BluesKing777 Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 In my search for info on my recent used Lowden trade, I came across John Gomm, aplogies John but I have not heard your stuff before even though your PassionFlower youtube has a measly 12 MILLION hits, but here it is for those who don't know him: Now, John goes through the skin of his guitar fairly severely and while visiting the Lowden workshop, George offered to make a sig model and in the design process, came up with....a guitar top with 2 different types of wood! More details here from Peghead Nation: https://pegheadnation.com/instruments-gear/new-gear/lowden-jon-gomm-signature-model/ BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Does anybody play a Lowden straightforwardly? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE3pCd2GA4Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 Wow, I had not heard of him he is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trans Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 ..just superb!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 Man, BK, you gotta be careful! You keep playing that Lowden you're gonna end up sounding like Michael Hedges instead of Robert Johnson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKn0hdvTL6A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 27, 2017 Author Share Posted February 27, 2017 I wouldn't mind sounding like either guitarist mentioned but ...I don't... <_< I have never hit a guitar like that John Gomm either - I learned on guitars that tend to have the neck or something fall off if you hit it! The only signs that BK has been on a guitar is a few scratches from a pinky nail leaning on the pickguard or a few frets worn from playing so much but otherwise they generally look like the day I bought them. And I am not going to hit the Lowden either, ever! But I would like to try more guitars with cedar tops and the sinker redwood tops - both ideal for fingerpicking, we am told. But I digress - I thought the bit about getting a two piece top was interesting and I have never heard that one before....though I could admit that the guitar in the Peghead clip sounded like...a guitar. Quote Peghead: Those who have seen Jon’s YouTube videos (his “Passion Flower” has received more than 12 million views) may have noticed the worn-out state of the trusty Lowden O32C that has been his main guitar for many years. A couple of years ago, Jon brought the guitar to the Lowden workshop to have some work done to it, and before long, plans for a signature model were hatched. The resulting guitar is like no other Lowden. Although the Jon Gomm Signature Model uses the same jumbo-size O-style cutaway body as Jon’s original guitar, it has different tonewoods and features an innovative double top that Lowden calls a “hybrid” top. Consisting of two layers of wood (spruce on the outside, cedar on the inside) the top is not only stronger than a standard top (an important factor for Jon’s percussive playing), it also combines the tonal characteristics of both types of wood. And, in an effort to avoid using endangered tropical woods, the guitar has American black cherry back and sides and a five-piece maple neck with thin rosewood reinforcement strips. The guitar is available set up with Keith banjo tuners for the first and second string, like Jon’s personal guitar, but our demo instrument came with a standard set of Gotoh tuners. BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I would have a hard time hitting a nice guitar but if they are gonna supply them for you or the money is not as much of an object to them, Like Tommy Emmanuel Maton guitars are not exactly cheap I am sure but...Good stuff though I enjoyed both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Man, BK, you gotta be careful! You keep playing that Lowden you're gonna end up sounding like Michael Hedges instead of Robert Johnson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKn0hdvTL6A Why is he wearing a colander on his head? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Why is he wearing a colander on his head? Maybe to stop the aliens getting in his head? (see movie: Signs) http://cinema.com/articles/1388/signs-movie-review.phtml BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsharp Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 I But I would like to try more guitars with cedar tops and the sinker redwood tops - both ideal for fingerpicking, we am told. BluesKing777. I have one of those (shh) T&^*$r guitars with a cedar top, rosewood b&s. In my vast experience with a grand total of 1 guitars, I find them to be very warm and mellow for fingerpicking, without all the high end chime that people here often complain about with T&^*$r. The break-in period was almost non-existent. It sounds OK strummed with a pick, but you just can't drive it very hard. It works really well in DADGAD tuning.I had that guitar for 15 years before I found anything I like as much or more - a Collings OM2H that I had built custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Why is he wearing a colander on his head? Because he was Michael Hedges. As his playing suggests, he was a very different dude. But he was an extraordinary musician, and his death in an auto accident was a real loss. I've been a fan of his music for years, but didn't really know anything about him before he was killed. The metal object on his head? I dunno, some folks have call it some sort of a military helmet. This was apparently shortly after he shaved his head, cutting off the previous waist-length dreadlocks. Maybe the metal headgear made up for the weight of his lost hair. Or maybe it kept aliens out of his head. Who knows? His stage presence was as extraordinary as his composing and playing skills, judging from videos. Watching him was as entertaining as listening to him. I'm not sure about his spiked dog collar in that video, but I noticed him shifting it out of the way at one point. He played a Martin dread a lot of the time, but it was sheer coincidence that I spotted him playing a Lowden in this clip. He also was very talented on harp guitar, including playing Bach in an extraordinary fashion. Different, for sure. He sometimes opened for CSN&Y, and they were big fans. He wrote a song for them that they never recorded, but Graham Nash (maybe Croz too, I'm not sure) laid down a vocal track on top of Hedges' unreleased version of that song, "Spring Buds", for a posthumous Hedges album, "Torched". