So why should I fork over my hard-earned cash for an LsL?

This is a question that I ask both myself and the people who work here everyday. I never forget why I got into this in the first place. That was because I, myself could not afford to buy the kind of guitar that I wanted. I felt that the guitars that I could scrounge up the money for were not worth the price. After one plays guitar for many years the attraction of a logo becomes overridden by the sound and playability of the instrument in your hands. If it's not there, it's not there, no matter what is written on the headstock. This applies especially to us but also to every instrument maker in the high-end category. We have to earn our customers without leaning our brand name. Even after four or so years in business very few people have even heard of LsL. 

So, there's really only one way for us to sell instruments and that is to make them better and offer incredible value for that hard-earned cash. Not only is it our choice but our very survival depends on it. Our guitars MUST sell themselves. 

Now, how to do that? 

People who Care

We are a small group of people who really do take pride in our work. Heck, we get to get out of bed in the morning and go make incredible guitars! Everyone here knows and is reminded constantly of the special work that we are doing. Musicians have a special relationship with their guitars and therefore we need to have a special attitude about making them. We all owe it to our customers to put the kind of care and dedication into your instrument that will enhance that special relationship. We're not making widgets here. We make guitars - guitars that are worthy of the special love that players have with a great instrument. 

Lumber

We start with the lumber. Lumber has the greatest effect on the ultimate tone of the instrument. We all know that different body woods make for different guitars. So I pick out the best of the best. Me, personally. We have to start with that or else everything that follows will be wasted effort.

Hand-shaped necks.

 EVERY neck made by LsL is hand-shaped. Where else can you get a guitar at this price with a hand-shaped neck? We are not constrained to specific shapes. We can shape whatever shape on any neck. But hand-shaping is more than that. It involves touch and feel. Our necks are consistently loved and that's because they just feel better. In the end it's not the process but the result that matters and the result is a great feeling neck.

Hand-wound pickups.

 All LsL pickups are hand-wound by us. It takes more time and effort but once again the result is worth the effort. I'm sure you'll agree if you try one out. There's something about 

Thin, Nitrocellulose lacquer finishes.

It would be just stupid to take all the effort we put into our bodies, necks, pickups, truss-rods,  pickguards etc. and ruin it all with a thick, heavy, blanket of finish. So we don't do that. We do the opposite. Thin, breathable finishes. Now, thin is great but it's thin. And thin means that very often it won't be perfect. Here is where form definitely follows function. We are more concerned with the tone of the guitar than its looks. So very often we have to do some aging to cover the imperfections in that super-thin finish. We also weather-check the finish to allow it to vibrate with the guitar. The end result is a guitar that sounds like a very old guitar who's finish has thinned out with age. We just don't want to have our customers wait 40 years for the guitar to sound good. I think having a guitar that sounds great now is better.

Details, Details, Details....

This is where a great portion of the difference between a just OK instrument and a great one lies. The devil is in the details and there are hundreds of them. Individually they are tiny but when you add them all together you get extraordinary. We pay attention to them all: fret insertion, fret leveling, fret crowning, fret ends, hand adjusting the fingerboard radius, hand adjusting neck pockets, hand cutting and adjusting nuts, and all the other little things that add up to one big thing; a fantastic guitar that is worth every penny and more of that hard-earned cash of yours.