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What is it?
Think ‘Lowden’ and you’ll probably imagine an impeccably built acoustic guitar used by countless artists such as Richard Thompson, Alex De Grassi, Pierre Bensusan and Paul Brady.
There’s also Ed Sheeran and Myles Smith who have since given the Northern Irish brand, now into its sixth decade, huge mainstream visibility. And, as we’ve documented, it was actually Ed Sheeran who kickstarted our topic here: the Lowden electric guitar.
We last caught up with progress back in late 2024, some while after George Lowden had conceived and launched the first electric model, the single-cut solidbody GL-10.
By then, that original model had been joined by the new GL-J, a semi-solid design loosely inspired by George’s love of Cream and all things Gibson ES-335. Inspiration aside, the GL-J has little in common with that classic Gibson, and a little over a year since its introduction it’s evolved into the guitar we have here on review.
To recap, like the GL-10, the GL-J is centred around a 630mm (24.8-inch) scale length, which will feel very familiar to those of you who enjoy its initial inspiration.
But measuring approximately 356mm (14 inches) across its lower bouts, it’s a lot more compact, likewise its 37mm rim depth, while the overall depth is actually very slightly slimmer than a Telecaster at 43mm.
The guitar’s back is centre-joined African mahogany topped with a variety of hardwoods such as Tasmanian blackwood, figured walnut, koa or maple, the latter of which is used here, with a fine, down-turning figure.
The back is flat, but the top is lightly arched, dropping away most noticeably behind the centre point of the bridge to the guitar’s bottom edge. There is some light chamfering in the fairly small cutaways and on the back edge, creating a light ribcage contour.
The back edges are also slightly more radiused than the top edges, but like every aspect of the design, it’s all so considered and perfectly crafted. Internally, both the back and underside of the top are chambered – as you can see through the well-proportioned f-holes – leaving a solid centre section and plenty of air. It all results in a relatively light weight, part of the design rationale.
While all this ‘electric’ style might be alien to the many Lowden acoustic players out there, the five-piece neck construction is much more familiar.
Here, the main three pieces are of a much lighter-coloured Swietenia genus mahogany and quarter-sawn, and they’re laminated with two thin rosewood strips.
The front and back of the back-angled, classic Lowden-shaped headstock are faced here with a deep chocolate-brown ebony that matches the fingerboard, and that’s bound with blackwood with an inner and lighter coloured coachline strip, again nodding to the acoustic craft.
As with the acoustic models, there are only mother-of-pearl side-dot position markers here, and while face dots can be ordered, they will cost you more.
But what’s changed about this GL-J? Well, it’s all about the neck joint. “I’ve moved the neck joint from the 16th fret position [where the neck joins the body] to the 18th,” explains George Lowden.
Not only that but the bigger sloping heel of the initial – and ongoing – GL-J is slimmed as it slopes into the body.
“It has worked out well, and everyone who’s played it loves the little bit of extra accessibility to the higher frets. When you look at the back of the guitar it looks a little bit more in proportion. It’s a relatively minor thing, looks wise, though. I’m all about structure, playability and accessibility, and [so] looks are not so important for me. But I also think the original style GL-J with its 16th-fret neck joint is beautiful,” says George.
It seems we now have a choice, which George underlines.
“I took down the new prototype of the 18-fret GL-J and a 16-fret one to Bill Shanley in West Cork,” he tells us. “Now, Bill is ‘Mr Guitar’ in Ireland, he plays guitar for everyone in Ireland and outside, too. Ray Davies, Roy Harper, Mary Black, Jackson Browne… the list goes on and on.
“But he’s also a really nice guy and he actually chose the 16th-fret GL-J. Mind you, I think that was because he liked the look of it [laughs]. It was a blue-stained maple top with the grain coming through. Quite beautiful.”
These coloured tops are another addition to the natural-wood look of the original guitars. Along with introducing a number of stained figured maple tops over the past year, our GL-J presents a new colour, Emerald Green Burst.
“Yes, we are moving into colours,” confirms George, “but it’s still a very translucent type of [acrylic] finish that we’re using – and satin, of course, one of our trademarks, really.”
What hasn’t changed though is the high-quality Gotoh hardware, not least the recessed tune-o-matic-style bridge with the distinctive string slots that pass the strings through hollow brass tubes to anchor on the back in a recessed brass sustain block.
The Lollar humbuckers direct-mount in the same fashion with small ‘ears’ (black painted here) that cover the height-adjustment screws. The three controls – volume and tone, with knurled metal knobs, and three-way toggle – all sit in recessed divots cleanly cut into the top. And as far as we can see, apart from the toggle switch cap, the GL-J is entirely plastic-free.
