We have met George Lowden about forty years ago and feel privileged to have become his friends and his oldest retailer still in activity. Established in the Belfast area, in Northern Ireland, George has in the mid seventies revolutionized the folk fingerstyle guitar by launching a steel-strings design with projection and dynamics usually featured on a top professional classical concert instrument, with incredible sustain and volume as a bonus track! Right at the opposite of compressed American siblings of that era that performed at their best when heavily flat-picked. Lowden has immediately gathered up talented followers and continues ever since. The all natural global woody aspect, the wood bindings instead of plastic, the satin finish, the twin saddle bridge were innovative features that have been copied many a time without capturing the magical sound of the original design.

If we at Servette-Music love Lowden guitars, it is obviously first of all because they are built with the greatest care imaginable with a super consistent production quality, and they sound great. They are always made with the highest grade of wood, selected from the best (think butcher's block, but for a lumberjack), and they take up a gigantic amount of space when sounded. This S35 CW special is all Claro walnut, a hybrid type of walnut that produces the superb figured effect seen here.

The specs are all standard for a Lowden. It has a long scale, Gotoh tuners, and a 5-piece mahogany/rosewood/satin walnut neck. The profile is ultra comfortable for more demanding fingering chords as well as for downstrokes and upstrokes. The ebony fingerboard is as elegant and pleasant to the touch as ever. The body is not too imposing, and the edges are soft enough not to cut into the ribs after a few hours of playing. It is as perfect as we are used to.

The specificity of this guitar is obviously the walnut with which it was made. The Claro walnut used here has discreet, very elegant patterns on the top, back and sides. In terms of sound, the projection is tremendous: the sound really bursts into the room and fills it with jaw-dropping distinction and clarity. The tone is warm, with great brilliance and harmonic richness. New Lowden guitars sometimes need to be played for a while to open up before expressing a strong character, but this one asserts itself right away, with no warm-up.

2 year warranty from our workshop.