What Makes An Acoustic Guitar Premium? - Martin D-45 Reimagined & Lowden F-50

[@shahidsarkar3620]

Martin is Martin and D45 is just incredible

[@petestaint8312]

Ben can make any guitar sound like a million bucks. Amazing!.

[@jamescurtissmith]

Always good to see/hear Ben on the channel. Love to see the love for Lowden as well. There aren't that many Lowden dealers here in the States. I am blessed to count among my collection a 12-fret F35C, a 14-fret O32C, and (my pride and joy) an S25J nylon. All three were purchased gently used. Oddly enough, I've just never been a Martin guy. I think it has more to do with my playing style as opposed to any knock on Martin. I've just never bonded with one.

[@MrTheBigM]

"F" for Furch Guitars on the headstock surely is something that makes an acoustic guitar premium :P

[@vyvynylification]

Can confirm: furchs are really good! I've had a few and still have a furch yellow and furch vintage 3 OMc

[@timwaterlow3702]

I have an F50 that cost me about half this price a few years ago and whenever i play it i cant believe how good it sounds. I would love the Martin as well… perhaps one day i will earn both. Its nuts how quickly the price of these guitars has escalated in recent years. Enables me to tell the wife they are investments!

[@msigersYT]

That Lowden in DADGAD is the sweet spot for sure. And that D-45 is just magic! Great review

[@timwaterlow3702]

Totally agree. My lowden loves open tunings

[@DjNikGnashers]

@@timwaterlow3702 Mine too !!

[@falcongunner33]

I never get tired of the extra sparkle that martins have. Love them!

[@headshrinker8595]

Ben could make an elastic band sound like a 10k guitar. Top talent Sir!!!

[@effess8698]

You see that moment at 4:30 when Captain passes Ben the second guitar, so he's standing there with several thousand pounds of guitar in each hand... if it had been me... that's probably when I would have had an uncontrollable sneezing fit

[@christopherwilliams7222]

I’d take the Martin for the bluegrass jam and the Lowden for open mic 🎤 night at the local Irish ☘️ pub. Both are great instruments

[@piratewhoisquiet]

"The tasteful side of too much" I stopped breathing, halp seriously I'm stealing that, ty vm

[@jackkunkel4773]

Had to make a comment- What is said about a Martin D-28 and up may be a personal opinion BUT the expression he made about the D-45 and HOW it makes you feel when you play one is not describable in words. His expression of that feeling you get is the closest I’ve seen or heard about what it is like. Taylor guitars are Nice BUT they just don’t have WHAT a Martin has. D-28s and 42s 45s, are Remarkable, YOU have to experience them yourself. And what they do to you is (appearance/SOUND) one of the best things I have ever found.

[@JackTheRabbitMusic]

the word is “hype”

[@DjNikGnashers]

@@JackTheRabbitMusic Bought the bumper sticker didn't he !!! If you like strumming open chords with a pick, as loud as you can, in a country music style, then a Martin will do. If you prefer delicate and complicated fingerstyle pieces which rely on perfect balance between bass and treble, natural harmonics and overtones, and something which will stay perfectly in tune no matter what tuning you adjust the strings to, then you buy a truly great guitar like a Lowden.

[@marc_leblanc]

Dreadnought is more my thing. The D45 is a great guitar.

[@johndelong9230]

Great demo, now I just have to win the lottery. That Martin was a true jem, did it for me!

[@youandwhosearmy6339]

15:22 Bravo Sir! Sat in my bedroom clapping lol. Wonderful playing, great review. Lotto ticket time!

[@ElmoBHD]

I've had the privilege to own OM-28 North Street, HD-28, O-50, O-35, Adamas, Avalon. I currently own a Lowden S-32 12 fret and although it is one of the least expensive, it is by far the nicest sounding one yet easiest to play I've ever had.

[@DjNikGnashers]

I wouldn't class any Martin as a 'premium' guitar. It's a mass produced, large company product. They are very good guitars, I absolutely say that, but the fanboy-ism surrounding Martins, is ridiculous. It's like Americans bought the bumper sticker saying 'Martins are for life y'all' and now they can not have any other opinion, no matter how much better some other guitar is, they are so blind in their fanboy-ism they won't change. The Lowden 50 series is made from the very best woods, and is a proper luthier hand made product. It is a level above the Martin in every way. The Lowden sound perfectly balanced, no one string sounds any louder than another, the tone is perfect for fingerstyle. The Martin sounds like it has not only a more pronounced mid range, but also an over powering boomyness to the bass. It probably sounds great strumming open chords with a pick, country music style, blasting those chords out. But for fingerstyle, separate notes, with spaces between the notes, the Lowden has a beauty, that no Martin can ever match. Played 20+ Martin's and never felt blown away by any of them. Played one Lowden and knew I needed one, and my 32se has been my only guitar for the past 7 years. I never want nor need any other guitar.

