Lipe Guitars USA Brochure - NAMM
Lipe Guitars USA Brochure - NAMM Lipe Guitars USA Brochure - NAMM
Lipe Guitars USA Brochure www.lipeguitars.com
- Page 2 and 3: www.lipeguitars.com Mike Lipe for d
- Page 4 and 5: Pickups www.lipeguitars.com After y
- Page 6 and 7: Body Top Woods www.lipeguitars.com
- Page 8 and 9: Fretboard Woods www.lipeguitars.com
- Page 10 and 11: Virtuoso Body : Alder / Equatorial
- Page 12 and 13: Soldato Body : Alder / Equatorial M
- Page 14 and 15: The Ivo Body : Alder / Equatorial M
- Page 16 and 17: The Ivo This part is simple. Lipe G
- Page 18: Contact Info Mike Lipe www.lipeguit
<strong>Lipe</strong> <strong>Guitars</strong> <strong>USA</strong><br />
<strong>Brochure</strong><br />
www.lipeguitars.com
www.lipeguitars.com<br />
Mike <strong>Lipe</strong> for decades was creating, building, and customizing guitars exclusively for<br />
megastar guitar players. In the year 2000, Mike started his very own company <strong>Lipe</strong><br />
<strong>Guitars</strong> <strong>USA</strong> to make his craftsmanship available to the general public as well.<br />
<strong>Lipe</strong> <strong>Guitars</strong> are High End Boutique Instruments which are handmade one at a time by<br />
Mike <strong>Lipe</strong> himself. The finest materials and highest standards of craftsmanship are used<br />
to bring you the best instrument imaginable. These guitars are designed to last a lifetime<br />
and inspire the best of a players’ creativity.<br />
In today's digital age, CNC operated machines have taken over, replacing the art form<br />
of guitar-building with a mass production guitar cloning process. <strong>Lipe</strong> guitars are one<br />
of the last representatives of a dying breed proudly caring the flag of genuine old school<br />
craftsmanship where guitars have individual soul and personality that can't be duplicated<br />
exactly the same.<br />
<strong>Lipe</strong> <strong>Guitars</strong> are recognized by their stunning selection of woods, tasteful musical tone,<br />
effortless playability, and feel that only a genuine handmade guitar by a Master can<br />
possess.
Wood<br />
www.lipeguitars.com<br />
The wood is the heart and soul in a guitar. Aware of this fact, Mike personally selects the<br />
wood for each instrument with extreme care. The moisture content, stability, and acoustic<br />
properties are always double checked before use.<br />
Alder, Mahogany, Swamp Ash, and Korina are the standard woods used for the body core.<br />
The laminated tops are highly figured Flame Maple, Quilted Maple, Spalted Maple, Koa,<br />
Redwood, Walnut and Mikes personal favorite, Hawaiian Mango, which has become a<br />
<strong>Lipe</strong> Guitar trade mark due to it's incredible sonic properties and very extravagant looks.<br />
The necks are made from Hard Rock Maple, Mahogany, or Korina with large variety of<br />
fingerboard woods such as Ebony, Indian Rosewood, Madagascar Rosewood, Maple,<br />
Flat Swan Maple, and Quarter Sawn Maple.
Pickups<br />
www.lipeguitars.com<br />
After years and years of painstaking research Mike has discovered that Amalfitano<br />
pickups are the best match for his line of guitars. Amalfitano are high end boutique<br />
pickups hand wound in the heart of Texas by Jerry Amalfitano. Jerry's pickups seem to<br />
amplify most accurately the true voice of the guitar without altering but complimenting<br />
its very nature. This is why Amalfitano pickups come standard on most <strong>Lipe</strong> Models;<br />
except The Ivo model which is equipped with Dimarzio Area Series, PAF 36th anniversary,<br />
or Vintage Minibucker.
