William Krause: Virtuoso

I recently picked up Virtuoso #111 from The Music Zoo and just wanted to send you a quick note. A few years ago I purchased Virtuoso #22 and it quickly became my number one guitar. I've been playing for over 20 years, have tried all the name brands and a few of the other small builders and it didn't take long to realize that you have something special going on here. The craftmanship is top notch, tone is amazing (love the Amalfitanos) and it just feels so natural to pick up and play. After selling off some others, I finally was able to get #111 and it is another amazing guitar. Thanks for the great instruments and keep up the great work.

Len Porter: Virtuoso

I just wanted to say that I have now had about 3 months time to explore and know the new Lipe guitar that I have and I wanted to take a moment and tip my hat off to you Sir. I own many guitars (40 give or take) and play professionally here in Orlando and although I must say, I bought my Lipe initially based on its amazing looks and strong word of mouth from the guys at Music Zoo, I am completely amazed at the quality of the craftsmanship, the amazing materials, and most importantly, the tone

The Korina body is a first for me and might I add that it will not be the last. An incredibly resonant instrument unplugged, this guitar cuts thru like non other in my collection(and she sits among some heavy hitters, Suhr, James Tyler, NIK Huber,Sadowsky to name a few). Mike, thanks so much for making me a very happy camper with this purchase. This guitar is special and they don't get that way by themselves, so I wanted to express a sincere thank you for doing what you do and Echo what I hope is many artists that realize that your work is at the highest level.

On a bit of a side note, I had actually purchased 2 of your guitars, the other being this beautiful green number.

John Franzen: Virtuoso

I have to be honest with you, I have never played a guitar quite like this before and I have played for about 20 years! ;) I have had and have big brand expensive quality guitars but the attention to detail doesn't come near what I feel and hear with this one!! Maybe you have heard this so many times before that you are immune but this is new for me! I often test without the amp first and its very loud and clear sounding, you can feel the hole guitar vibrate! And i love how the chords ring out cleanly, intonations spot on the whole neck!! When I use the tremoloarm it stays in perfect tune, cant believe it, its so stable!! Not to mention the colour is absolutly beautiful!! Well you know all this!! :) Im very pleased, thank you Mike for this beautiful piece of art!!!

bbuck : Virtuoso

This part is simple. Lipe Guitar build instruments that are on a par with the finest builders in the world. I have owned Andersons, Suhr's, Paul Reed Smith's. Mcnaughts, Brian Moores, Gibsons, Fenders, Valley Arts and many, many more. 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 owned. It is truly handcrafted with extreme care by someone who understands what a musician needs to excel at his/her craft. To me this is a Suhr style instrument with an injection of love that delivers instant MOJO. I should add that the tasteful selection of woods and uber high quality hardware really create an amazingly beautiful instrument. I think if you peruse the Lipe website and study their guitars against Suhr, Anderson, PRS, etc you will see a certain richness in these instruments that the others don't quite deliver. Don't get me wrong these are all Porsche's and Ferrari's, I just think Lipe slightly outclasses the others at this point. Finally, I think the pricing at Lipe is extremely fair when compared to other instruments of this quality. If there were WINE SPECTATOR this one would get a 98 and if it were STEROPHILE this one would be CLASS "A". Can't go wrong here!

www.harmonycentral.com/products/110130 - Classic Virtuoso

I've either owned or currently own Tom Anderson, Suhr, Grosh, PRS, Fender Custom Shop, Gibson, McInturff, Steinberger,
.... and the list goes on. While I hold many of these other guitars and their builders in high esteem, and would have
great things to say about them as well my first experience with Lipe Guitars has truely been in class all by itself.
For those of you who have never heard of Michael Lipe I encourage you to go to his website (http://www.lipeguitars.com)
and prepare to be blown away by his history..... Is it any wonder that this guitar has left me spellbound? When you
order a guitar from Michael Lipe rest assured that you’re getting a true hand built guitar from a masterbuilder with
more credits and experience to his name than perhaps ten of the most popular builders put together. His is not a CNC
shop overrun with apprentices or aspirations of abandoning the build process in favor of someday cranking out as
many guitars as possible. Michael Lipe remains committed to putting his artistic and precise expertise into every single
guitar build. Perhaps this one of the reasons he is continually sought after by so many of the finest professional players
within the music industry. And I leave you with this, in most cases you'll spend a lot more money pursuing one of the
other guitars I mentioned earlier because they have so much more overhead to pay for. Michael Lipe's is not bound to
the astronomical budgetary constraints imposed upon the other giants in the industry. Consequently you get a lot more
guitar for your money!