Specs
- PRICE: From £3,950 (inc case)
- ORIGIN: Northern Ireland
- TYPE: Double-cutaway semi-solidbody electric
- BODY: 2-piece African mahogany with stained figured maple centre-joined top
- NECK: 5-piece mahogany w/ rosewood splices, ‘C’ profile, glued-in
- SCALE LENGTH: 630mm (24.8”)
- NUT/WIDTH: Bone/43.13mm
- FINGERBOARD: Bound ebony, 305mm (12”) radius
- FRETS: 22, medium
- HARDWARE: Gotoh GE103B-T bridge w/ through-body stringing, Gotoh 510 tuners w/ ebony buttons – gold-plated
- STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51.5mm
- ELECTRICS: 2x Lollar Imperial humbuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, master volume and master tone controls
- WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.27/7.19
- OPTIONS: Top woods include stained figured maple (as reviewed, £4,150), figured walnut (£4,190), Tasmanian blackwood (£4,200), maple (£3,950) and koa (£4,450). Other options include m-o-p dot markers and falling leaf inlays, Lollar P-90 and Coil-Tap pickups, chromed-plated hardware, figured maple neck and shallow neck carve (all £POA)
- RANGE OPTIONS: The GL-10 (from £3,650) and the GL-10C (£4,600). The 16-fret GL-J has the same spec/cost as our reviewed 18-fret model
- LEFT-HANDERS: No extra, to order
- FINISHES: Emerald Green Burst (as reviewed), Denim, Midnight Blue, Amber, Amber Burst, Charcoal, Translucent Black – all on figured maple only. Hand-finished acrylic satin lacquer
- CONTACT: Lowden Guitars
Playability and sounds
If the build is nothing short of exceptional, so is the feel. It’s nothing like the bulk of an ES-335, more like a regular solidbody. Its weight matches that impression, too: at 3.27kg (7.19lb), our sample is actually slightly lighter than our previous review model, which had a Tasmanian blackwood top. The combination of the relatively thin body and the recessed bridge gives a very low-profile feel that hugs to your body. It’s also very well balanced when played seated, too, or on a strap.
Wrapping your hand around the super-smooth neck back, you feel a very subtly V’d profile that feels smaller than it measures. It’s spacious, with a nut width of 43.2mm (and string spacing of 35.5mm) and a depth of 21.8mm at the 1st that fills out to 24mm by the 12th. Great craft.
Likewise, the fretting is superb, the medium-jumbo gauge well chosen on the 305mm (12-inch) radiused face, and with a very clean setup it’s one of those guitars that just ‘disappears’: nothing gets in the way.
And that, of course, includes the new neck join, which provides more spacious upper-position access, although not everyone spends time up there, and the 16-fret guitars, not least with altered or dropped tunings, would suit many of us just as efficiently.
Perhaps one day we’ll be able to put it to the test, but we’d wager these instruments each have their own character, too.
Lowden isn’t afraid to evolve the design – the wizard is constantly tweaking to improve the musical tools he creates
We could argue that this new GL-J moves a little more into the mainstream in feel, looks and sound.
You hear the ‘Lowden effect’ immediately: balance, clarity, smooth and long sustain; even the simplest of chords seems to ring for days. And the refined (we’ve called them “regal” before) Lollar Imperials really suit these builds.
At the neck, well, there’s smoothness, depth but with an uncongested clarity – the sort of sound that defines the Patent Applied For myth. At the bridge, yes, there’s a little heat, but again that clarity is very evident, especially when you dig in.
Use your volume control here and the sound cleans up a little but also pulls back the edge. Both positions are exceptional, while the pickup mix takes us on another ride: clear, bouncy, funky and soulful.
It’s not reinventing the wheel and, rather like a good ES-335, it’s a real journeyman guitar, covering pop jangle, smooth funk, ballsy classic rock, those Cream-y tones, snappier B.B. blues then back down to lounge Latin and jazz. We could go on.
As a whole, the instrument is very dynamic, too, and really responds to pick strength and position. The combination of the Lollar Imperials with this construction is very well chosen: a really broad canvas of beautiful sounds.
Verdict
Verdict: ★★★★½
There are few instrument makers with the decades-long experience of George Lowden, and it’s not only the superb finely honed craft that shines through; it’s the considered sound-based design that makes these electric instruments rather special.
Nevertheless, Lowden isn’t afraid to evolve the design, as evidenced by this 18-fret GL-J: the wizard is constantly tweaking to improve the musical tools he creates.
The new neck join certainly suits the ‘do-it-all’ style, but for the moment, the earlier, more single-cut like version will still be offered. Having formed an unhealthy attachment to that late 2024 GL-J we reviewed, we can see why.
Guitar World verdict: Above all, it’s the experienced craft and design that shines here, with a pared-back aesthetic and glorious sounds – a real musician’s tool.
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