2001 Lowden S25J Cedar/Indian Rosewood

In the late-'80s, Irish guitar builder George Lowden began experimenting with concert-size classical designs. As he developed and refined his approach to the nylon-string template, his own personal custom guitar making evolved into the Lowden Jazz model. Designed to be equally approachable for traditional classical players and steel string pickers, the Lowden Jazz is a well-voiced, expressive nylon-string packed with versatility.

The Lowden S25J features a solid Cedar top with East Indian Rosewood back and sides.  The Lowden Jazz body is extremely comfortable—it feels like a small-body guitar, but it's a bit deeper so it has nice resonance and a voice that projects. Because of the cutaway, radius fingerboard, and narrower 1-29/32" nut width, the Lowden Jazz facilitates a much wider ranger of playing styles. It's a guitar that makes nylon-string sounds accessible to steel string players without needing to adjust your playing style.

Unlike other Lowden models, the S25J was designed from the ground up to be amplified via its factory-installed LR Baggs under-saddle pickup. When plugged in, the guitar's natural acoustic voice is nicely replicated, but the 20-year-old pickup does have a tendency to produce extra high frequency hum and noise. In loud settings, that might be as noticeable, but for intimate environments or the studio, some type of noise-canceling technology or hum debugger might be helpful. At the same time, though, the guitar's unplugged acoustic sound is rich and inspiring, and pickup technology has come a long was in the last 20 years, so upgrading the pickup could be worthwhile.

This 2001 Lowden S25J is in very nice, gently used condition. There is some rash behind the bridge where the previous owner was a bit sloppy restring the guitar, and there are a few other minor top dings as well as some as some marks around the edges of the body (see photos). All-in-all, it's free of any severe cosmetic damages, and there's no history of repairs or issues. It's a great-playing nylon-string that packs rich, balanced tone. It includes its original Hiscox case.