~ Lipe Guitars ~

ABOUT MIKE LIPE
Born and raised in Burbank, California, Michael’s passion for guitars began when he picked up his first guitar at the age of fifteen. His journey to becoming a master luthier began in 1975. After working at a music/instrument repair store, Mike was taken under the wing of the renowned old school luthier, Bill Butts. For the next several years, Bill mentored Mike, teaching him everything he knew about the art of hand crafting and restoring wooden stringed instruments.

In the early eighties, Mike ventured into his own business, creating L.A.’s original Guitar Doctor. After six years of building and customizing guitars for some of the most respected musicians in the industry, he sold his business to Ibanez Custom Shop in the USA where he was a master builder for Ibanez endorsers throughout the US. After eight glorious years with Ibanez Custom Shop, Mike went to work with Yamaha, Hofner, Fender, Zemaitis and most recently as the Master Builder for Peavey Custom Shop exclusively for Peavey endorsed artists. To this date, many respected guitar manufacturers seek Mike’s help on custom one off orders such as the 4 neck guitar for Michael Angelo Batio commissioned by Dean Guitars built from the ground up by Michael Lipe.

After years of building and customizing guitars exclusively for some of the biggest music artists in the industry, such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons and Paul Gilbert - just to name a few of them, Mike finally decided it was time to launch his own company, Lipe Guitars USA. What distinguishes Lipe guitars apart from other guitar builders is the painstaking approach toward crafting the finest guitar. Mike uses only the highest quality tone woods and materials available. Most important, he firmly believes in the old world artisan approach of hand craftsmanship. That is why each and every one of the instruments is entirely made by the hands of a master luthier, Mike Lipe.

ABOUT LIPE GUITARS
Lipe Guitars are high end boutique instruments which are hand made one at a time by Mike Lipe himself. The finest materials and highest standards of craftsmanship are used to bring you the best instrument imaginable. These guitars are designed to last a lifetime and inspire the best of the player’s creativity.

Lipe Guitars are recognized for their stunning selection of woods, tasteful musical tone and effortless playability that gives you a great vibe and feel.

In today’s digital age, CNC operated machines have taken over, but Lipe Guitars are one of the last representatives of a dying breed proudly carrying the flag of genuine “old school” craftsmanship where they have individual soul and personality (qualities that CNC machines can not duplicate).

Necks: All necks are either quarter sawn or flat sawn and have a 7º angle on the headstock in order to avoid the need for a string tree and improve sustain.

The wood is the heart and soul in a guitar. Aware of this fact, Mike Lipe personally selects the wood for each instrument with extreme care. The moisture content, stability and acoustic properties are always double-checked before use.

Exquisite woods (alder, mahogany, swamp ash and korina) are used for the body core. The laminated tops are crafted from flame maple, quilted maple, spalted maple, koa, redwood, walnut, and Mike’s personal favorite, Hawaiian mango that has become a Lipe Guitar trademark due to outstanding sonic properties and extravagant looks.

The necks are made from hard rock maple, mahogany or korina with large variety of fingerboard woods like Indian rosewood, Madagascar rosewood, ebony and maple.

Truss Rod: The necks utilize Bruce Johnson’ single two way truss rod, which is the best of both worlds. It has the tone of a single truss rod with the flexibility of a modern double truss rod. The truss rod adjustment nut is solid brass and 2 ½ inches in length. It threads into the truss rod and lays under the nut all the way to the first fret. This creates another point of sustain.

The neck joint incorporates stainless steel machine bolts, a recessed neck plate, and threaded brass inserts in the heel of the neck that create a much stronger contact point between the neck and the body. This is one true reason why Lipe guitars resonate louder, sustain longer and have a superior tone to any other solid body guitar you have ever heard.

Pickups: After many years of research, Mike Lipe has discovered that Amalfitano pickups are the best match for his line of guitars. Amalfitano are high end, hand wound, boutique pickups made in the USA by Jerry Amalfitano. Jerry’s pickups amplify most accurately the true voice of the guitar, complimenting its natural tones without altering. This is why Amalfitano pickups come standard on most Lipe Models.

Hardware: Lipe guitars come standard with Hipshot bridges, tremolos and Hipshot tuners.

Hipshot is a American company producing the finest guitar hardware. Tuning stability, tone and classy style make Hipshot a instant match with Lipe Guitars.

Tremolo: The fully-floating Tremolo combines state-of-the-art design and highest quality materials through super hard steel alloy ball bearing system to ensure maximum accuracy, tone, smooth action and an excellent return to pitch.