Lowden W35 Wee Lowden, 2016

Condition: near mint. An LR Baggs Anthem pickup is installed as well as a strap button. No visible playing wear.

The Wee Lowden is the first small bodied guitar in the Lowden catalog. (By the way, *Wee* is an Irish term of endearment for something small.) The development of this guitar began nearly two years ago when Gary Lightbody (of the band Snow Patrol) contacted Lowden about building a guitar as a gift for Ed Sheeran, but George had been thinking about a small bodied guitar for years. For such a design, it was never a matter of simply shrinking one of his other models, and Lightbody’s request proved the impetus for him to develop a small bodied instrument.

To that end George sequestered himself alone on the coast of Northern Ireland to draw the shape and develop the design concepts uninterrupted. He knew from the start that he wanted to evolve the design to sound big and three dimensional (not boxy as small guitars often do), but he also wanted the articulate and present quality of a smaller guitar. He was wrestling with physics as he worked the ideas, but all the elements came together, and with careful selection of materials, the Wee really lives up to the Lowden name.

This guitar is the W35, which is the premium model. The top is redwood, which can be an especially fine wood for an acoustic guitar, but it is very difficult to find the high quality redwood required to voice a guitar top. With the best redwood, though, the stiffness-to-weight ratio and structure of the wood can make a fantastically articulate guitar that is also warm and balanced and has ample sustain. George Lowden is—like all great luthiers—preternaturally good at wood selection and the redwood used in this guitar has stunning, fine, straight grain that seems to race across the top and leap into your eyes. There is also a subtle but beautiful abalone rosette that matches the Lowden aesthetic, which is founded on using handsome materials and letting the natural look stand forth, rather than coloring the guitar with ornaments.

The guitar has premium Indian rosewood back and sides. Indian rosewood can equal Brazilian when the best grades are used, and the advantage to Indian is that it is more readily available so a guitarmaker can use the best-of-the-best grade, whereas with Brazilian premium quality is almost impossible to find. The rosewood back and sides tonally balances and warms the sound of the guitar, and the traditional Lowden five piece mahogany and rosewood neck is a perfect full C shape that is wonderful in the hand. Too, I love the dark ebony neck and matching headstock veneer.

Tonally, it is remarkable how huge this guitar sounds. It doesn’t sound like a small bodied guitar, yet it retains the immediacy and responsiveness of a fine smaller instrument. It really is the best of both worlds.

Easy to carry, wonderful to play, with a big sound that belies its small size, this is a true player's guitar. In fact, you really never need a larger guitar like you did in the early 20th century, because if you are playing live now you are mic'ed (and don't have to compete acoustically with other instruments). And if you are playing for yourself, nothing can match intimacy of playing a small bodied guitar, and this is, indeed, a very fine one.

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.