[@jimdeeds]

I have found that the best Northern Ireland maker is actually McIlroy guitars, rather than Lowden. I have owned both and Dee McIlroy is making the nether guitars by far.

[@colinpadley1897]

Dermot Mcilroy used to work for Lowden, his guitars are rated higher than by those in the know. He actually shapes the neck by hand, and I've seen proof! Another guitar I think is better than Martin is a Larrivee, and a lot cheaper used, my Larrivee replaced my Martin OM21.

[@stevenkoppelkam643]

That lowden is epic

[@gtr1952]

I wanted to really hear the difference between the 2. So I plugged my laptop into the 2 near-field studio monitors, sitting on my desk, on isolation pads. There was also a PreSonus pre-amp ahead of the powered speakers for a ~+4db boost. Both guitars sounded just awesome. However the bass from the low E string on the Martin would vibrate the desk, even with the isolation pads! That does not happen very often! Impressive!! 8) --gary

[@paulcollingridge8387]

True, but a Lowden O50 would match the Martin.... It has a massive bass

[@DjNikGnashers]

@@paulcollingridge8387 Massive bass is something I would see as a very bad thing. When I play my 32se, I still find the balance between all of the strings, the natural delicate overtones, harmonics, and the balance between all of the tones all the way up the fretboard, just perfection. If I wanted some boomy muddy sounding country & western guitar for strumming open chords loudas I could, maybe I'd buy a Martin.

[@jantje155]

That Martin just sounds like every 70s folk/rock record. Love it! The Lowden sounds good as well, but more like that Taylory 'modern' sound which is not really my thing. Looks wise, from a distance the Lowden looks pretty cheap to me, I think it's the satin finish doing that. When zooming in it becomes clear where that pricetag comes from.

[@Jasper_Yay636]

Ben and a D-45. It’s just right. Inspired. Semper Fi

[@matthewmcguire5217]

So that was a great review and your playing is wonderful…but, what about your opinion on what price range hits diminishing returns?

[@danmorrissey5725]

he forget that bit.. oh well. stagg it is then

[@limpindug]

As usual Ben top picking mate, as usual my rule is, sound tone, comfort, ease of playing, and last is looks in that order. 👍🥃

[@Ve8g]

I definitly prefer the Lowden !

[@MrGunwitch]

Beautiful playing!

[@thongamchan775]

Lowden one sounds with sweet treble type but look wise is not the type which appeals to me. Anyway, thanks for these high end guitars. Look for ward to see more .

[@hughnguyen1772]

The Martin D45 sounds so special that someone blind folded can pick out its voice amongst other guitars.

[@jessedax7333]

Martin forever! I have a D-35 and I love it. I wonder if I would notice a difference in sound quality and how much different it would be if I played a D-45.... I'll have to try one day.

[@russellchase3722]

Where's this filmed. That's not Andertons. Looks amazing

[@mikylenaidoo1779]

Lowden for me

[@joernbeineke]

... nice vid - I like 'the tasteful side of too much' the most - beside the great guitars of course ... :)

[@russellscott1151]

D45 is too bling for my eye but sounds great albeit very different from the Lowden. Maybe you’d need to get both? :-o

[@terrybanks5063]

nope get a d18 or d28 if you want less inlay and fancy appointments but the martin sound.

[@russellscott1151]

@@terrybanks5063 I was joking !

[@davedavem]

I love imaginary lottery wins. Beautiful playing as always, Ben!

[@rirrid5662]

Martin all day if......... only they offered a 60mm - 45mm bridge and nut width options for finger style. I'm saving up for a lowden though.

[@rocknsuhr1078]

For me Martin D45 , plus the value of the instrument over time. Martin has higher resale value than Lowden.

[@DjNikGnashers]

LOL no it doesn't you're full of it. A mass produced high volume product from a large company (Martin), is never going to hold it's value like a luthier hand built small production number Lowden.

[@MarcCoteMusic]

The Lowden really came alive in DADGAD... not so much in standard tuning, interestingly enough. The Martin sounded... like a Martin, which is never a bad thing. Still, though, a Taylor is where my heart lives. Someday I may own one. Until then I'll have to make do with my Norman, which has a similar bright zing to it, though not in the same class as a good Taylor.

