Lowden O-35

Sinker redwood / Guatemalan rosewood

The O-35 is George Lowden’s original jumbo body, paired with the 35 Series’ highest-grade woods. This one is AAAA sinker redwood over AAAA Guatemalan rosewood — a combination Lowden builds in limited numbers because both woods are scarce.

The O is the largest Lowden shape, 16.5 inches across the lower bout and about 4.9 inches deep, on a 25.6-inch scale. It is the body George started with in the 1970s, voiced for power, sustain, and a wide dynamic range when played unamplified. Fingerstyle and flatpicking both sit well on it; the split saddle and Lowden voicing keep the response even from the bass strings through the trebles.

Sinker redwood, reclaimed from logs that sat for decades in California rivers, is the chosen soundboard. Mineral uptake tightens the grain and deepens the color. The voice is warm, fast, and resonant, with long sustain and a piano-like clarity in the highs. Guatemalan rosewood adds depth, harmonic complexity, and a strong low end, with the figured grain the 35 Series is chosen for.

Specs

• Body: O, lower bout 420 mm (16.5 in), depth 125 mm (4.9 in)
• Top: AAAA sinker redwood
• Back and sides: AAAA Guatemalan rosewood
• Scale: 650 mm (25.6 in)
• Nut width: 45 mm (1 3/4 in); 57 mm at the 14th fret
• Neck: five-piece Honduran mahogany with rosewood splices, dovetail joint
  
• Rosette: abalone
• Binding: figured maple, with side purfling and a back center-seam inlay
• Tuners: Gotoh 510 gold with ebony buttons
• Finish: hand-rubbed satin
• Made in Northern Ireland; deluxe hardshell case included