George Lowden says Damo’s guitar is a ...

Banjaxed · 04-13-2004, 09:17 AM

George Lowden says, "his guitar is a Japanese built Lowden built between 1980 and 1985, it looks like an S10 which the modern day equivalent of a Lowden O10 or indeed a Mahogany / cedar O35."

I sent an email to George Lowden asking what Damo's guitar is. My email and his reply are below in full.

Thanks George if you're reading this!

B

*** Start of my email to George Lowden ***
Dear Sir,

Please forgive me for disturbing you with a rather trivial question. I was hoping you could help to identify a guitar used by a vey special Irish singer songwriter, Damien Rice. The artist himself describes the guitar as "an old Lowden". He only ever brings that guitar on-stage with him, never uses a back-up either, if he breaks a string he leaves everyone to wait while he restrings it between songs. It must be a very special guitar. There has been much debate about exactly what type of Lowden this guitar may be (or whether it's actually an Avalon).

I will ask Damien Rice if I ever see him, but he may not even know. I've put some links to pictures of the guitar below. If you get a chance please have a look at them to help me out.

I've also added a link to ONE of the (many) discussions about the guitar and a couple of links to websites about the artist for your interest.

Pictures of this guitar:
http://www.eskimofriends.com/images/...ils/gorge2.jpg
http://www.damienrice.com/images/art/glastonbury/2_over.jpg
http://www.damienrice.com/images/art/glastonbury/4_over.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/zanzarah/vancouver.jpg (nice pic - one for your collection!)

Discussion about the guitar:
http://www.eskimofriends.com/forum/f....asp?TID=3213& amp;PN=1

Damien Rice Websites:
www.eskimofriends.com
www.damienrice.com

Sincerely,
B------
*** End of my email to George Lowden ***

*** Start of George's reply ***
Hi,

Thanks so much for sending me the info on the Damian Rice discussion ...... most alarming for me during the first part of the discussion but in many ways a perfect example of the confusion which is out there about Lowden guitars.

Just to be clear, his guitar is a Japanese built Lowden built between 1980 and 1985, it looks like an S10 which the modern day equivalent of a Lowden O10 or indeed a Mahogany / cedar O35.

The long story which Magnus has posted on this group is quite accurate in many ways and shows very clearly the problems I have had making the commercial side of the Lowden guitar .... successful on the one hand and yet follow faithfully my priorities both in terms of the guitars and the culture within which they are made. In many ways I found the small Japanese wokshop craftsmen and the commercial entity behind them to be honest and genuine and very willing to push the boat out in terms of working with me. In turn I worked very closely with them.

However, the commercial hostory since then has been difficult with the former licensee company ( now calling themselves Avalon and making Avalon guitars) trying to circumvent the terms of the seperation agreement of Feb. 2003 through using other companies the same directors own. This has meant for example that the MD of Avalon personally owns a web site called Lowdenguitars.com and which I am having to try and get back legally. As magnus said, its a bit of a mess in corporate terms.

However, my purpose is to establish Lowden guitars now as they always were, excellent guitars crafted to an incredibly high standard with unique designs giving them their unique sound.

The new Lowden 'factory' is now open in Downpatrick - County Down, N.Ireland and the first new Lowdens will be available from June onwards. Information about this is available from Sumitra@georgelowden.com and will also be posted on my website asap. I would be grateful if you would perhaps post this up to date info on the discussion site you sent me.

I hope this clears things up, thank you for your enquiry, and if there's anything I can do further please don't hesitate to ask,

best regards,

George
*** End of George Lowden's reply ***Edited by: Banjaxed

Enoch · 04-13-2004, 10:57 AM

That's cool as f**k. I want one!

Gatsby · 04-13-2004, 12:41 PM

id love to know how much he bought it for too... he bought it 2nd hand didnt he?

Louise · 04-13-2004, 12:56 PM

wow...he sounds like a really nice guy...woah just realised the magic of your av simon. Freakiest ever. Anyway, how nice of mr george lowden to clear up the conundrum!

Lemonhead · 04-13-2004, 05:46 PM

that's cool, i'd love one![img]smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]thanks for e-mailing him, i would have just been like ' y'know that cool damien rice guy, what's his guitar?!!!'[img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]

Magnus · 04-13-2004, 06:43 PM

[img]smileys/smiley32.gif[/img]Thanks Banjaxed!That certainly sortens things a bit! I guess I had a feeling all the time that Damien's guitar was not as old as some has beensuggesting. I also had a feeling it was most likely a Japanese built one. Thanks again![img]smileys/smiley20.gif[/img] George Lowden doessurely sound like a nice man! [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]

