Anyone tried Lowden strings?

[jaymarsch]

I am resurrecting this thread since I decided to try out some Lowden strings. I put a set on my Wingert E rosewood guitar and they sound and feel great. I'll discover how long they last. I will probably try them out on my Kramer mahogany as well.
I have never been a fan of Cleartone strings but these feel and sound different to me. They remind me of what I liked about the Santa Cruz strings when I tried them but I quickly found that I was allergic to the alloys used in those strings. So, only time will tell. They are pricey so they will have to deliver handsomely on all counts if I were to use them regularly. I will keep you posted.

Best,
Jayne

[brucegill]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

I am resurrecting this thread since I decided to try out some Lowden strings. I put a set on my Wingert E rosewood guitar and they sound and feel great. I'll discover how long they last. I will probably try them out on my Kramer mahogany as well.
I have never been a fan of Cleartone strings but these feel and sound different to me. They remind me of what I liked about the Santa Cruz strings when I tried them but I quickly found that I was allergic to the alloys used in those strings. So, only time will tell. They are pricey so they will have to deliver handsomely on all counts if I were to use them regularly. I will keep you posted.

Best,
Jayne

Do you mind me asking how you were allergic to the Santa Cruz? Honest question.

[Silly Moustache]

I understand that this is a zombie thread, (not a criticism) and I don't have any insider knowledge about Lowden's strings, but I do know that many guitar makers offer accessories , picks, strings, hats, t-shirts. etc.
Few of them actually make these things - they buy them in.

I doubt that Lowden have bothered to build a string winding facility, but may well have contracted another string manufacturer to make strings to their specs.
A US company that does this quite a lot is "Mapes" and in the UK there are Picato/Rotosound.

It remains something of a trade secret as to who makes what brands, and I suspect that every so often brads like Fender, Gibson and smaller stringed instrument makers send out for quotes, and reserve the right to change their suppliers.

All I know - for sure is that Martin, D'addario, Jim Dunlop, Rotosound and Newtone "roll their own".

Also, regarding the retail price differences between the UK/EU and the USA,

Products imported into the EU/UK (sigh) are, I believe, subject to Excise duties, and for retail all prices will include VAT (20% in the Uk and simol;r in other EU countries, whereas in the US prices are quoted without taxes as the sales tax arrangements vary between states (yes?) and are never, or rarely as much as 20%.

I'd welcome more information as I'm sure others may know more about this than I.

[M19]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

Well, here in the UK, American-made Elixirs (which used to be Lowden's recommended string) are £17 (which is the equivalent of $23) so the Lowden strings at £20 aren't a huge lot more expensive.

And AFAIC the main motivation is to achieve the best sound. The new Lowden strings sound and feel much nicer - warmer, clearer, and 'sweeter' - on my Lowden guitars than Elixir Nano PBs so, provided they last at least as long as Elixirs, I'll take them and eat the small additional cost.

I see no sense in stumping up £'000s on a guitar and getting niggly and skinny about a few bucks for strings.

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

Have you tried Wyres DADGAD set? They are what I use on my McIlroy. If you have, how do the Lowden's compare?

[JayBee1404]

Silly Moustache - a little bird with some insider-knowledge told me the Lowden strings are manufactured by Cleartone, according to specs laid down by George. The colours of the ball-ends seem to confirm that.

M19 - you’re asking the wrong guy I’m afraid. I have tried Wyres, and hated them, so IMHO the Lowden strings are in a different league.

I used Lowden strings on my Lowdens for a while, but I can save £5 a set by buying Elixir PB Nanos - more if I get the 3-for-2 deal - so, although I prefer the Lowden strings, I’m back to using Elixirs.

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

[bcaylor]

Was just catching up on this thread. I bought a couple of sets of Lowden light strings over the past month while their accessories were on sale.

I tried the first set out a few days ago and I must admit I'm a little disappointed so far. They are definitely warmer than Elixirs, but as was mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm already getting a dull, thud sound on the low end. I was pleased with the Elixirs but thought I'd give these a try. Maybe I just got a bad set. I have one more to try at some point, but for now, I think I'll be going back to the Elixirs.

By the way, my guitar is a Lowden PB model with madagascar/adirondack.

Thanks for the insight!

[musicman1951]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

I am resurrecting this thread since I decided to try out some Lowden strings. I put a set on my Wingert E rosewood guitar and they sound and feel great. I'll discover how long they last. I will probably try them out on my Kramer mahogany as well.
I have never been a fan of Cleartone strings but these feel and sound different to me. They remind me of what I liked about the Santa Cruz strings when I tried them but I quickly found that I was allergic to the alloys used in those strings. So, only time will tell. They are pricey so they will have to deliver handsomely on all counts if I were to use them regularly. I will keep you posted.

Best,
Jayne

5 weeks in - how are they holding up?

[Gregg Hermetech]

I only use Lowden 11s and 12s on my Lowden F35 Madagascar/Adirondack (the newer PB model is Honduras Rosewood and Adi, I believe), and love them. They last ages, but I generally hate the sound of new strings. I usually get three to six months out of a set, played around 2-3 hours a day. I love them so much I bought 20 packs for the price of 10 on their last Black Friday sale.

I did try a few other brands but none of them were as nice. EJ16s sounded good but my sweat killed them in about 10 days, so for price it's actually cheaper for me to go with the Lowdens (especially on a half price deal!)

[jaymarsch]

Originally Posted by Gregg Hermetech

I only use Lowden 11s and 12s on my Lowden F35 Madagascar/Adirondack (the newer PB model is Honduras Rosewood and Adi, I believe), and love them. They last ages, but I generally hate the sound of new strings. I usually get three to six months out of a set, played around 2-3 hours a day. I love them so much I bought 20 packs for the price of 10 on their last Black Friday sale.

I did try a few other brands but none of them were as nice. EJ16s sounded good but my sweat killed them in about 10 days, so for price it's actually cheaper for me to go with the Lowdens (especially on a half price deal!)

I now use Lowden strings exclusively on my two rosewood guitars and they last me 9 months playing on average an hour a day. I still prefer GHS or Pearse on my mahogany guitars. I take advantage of their sales as well and couldn’t be happier. I’m not a fan of most coated strings and these “treated” strings fit my ears and hands perfectly.
Best,
Jayne

[Gregg Hermetech]

That's fab to hear Jayne! I really love them too, I feel they have a very "thin" coating for coated strings. They never "emit fur" like some other coated strings do (D'Addario XS and XL etc.), and sound and feel more like uncoated to me. I've not found a set that sound better, although not tried the brands you mention (I have one hog guitar but never play it, it's my daughters now, I'm a one guitar man, Lowden for life!)