There’s no doubt about it, Lowden Guitars are a premium brand. Just a quick glance at their prices is enough to make it clear that they don’t mind charging serious money for their products.
Founded in 1974 by the young George Lowden, the company have developed a reputation for quality over the years, and their guitars have been used by a number of well-known artists such as David Grey, Niall Horan, and Ed Sheeran.
At a glance S-25 is a gorgeous-looking concert guitar, but, of course, we’d expect nothing less from a brand like Lowden. The real questions are how does it play? And how does it sound?
While they might not be as popular as the classic dreadnought or auditorium designs, concert guitars are nonetheless an iconic style with a lot of advantages. Not only do they feel nice to play and look beautiful, but, despite their small body size, concert guitars offer a surprisingly powerful sound.
That’s even more true in this case, because, by combining Cedar and Rosewood, Lowden have managed to build a guitar that is both warm and responsive. If that wasn’t enough, this guitar is a sheer delight to any player who prefers a finger-plucked style, because it really favours those brighter notes while still holding its own on the bass end.
So here’s where we get to the difficult part.
If you’re loving the sound of this guitar then you may want to take a deep breath and sit down because the S-25 doesn’t come cheap. Retailing for around $5000, it’s hard to deny that, even at premium prices, the S-25 is an expensive guitar.
Is it worth that price?
Well, that depends on you. In terms of sound quality, you’ll find plenty of equally great guitars at less than a quarter of the price, but taste is another matter. There’s just no getting around the fact that this is a beautiful guitar and if you’ve got the money to spend on looks alone then this is certainly money well spent.
Manufacturer | Lowden |
Series | Original Series |
String Number | 6 |
Body Type Family | Concert |
Body Type | S |
Cutaway? | No |
Solid/Laminate Wood | Solid Body, Solid Top |
Top Material | Cedar |
Body Material | East Indian Rosewood |
Fretboard Material | Ebony |
Neck Material | Mahogany / Rosewood |
Number of Frets | 20 |
Neck joint at | 14th fret |
Nut Width (inch) | 1.77 |
Finish | Natural |
Amplification | Unamplified |
Pickup Active/Passive | No Pickup |
Left-Friendly? | No |
Left/Right Handed | Right Handed |
Made In | Ireland |