I'm pretty excited about the Randy Lucas Jumbo we've gotten in. It's a top notch instrument in every respect. I'm hard to please, but this is one guitar I just smile at.

The brazilian is dry, old stock which is very dark with central spidering doing out to rift toward the edges. The Adirondack is very evenly coloured with focal areas of bearclawing, going from tight to wide grain towards the edges.

The neck is made from a laminate of 2 pieces of mahogany with a ebony centre strip. Brazilian rosewood adorns the front and the back of the headstock and the entire body, neck and headstock is bound in ivoroid with wood purfling.

I haven't seen such exact craftsmanship with ivoroid bindings and wood purfling. The lines are very clean with almost no bleeding, and the colour of the binding and purfling is totally uniform throughout. That's a very tall order, especially working with the 2 differing materials. The abalone strips are well matched and the joinery work is very fine.

Everything is just so on this guitar. The spalting on the brazilian backplate matches and joins the ebony neck strip. The headstock design is remniscent of the haircut styled vintage headstocks, and is nicely appointed with the ivoroid binding/wood purfling scheme.

The sound is fantastic, with responsiveness and balance predominating the proceedings. The great headroom makes flatpicking a wonderful possibility and the metallic overtones compliments the rounded fundamentals.

Fingerpicking is comfortable on the 1 3/4" and I am very pleased how powerful the guitar is. Definitely in the vintage camp with regards to feel and sound.

Of course, the wedge body is always going to a feature here and it certain makes playing all 16" of this instrument a breeze. The fretwork is spectacular and I have to take my hat off to Randy for creating such a playable, great sounding guitar.

Here is an article I wrote for the inaugural issue of Acoustic in magazine. Luckily I have a republishing rights clause in my contract with them so I present my earlier work in an unedited form, but with additional pictures for your pleasure.

George Lowden 1979 L32 ‘Least Likely’

This wonderful guitar designated L32 is in good condition with some play wear and a few minor side cracks. Constructed with Indian Rosewood and Spruce, this guitar pre-dates any factory Lowdens, and was made in a shop by George Lowden and 4 apprentices. It’s one of 70 guitars from the earliest period in the illustrious history of Lowden guitars.

The Indian rosewood was purchased from a wood merchant’s in London by George himself and painstakingly driven back to Ireland and resawn! The design aesthetic is classic Lowden; a handrubbed satin finish is present through with curly maple bindings and all wood purfling and rosette. It has a very comfortable egg shaped neck profile which almost feels moulded to your hand and a 1.75 inch nut width makes for fingerstyle and flatpicking a pleasure. Custom dots and diamond inlays adorn the fingerboard and it even retains the original bone nut, saddle and very early Calton case.

The L32 is the same body shape as the modern O series. This is a big guitar approximately the size of a Gibson J200 but it is ergonomical because of it’s curvaceous outline. Thus it sits nicely in the lap and the playing hand is nicely supported by the upper bout. It is unsurprising that the body is exactly the same as it’s modern sister O models.

This is one of only 3 Lowdens I have played which has appealed to me and I have played many Lowdens from Van Morrison’s 1991 L25 to a mid 80’s 0 made solely by George Lowden. It is truly a majestic guitar; the curves and design aesthetic has weathered the years with grace and the sound simply takes one’s breath away. In fact this was the very first Lowden that I wanted after being disappointed with so many of the previous Lowdens I had played, hence the nickname ‘least likely’.

It's a great fingerpicker with a clear, responsive tone that is surrounded by the characteristic Lowden overtones. Dennis Czech summed it best: “It has the authority, the clarity, the roundedness and fullness of tone, the mature, solid, muscly strength of a good vintage Martin. Quite wonderful. For such a big guitar, it has very clear and responsive trebles and yes, there is that desirable evenness of tone all the way across the fretboard.”

