LOWDEN - Search for a better recording guitar

[Mattseed]

I currently own a Lowden F50 with sinker redwood top and cocobolo back and sides(that i'm selling actually), stunning guitar of course, but I am looking for something a bit different. I struggle to record this guitar, it sounds stunning but its so full of rich tones and overtones that close mic'ing it is hard to be consistent, I am looking for a guitar thats a little better for fingerstyle, something with a pronounced mid and upper range.

I do a lot of recording and I am looking for something with a smaller body to help reduce the bass overtones and have a more focused mid, upper mid and high end response. Also one that is best suited for fingerstyle but also good for pick.

So, I went to a store yesterday and tried a Lowden S35 model, I was blown away with its touch response and mids to high end projection. I felt it worked great for fingerstyle and also a pick. It had a solid alpine spruce top and Ebony back and sides.

I haven't had much experience with Ebony as a back and sides wood, so my question is this. What is Ebony's contribution to the tone I experienced or was it more the body size and top wood.

Also I have spotted an all Walnut in the same Model and the Mahogany Fiddleback one too. To anyone who knows could you let me know, with these 2 guitars below how would they tonally differ from the the Solid Spruce and Ebony one I have tried. Will they be more boosted in mids to highs, or heading more back to increased bass.

https://reverb.com/item/15617252-low...-w-2018-walnut

https://reverb.com/item/15813789-low...eback-mahogany

Any opinion on these woods as to what I may expect from one to another and how they would compare to the one I have tried that has Alpine Spruce and Ebony, it would really help me focus my search.

Thank you for any help people.
Matthew

[rick-slo]

I can get a pretty good sound out of most guitars but some are definitely more finicky regarding recording setup. One guitar I have records well with less setup work, a Collings C10 Delux. Worth a consideration if you don't need a great big bodied guitar sound.

[BluesKing777]

Originally Posted by Mattseed

I currently own a Lowden F50 with sinker redwood top and cocobolo back and sides(that i'm selling actually)......


So, I went to a store yesterday and tried a Lowden S35 model, I was blown away with its touch response and mids to high end projection. I felt it worked great for fingerstyle and also a pick. It had a solid alpine spruce top and Ebony back and sides.

I haven't had much experience with Ebony as a back and sides wood, so my question is this. What is Ebony's contribution to the tone I experienced or was it more the body size and top wood........

Any opinion on these woods as to what I may expect from one to another and how they would compare to the one I have tried that has Alpine Spruce and Ebony, it would really help me focus my search.

Thank you for any help people.
Matthew

You had the ebony/alpine S35 in your hot little hands and you left it?

I think the alpine spruce top with various combinations back and sides is more what you could be looking for... the other 2 you listed are solid hardwood tops and while any Lowden S35 can come to my place, they may be the opposite of what you are looking for.

Funny, I have an old 1993 Lowden S35 in cedar/Taz blackwood AND a Cargill custom 00 in Italian spruce/ Gabon ebony! Serious overtone drippage! While I would love a Lowden S35 alpine/ebony to try for a year or 2, the overlap would be too much and of the current Reverb listings for S35s, I would go for:

S35 Bog oak/Lutz spruce.
S35 Madagascar rosewood/alpine spruce

or any of the S35s with cedar tops........

Off the beaten Lowden path, I would like to try a Taylor GC in ebony/lutz or even the 712 lutz or 912 lutz!


You probably saw my Lowden S35 recently posted pics but here is one again:




Cargill custom 00 :




BluesKing777.

[Malcolm Kindnes]

The two guitars you have referenced are total outliers, you would really need to play them to make a decision without huge risk.

[mercy]

My Kronbauer fingerstyle special, not for sale, fits your needs. A great, bold tone with sizzle and sustain but not too much overtones to overwhelm the player or the mic. Im finding it hard to describe the tone but it is great for fingerstyle. The bass is strong but not boomy, the mids are clearly there and the trebles are just right. There is a youtube of a guy playing all the sizes with the tune A WHITER SHADE OF PALE. I think the S is the best sound of the sizes in that video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnldbiOwsu0. but for me I prefer a little fuller sound so I would get an F.