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Because he was Michael Hedges. As his playing suggests, he was a very different dude. But he was an extraordinary musician, and his death in an auto accident was a real loss. I've been a fan of his music for years, but didn't really know anything about him before he was killed. The metal object on his head? I dunno, some folks have call it some sort of a military helmet. This was apparently shortly after he shaved his head, cutting off the previous waist-length dreadlocks. Maybe the metal headgear made up for the weight of his lost hair. Or maybe it kept aliens out of his head. Who knows? His stage presence was as extraordinary as his composing and playing skills, judging from videos. Watching him was as entertaining as listening to him. I'm not sure about his spiked dog collar in that video, but I noticed him shifting it out of the way at one point. He played a Martin dread a lot of the time, but it was sheer coincidence that I spotted him playing a Lowden in this clip. He also was very talented on harp guitar, including playing Bach in an extraordinary fashion. Different, for sure. He sometimes opened for CSN&Y, and they were big fans. He wrote a song for them that they never recorded, but Graham Nash (maybe Croz too, I'm not sure) laid down a vocal track on top of Hedges' unreleased version of that song, "Spring Buds", for a posthumous Hedges album, "Torched". Undoubtedly gifted. I like the dog collar and the colander. Still intrigued that a) all the avant-garde players seem to go with Lowdens; and B) Lowdens seem to bring out the avant-garde in players. I've seen Gerendas up close, but never had my hands on a Lowden. Do they make you want to play them percussively, I wonder? Richard Thompson is a notable exception to the Lowden = avant-garde rule (unless detuning to C and G on the bass strings is avant-garde)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0kJdrfzjAg Maybe the angels on Ariels are wearing dog collars and colanders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Undoubtedly gifted. I like the dog collar and the colander. Still intrigued that a) all the avant-garde players seem to go with Lowdens; and B) Lowdens seem to bring out the avant-garde in players. I've seen Gerendas up close, but never had my hands on a Lowden. Do they make you want to play them percussively, I wonder? Richard Thompson is a notable exception to the Lowden = avant-garde rule (unless detuning to C and G on the bass strings is avant-garde)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0kJdrfzjAg Maybe the angels on Ariels are wearing dog collars and colanders. The larger Lowdens are renowned for their extremely high quality hand build, but also for their sustain due to the A frame bracing on the tops joining with the dovetail joints of the necks - that one handed playing style needs sustain, and also the multi-piece necks are good for tuning down low and not moving about. (but they do have six strings like all the others so you can play anything you want!) A few build clues from George: Brace for Impact: George Lowden discusses his unique construction techniques. What is it about the Lowden O’s construction that explains its great sustain? While working on some of the predecessors of the O guitar, I noticed that the action tended to come up a little bit as the guitar got older and that the soundhole tended to sink ever so slightly toward the back of the guitar. I found that what worked to counter that was what we call an A-frame bracing, which is essentially two struts on either side of the soundhole going right through the brace under the fingerboard and right into the dovetail joint. That stabilizes the soundhole area, but it also contributes to the guitar’s excellent sustain. What accounts for the guitar’s terrific balance? Much of that is a product of the guitar’s dolphin-profile bracing, which we employ instead of the usual scalloped bracing. We hand carve the soundboard struts to a shape that resembles a dolphin coming out of water—the results being that when one strut approaches another it reduces in height; and also that when the struts approach the edge of the guitar, they do so in a gradual and very smooth way. Where the soundboard needs to be stiff, it is; where it needs to be more flexible, it is. In practical terms, this allows the soundboard to vibrate in a very even manner, resulting in that “terrific” balance. The sound produced by a given Lowden guitar is ultimately based on the core tone produced by its design, the tone woods we use, and the guitar’s size. With the guitar you have for review, the combination of the cocobolo back and sides and redwood top produces a very deep tone that also is warm, with a dynamic range that has made it particularly appealing to fingerstylists, certainly, but also to just about any playing style you can name. Lowden guitars are known for their simple unadorned beauty, regardless of the kind of woods used on a particular model. I like things to be subtle and understated. In terms of beauty, I like to allow the woods to speak for themselves. Photos: Massimo Gammcurta And the writer from Guitar Afficiano liked the ones he tried (Gush!): http://www.guitarplayer.com/frets/1422/review-three-stunning-lowden-acoustics/59520 BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Very interesting, thanks BK. And more digestible than the Gherkin's spiel about the John Gomm signature model. I must confess I was a bit distracted by the big G's attempt to finger tap in the second video you posted. I do like his reviews, but in this particular case, I must confess that I enjoyed it for all the wrong reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Very interesting, thanks BK. And more digestible than the Gherkin's spiel about the John Gomm signature model. I must confess I was a bit distracted by the big G's attempt to finger tap in the second video you posted. I do like his reviews, but in this particular case, I must confess that I enjoyed it for all the wrong reasons. Yes, it is plain peculiar when finger tapping is 'politically correct' and not 'out there'... There were how to tabs everywhere when Hedges first came out with the right hand tapping, and while he may have been the first big one on acoustic, there were many others starting with Jeff Beck and Jimi, but at the same time as Hedges there was Satriani...et al I did have a go at it, but I just didn't have the correct guitar, obviously . But it was some fun on my crap Strat in a big amp doing some mild taps while bending the whammy bar off. Oh, for youth! BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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