[@rs-ou2po]

Any guitar u play i think would sound amazing

[@edryba4867]

I’ll go the other direction. I own, record and still play a 1937 Silvertone (the “Supertone”) archtop model. It features an action and a sound that are to DIE for! It came with adjustable NOTHING, a stamped, formerly flat sheet metal tailpiece (which is extremely strong due to the shape into which it was stamped) NO steel reinforcing rod in the neck - but that neck has been perfect since I first got this instrument in 1964. The bridge is NOT adjustable, but somehow the intonation is perfect. However it should also be pointed out that the bridge is just a piece of WOOD, held in place by only the tension of the strings. I learned to play on this instrument, and I have only seen a photo of another one, never another in person. The Supertone guitar was sold in the Sears catalog (American spelling) in 1937 as a lap Hawaiian guitar! It came with a steel bar for playing slide, but thanks to its original case being in an extremely poor condition (which thankfully was NOT the condition of the guitar), that steel bar was lost sometime before 1970. That’s when I bought a new case for it. The page of the 1937 Sears catalog that featured this guitar (at the BOTTOM of the page) had a larger picture of their “Gene Autry” model - a guitar which Gene would not have been caught dead playing! It had pictures of Gene and his horse Champion silk-screened onto the flat topped body, and looked generally cheap next to the Supertone. In that year, the Gene Autry guitar cost $12.95! The Supertone was a whopping $4.95!!! Oh, and the Silvertone Supertone was made for Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Simpsons-Sears in what’s now the UK) by the Harmony Musical Instrument Company. Whoever said, “Save your money -it might be worth something someday” has so far been WRONG! But you just can’t beat the sound of old wood, even in a guitar that was made to be the “Bottom of the Line”, like this one. I’ve played some VERY expensive acoustics, and THIS one was better than most! Oh, my other acoustic? It’s a Martin.

[@nicholascowie5944]

The Blueridge BR 180 has all the bling and at least 95% of the tone of you've only got a grand.

[@shaunferry4432]

The Lowden sounded amazing. Looks wise, the Martin is way better. Lowden is way himbler in looks. The Martin is always worth buying too. I’d want both. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@tlleitner]

Lowden is the perfect guitar for me. I’ve owned a number of Martin’s, all past tense. In contrast, I would never part with my Lowden.

[@DonAlderOfficial]

for 10k it makes way more sense to work with a luthier to create custom guitar, this guy is struggling to sell the bling of the Martin, and BTW Mahogany and Indian Rosewood are the low cost woods used in many guitars.

[@jackhammer111]

A Martin D-28 is the same guitar without the bling and you can get one for under three grand. No major guitar maker has ever been able to recreate the booming bottom of a D28. The sound from the E and A strings jumps out of a D-28 like nothing else in the world. I bought a D-28 in 1971, which would have been a Brazilian rosewood body as my first good guitar and I found it difficult to play as my skills progressed and I wanted to be able to play up the neck. I could never get the action down where I wanted it as it was too high and the guitars did not have truss Rods back then. As the guitar aged that got worse and by 1981 it needed a neck reset that I couldn't afford. I couldn't afford the neck reset and I was having some financial trouble so I sold it. That was a bad day. It still breaks my heart. I ended up buying Innovation custom celebrity because it was so playable and had great Electronics but I eventually had to have a Rosewood bodied guitar. In 2001 bought a Taylor 814ce because it was playable and had great electronics which Martin was still behind on. But it does not have that booming bottom set my Martin had. That's the point, nothing does. If you're a guitar player who knows how to use inversions to create your own root movement you can almost be your own bass player with a D-28. I'm now selling the Taylor because my arthritis has gotten so bad I can't play anymore. (I'll probably get more than I paid for it) that said, it's still a heartbreak. D-28s today have a truss rod and they're much easier to set up. And they now have optional Electronics.

[@DjNikGnashers]

And there you have it. For anyone wanting an overly bass-heavy, boomy, muddy sounding LOUD guitar for blasting open chords while playing country music, buy a Martin. If you love complicated fingerstyle, where the natural overtones, harmonics, and sheer perfect balance between bass and treble are important, buy a truly great guitar like a Lowden.

[@colinpadley1897]

The salesman at the old Martin shop said the same thing, same guitar but more bling

[@mariodriessen9740]

It's not THAT expensive. I mean, for the price of two Klon pedals you can get one of these.

[@federicoines1848]

I have a d41 it has less bling

[@lilycat1694]

If I had to have just one, my choice is the Martin D-45. Just love the Martin sound. I would be happy to settle with an HD-28….

