❌SOLD❌ Avalon Ard Ri L2-310C Jumbo Cutaway Amazaque, 2016

Built in Newtownards, Northern Ireland, the Avalon Ard Ri L2-310C shows the influence of the company’s history with George Lowden, but also new in-house designs.

Lowden Guitars is still operating and producing high quality instruments under the leadership of George Lowden. The original Lowden company was on the verge of folding in 1988 due to weak demand for acoustic guitars, a situation pressuring many builders at the time. A group of local residents convinced Lowden to go into receivership, then bought the company, naming it ‘The Lowden Guitar Company’. All of the designs were licensed from Lowden. This license, however, dud not permit new design input from the workers. Consequently, Avalon was founded in 2000 to permit new designs from the highly skilled luthiers on Lowden’s staff.

Here we’re looking at an Avalon Ard Ri L2-310C built during 2016 at the Avalon shop in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. Ard Ri, or properly Ard Rí, is the Irish Gaelic term for ‘High King’, and as such is the top of Avalon’s line. This model uses a Jumbo body with cutaway, and here features a Bearclaw Sitka Spruce top paired with Amazaque for the back and sides and Australian Blackwood for the binding. The neck is five-piece construction of Mahogany, Walnut and Sycamore.  The fingerboard and bridge are Ebony and the purfling is Sycamore, with Indian Rosewood for the head plate. The rosette is Abalone. Tuners are excellent Gotoh SG381 models.

This Avalon Ard Ri L2-310C is a very good guitar. It has a huge, full and rich sound, with good representation throughout the frequency range. The action, as is, is very comfortable and there is plenty of saddle height. This design uses a split saddle for improved intonation on the G and B strings, always a welcome effect.

The original Hiscox light weight, molded flight case is included.

This instrument is new, but old stock.  

Avalon guitars include a lifetime warranty for the orginal registered owner.  

Avalon describes the Ard Rí line in this way: “The peak of our luthiers art, with subtle blends and uncompromising quality, fashioned from fine noble tonewoods.”