Lowden Pierre Bensusan Model

This guitar is truly a stunner! What struck me immediately upon opening the case was the unique and thought out selection of woods used to build this incredible Pierre Bensusan model guitar. What an amazing recipe! From the awesome grained Adirondack top, mottled ebony bevel, to the 5 piece figured maple neck, this is truly a Signature bespoke build. The specifications of this guitar truly reflect the brilliant finger style playing style of its namesake. The chosen nut width and bridge string spacing make this guitar supremely playable for contemporary as well as traditional acoustic guitar styles styles. This is a powerfully musical instrument. The notes are well balanced with a clear open resonance and define separation. This guitar will speak well, not only in standard tuning, but probably any open tuning the player would choose.

I could go on and on about the PB models virtues but let me defer to the words of George Lowden himself:

“The first guitar I made for Pierre was back in 1978 and that 'old lady' battered and bruised but much loved and played still sings so beautifully today. Over the years since then Pierre and I have worked very closely together and he has made many recordings with that first Lowden guitar. I also remember adding a cutaway to his first Lowden and making the neck wider during my stay in France in 1999.  Therefore, designing and building a new guitar for Pierre today in 2009 was a project which I approached with special expectation and hope.

"My challenge was to design a new guitar with many of the attributes of the old one (sound-wise) but with more comfort to  allow Pierre to play and compose for many hours each day. Pierre asked me to include a soundbox "bevel" and I knew apart from the structural implications the most important thing would  be to design and voice the new soundboard to make sure the bevel did not compromise tone in any way. For this I chose to change the geometry of the guitar back profile ( to reduce it's natural pitch ) and at the same time to shorten the 'dolphin profile' bracing carving of the soundboard struts at the bevel side. To make sure the new guitar had plenty of brilliance and warmth at the same time, I chose Honduras rosewood and Adirondack spruce. Honduras rosewood is the nearest wood I can get these days to good quality Brazilian rosewood - it has the same texture, density, hardness - and most of all - tap tone. I have come to love Adirondack spruce for its clarity and warmth and rather 'three dimensional' tonal quality. I'm delighted how the guitar has turned out and of course it will only get better with age - and an awful lot of playing - and we can be sure Pierre will do just that!”

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.

ABOUT LOWDEN GUITARS
Lowden guitars occupy a unique place in the pantheon of high-end flattops. With a loud and overtone-rich signature voice, unique construction details (including a split saddle and A-frame bracing of the upper bout), and a general vibe that differs from most classic American steel-strings, the guitars have found fans in such heavyweights as Pierre Bensusan, Paul Brady, Alex de Grassi, Richard Thompson, and many others. Lowden production began in 1974, and after several changes in management and manufacturing facilities, the guitars are now built in a small Northern Ireland shop under the direct supervision of company founder George Lowden.