Kmoraine:

I just bought a Lipe virtuoso (#18) off ebay. Without a doubt, it was the best purchase I've made in years. A guitar to last a lifetime. I can now sell 5 or 6 of my other guitars - all excellent guitars, but nowhere near the quality of Lipe. (Suhr standard, Fender Custom, Bolin custom, ErnieBall MM Axis Sport, Carvin custom) This guitar was built by Mike Lipe himself - comes with a signed certificate! Solid one-piece equatorial mahogany body, quarter-sawn maple/rosewood neck, amalfitano pickups, flame maple top - SICK! For the price, it can't be beat. I consider myself lucky to be able to own one of these beauties. My Precious!!! P.S. - One interesting feature of is that the guitar is strung slightly left of center, giving me less fretboard for the low E sting and more for the high E. At first I thought this strange, but after considering the builder and his expertise, figured there was a reason for this. It gives me more wiggle room up top when soloing. The high E never slips off the fretboard. Thoughtful and unique.

Marcus Rezak…International touring and recording artist, named "The Sultan of Shred", and top guitarist by – Soundfuse Magazine -

Marcus Rezak has a Berklee College of Music bachelor's degree in Guitar Performance, and DePaul University Masters of Music degree in Jazz Composition. Currently, a touring guitarist with several well-known cutting edge groups based out of Chicago including, Digital Tape Machine, The Hue, and Young General. Marcus has performed at major music festivals across the globe of various genres including EDM, Rock, and Jazz festivals including Mayan Holidaze, Northcoast Music Festival, Summercamp, Bear Creek, and more. His current band Digital Tape Machine has released and is touring behind their debut LP, "Be Here Now" now available on iTunes. The Hue, Marcus' original progressive rock band is a fiery instrumental four-piece duel guitar shred fest with 2 albums entitled, "Unscene", and "Beyond Words". Marcus has performed with members of The Aristocrats, Mike Keneally, Ohmphrey, Chris Poland, Jake Cinninger, Project Object, Umphreys Mcgee, Marco Benevento, Wood Brothers, Karl Denson, Garaj Mahal, The New Mastersounds, and many others. In addition to live performance Marcus enjoys the studio having recorded and performed as session and hired lead guitarist for NYC Grammy-winning producer Jeff Franzel. Currently, a jingle with Grammy-nominated producer and bassist, John Ovnik was aired on national television for General Mills Cheerios. As an educator, Marcus has been head of his own teaching organization for 17 years teaching clinics, group labs, ensemble coaching, and music theory. He has performed with and led rehearsals for the DePaul University Big Bands. Keep up with Marcus Rezak at www.marcusrezak.com

Florent Atem... two-time Grammy nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter

Florent Atem is a two-time Grammy nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter. A multiple music award winner in Tahiti and Hawaii. He has released four albums recorded by Grammy-winning producer Bob St John (Prince, Extreme). Florent is mostly known to the guitar community for his technique he calls "Slide Picking", which he invented and had been developing for the past 15 years. Guitarist such as Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson, Jeff Beck), Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (Guns N' Roses), Alex Skolnick (Ozzy Osbourne, Testament) Michael Angelo Batio and many other world class musicians have praised Florent's unprecedented approach, which they consider "fantastic" and "very innovative". In 2003, producer John Cuniberti ( Joe Satriani, The Dead Kennedys) expressed interest in working with Florent, whom he described as "the new Joe Satriani with a style of his own". Dreamtown, Florents first solo album featured drummer Jeff Campitelli (Joe Satriani) and bass players Michael Manring and Matt Bissonette (Joe Satriani, Ringo Starr, Don Henley, Brian Wilson, David Lee Roth, Christopher Cross) and sister Carole Atem on keys.