The fun doesn’t stop there. Although is a great guitar in it's own right, this guitar also has a fantastic pedigree:

• It is made by George himself before any factory involvement.
• It was originally owned by Garth Hewitt, a Christian singer/writer
• In the late 80’s to early 90’s it was bought by Paul Stacey who is best known for producing Oasis, although it is unsure that the guitar was ever used by them. Paul was a well known session guitarist and band member of the Lemon Trees with Guy Chambers who went on to produce and co-write for Robbie Williams. Paul went on to engineer Oasis and now runs his own studio.
• Huw Price acquired it on 4th February 1993. Huw is a freelance producer, sound engineer and writer. It is the guitar seen on the cover of "Recording guitar and bass- Getting a great sound every time you record" Price, Huw; Back Beat Books 2002; ISBN 0-87930-730-7. It was also used on the following albums:
• Delicious Monster - their last EP 3 songs
• Stereolab - first album (space age batchelor pad music/super electric)
• Becky Duke - "like it like this"
• Venas Pluton - first album 1 track (Pinophilia/Petaco/Binocular )
• Frank Tovey - various recordings (Worried Man In Second - Hand Suits/The Best Of Fad Gadget)
• I purchased the guitar from Huw in October of 2003.
• It was my main guitar until a private collector who wishes to remain anonymous acquired it in September 2004 where it remains in his possession.

The current owner wrote to me recently declaring that it was the best Lowden he had ever played, and he has one from almost every era of George Lowden’s production. I strongly believe that the older Lowdens especially those which predate any factory production have something special; George maintained not only a very high build quality, but the materials were more closely selected than possible in a production facility.

Furthermore, small changes in the design over the years have impacted on the Lowden sound. For instance, although minor, the symmetry between the bridge, soundhole and the body had changed by the late 1980’s such that the neck is noticeable further away from the player on later Lowdens. However, the Dolphin shaped bracing, much beloved by Lowden aficionados has made a comeback with George’s new workshop. But that’s another article entirely….

Quick Specs:

• Designated the L32 now the O model
• Made 1979 by George Lowden
• Spruce top
• Indian Rosewood back and sides
• Satin finish throughout
• Brazilian rosewood bridge
• Lowden decal on headstock
• Schaller tuners
• Curly maple Bindings
• All wood purfling and rosette
• Custom fret markers
• Bone nut and saddle

C. Tan Liwen Terence 2004.

Terence is a medic currently based in London where he also runs goodacoustics.com the UK’s only shop exclusively carrying luthier made guitars with a business partner and a tonewoods supply house specialising in Salvaged Brazilian Rosewood and European spruce. He is an active musician gigging regularly and a freelance journalist. Please send correspondence to liwen.tan@imperial.ac.uk

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New Arrivals.

I've gotten a load of consignment guitars from a collector. All are fantastic guitars befitting players of any level.

Wingert Model E :

This one is exactly the same specifications as our first instrument from Kathy. It is a model E with German and Brazilian rosewood topped off with a cutaway. The model E is a very comfortable guitar to play- perfect for sore shoulders and although it can speak gently, does move when pushed.

This guitar is a superb all rounder, with that signature Wingert tone; clear piano-like bass with distinct mids and highs. Currently available with a Calton case and priced fairly.

Wingert Parlor :

This is a highly customised small bodied guitar made from Adirondack and Brazilian rosewood with a Tung oil finish which gives it an organic feel. The small bodied instruments I have played from Kathy are loud and very articulate without the boxiness you get with many small bodies.

The Adirondack is evenly coloured and the geometric rosette is a nice touch. Engraved, gold Waverlies adorn the slotted headstock. Currently available with OHSC and priced fairly.

Graf Model C :

Oscar Graf crafts wonderful guitars in his Canadian workshop. I have played several of Oscar's Brazilian rosewood models and but this guitar is the 1999 prototype for the Model C and features Koa back and sides with a German spruce top. I am not a fan of Koa, but Oscar's done something different hear.

The tone is super balanced with sweetness but none of the pretentious sparkle that Koa has and the mids are nicely roudned. A B-band USt provides amplification for the sweet, balanced tone this guitar produces. Available.


