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Post by jackorion on Nov 20, 2017 17:00:51 GMT
After my gig on Friday(see here: acousticsoundboard.co.uk/thread/8393/ben-morgan-brown-nether-stowey) Keith (aka ocarolan) let me have a little play on his O25, a model I've been thinking about for a little while... So I popped into a guitar shop today to look at Lowdens... unfortunately they didn't have as many in store as they did online, so there weren't any O's to try, but I spent a bit of time with a Richard Thompson sig and a S25. The RT was very nice, incredibly loud and forward sounding - really ring-y. In fact I had to leave the little demo booth I was playing in because it was too much for the little room and I couldn't hear it properly! It was bloomin' nice (but also blimmin' expensive at £5200!). I also found the F quite large so it was useful to play as, if the F was big then obviously the O was going to feel massive... So I had a little look at the S25... Nice guitar! It instantly felt like the right size, and the tone was rich but not too much. I think I was playing it for quite a while but I'm not really sure, I sort of fell into a little trance... I'm kinda thinking about it... Now I've been here before - falling in love with a guitar that's not my Martin, buying it, and then, a year later normally, not loving it anymore... the list currently stands at: Gibson J45tv, Martin 00015sm, Fylde Alexander, Martin 00018, Martin Ditson, Collings OM2h ... Maybe I just have to get away from the idea that there will be another guitar that suits me as much as my Martin and maybe I need to be able to enjoy having something different but who knows... Anyway, I'm rambling - join in and convince me one way or the other!!!
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007
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Post by 007 on Nov 20, 2017 17:26:44 GMT
Interesting, I have weeks when I fall out of love with a guitar and then a song comes along which sounds quite perfect for that particular guitar and we fall in love again. I wonder if its the type of song you are playing. I find that certain guitars play certain types of song better than others but that might just be me. I have a 1966 Hagstrom H45SE (a dead copy of a J45 and it has been with me since 1971) I still love hit to bits anything boomy or C & W sounds great played on it. Enjoyed your performance at the Nether Stowey Arena
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Post by ocarolan on Nov 20, 2017 17:48:16 GMT
jackorion - Haha! Didn't think we paid you enough to go Lowden-shopping! Project Music? S25 is a lovely guitar! Go on Ben, you know you want to... There's not much point buying your Martin again in a slightly different guise - might as well have something contrasting, and I'm sure an S25 will fill that bill admirably. If you get one and want rid in a year or so, give me a shout! I used to have an S10 from 2000, before the current redesign. Lovely guitar - sometimes wish I still had it! Let's see if Andy ( Andy P)might chip in! Keith
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Post by jackorion on Nov 20, 2017 17:54:45 GMT
jackorion - Haha! Didn't think we paid you enough to go Lowden-shopping! Project Music? S25 is a lovely guitar! Go on Ben, you know you want to... There's not much point buying your Martin again in a slightly different guise - might as well have something contrasting, and I'm sure an S25 will fill that bill admirably. If you get one and want rid in a year or so, give me a shout! I used to have an S10 from 2000, before the current redesign. Lovely guitar - sometimes wish I still had it! Let's see if Andy ( Andy P )might chip in! Keith Well you did slip a bit extra in (so to speak!) so that helps :-) It would involve moving on the Collings, either as px or selling privately... Yep it was Project Music, bit frustrating that their online stock and instore stock are so out of sync... I think there is something to be said for having one guitar that does this and one that does that, it's just I'm a bit 'once bitten, twice shy' about having yet another guitar that I'd end up moving on... What I should do really is sell the Collings, stash the money and wait till something makes me go 'woah...' but that little S25 was super nice... then again so was the Andy Manson Magpie I played last week, though that was £6000!!!
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Post by Andy P on Nov 20, 2017 18:18:47 GMT
Let's see if Andy ( Andy P )might chip in! Keith I don't know if I'm the right person to ask at the moment, being in the midst of much angst over my old Lowden G9 (but that's a totally different kettle of fish - or can of worms, more like). I've had my S25 for nearly three years now and basically I love her very much. She's incredibly loud for her size, has an extremely sweet tone which has already matured noticeably since I bought her new and is a delight to hold and to play. After some initial problems with changes in geometry, requiring several set-ups within a short space of time, she has settled nicely now and is pretty stable. I think the climate up here with its lower humidity suits her better than frequently soggy Cornwall. I would certainly buy her again. She's a looker too Just a couple of notes of caution. In my opinion she's built for picking, not for strumming. There's so much sound and so much going on that strumming overwhelms her and she just sounds confused. The finish is such that she marks incredibly easily. If you like your guitars totally ding-less you'll need to wrap it in cotton wool. Good luck!
