A Closer Look: LSL T-Bone One
Published on 20 March 2020
You need to play these guitars.
Do you like electric guitars?
Then you need to play these LSL guitars.
Okay, hey maybe aren’t for absolutely everybody out there, but if you are the kind of guitarist who likes cool looking classic electrics that feel absolutely out of this world and sound like proper vintage museum pieces, then we reckon you’re going to be into these LSL guitars.
Most of us have a soft spot at least for the classic ‘T’ and ‘S’ style electrics. Regardless of the musical genres we may lean towards, there are always times when we want to just plug in and enjoy the experience of a great bolt-on, solid bodied guitar. Playing guitar, for its own sake!
Lance Lerman understands this. That’s why him and his team in Santa Clarita put so much time and dedication into each LSL guitar. That elusive quality that makes this style of instrument so seductive to us is exactly what LSL pinpoint with their own hand-built creations.
Hand Built
Did we say hand built? In LSL’s case, they really mean it. It’s one thing to saw ‘n’ sand your own bodies and necks (some ‘Custom’ builders don’t even do that), but quite another to make your own bridge plates, pickups and even truss rods! LSL do all of this in-house! They even mix their own paint! We are most impressed.
This isn’t about beating other builders in terms of specs though. The whole point of this level of hand-tooling, building, shaping and finishing is to get the instrument as close as possible to looking, feeling, sounding and responding like an actual vintage guitar.
This level of depth in the build is really what sets LSL apart from the myriad of Californian Custom guitar brands. They make boutique instruments that are the equal to actual vintage examples, and they make them affordable enough for the serious amateur/semi-pro and pro guitarist to buy. Lots of guitarists who own actual vintage guitars choose LSL for their gigging and touring instruments: they get to keep the sound and feel they’re used to, but without having to worry about priceless instruments flying out the back door of a dodgy pub!
T-Bone
Lance Lerman’s own favourite guitar is the classic ‘52’ -style. LSL’s superlative take on this is the T-Bone, and we currently have a small, yet potent selection of these to share with you today.
These guitars are all known as T-Bone One models. The ‘one’ part informs us that the nitrocellulose lacquer used ot finish the instrument is of the satin variety. As we know, nitro is a beautiful, vintage-correct clearcoat. It ages and beautifies like wine, and is applied by LSL in an extremely thin coat, in order to preserve and promote that all-important resonances from the timber.
Talking timber, we have two varieties for you today. The T-Bone Ones are available with the time-honoured choice of Ash, and the true-to-history Sugar Pine! Pine has an instantly classic, trebly twang which finishes the sound of this guitar perfectly, but it’s a notoriously difficult wood for builders to work with, meaning only the best makers use it in their guitar bodies.
The necks, you’ll see, are torrefied. As you may already know, Torrefaction is a fancy word for basically baking all of the moisture from the wood, changing its chemical make-up and resulting in a piece of wood that resonates like it’s a century old! Your instantly feel the difference who you play one of these, but just wait until you plug it in! Along wide LSL’s handmade pickups, the tones available are incredible. You really do get that extra percentage of magic that certain instruments hold.
Try one, you’ll see for yourself.
Choose from the iconic Butterscotch finish or opt for an altogether bolder choice of pink! Either way, your playing, your tone and your enjoyment of guitars just got a lot better!
Click to see our LSL T-Bone One guitars
