Robert Sledge

  

  

 
  Wes has carved out a richly-deserved reputation as one of the very best modern luthiers. He is perhaps most renowned for his unique 8-string creations, but he can do anything with his formidable talents. I'm an old-school 6-string guy, and I was looking for a good way of using a nearly-discarded 000-size body that still had some life in it. The instrument found a new purpose when he made it into a fine baritone guitar. He is always open to new ideas and always rises to the challenge of restoring and rebirthing older instruments with the same commitment to great craftsmanship so apparent in his cutting edge modern designs.

-Danny Gotham/ www.dannygotham.com

  When I called Wes he addressed all my questions with expertise from both a guitar builder and player's point of view.  This put us immediately on the same page.  Even though Wes is thousands of miles away from where I live, I had no worries hiring him and trusting him to build my 8 string.  Wes is a true professional and delivers a worldclass guitar at a working man's price.  Every email and phone call was answered.  When I received the 8 String I was thrilled with the result.  I am still amazed with the workmanship, detail, beauty, sound and comfort of the instrument.  I strongly encourage anyone looking into getting a Wes Lambe guitar to go for it.  By the way, the jump from 6 to 8 strings is not as big as you may think! 

   " I really love it! The neck feels great. It's really easy to play and it sounds fantastic, It didn't take long for me to get the sound I was looking for- the neck pickup, a little tweak of the tone pot and the controls flat on my Acoustic Image amp.

    The high "a" sounds great and it's really not tight feeling at all so you really nailed it as far as the scale length. The fanning of the frets is a non-issue as far as playability. It's really easy. 

    The workmanship and the finish are impeccable. 

Tonight I have a duo gig tonight with a sax player. I usually use my classical 8-string but tonight I'll be taking both. 

    Finally, it was a pleasure dealing with you. You do what you say you're going to do and when you say you're going to do it, I would recommend your work to anyone."

 

Thanks,

Fred/ www.fredfried.com

 

 

"I just logged 12 months of practicing, playing and recording on my Wes

Lambe semi-hollow six. It sounds just as amazing as it looks. At least

one curious person inquires about my guitar at every single show. I now

carry around wes' business cards so I point them in the right direction.

It's an unbelievable intstrument and my prized possession."

 

- Kevin Jenkins

The Experts / www.expertsrock.com /

"I have had the 8-string guitar you built for me for a few months

now. Even after the novelty of a "new" guitar has worn off, it still

amazes me everyday. I have owned plenty of expensive guitars:

archtops, custom 7-strings, hot-rod solid bodies, etc... I am not a

collector -- I buy guitars to PLAY them. If I spend a lot of hard

earned money on a guitar and it isn't absolutely perfect, I send it

back. I have aggravated more than a few custom builders with my

impossible standards. Your workmanship is flawless. Every part on

this guitar is a quality part. The design of your 8-string has been

thought out and refined to perfection. And the biggest test of all -

IT SOUNDS UNREAL. 

The guitar is perfectly balanced for a strap or sitting. The finish

on the body is flawless and the ergonomic contours make it a breeze

to play for hours. The neck is perfectly comfortable and feels great

in the hands. The fretboard is perfectly radiused. The action is

great -- every note on the whole guitar is easy to play and not a

single buzz anywhere. Every fret is perfectly shaped and smooth.

The pick-ups you coupled together all sound fantastic. Even simple

things like volume and tone knobs are perfect. Perfect even tapered

pots and dead silent wiring. Heck, even the tuning machines are

adjusted right. The fanning of the frets is very comfortable and

every string sounds strong and even. Really, everything on this

guitar is TOP NOTCH. 

I am probably one of the most critical guitar consumers you can

imagine and I can't think of anything on this guitar that could be

improved. Every note on the guitar sounds unbelievably good. IT

BLOWS MY MIND that you can build such a fine guitar, with such fine

components, that sounds and feels this good, for such a reasonable

price. 

Thank you for building me this amazing guitar. Also, thanks for

talking with me on the phone for a year before I actually plunked

down a deposit… and about 100 phone calls and emails during the

construction phase. The guitar and the whole buying experience was a

real pleasure."  

 

-John W. Hammond

"This is the finest stringed instrument I have ever played. I have had my Wes Lambe guitar for 9 months and it challenges me everyday. It makes me want to be a better player. It is fantastic for live shows and definately generates a buzz amongst the listeners. My other guitars and basses are getting lonely but I think they understand. Wes, thanks for building this brilliant instrument."

-John Prevost

"Nice work!"


-Dechen Hawk / www.dechenhawk.com

   

 "I couldn’t be happier with my new Wes Lambe 8-string.  It’s truly the most perfect instrument I own.  The playability and intonation are amazing.  I thought that having both bass strings and guitar strings on one guitar would sacrifice intonation and playability for both.  It’s actually the opposite.  My 8-string plays better than my best bass or my favorite 6-string.  It’s simply in a league of it’s own.  Not to mention that it’s the best looking instrument I’ve ever had the privilege of calling my own.  There’s such a sense of pride in owning something that was hand crafted in the finest fashion just for you.  It stands alone as a playable work of art in a guitar world of mass-produced noisemakers.  Experiencing music through this instrument reminds me of the first time I heard jazz, I knew that music would never be the same for me again."     
Thanks Wes!


-Jay Van Matre / www.myspace.com/jayvanmatre

"The instrument was immaculate, the previous owner had taken amazing