Somogyi/Martin D28 :

Here's an unusual guitar- it started out as a 1958 D28 made by Martin but on the way to the current owner had been sent to Ervin Somogyi who performed some 'tonework' on it. Amongst other things, he rebraced the guitar, replaced the bridge and now it plays like a Somogyi with a bit more headroom than his usual instruments. If you are looking for a Somogyi but afford the 5 figure pricing, this is a very good alternative. Available

Vintage guitars...

I'm a big fan of prewar Martins- they seem to have a huge headroom retain geat responsiveness. The usual issues such as refinishing and repairs are of course present, so you will have to choose vintage pieces very carefully. Here are some great vintage guitars I've had recently:

1936 OOO28H custom

This OOO28H is 1 of 2 custom orders from 1936. Originally made for hawaiian style, it has been masterfully converted for spanish style playing by TJ Thompson who also did the restoration work which included replacing the bridge and repairing several top and back cracks. It looks great externally and is a great sounding and playing guitar.



Unusually, it has an original solid headstock and has the longer 'orchestra' scale length. Of note, the Brazilian rosewood is high grade, and shows the saw marks from the old circular saws used during that era to resaw back and sides. The adirondack top is tight grained, and shows the usual 2 color tone difference from the heart and sap wood of the spruce tree.

It's a real treat to have this one in, especially at the same time as the 1910 OOO28 which incidentally is also a long scale length, 12 fret solid headstock guitar. This guitar I sold to a customer in the US but you can find more pictures and detailed specifications here, or by clicking on the pictures above.

1910 OOO28

This grand old lady is the 4th OOO28 ever built with the longer 25.4" scale length making it the earliest recorded on a OOO model. Of note, it was the only OOO built in 1910 and is a rare example of a solid headstock on a 12fret OOO... the other being the 1936 OOO28H above!

There are a few differences between this and the later models:

• Herringbone purfling is smaller & finer than later models
• Genuine Ivory used for the purfling is all intact, original
• The body shape itself is different; the upper bout is slimmer than later models

I suspect this is a custom order, being the only OOO built that year. The solid headstock and the heavier bracing on the X bracing adding more weight to that suspicion. Additionally, the Brazilian rosewood on the back and sides is of a higher grade than seen on other -28 models from that era, displaying tight grain and attractive spiderwebbing.

John Greven did some restoration on the guitar which included some cosmetic resealing of the back and top cracks. He replaced the non-original tuners with waverlies, instead of reverting to friction pegs and took off the overspray on the top. He then painstakingly touched up the original French Polish and the result is a guitar which looks great and is as original as we hope.

The advanced X braced top with shallow scalloping coupled with belly bridge, this guitar has handled steel strings for at least the past few decades with no evidence of bridge belly or neck warp- it is very playable and sounds incredible.

Again, I regret to inform you that this guitar is currently on hold for someone but you can find more pictures and detailed specifications here, or by clicking on the pictures above.

1934 Epiphone Navarre

This guitar is Epiphone's version of the Gibson Roy Smeck model and is a rare bird. Only an estimated 20 guitars were built over a period of 15-20 years. The Epiphone guidebooks consider all Navarres from this year to be Hawaiian, but this is the exception to the rule, having a factory original Spanish setup.

Of note, drring a previous back crack repair the repairman cut down the label for access the crack to cleat it. The remaining portion of the label proudly states this is a Navarre and the serial number. Also original are the Tuners, which have retained their original white buttons and even more amazing work very well. Usually, the synthetic white buttons and bindings crumble or 'rot', but not on this instrument.

The sound is fantastic. John Greven who sealed some cracks and performed a neck reset on this guitar, proclaimed to be one of the loudest guitars he'd played. Indeed, despite the fact it is straight braced, the bass notes run thick and sweet and the treble has a great cut and chop.

I am selling this one and it is still available. Please click here or on the pictures where you can find more pictures and detailed specifications.



Well, that's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed the quick run down of some of the recent vintage guitars I've encountered. Any questions, gripes and comments are gratefully received.

Terence.

Welcome.

Hi there,

I thought it would be a great idea to have a dynamic way of getting information out than newsletters and it will also bring a new dimension to the website with my own personal insights and thoughts on guitars and the business in general.

Stay tuned for more content.


Warmest regards,
Terence