Coco Montoya:...Blistering contemporary blues...piercing attack, funky, shivery guitar tones and aggressive, soulful vocals -Blues Revue

Over the course of his 30-year career, guitarist and vocalist Coco Montoya's explosive guitar playing and soul-driven voice have propelled him to the upper reaches of the blues-rock world. From his early days as a drummer to his current status as one of the top-drawing guitarists and vocalists on the blues-rock scene, Montoya has forged his reputation through years of hard work and constant touring. And it all started with a chance meeting in the mid-1970s with legendary bluesman Albert Collins, who offered Montoya a gig as his drummer. Albert took an immediate liking to Montoya, becoming his mentor and teaching his new protégé secrets of the Collins icy hot style of blues guitar. Five years later, John Mayall happened to catch Montoya at a jam session and was blown away. This led to Montoya's touring the world for ten years with the legendary Bluesbreakers. Since stepping out as a bandleader in 1993, Montoya has released four solo albums and has performed non-stop at clubs, concert halls and major festivals all over the world. At every show, fans' jaws dropped, and critics raved about Montoya's mind-bending guitar licks and impassioned vocals. The fiery blues that issue forth from Coco Montoya's guitar are awe-inspiring and boogie requiring, shouted The Village Voice. Blistering, pure blues, cheered Blues Revue. Now, with Can't Look Back (AL 4885), Montoya turns up the intensity with another dose of his feral, soul-stirring music.

Mark Karan:...A First-Rate Jamband Guitarist - Washington Post Express

Mark Karan is best known for performing with the extended Grateful Dead family. For the last twelve years, he has anchored the lead guitar slot in Bob Weir & RatDog, playing hundreds of shows to thousands of fans year-round. Before crossing over into the land of the Dead, Mark worked his guitar and vocal voodoo for the likes of Dave Mason, Delaney Bramlett, the Rembrandts, Paul Carrack, Huey Lewis, Jesse Colin Young and Sophie B. Hawkins.

Bob Gross:...Bassist, Recodring Artist

Currently and for the past eleven and a half years have played with Mark Karan and Jemimah Puddleduck. A jam band made up of Mark Karan, from Bob Weir and Rat Dog, The Other Ones, Sophie B. Hawkins, The Rembrandts and more, on guitar and vocals. Two time grammy nominee John, 'JT' Thomas, from Bruce Hornsby's band on keyboards. Billy Lee Lewis from Roy Rodgers, and Tommy Castro on drums, and myself.

Ivo Stan:...Guitarist, Recording Artist

"Ivo Stan- LA based guitar player,singer,songwriter who's style ranges from blues rock to hard rock with colors of fusion and even country, such divers approach demanded a very versatile guitar that can cover a lot of ground while still retaining a classy simplicity . Ivo Stan exclusively uses the Ivo model which is a result of his collaboration with Mike Lipe."

Asael Ben Tzroya:...Contemporary Artist and Session Musician

Guitar player & educator, with a unique style, feel and approach to music. As a contemporary artist and session musician, Asa’s playing is a modern blend of both old and new. Fusing together Blues, Jazz, Rock, Country and Funk to create a unique sound & style that is linked by talent & musicality. A sought after guitar player & teacher, with a great deal of experience in the studio & on stage, Asa has also written two books about guitar: “Control & Technique“ -2010 and “The Modern Guitar Player“ -current year. Studied music at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Rimon School of Jazz & Contemporary music. Currently working on more solo material, a new book, playing in different ensembles, productions, teaching and doing clinics & master classes.

web: www.youtube.com/asagtr | contact: asagtr@gmail.com

Baron Sumter:...Guitarist, Recording Artist - Band : Like Mind Protocol | http://www.likemindprotocol.com/

Genre: Fusion, Progressive, Rock | Hometown: Central California