[stephenT]

Mahogany is your friend.

[MikeMcKee]

I’ve been playing a long time and have enjoyed many, many acoustics. I started working on my recordings a few years back, and was looking for the same qualities that you mentioned. Based on my knowledge from previous guitars, I decided to custom order a Taylor GC. It’s a 12 fret Cedar over Maple with Adi bracing. Turned out to be better than I’d hoped, and it’s my go to for recording fingerstyle. I love it, and will never part with it.

If you would like to hear it recorded feel free to pm me. Mike

[Mattseed]

Thanks for all the input guys, you all seem to be putting me off the all walnut guitar....Which I find interesting. I have seen this video with Ariel Posen playing an all walnut S35 and this tone is exactly what I am looking for ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR3rG2dwYTk

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Mattseed

Thanks for all the input guys, you all seem to be putting me off the all walnut guitar....Which I find interesting. I have seen this video with Ariel Posen playing an all walnut S35 and this tone is exactly what I am looking for ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR3rG2dwYTk

Then buy the Lowden S-35W. Keep in mind how the mikes were set up in that video.

[jklotz]

Matthew, you could always change your miking teqnique, possibly the mics and other parts of your recording chain and find a way to make recordings that work better with the guitar you have. What mikes are you using?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to talk you out of a new guitar, we love NGD posts here. I'm just saying mine is an O-25c with tons of overtones and big bass and I have to alter the way I'm recording it vs my other non Lowden guitars, but it still sounds great recorded.

[Mattseed]

Hi guys, yeah I have been through the mill with microphones and techniques. I have lots of mics, A 1979 vintage U87, X2 Neumann 184's, A Sontronics Mercury and A lewitt 140 to name a few. There is no doubt that the guitar gives off a lot of overtones and lots of depth, its not a matter of adding a high pass filter, trust me I have tried it all.

This is the guitar I have now, which I have up for sale right now.

https://mspstudio.co.uk/lowden

The big problem I have right now is there isnt many shops in the UK that have to many of the models I would like to try, its hard to get to stores too. So, I am going to have to try and make a choice and mail order. I can always send back if it doesn't work out though, thankfully.

Does anyone have any experience of Ebony and/or Ebony with Alpine Spruce. This is the guitar I am looking at too: https://www.peachguitars.com/guitars...ine-spruce.htm

Thanks for nay help
Matthew

[strumbringer]

Matthew,

If you want controlled overtones, less bass and more focus on the mids, you probably want to consider a guitar with mahogany back and sides, and a mahogany or spruce top. If you want more highs than mahogany offers, consider koa (either all koa [my personal favorite] or koa back and sides). The advantage of a hardwood topped (all mahogany or all koa) guitar would be a little bit of compression, which will also make it easier to record, although it will be quieter, all other things being equal.

Also a cheaper solution that you will likely need to get the best sound out of any acoustic recording - could your recording room be the problem? Often what might seem like guitar issues could just be room modes playing (no pun intended) into your recording. If you want to test this, search for a pure tone generator online, sweep through the frequencies on good speakers and see if your room is causing trouble. When I was trying to record in my previous setup, I found my room had a really bad room modes at 55,110 and 220 Hz that was causing boominess and generally icky recordings. A couple bass traps in the right places totally fixed that.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Pender]

Did you saw the FM fiddleback mahogany adirondack they have in stock?
The S model lacks something, imho.

[Malcolm Kindnes]

Originally Posted by Mattseed

Thanks for all the input guys, you all seem to be putting me off the all walnut guitar....Which I find interesting. I have seen this video with Ariel Posen playing an all walnut S35 and this tone is exactly what I am looking for ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR3rG2dwYTk

I would only put you off the all walnut guitar because it is so unusual and somewhere down the line when you come to sell it you will take a big hit.
I also think you should consider the fact that this video is shot in a large warehouse, with who knows what equipment. There is so much more to the sound of a recording than the wood the guitar is made from, as I'm sure you know already. I have an all Koa Martin authentic which records very well, but I would not have bought it without playing it first.

[Scotso]

Originally Posted by stephenT

Mahogany is your friend.

The "on the nose" award for this post