Hardware<br />
www.lipeguitars.com<br />
Most models come standard with Hip Shot Bridges, Tremolos and Tuners. Hip Shot is an<br />
American Company producing the finest guitar hardware made in the <strong>USA</strong>. The tuning<br />
stability, tone, and classy styling made Hip Shot an instant match with <strong>Lipe</strong> <strong>Guitars</strong>. The<br />
fully floating tremolo unites state of the art design and highest quality materials with<br />
super hard steel alloy ball bearing system to insure excellent return to pitch, accuracy,<br />
maximum tone, sustain, and durability. The stainless steel no wobble vibrato arm gives<br />
you a superb feel and years of reliable trouble free service.<br />
The necks utilize the Bruce Johnson single-two way truss rod, which is the best of both<br />
worlds. It has the better tone of a vintage single truss rod with the flexibility of a modern<br />
double truss rod.<br />
The neck joint incorporates threaded brass inserts in the neck butt which along with the<br />
stainless steel bolts and recessed neck plate creates much stronger contact point between<br />
the neck and the body with superior tone transfer, sustain, and rock solid stability.<br />
The listed woods, pickups, and hardware options above are strong suggestion based on<br />
extensive tests and lifelong experience. However, <strong>Lipe</strong> Custom Shop can meet any custom<br />
order different from the standard option according to the customer preferences to rare<br />
exotic woods, different pickup manufacturers, and different hardware etc....
Body Top Woods<br />
www.lipeguitars.com<br />
Koa<br />
The Koa adds a beautiful look as well as clarity and richness to the guitar's sound.<br />
It’s an oilier wood like Rosewood and denser than Mahogany. That dampens some highs<br />
in the attack and produces sounds more in the upper midrange than the highs. Works<br />
best with Mahogany and Korina.<br />
Quilted Maple<br />
Quilted Maple is not only beautiful but it produces singing highs with a tight low end.<br />
It sounds wonderful over Alder or Mahogany. Maple adds crispness to the mahogany, but<br />
the lows and low mids of mahogany are still as apparent. The open resonance of the<br />
Alder comes through with the sharper attack and brightness of the Maple on the top end.<br />
Spalted Maple<br />
Similar to Quilted Maple but it produces singing highs with a tight low end. It sounds<br />
wonderful over Alder or Mahogany. Maple adds crispness to the mahogany, but the lows<br />
and low mids of mahogany are still as apparent. The open resonance of the Alder comes<br />
through with the sharper attack and brightness of the Maple on the top end.<br />
Redwood<br />
Redwood responds with a crisp balanced sound with richness in the lows. The bass<br />
response is particularly round and full. Redwood is balanced, warm and rich with bright<br />
trebles.<br />
Walnut<br />
Similar to Koa, it has some of the warmth of rosewood and the crispness of mahogany.<br />
Walnut has less compression and combing of tones with Mahogany backs.
Body Woods<br />
www.lipeguitars.com<br />
Alder<br />
Alder is light in weight with soft tight pores with large swirling grain pattern to it with<br />
harder rings and sections. That adds to the stiffness and the complexity of the tones.<br />
Alder has a strong, clear, full-bodied sound with beefy mids and excellent lows so it has<br />
a broader spectrum of tones. It retains more of the highs which are not harsh while<br />
leaving some room to the lows. It offers a decent amount of sustain while weighing<br />
less than denser woods.<br />
Equatorial Mahogany<br />
Harvested in Africa and Central America, open grained with large pores, it is fairly dense<br />
and constant. Mahogany has a more uniform grain pattern with medium to heavy wood<br />
weight. The constant density compresses the mids a bit and can be considered a thick<br />
sound, because it does still produce good lows and low mids is considered a warm tone<br />
but well balanced. There is usually good depth to the sound.<br />
Korina<br />
An African wood related to mahogany, its grains are similar and so is its sound, referred to<br />
as super-mahogany. It’s a fairly light hardwood with a fine grain with attractive long thin<br />
streaks. Korina has a sweeter midrange and responsive while warm, resonant, and<br />
balanced. It has great clarity, definition, and sustain.<br />
Swamp Ash<br />
Swamp Ash has huge, open pores with hard and soft layers with a broad grain. Basically it<br />
has a very rigid skeleton with open and softer pores throughout. It is both light and<br />
resonant across the whole frequency spectrum. It has clear bell-like highs, pronounced<br />
mids, and strong lows.
Fretboard Woods<br />
www.lipeguitars.com<br />
Flame Maple / Flat Swan / Quarter Swan Maple:<br />
Maple has a unique tone, strong in the midrange with a sweet high end. It produces<br />
tremendous amounts of tight higher tones with most bass leaning harmonics and<br />
variations in pick attack are filtered away. Very bright and dense, Maple is highly reflective<br />
and will cut through when you need it and never muddy on the bass. Maple is good for<br />
overdrive with good harmonics.<br />
Ebony:<br />
Ebony has a crisp attack with a stronger fundamental tone than Maple. It has the density<br />
of Maple however the grains are more brittle with oilier pores. It has a tremendous<br />
amount of overtones in the pick attack that mute out shortly than to foster long sustain.<br />
Indian Rosewood:<br />
Indian rosewood tends to darken the tone a bit, adding warmth to the neck and generally<br />
to the whole tone. A rosewood neck will produce excellent sustain while also smoothening<br />
out the highs. Generally with greater sustain comes a brighter top end. This is not true<br />
of Rosewood. It mutes the high frequency overtones, producing a strong fundamental that<br />
still has the complexities of mid and low mid overtones.<br />
Madagascar Rosewood:<br />
Madagascar rosewood tonally is considered a kindred spirit to Brazilian rosewood,<br />
boasting zesty, articulate highs, deep lows and ample dynamic range, and rewarding<br />
players with rich sustain and complex overtones.
