What is this worth please? Want to sell a rare hand made Lowden S7 acoustic made in 1989.

MikeC

Hi, I'm selling this for my singer who isn't a member here. But first need an idea of value - any ideas anyone? 

Model is S7. This is from 1989. He's had it since new - bought it from Ivor Mairants - who were a Lowden dealer at that time. You can see the label - Instrument number is 1535. It was hand-built in Northern Ireland.

I think the shape is very similar to what was later called the "O" shape. I think the "S" in the model number from back then is the first letter of mahogany in Latin? Lowden later used the same "S" model name to denote a "small" guitar (maybe in the 2000's?). This guitar is not small - the bottom bout is dreadnought size. Top bout is maybe an inch or so less.

It is solid cedar top and solid mahogany back and sides. The top is immaculate. The back is in good condition. There are a couple of dings on the side that I've tried to show. There is a very thin transparent scratch plate (Martin-style shape) installed that many Lowden players had installed back in the day.

Comes with a lined hiscox hard case.

Let me know if there are any other angles of the guitar you would like to see.

Guitar is in North London (can be seen in North Finchley, Edgware or Bushey).

So, any suggestions on price that he should sell it for please? I don't think that many were made. 

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brianlcox

Try the Lowden owners facebook group. You'll find loads of great info there. As far as I know, the "7" series had a solid top but laminated back and sides. it was the s10 that had all solid woods.

I would expect to pay around 1200 euro for a great condition S7 from North Ireland. If lucky you might get up to 1400 Euro, if in a gurry, take the first offer over 1000 Euro.

Cheers,
Brian

MikeC

Thanks Brian, will feed that back, if you excuse the pun. 

malcolmkindness

brianlcox said:

Try the Lowden owners facebook group. You'll find loads of great info there. As far as I know, the "7" series had a solid top but laminated back and sides. it was the s10 that had all solid woods.

I would expect to pay around 1200 euro for a great condition S7 from North Ireland. If lucky you might get up to 1400 Euro, if in a gurry, take the first offer over 1000 Euro.

Cheers,
Brian

I don't think Lowden ever made a guitar with laminate back and sides. The S10 is simply a newer model, in the older guitars the "S" referred to Sweetenia, a reference to the Latin for mahogany.
This could be a very nice guitar at a good price.

dallcorp

I would expect a N.Ireland made Lowden (in reasonable condition) to fetch a little bit more than that?

malcolmkindness

dallcorp said:

I would expect a N.Ireland made Lowden (in reasonable condition) to fetch a little bit more than that?

I agree.

Fingerknot

I used to be one of the admins for the Lowden Owners Worldwide group on Facebook and the that is certainly a great place to gain information.
All of the Newtownards built Lowdens from the late 80's had their nomenclature changed in the early 90's.
The L series guitars became "F"'s and the S models became "O" (for "original", as this was George's original body design incorperating the A bracing). The later S (small bodied) series appeared in 1992/3.
The S7 was introduced at a lower price point than the S10 Cedar/Mahogany and S12 Spruce Mahogany and featured less in the way of ornamentation but were otherwise all solid construction and still featured a Brazilian rosewood bridge (as all Lowden models did at the time.
I bought my S10c from Ivor Mairantz in 1988 and remember how wonderful these early Lowdens are. I would strongly suggest that this guitar is worth in excess of £1500, due to the build quality and relative rarity of the model.
It is entirely possible that the top is Cedar (as options on build were available at the time), but most S7's came with a spruce top.
The "S" in the model was not for a given wood as the S32 of the time was Indian Rosewood, S23 was Walnut and the S38 could be either Amazon (Dalbergia Spruceana) Rosewood or Brazilian (Dalbergia Nigra) Rosewood - both are from Brazil and both offer stunning sound reproduction.
I hope this is of use.

MikeC

Thanks! Really helpful. Let me chat with my friend and gauge what price he wants. 

prudd

Even with the dings I would expect it to go for north of £1500