04-13-2004, 09:17 AM	#1
Banjaxed Eskimo Regular Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Ireland Posts: 620	George Lowden says, "his guitar is a Japanese built Lowden built between 1980 and 1985, it looks like an S10 which the modern day equivalent of a Lowden O10 or indeed a Mahogany / cedar O35." I sent an email to George Lowden asking what Damo's guitar is. My email and his reply are below in full. Thanks George if you're reading this! B * Start of my email to George Lowden * Dear Sir, Please forgive me for disturbing you with a rather trivial question. I was hoping you could help to identify a guitar used by a vey special Irish singer songwriter, Damien Rice. The artist himself describes the guitar as "an old Lowden". He only ever brings that guitar on-stage with him, never uses a back-up either, if he breaks a string he leaves everyone to wait while he restrings it between songs. It must be a very special guitar. There has been much debate about exactly what type of Lowden this guitar may be (or whether it's actually an Avalon). I will ask Damien Rice if I ever see him, but he may not even know. I've put some links to pictures of the guitar below. If you get a chance please have a look at them to help me out. I've also added a link to ONE of the (many) discussions about the guitar and a couple of links to websites about the artist for your interest. Pictures of this guitar: http://www.eskimofriends.com/images/...ils/gorge2.jpg http://www.damienrice.com/images/art/glastonbury/2_over.jpg http://www.damienrice.com/images/art/glastonbury/4_over.jpg http://members.shaw.ca/zanzarah/vancouver.jpg (nice pic - one for your collection!) Discussion about the guitar: http://www.eskimofriends.com/forum/f....asp?TID=3213& amp;PN=1 Damien Rice Websites: www.eskimofriends.com www.damienrice.com Sincerely, B------ * End of my email to George Lowden * * Start of George's reply * Hi, Thanks so much for sending me the info on the Damian Rice discussion ...... most alarming for me during the first part of the discussion but in many ways a perfect example of the confusion which is out there about Lowden guitars. Just to be clear, his guitar is a Japanese built Lowden built between 1980 and 1985, it looks like an S10 which the modern day equivalent of a Lowden O10 or indeed a Mahogany / cedar O35. The long story which Magnus has posted on this group is quite accurate in many ways and shows very clearly the problems I have had making the commercial side of the Lowden guitar .... successful on the one hand and yet follow faithfully my priorities both in terms of the guitars and the culture within which they are made. In many ways I found the small Japanese wokshop craftsmen and the commercial entity behind them to be honest and genuine and very willing to push the boat out in terms of working with me. In turn I worked very closely with them. However, the commercial hostory since then has been difficult with the former licensee company ( now calling themselves Avalon and making Avalon guitars) trying to circumvent the terms of the seperation agreement of Feb. 2003 through using other companies the same directors own. This has meant for example that the MD of Avalon personally owns a web site called Lowdenguitars.com and which I am having to try and get back legally. As magnus said, its a bit of a mess in corporate terms. However, my purpose is to establish Lowden guitars now as they always were, excellent guitars crafted to an incredibly high standard with unique designs giving them their unique sound. The new Lowden 'factory' is now open in Downpatrick - County Down, N.Ireland and the first new Lowdens will be available from June onwards. Information about this is available from Sumitra@georgelowden.com and will also be posted on my website asap. I would be grateful if you would perhaps post this up to date info on the discussion site you sent me. I hope this clears things up, thank you for your enquiry, and if there's anything I can do further please don't hesitate to ask, best regards, George * End of George Lowden's reply *Edited by: Banjaxed __________________ I'll build a tower in your name and you will do the same, won't you my love, won't you my love? Won't you my love?

04-13-2004, 10:57 AM	#2
Enoch Eskimo Regular Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 1,698	That's cool as f**k. I want one! __________________ Hold me down, hoping that you can explain, little arithmetics, got me down ..

04-13-2004, 12:56 PM	#4
Louise Eskimo Regular Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Ireland Posts: 2,118	wow...he sounds like a really nice guy...woah just realised the magic of your av simon. Freakiest ever. Anyway, how nice of mr george lowden to clear up the conundrum! __________________ "Every line means something"

04-13-2004, 05:46 PM	#5
Lemonhead Eskimo Regular Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Ireland Posts: 2,097	that's cool, i'd love one![img]smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]thanks for e-mailing him, i would have just been like ' y'know that cool damien rice guy, what's his guitar?!!!'[img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img] __________________ No liquor in the land can stop the brain from bleedin'- Bob Dylan

04-13-2004, 06:43 PM	#6
Magnus Eskimo Regular Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Norway Posts: 774	[img]smileys/smiley32.gif[/img]Thanks Banjaxed!That certainly sortens things a bit! I guess I had a feeling all the time that Damien's guitar was not as old as some has beensuggesting. I also had a feeling it was most likely a Japanese built one. Thanks again![img]smileys/smiley20.gif[/img] George Lowden doessurely sound like a nice man! [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img] __________________ "Will you come follow me?"

04-13-2004, 12:41 PM	#3
Gatsby Eskimo Regular Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Dublin Posts: 5,809	id love to know how much he bought it for too... he bought it 2nd hand didnt he?