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Post by jackorion on Nov 20, 2017 20:03:51 GMT
Let's see if Andy ( Andy P )might chip in! Keith I don't know if I'm the right person to ask at the moment, being in the midst of much angst over my old Lowden G9 (but that's a totally different kettle of fish - or can of worms, more like). I've had my S25 for nearly three years now and basically I love her very much. She's incredibly loud for her size, has an extremely sweet tone which has already matured noticeably since I bought her new and is a delight to hold and to play. After some initial problems with changes in geometry, requiring several set-ups within a short space of time, she has settled nicely now and is pretty stable. I think the climate up here with its lower humidity suits her better than frequently soggy Cornwall. I would certainly buy her again. She's a looker too Just a couple of notes of caution. In my opinion she's built for picking, not for strumming. There's so much sound and so much going on that strumming overwhelms her and she just sounds confused. The finish is such that she marks incredibly easily. If you like your guitars totally ding-less you'll need to wrap it in cotton wool. Good luck! Well I'm pretty much exclusively fingerstyle so don't need a strummer - the Martin can handle that if needs be...
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Post by robmc on Nov 20, 2017 21:56:44 GMT
I played Keith's Lowden at HB8 and it resulted in urges for me too. I think you should do what's only right and proper; give in to those urges, embrace temptation and satisfy your need
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Post by andyhowell on Nov 21, 2017 7:46:30 GMT
The S series are my favourite Lowdens!
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Post by jackorion on Nov 21, 2017 8:23:08 GMT
well having slept on it I've still woken up this morning to find myself browsing online at Lowdens...
but I've decided I really need to sell my Collings before anything can happen, and I'd like to play a few more models before diving in - I only played the RT, the S25 and a S32c yesterday and I'd like to try some more F sized as that seems the most versatile on paper...
although that S25 definitely had 'something'...
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Post by jackorion on Nov 22, 2017 16:38:50 GMT
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Post by ocarolan on Nov 22, 2017 17:19:41 GMT
Congrats Ben - we need more pics and a recording before we really believe it though. Keith
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Post by jackorion on Nov 23, 2017 15:51:09 GMT
Here's a couple of extra photos: IMG_6355 by Ben Morgan-Brown, on Flickr IMG_6356 by Ben Morgan-Brown, on Flickr Today's been my first chance to have a good play - firstly I got rid of the elixers that were on it as I don't tend to like them and stuck my normal daddario ej16s (whether I stick with these who knows)... It's a lovely little guitar with some character - a few quirky bits and still a bit 'fresh' sounding, but, even in the shop, I just felt like it had something - the size fits me really well but it's not boxy sounding (although it has a bit of midrange 'honk' ). The neck is quite slim for me but seems just fine - I did a crude measurement with a capo and it's almost the same depth at the first fret as my Martin but it doesn't get much deeper as you go up the neck. I've just sat down for an hour or so and run through most of my songs on it - there's a few that work really well and a few that maybe don't suit the Lowden voicing but I feel I could easily perform all of my material on this guitar and maybe it will coax some new stuff out of me - the gentler, more ringing stuff just seems to really work well on this guitar... I managed to negotiate a pretty good deal with the Project guys and I couldn't really turn it down at the price they offered so I've whacked it on the credit card and hopefully will sell some bits and bobs before the bill is due! The only thing really is I need a strap button put on the heal, and I need to think about pickups - I know Keith will suggest the K&K and his O25 did sound great the other day, but I've had issues with them in the past and I'm reluctant to get one installed only to find the same issue again (after the superglue has dried!) so I was debating just grabbing a fishman rare earth humbucker for the time being as I know that's a relatively safe option - ideally I'd like to get another Lr Baggs Anthem SL installed but I think they only do the full system as a split saddle...
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Post by Phil Taylor on Nov 23, 2017 16:21:11 GMT
Nice looking guitar Ben, you must be pleased Phil
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Post by ocarolan on Nov 23, 2017 16:24:58 GMT
Lovely! Good move Ben - from what you say it will maybe draw some new songs/choons out of you whilst still covering your existing stuff and having a different tonality. Perfick!
Hope you'll have a great time together!
Keith
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Post by Andy P on Nov 23, 2017 18:11:14 GMT
Congratulations on purchasing a mighty fine guitar. I haven't been a particular fan of the K&K but I do find that it works nicely on my S25.
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