that was easier to massproduce.

I’m guessing the Sheerans will be very good guitars, but no substitutes for real Lowdens. Kind of like those cheaper Martins, they are very good, but the real Martin sound starts at the Standard series.

I think you have it exactly right here.

[Malcolm Kindnes]

Originally Posted by Akousticplyr

"At launch, the Sheeran by Lowden range features eight individual models across two small body sizes familiar from the Lowden range, the ‘S’ and the ‘W’ series. Ed Sheeran plays both player friendly sizes which are ready and responsive at home, on stage, and on the road.

George Lowden designed the guitars for the player, for uncompromising tone and playability with a careful choice of woods to ensure innate natural beauty. An ‘almost bare’ finish enhances this."


Where would forum members get such a crazy idea?

This is just a clever piece of copywriting, it only actually says that Ed Sheeran plays small guitars and that George has designed them.

A large part of their appeal seems to be that they are made in Northern Ireland, the implication being that they will be made by the Lowden craftsmen. Living in Ireland and having run a small business here, I just don't see how this is possible given the proposed price points.

They could certainly be made in China for these prices but then they would lose their "pedigree" so to speak.

I will be very interested to see how they turn out.

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Kindnes

A large part of their appeal seems to be that they are made in Northern Ireland, the implication being that they will be made by the Lowden craftsmen. Living in Ireland and having run a small business here, I just don't see how this is possible given the proposed price points.

They could certainly be made in China for these prices but then they would lose their "pedigree" so to speak.
.

Malcolm, have you read post #4 on this thread? I’m a member of a FB Group which also has GLGco employees amongst its membership. The information on there is that they have had to set up a ‘new facility’ and train ‘new staff’, but they don’t actually say where the ‘new facility’ is!

I think that anyone imagining they are going to get a ‘real’ Lowden for a quarter of the price is delusional. The new range will resemble Lowdens, but they won’t have the same quality of materials, nor the same workmanship. That’s not to say they won’t be great little guitars at that price-point, but they won’t be ‘Bargain-Basement Pukka-Lowdens’.
The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

[lowrider]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Kindnes

This is just a clever piece of copywriting, it only actually says that Ed Sheeran plays small guitars and that George has designed them.

A large part of their appeal seems to be that they are made in Northern Ireland, the implication being that they will be made by the Lowden craftsmen. Living in Ireland and having run a small business here, I just don't see how this is possible given the proposed price points.

They could certainly be made in China for these prices but then they would lose their "pedigree" so to speak.

I will be very interested to see how they turn out.

It has never been implied that the Sheeran's would be made by the Lowden craftsman. They have said from the beginning that they would be training new workers to work in a very automated plant.

I think these are going to be nice guitars. I also think that they will cost a little more than a comparable Chinese guitar but that it will be worth paying a little more to get a Lowden designed guitar verses a copy of an American guitar. I also don't think they will appeal to me, but I'm happy the Sheeran and Lowden are doing this.

Maybe in a few years that will make a large Sheeran guitar and then I will start gassing.

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by lowrider

It has never been implied that the Sheeran's would be made by the Lowden craftsman. They have said from the beginning that they would be training new workers to work in a very automated plant.

I think these are going to be nice guitars. I also think that they will cost a little more than a comparable Chinese guitar but that it will be worth paying a little more to get a Lowden designed guitar verses a copy of an American guitar. I also don't think they will appeal to me, but I'm happy the Sheeran and Lowden are doing this.

Maybe in a few years that will make a large Sheeran guitar and then I will start gassing.

I think you’re probably right on the button, LR.

[Arthur Slowhand]

I don't know why anyone would want a guitar endorsed by Ed Sheeran - okay, he's mega-successful and I don't have a problem with that, but it's not like he's a great guitar player. Maybe Millennials will buy them, but of that generation I'd say Jake Bugg was something more to aspire to - both as a songwriter and definitely as a guitarist.

I guess I'm just a grumpy old fart that's behind the times... looking forward to the Taylor 'Swift' range, it'll be a sell-out.

[lowrider]

Most people here are interested because of the Lowden connection, not the Sheeran connection. ES could get his sound with any guitar from a Little Martin to a Telecaster. I like ES but I wouldn't choose a guitar because he played it any more than I would run out to buy a Takamine because Bruce and Garth play them.

[Malcolm Kindnes]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

Malcolm, have you read post #4 on this thread? I’m a member of a FB Group which also has GLGco employees amongst its membership. The information on there is that they have had to set up a ‘new facility’ and train ‘new staff’, but they don’t actually say where the ‘new facility’ is!

I think that anyone imagining they are going to get a ‘real’ Lowden for a quarter of the price is delusional. The new range will resemble Lowdens, but they won’t have the same quality of materials, nor the same workmanship. That’s not to say they won’t be great little guitars at that price-point, but they won’t be ‘Bargain-Basement Pukka-Lowdens’.
The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

OK, so maybe they're not made in Northern Ireland then, that would certainly make more sense. The perception on this forum seems to be that they are being made in NI.

I don't really care one way or the other, I won't be buying one, it's just the NI connection that fascinated me, if they are not being built there then it's a whole different ball game.

[lowrider]

ES has said from the beginning that one of the reasons for going into this was to provide skilled jobs for the people of Ireland.

When you write that you were reading a FB page where the workers of the plant post, instead of coming here adn writing that nobody said it was in Ireland, why didn't you ask them where the plant is?