The O-10 is the classic, total Lowden - mahogany body, cedar top, jumbo size, incredible volume and response.
Here is a digital photo of the inside of the Lowden, looking towards the end block and showing the bridge plate and X-brace crossing as well as the size and shaping of the tone bars.
In the process of getting to know the guitar, the following comments on body construction and resonance can be made:
1) Lowden use split wood, not sawn, and I think this actually contributes to volume. The internal braces are more or less of Gibson knife-edge type, fairly light, though the X-brace is strong and the bridge plate is a very large mahogany offcut. Its value is questionable as the O-10 of this date has a pinless bridge where the strings do not go through the top - these bridges are susceptible to coming off, in their entirety. They have no fixing bolts (study a similar Takamine bridge, and you will see small inlay covers for a total of four bolts securing the bridge permanently to the top).
2) Different areas of the body respond to the strings in turn. The bottom four strings G D A E tend to produce maximum vibration in the front surface of the lower bout; the lower the note played, the more the front vibrates, especially in the area between the bridge and sound hole. As the note gets higher, more vibration occurs in the back of guitar. The upper bout remains inactive with these strings. The B string causes strong vibrations in the back of the upper bout, at least equal to those around the bridge. The top E string causes very little zonal vibration and appears to be evenly distributed. At no time do the front parts of the upper bout, on either side of the fingerboard, vibrate to any significant degree. Placing fingers on the scratchplate will damp the bass response with little effect on the treble. Hugging the waist and upper bout against the body will deaden the B string open response; getting the back of the main bout against the body (difficult, as these guitars are BIG) damps the middle tones. Allowing the guitar zero contact except on the knee produces maximum volume and sustain and the vibration is easy to feel.
I now own a Lowden O-10 which because of its date and the way it's set up is not the loudest, but it has a wonderful sound. I prefer a very low action and fairly light strings, ideally an 11-50 set with the bass string swapped out for a 54 as I use drop D almost 100 per cent of the time. It is my standard tuning.