[@JackTheRabbitMusic]

both are made in the same factory...both are not special in any way.

[@LexingtonDaniel]

Unlike a lot of the commentors, I totally get the appeal of a $10K guitar. That is gonna hold its value and be even better in 100 years than it is now. Whereas a $1K guitar will decline in value and be unplayable in 100 years. But for me, I'd take a few $3K guitars, I have a Taylor 524, 712 and 326 Baritone for example, over a single $10K. A single guitar like you're playing is a solid color... I have a palette to work with. That just has more value to me in what I do.

[@adrianhorn9000]

still not expensive compared to other stringed instruments

[@lnewbyliveca]

A D-28 would have been a better comparison with the D-45, it would sound about the same for much less €£¥$

[@thebigeasy8609]

Martin all day long. Brilliant Ben just brilliant!

[@Paul_Rich]

Paying for a D-45 is like going to get a massage and paying twice as much just to get the extras.

[@matthewpollard2843]

Lee is putting on weight.

[@sirgaryo]

I’ve always preferred the sound of a Lowden to a Martin, not on this occasion though, that Martin is absolutely gorgeous sounding 🥰🎸👌🔥🔥🔥

[@chrisjs6123]

I’m always amazed when people get so bent out of shape about the existence of expensive guitars. Hope over onto a car or watch channel and people are gushing over things costing 10-20 times when these do. Even violins to double basses go for multiples of these beautiful instruments. The cool thing is if you don’t want to spend 10k, a Faith or a Furch will do a great job. As a Lowden owner I wanted the F50 to win. But that D45 just sounds better to my ears.

[@kyledonworth3845]

Is Ben okay? He looks like he needs a good feed.

[@christurner2398]

Of these two, Lowden every day of the week. Although, I'd love to see a Lowden and Fylde compared. I'm not sure which luthier would come out on top there.

[@KelvynTaylor]

Remember trying a Lowden once - couldn't believe how loud it was! Neck was a bit too chunky for my hands, otherwise I would have bought it. Ended up with a Martin D-28, and zero regrets!

[@russellharris5072]

In 1997 I bought a Martin HJ28,I also got a quote from Martin for an OM45 deluxe,which at that time was £8000.Who knows what that would cost now?My taste for any high end Martin would have to include the snowflake fingerboard inlays and the old torch headstock inlay......................................

[@anthonytindle5758]

After hearing the loedan f-50 I prefer to stick with my argos Martin for under a tonne it serves its purpose for me and has a slightly warmer and clean sound

[@DanAddison]

Ten grand. TEN GRAND! 🤦‍♂️ It’s just insanity to me. Buy a proper amazing acoustic guitar for 1 grand and spend the remaining 9k on stuff like gig tickets anywhere in the world you wanna go to best absorb inspiration … think how much more you’d get out of that musically. I mean if I find myself considering a 10k guitar ill take it as a pretty good indicator that I’m pointlessly rich, literally.

[@WS-ij1fu]

I have my 1958 Gibson Country and Western insured for 5k but it would probably cost me between 8-10k to replace if anything were to happen to it, my best mate of 50 years was incredulous when I told him this and found it hard to believe a guitar could be worth so much whilst waiting on his 250k entry level Ferrari to arrive.

[@joeldowdy404]

I love my HD-28 which isn't cheap by the way. If I could throw down $10K I would get a D-45 😉

[@thomaskingaby4407]

I hope a lot of people win the lottery next year

[@Antoon55]

Better shoot this video when there are Gibsons and Taylors around then..

[@lilycat1694]

Less expensive then one of those Greenfield guitars.

[@heymrguitarman7637]

It's hard to see £6k more in the D45 than my D35. To be honest it's hard to hear anything more, so it depends how much you like the bling, which isn't for me personally

[@3John16]

Martin for me, by a very large margin.

[@willistaylor4077]

Oh..... The Martin. 🙂🙂♥️♥️♥️♥️🎶

[@pacificgreen9690]

Know what isn't premium? Plastic. I can't pretend anymore. That's a $10k guitar. Right now I'm in the process of unloading my last remaining big-three guitar for an all-wood guitar from a smaller maker. I know, history, heritage, vintage, etc. It's all nonsense. These guitars have morphed into something that they weren't 60 years ago. Today, they should be appointed according to their price.

