My Pair of Lowes:
My early era Lowe precision body has a pair of swappable pickguard assemblies that let me swap between this Guild BS-1 BiSonic pickup and a TV Jones Thunder'blade pickup. The 32" conversion neck is a newer addition to the body and one of the first necks sporting the new Classic headstock design.
The 8-string Deeluxe is the first 8-string Lowe in production since Brad's innovative multi-course bridge design received patent protection. More on the bridge below.
Lowe Custom Guitars 8-String Deeluxe Specs:
- 32" scale
- two-piece mahogany gloss urethane three-tone sunburst body
- bolt on roasted maple satin urethane unpainted neck
- Indian rosewood fretboard
- 1.75" width Tusq XL nut
- black painted Lowe "Classic" 8-string headstock
- pair of Lollar Thunderbird pickups
- pair of swappable VVT Guttermouth wiring harnesses (250k vs. 500k pots)
- patented Lowe 8-string bridge
- four Hipshot Ultralight® Y-key bass tuning machines
- four Vintage Style open Grip-Lock™ guitar tuning machines
- John Page Custom metal knobs
- full-width string retainer
- 9.8 lbs.
Strung with D'Addario EXL170-8 regular light gauge nickel wound strings (
18 45 28 65 40 80 50 100).
I fell in love with this body when I first saw it. I asked Brad to make it into a 8-string for me because I think the body fits the 8-string design well.
I also wanted in on the new Classic-style headstocks. The original "bottle opener" designs are polarizing, with some absolutely loving them. But this design suits me more comfortably.
Take me to the bridge:
Brad didn't invent multi-course basses or bass bridges. But he did a number of things that make this bridge special. It is a clean design, securely housing eight individually adjustable saddles in a compact space. Most innovatively, the bridge saddles are designed such that no matter what gauge string is used, and whether it is strung in low-high or high-low pairs (as you can see, mine is strung with high-low pairs), the space between strings in each of the courses of strings is equal and the centerline-to-centerline distance between each course is equal. It's a smart and elegant design.
The 8-string fits perfectly in my small to medium scale gig bags I get from Jake Serek. It balances perfectly on my lap and on a strap. The pickups are perfection for this bass. All of the details are done right. The nut was carefully crafted by hand. The fretwork was meticulously leveled, crowned, and rounded. Brad knows I have been constructively critical of his previous builds. I'm not going to hsay something is great when it's just good and I'm not going to say it's good if it isn't. This bass is fantastic and I believe is ushering in a new era of Lowe Custom Guitars, which I personally find exciting and inspiring.
