Rosewood vs. Walnut B&S for Cedar Lowden

[Jimi2]

I played a Cedar/Rosewood Lowden O25 at the Music Emporium and it was probably the best sounding guitar I’ve ever played - it had a unique, airy, open tone to it. I know Lowden often pairs Walnut with Cedar as well, though I haven’t played this combination. Can anyone comment on the difference between Rosewood and Walnut for these guitars?

[TheGITM]

Can't speak specifically about a particular guitar, but in general I find Maple to be on the trebly side, Rosewood adds a bit more bottom end, and Mahogany to be a more balanced range. Walnut, I would say has a bit more punch than Mahogany, so I'd put it between Mahogany and Maple. Walnut has lots of mids and good clarity between strings.

[Merlemantel]

In my experience, Walnut produces a beautiful tone, with good sustain, and color, but it is more compressed in the bass than EIR in terms of resonance. If EIR resonance on average is a 10/10 in the bass, I would put walnut at 8/10. Also, walnut has a woodier tone, with more of a snap in the attack. So hard to put these things into words. I have an S50 Lowden jazz in ziricote and alpine spruce, very resonant guitar. Beautiful sound. I imagine that would be more like EIR than walnut. I have a steel string walnut alpine spruce made by the awesome Drew Heinonen, and very likely, he is the reason that guitar is so beautiful, so I may be attributing too much to the walnut. I had a Collings EIR and Sitka. So those are the guitars that inform this opinion. Here is a video of Dustin Furlow playing a Walnut Lowden jazz, but beware, Dustin could make a rubber band banjo sound glorious.
https://youtu.be/nQqFog2w1qo?si=dsQmxkigTBR5PDj2

[JayBee1404]

I’ve owned a Lowden O-10 (cedar/mahogany), O-25 (cedar/EIR) and, my current Lowden, an F-23 (red cedar/Claro walnut). Of the three, I like the F-23 the best - less ‘boomy’ and more focussed in the bass and mids than EIR, more ‘refined’ and less ‘rude and rambunctious’ than mahogany.

The cedar/walnut 23 is the Lowden I’ve kept.

[Glennwillow]

To me and my ears and with my style of playing, my favorite combination of woods is either cedar/rosewood or spruce/rosewood. I am mainly a finger picker, so the added bass from rosewood thickens things up for me just a little bit to add more depth to the tone I get.

Mahogany with either cedar or spruce works well but is not my favorite combination and walnut sounds mostly like mahogany to me.

What works best for you will depend a great deal on how you play.

- Glenn

PS: I have never played a Lowden guitar, so take my comments with a bucket of salt.

[PierreM]

Walnut/Cedar has long been George Lowden's favourite combo...
But it's your ears, not his

[sevenpalms]

I’ve owned both….of course both are superb…but I think Walnut / Cedar is what Lowden does best! Just a matter of taste.

[zmf]

Originally Posted by Jimi2

- it had a unique, airy, open tone to it. I know Lowden often pairs Walnut with Cedar as well....

If you like the "airy, open tone", the walnut will most likely have more of it than rosewood.

I have an O-23 redwood/walnut and have compared it with O-25 cedar/rosewood. Walnut gives Lowdens a more open, lighter, transparent tone, while the rosewood tone is heavier and darker.

Both sound great. I usually like a darker tone, but prefer the walnut on Lowdens. Totally subjective.

[s2y]

I typically reach for rosewood on most guitars. Cedar/walnut on a Lowden seems to be part of their signature sound and what I'd want if I ordered one.

[abn556]

I hadn’t played a lot of walnut guitars until the last few years. Suddenly there are lot more walnut guitars and I have played more and more of them. I generally think of it as being closer to rosewood than to mahogany or maple. Of all the back and side woods we have in the house currently, koa is my new favorite.

[Jimi2]

Thanks all.

Im torn. I’m looking into a fan fret Lowden for really low tunings - open c and even an open b minor tuning of my own, and the cheapest way to get into one is to order a custom, surprisingly. Should be able to do it if I move a couple things. So I’m wondering, if I do it, whether to go with Walnut or Rosewood.

As I said, I loved the rosewood o25 I played, so that might seem like the safe bet. But on the other hand, an O body with fan frets should have plenty of bass with a Walnut guitar too. I do want nice round trebles, but I’m thinking the cedar top should give me that, right?

[Jimi2]

Actually, I’m thinking Walnut may be the way to go, as like I said it’ll be a fan fret O, so I it should have plenty of bass. I did play an F23 (also cedar/walnut) which was perhaps a little more mellow than the rosewood O, if I remember correctly. Kind of apples to oranges, but might make sense to go that route.

[Suilven]

I'd go for the cedar and walnut combination, but as others on here have said, only you will hear what you hear and feel what you feel with any given guitar, and the only way to know which works for you is to play different combinations.

I've mentioned on here previously that in 2020 I was in a position to buy a Lowden and found an F35c in spruce and rosewood online that looked stunning.

To all intents and purposes it was stunning, but it didn't knock my socks off in the way I'd been led to believe playing a Lowden would. Even after a much-needed set-up, I had to admit to myself that I just wasn't in love with it.

A few months later the opportunity arose to pick up an F23 in cedar and walnut for half the price of the F35. I took a punt on a guitar that had certainly lived a bit, hence the price. But what a guitar - after a bit of TLC, cosmetic work and a set-up, it simply blew the F35 out of the water (to my ears at least).

I don't know if it's the wood combination, many years of being aggressively played in or if I just got a lucky guitar, but while the F35 is long gone the F23 is going precisely nowhere, and is one of my favourite guitars of all time.

Good luck - hope you find the one you're after.

Angus

[musicman1951]

Originally Posted by PierreM

Walnut/Cedar has long been George Lowden's favourite combo...
But it's your ears, not his

George says it's one of his favorites, but if he were making a guitar for himself it would be African Blackwood and Redwood.

You might want to consider a Redwood top, as it has most of the warmth of Cedar with considerably more headroom. But if you never use a pick, or are reasonable with your volume that might be a non-issue.

I would say the Walnut will have a little less sustain and bass, and a little more clarity. You'll have to decide if that fits your style better.

[cedartop52]

I've owned Lowden, McIlroy and Avalon guitars - all cedar topped with either rosewood or walnut B&S. I prefer the rich bass and overtones of the rosewood for my finger picking - but your tastes may differ of course. Dan