Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran surprised guests at a private event held Wednesday evening in Anaheim, California to announce the launch of his new range of guitars, Sheeran by Lowden. This new acoustic guitar range marks the culmination of collaboration with premier guitar maker Lowden, based in Northern Ireland, and aims to make quality guitars in Ireland with great playability and tone more accessible for aspiring musicians.
Speaking on his own experience, Sheeran said: “There are fewer guitar bands and fewer artists using guitars now, and not as many kids picking up guitars. That is something I would like to change by getting these great quality guitars, made in Ireland, into kids’ hands and encouraging them to learn and progress. To be able to work in tandem with a guitar company like Lowden to create a whole different concept has been a really cool experience.”
Reflecting on their close friendship and partnership, George Lowden said, “We have been honored over the past years that Ed has chosen to play Lowden guitars both on-stage and in the studio. We are delighted to have established a close ongoing relationship which has borne fruit recently through the birth of Sheeran by Lowden.”
To accommodate the company’s continued growth, Lowden Guitars has also opened a new bespoke production facility based in County Down, Northern Ireland.
“Working with our aerospace engineers has enabled us to dream up new ways of making a guitar very efficiently, using high-tech processes that are normally used in making aeroplanes,” explained Lowden. “We also incorporate our traditional methods including voicing all the struts by hand using Japanese hand chisels as we want the guitars to really speak to the player.”
“The past year has been an exciting time for Lowden Guitars. In addition to our recent announcement of our bespoke Lowden strings and the addition of four new guitar models to our core range of Lowden guitars, being able to partner with Ed Sheeran to develop and launch the Sheeran by Lowden brand has been a monumental moment within our 45-year history,” said David Ausdahl, managing director, Lowden Guitars.
“For decades, our approach has been centered on creating high-quality instruments which act as an extension of the player, with an unmistakable voice and style that is uniquely ‘Lowden.’ It is important that we continue to grow to meet the needs of our increasingly diverse players, and this collaboration– along with the additional recent brand additions – is ensuring that Lowden is the trusted name for guitarists of varying styles, backgrounds, genres, ages and experience for decades to come,” added Ausdahl.