Neck Woods<br />
www.lipeguitars.com<br />
Rock Hard Maple / Flat Swan Maple / Quarter Swan Maple<br />
Its tone is highly reflective and focuses more energy onto the body wood. It will have the<br />
tightest lows for the extended range. Low notes will have a sharp attack, plenty of<br />
harmonics, and excellent sustain. Maple is strong and stable, and it has less reaction from<br />
environmental changes than other hardwoods. Maple necks are less of a<br />
factor on the guitar’s tone and emphasize the body wood.<br />
Quarter Swan Mahogany<br />
Mahogany’s even density makes stable necks, and the open pores make the neck a little<br />
more responsive than a maple neck. The Mahogany will absorb a bit more of the string<br />
vibration and compresses the attack and the highs a little.
Virtuoso<br />
Body : Alder / Equatorial Mahogany / Swamp Ash / Korina<br />
Body Top : Mango / Quilt Maple / Spalted Maple / Koa / Redwood / Walnut<br />
Neck : Hard Rock Maple / Quarter Sawn Mahogany / Korina<br />
Fretboard : Ebony / Flame Maple / Quarter Swan Maple / Flat Swan Maple<br />
Indian Rosewood / Madagascar Rosewood<br />
Headstock : 7 Degree Angle<br />
Nut : 1 5/8" Bone or Black TUSQ<br />
Radius : 12"R<br />
Fretwire : Dunlop<br />
Pickups : Amalfitano<br />
Bridge : Hip Shot Tremolo / Gotoh<br />
Tuners : Hip Shot Locking / Sperzel Locking<br />
Finish : Polyester Finish<br />
Case : G&G Hardshell Case<br />
Others : 2way Single Truss Rod w/ Brass Bar<br />
www.lipeguitars.com
Classico Virtuoso<br />
Body : Alder / Equatorial Mahogany / Swamp Ash / Korina<br />
Body Top : Mango / Quilt Maple / Spalted Maple / Koa / Redwood / Walnut<br />
Neck : Hard Rock Maple / Quarter Sawn Mahogany / Korina<br />
Fretboard : Ebony / Flame Maple / Quarter Swan Maple / Flat Swan Maple<br />
Indian Rosewood / Madagascar Rosewood<br />
Headstock : 7 Degree Angle<br />
Nut : 1 5/8" Bone or Black TUSQ<br />
Radius : 12"R<br />
Fretwire : Dunlop<br />
Pickups : Amalfitano<br />
Bridge : Hip Shot Tremolo / Gotoh<br />
Tuners : Hip Shot Locking / Sperzel Locking<br />
Finish : Polyester Finish<br />
Case : G&G Hardshell Case<br />
Others : 2way Single Truss Rod w/ Brass Bar<br />
www.lipeguitars.com
Soldato<br />
Body : Alder / Equatorial Mahogany / Swamp Ash / Korina<br />
Body Top : Mango / Quilt Maple / Spalted Maple / Koa / Redwood / Walnut<br />
Neck : Hard Rock Maple / Quarter Sawn Mahogany / Korina<br />
Fretboard : Ebony / Flame Maple / Quarter Swan Maple / Flat Swan Maple<br />
Indian Rosewood / Madagascar Rosewood<br />
Headstock : 7 Degree Angle<br />
Nut : 1 5/8" Bone or Black TUSQ<br />
Radius : 12"R<br />
Fretwire : Dunlop<br />
Pickups : Amalfitano<br />
Bridge : Hip Shot Tremolo / Gotoh<br />
Tuners : Hip Shot Locking / Sperzel Locking<br />
Finish : Polyester Finish<br />
Case : G&G Hardshell Case<br />
Others : 2way Single Truss Rod w/ Brass Bar<br />
www.lipeguitars.com
Twisted Soldato<br />
Body : Alder / Equatorial Mahogany / Swamp Ash / Korina<br />
Body Top : Mango / Quilt Maple / Spalted Maple / Koa / Redwood / Walnut<br />
Neck : Hard Rock Maple / Quarter Sawn Mahogany / Korina<br />
Fretboard : Ebony / Flame Maple / Quarter Swan Maple / Flat Swan Maple<br />
Indian Rosewood / Madagascar Rosewood<br />
Headstock : 7 Degree Angle<br />
Nut : 1 5/8" Bone or Black TUSQ<br />
Radius : 12"R<br />
Fretwire : Dunlop<br />
Pickups : Amalfitano<br />
Bridge : Hip Shot Tremolo / Gotoh<br />
Tuners : Hip Shot Locking / Sperzel Locking<br />
Finish : Polyester Finish<br />
Case : G&G Hardshell Case<br />
Others : 2way Single Truss Rod w/ Brass Bar<br />
www.lipeguitars.com
The Ivo<br />
Body : Alder / Equatorial Mahogany / Swamp Ash / Korina<br />
Body Top : Mango / Quilt Maple / Spalted Maple / Koa / Redwood / Walnut<br />