[@jeffmckinnon5842]

Every time I see an acoustic guitar for sale, for more than a couple thousand dollars, I can't help but to know that some poor guy was sadly disappointed by his dream guitar, not measuring up to his dream. Perhaps a victim of GAS gone mad. It is almost never a story where it's faithful owner died, loving the instrument. They say it "Plays like Butter" My old $379.00 Hagstrom Dreadnaught is not for sale although it looks a little beaten up. I have never been a fan of Bling, on a guitar. If such things add to the tone, perhaps the whole instrument should be made from it. I am not opposed to good workmanship but I would feel foolish to be seen with such extravagance that might detract from tone, to make a fashion statement.

[@Neil-Aspinall]

Maton and Cole Clark are simply the best acoustic guitars in the world and are reasonably priced.

[@VincenzoAlberto96]

Both are the best stage guitars, thats for sure… but the acoustic tone is sooo terrible! Btw Tommy almost never uses Maton in a studio situation. ;)

[@Neil-Aspinall]

@@VincenzoAlberto96 OK Mr. Inside Knowledge what does Thomas use in the studio?

[@VincenzoAlberto96]

Don’t know what Thomas uses, but Tommy uses a lot different guitars in the studio, Martin Gibson (mainly older ones) and a lot different boutique manufacturers. I talked with him about that at a meet n greet.

[@danmorrissey5725]

@@Neil-Aspinall stropppyyyyyyy

[@Neil-Aspinall]

@@danmorrissey5725 OK Crocodile Dundee.

[@FrankFurther]

Got to say my 180 quid fender sonoran sounds better to me

[@DjNikGnashers]

Hearing tests are that way son ----------->

[@13coyote13]

I don't have to worry about buying the Martin as it's too blingy for my taste, I prefer tasteful understated guitars, at 10,000 grand it's a pretty useless gig guitar.

[@youayang4475]

Wish you played a music strumming as well to get a sound of how they sound like strumming.

[@vixen878]

I think you're just paying for the brand name...

[@DjNikGnashers]

You are in the case of the over hyped Martin. The Lowden is on another level. It has a 5 piece neck which is super stiff, and stays exactly in tune no matter which weird and wonderful tunings you use. It has a unique bracing system which provides a perfect balance between the lowest bass and highest treble, and all tones in between, so everything sounds perfectly balanced in volume.

[@sidlaws10]

Give Ben the worst guitar ever made and he would make it sing.

[@terrybanks5063]

i got buyers remorse just watching the start of the episode. what can i get for 10 grand lee? lol.

[@matejkore]

this video is a great argument for socialism or even communism. I have seen gypsies play incredibly cheap guitars who A) played better and B) created more original music. The price of the guitar means nothing. And a person who could buy these guitars owes a huge debt to society and could donate the money to more worthy things like Ukrainian refugees etc. 10 grand could pay for one refugees' rent for a year etc

[@overbuiltlimited]

What an ignorant response. What kind of car do you drive? A $10K car? Why didn't you buy a $5K car and donate the rest to the needy? Better yet why not walk everywhere and donate the entire $10K? How about your house? No matter how frugal your were in your purchase it was far more expensive than a tent. Do you live in a tent? Do you donate the money that you would have saved on a mortgage every month? How about that meal that you took your girlfriend to last week? You could have eaten at home and donated the money saved to some poor soul. Don't preach as if you're some kind of Mother Teresa. Pure hypocrisy. People who buy $10K guitars donate far more than you ever will to charity. Don't begrudge them for also treating themselves to some luxuries. Also, do yourself a favor and look up the human rights violations and murder that have been going on in Donbas before you paint the Ukrainians as innocent.

[@matejkore]

@@overbuiltlimited What an ignorant response. I have never driven a car. I do indeed walk everywhere. I don't own a house. I have never owned a house. I don't live in a tent. No. I live in a room in a. train station. I do donate money that I earn and have done for about 30 years Not all of it, obvs, just the excess. I don't take my girlfriend to dinner, because I have a partner, not a girlfriend, cos I'm not 15. Sometimes we go for dinner, true, but it's usually not very expensive. We do indeed eat at home 99.9% of the time. We didn't on my birthday. We donate the money we would spend on a restaurant dinner to Food Not Bombs. I never said I was Mother Teresa. I'm neither Catholic, a nun nor female. I never said anyone, let alone the Ukrainians were innocent. That doesn't matter to me, people are people. Refugees fleeing a war-torn country may not have violated anyone's human rights, well indeed not any of the 100 or so I have met personally. They are too busy trying to find a place to live and food for their children. Because they are mostly women.

[@overbuiltlimited]

@@matejkore LOL, oh man. Insert eye roll here.