John Beef
Opaque
This arrived right on time Friday, and since it's a good 70+ degrees every day here in Phoenix I didn't have to wait a day for the guitar to acclimate. 
This is a 2013 model. The Music Store Live folks made me a great deal and I would recommend them to anyone.
Flawless in build quality. Black gloss paint shows every little thing, and there is no little thing to see here, anywhere on the guitar. The neck is beefy which is my preference. The strings are a little light for the tuning I intend to use, B standard. However, when tuned this way, the guitar is set up perfectly and plays beautifully. The ergonomics are somewhere between my custom 22 and my Mira, both of which are comfortable, but are different from one another - which is to say, the guitar feels natural to me to play. My Mushok's ergonomics fall outside of that range with the bridge further toward the back of the body and the neck extending beyond either of the two USA models, plus the flat top which changes the position of my right shoulder slightly.
My particular Lowery unplugged sounds a bit like a hollow body. It is ridiculously light, I would guess in the 6 lb range. There seem to be certain notes that really resonate, while others resonate a little less. I played a different one at a local GC and this was not the case with it - it sounded like a solid body. Regardless, plugged in I can't say it's obviously different without being able to compare them side by side.
My Mushok has a Fralin 8K in the neck and a Suhr SSV+ in the bridge - boutiquey, high end pickups. The Lowery's SE pickups hold their own when compared directly, though are obviously not quite to the same caliber. The highs are not quite as sparkly, but the string definition is solid. The bridge pickup could do metal but isn't so far into metal territory that it can't do just lower tuned rock, which is what I do. The neck pickup has super fat and clear lows without getting muddy. The coil splits are lackluster and unusable - though adding some resistors ala DGT 2012 to the splits could go a long way toward improving this aspect, at less than $1. Overall, though, the shorter scale and mahogany/rosewood neck combine to create a warmer tone. While the stock pickups aren't bad, I would like to try out some higher end pickups and see where that takes it.
Since I have a baritone which I am very familiar with after almost 5 years of ownership, the Lowery compared favorably in most aspects. It's more comfortable to play, and the quality is right up there. Music Store Live offers free return shipping if the guitar isn't up to standards, which is why I bought through them. However, I think I'll be keeping it. A couple things that I think will really help it "pop" aesthetically would be some cream pickups rings and either zebra open coils or some nickel covers, plus some PRS lampshade knobs.
This is a 2013 model. The Music Store Live folks made me a great deal and I would recommend them to anyone.
Flawless in build quality. Black gloss paint shows every little thing, and there is no little thing to see here, anywhere on the guitar. The neck is beefy which is my preference. The strings are a little light for the tuning I intend to use, B standard. However, when tuned this way, the guitar is set up perfectly and plays beautifully. The ergonomics are somewhere between my custom 22 and my Mira, both of which are comfortable, but are different from one another - which is to say, the guitar feels natural to me to play. My Mushok's ergonomics fall outside of that range with the bridge further toward the back of the body and the neck extending beyond either of the two USA models, plus the flat top which changes the position of my right shoulder slightly.
My particular Lowery unplugged sounds a bit like a hollow body. It is ridiculously light, I would guess in the 6 lb range. There seem to be certain notes that really resonate, while others resonate a little less. I played a different one at a local GC and this was not the case with it - it sounded like a solid body. Regardless, plugged in I can't say it's obviously different without being able to compare them side by side.
My Mushok has a Fralin 8K in the neck and a Suhr SSV+ in the bridge - boutiquey, high end pickups. The Lowery's SE pickups hold their own when compared directly, though are obviously not quite to the same caliber. The highs are not quite as sparkly, but the string definition is solid. The bridge pickup could do metal but isn't so far into metal territory that it can't do just lower tuned rock, which is what I do. The neck pickup has super fat and clear lows without getting muddy. The coil splits are lackluster and unusable - though adding some resistors ala DGT 2012 to the splits could go a long way toward improving this aspect, at less than $1. Overall, though, the shorter scale and mahogany/rosewood neck combine to create a warmer tone. While the stock pickups aren't bad, I would like to try out some higher end pickups and see where that takes it.
Since I have a baritone which I am very familiar with after almost 5 years of ownership, the Lowery compared favorably in most aspects. It's more comfortable to play, and the quality is right up there. Music Store Live offers free return shipping if the guitar isn't up to standards, which is why I bought through them. However, I think I'll be keeping it. A couple things that I think will really help it "pop" aesthetically would be some cream pickups rings and either zebra open coils or some nickel covers, plus some PRS lampshade knobs.