Neck : Hard Rock Maple / Quarter Sawn Mahogany / Korina<br />
Fretboard : Ebony / Flame Maple / Quarter Swan Maple / Flat Swan Maple<br />
Indian Rosewood / Madagascar Rosewood<br />
Headstock : 7 Degree Angle<br />
Nut : 1 5/8" Bone or Black TUSQ<br />
Radius : 12"R<br />
Fretwire : Dunlop<br />
Pickups : Dimarzio<br />
Bridge : Hip Shot Tremolo / Gotoh<br />
Tuners : Hip Shot Locking / Sperzel Locking<br />
Finish : Polyester Finish<br />
Case : G&G Hardshell Case<br />
Others : 2way Single Truss Rod w/ Brass Bar<br />
www.lipeguitars.com
Luparo Bass P-J - 4 strings / Luparo P - 5 strings<br />
Body : Alder / Equatorial Mahogany / Swamp Ash / Korina<br />
Body Top : Mango / Quilt Maple / Spalted Maple / Koa / Redwood / Walnut<br />
Neck : Hard Rock Maple / Quarter Sawn Mahogany / Korina<br />
Fretboard : Ebony / Flame Maple / Quarter Swan Maple / Flat Swan Maple<br />
Indian Rosewood / Madagascar Rosewood<br />
Headstock : 7 Degree Angle<br />
Nut : 1 5/8" Bone or Black TUSQ<br />
Radius : 12"R<br />
Fretwire : Dunlop<br />
Pickups : Amalfitano<br />
Bridge : Hip Shot / Gotoh<br />
Tuners : Hip Shot / Sperzel<br />
Finish : Polyester Finish<br />
Case : G&G Hardshell Case<br />
Others : 2way Single Truss Rod w/ Brass Bar<br />
www.lipeguitars.com
The Ivo<br />
This part is simple. <strong>Lipe</strong> Guitar build instruments that are on a par with the finest builders in the world. I have owned<br />
Andersons, Suhr's, Paul Reed Smith's. Mcnaughts, Brian Moores, Gibsons, Fenders, Valley Arts and many, many more.<br />
This guitar takes a backseat to no one. In fact I can find more attention to detail in this instrument than in most I have<br />
owned. It is truly handcrafted with extreme care by someone who understands what a musician needs to excel at<br />
his/her craft. To me this is a Suhr style instrument with an injection of love that delivers instant MOJO. I should add<br />
that the tasteful selection of woods and uber high quality hardware really create an amazingly beautiful instrument.<br />
I think if you peruse the <strong>Lipe</strong> website and study their guitars against Suhr, Anderson, PRS, etc you will see a certain<br />
richness in these instruments that the others don't quite deliver. Don't get me wrong these are all Porsche's and<br />
Ferrari's, I just think <strong>Lipe</strong> slightly outclasses the others at this point. Finally, I think the pricing at <strong>Lipe</strong> is extremely fair<br />
when compared to other instruments of this quality. If there were WINE SPECTATOR this one would get a 98 and if it<br />
were STEROPHILE this one would be CLASS "A". Can't go wrong here!<br />
- http://www.harmonycentral.com/products/130585<br />
Mike <strong>Lipe</strong> Virtuoso 009:<br />
Reviews<br />
www.lipeguitars.com<br />
Mike was the original head man at Ibanez <strong>USA</strong> Custom Shop in LA. He is the one who built Satrianis Chrome Boy that<br />
was stolen. This guitar has an HSS pickup config, Alder body, flame maple top, 1 piece hard rock maple neck, brazilian<br />
rosewood fretboard, hipshot trem, spirzel locking tuners, 22 jumbo frets and Jerry Amalfortono pickups.<br />
Best guitar I have owned yet and have played. Completely hand made/carved. Jerrys pickups are vintage oriented,<br />
Alnico V in middle and neck and Alnico 2 in the bridge bucker. The bridge bucker may not be what metal heads or super<br />
hard rock players like, but it sounds awesome for fusion, left hand playing and is just a wonderful singing sound. When<br />
it comes to leads, I am in love. As for chord work or muted alternate picking, a little is left desired. The single coils sound<br />
killer. Full, mid rangey and reactive with a hint of over tone that is not ear piercing. A true Strat tone. Position 4 is to<br />
die for and the neck pickup sounds awesome in every way possible. Jerry also missmatched the coil in the bridge pup so<br />
that the 2nd position is a true strat tone, sounds great. Playability is effortless and Mike is a true master of building<br />
guitars. I am going to order another one of his guitars in the future.<br />
- http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?t=193109<br />
Classico Virtuoso (Amico)<br />
I've either owned or currently own Tom Anderson, Suhr, Grosh, PRS, Fender Custom Shop, Gibson, McInturff, Steinberger,<br />
.... and the list goes on. While I hold many of these other guitars and their builders in high esteem, and would have<br />
great things to say about them as well my first experience with <strong>Lipe</strong> <strong>Guitars</strong> has truely been in class all by itself.<br />
For those of you who have never heard of Michael <strong>Lipe</strong> I encourage you to go to his website (http://www.lipeguitars.com)<br />
and prepare to be blown away by his history..... Is it any wonder that this guitar has left me spellbound? When you<br />
order a guitar from Michael <strong>Lipe</strong> rest assured that you’re getting a true hand built guitar from a masterbuilder with<br />
more credits and experience to his name than perhaps ten of the most popular builders put together. His is not a CNC<br />
shop overrun with apprentices or aspirations of abandoning the build process in favor of someday cranking out as<br />
many guitars as possible. Michael <strong>Lipe</strong> remains committed to putting his artistic and precise expertise into every single<br />
guitar build. Perhaps this one of the reasons he is continually sought after by so many of the finest professional players<br />
within the music industry. And I leave you with this, in most cases you'll spend a lot more money pursuing one of the<br />
other guitars I mentioned earlier because they have so much more overhead to pay for. Michael <strong>Lipe</strong>'s is not bound to<br />
the astronomical budgetary constraints imposed upon the other giants in the industry. Consequently you get a lot more<br />
guitar for your money!<br />
- http://www.harmonycentral.com/products/110130
Informational<br />
<strong>Lipe</strong> <strong>Guitars</strong> <strong>USA</strong> / Mike <strong>Lipe</strong> Preview 2012 Namm Show - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSG9d7kjGHI<br />
http://www.premierguitar.com/Video/20090304/589/<strong>Lipe</strong>_<strong>Guitars</strong>_Virtuoso_Luparo_Jr_Bass_More.aspx<br />
Video Demos<br />
Coco Montoya @ <strong>Lipe</strong> <strong>Guitars</strong> <strong>USA</strong> (Winter <strong>NAMM</strong> 2009) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OtwRgAMCWM<br />
<strong>Lipe</strong> Custom Shop <strong>USA</strong> Masterbuilt Carve Top Virtuoso - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4Oqx48b7Cc<br />
<strong>Lipe</strong> <strong>Guitars</strong> <strong>USA</strong> Virtuoso Model 014 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOWko7mMUWA<br />
<strong>Lipe</strong> <strong>Guitars</strong> <strong>USA</strong> The Ivo Dimarzio PAF 36th Anniversary - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C13--n-AuFQ<br />
brochure design - dp@silpinmedia.com<br />
Links<br />
Guitar Wood Types & Tones<br />
http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm<br />
http://www.soundunlimited.co.uk/article_Guitar_Tone_Woods_39.html<br />
www.lipeguitars.com
Contact Info<br />
Mike <strong>Lipe</strong><br />
www.lipeguitars.com<br />
Phone: 818.352.6212<br />
Cell: 818.383.8241<br />
email: mike@lipeguitars.com