ABOUT SCOTT LENTZ Jr.
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Scott Jr. likes to say he was born into guitar building. He grew up surrounded by guitars and guitarmaking, and one of his earliest memories is of running into the kitchen of his home and hitting his head—knocking himself out cold—on a guitar that was drying in the entranceway. But he was not just surrounded by guitars themselves; he was immersed in his father’s unwavering passion for creating the perfect guitar.
Just as Scott Sr. was taught to value independence and self-reliance by his grandfather, he passed on the same lessons to his son. When Scott Jr. first started working in the shop as a teenager, his father followed the traditional master/apprentice way: he rarely showed his son how to do anything! But Scott Jr. understood that there was much to be learned, and his ardent and inquisitive mind paid attention, learning the skills—by watching and trial and error—and making the connections to eventually become a master builder in his own right.
But it wasn’t only his father who influenced Scott Jr. to devote his life to the guitar. The great Jimi Hendrix was a powerful force that drew him not just to guitars, but specifically to traditional T and S style guitars. Hendrix turned everything upside down when he came on the scene, and with his S style guitars showed the world what was musically possible with an electric guitar. To this day, there is a large portrait of Hendrix above Scott Jr.’s main workspace at Lentz Guitar.
Throughout his 20s, Scott Jr. spent a great deal of time in the Lentz shop, learning about vintage guitars and amps, guitar repair, electronics, and how to run a business. He also broadened his life experience by playing music—studying guitar, bass, and keyboards—surfing, hiking, and exploring the landscape around his home in Encinitas, CA. Throughout this period, he played an essential role at Lentz Guitar®, becoming an expert at guitar and amp repair and working on instruments for heavyweight pro musicians including Ike Turner, John Mayall, Buddy Whittington, Hank Van Sickle, Phil X, Joe Bonamassa, Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus, Lance Keltner, Walter Trout, and many others. This was important both for the Lentz Guitar® shop in terms of generating income, and for his own broad-based education.
More than 10 years ago, Scott Jr.’s role at Lentz Guitar® expanded as his father recognized he had become a true master builder. As Scott Jr. says, “At Lentz Guitar®, there is NO room for error…” and he had worked diligently over many years to achieve a level of mastery essential to the Lentz Guitar® ethos. What started out as an apprenticeship then evolved into a partnership. For the last decade, Scott Sr. and Scott Jr. have run Lentz Guitar® together. The only real division of labor is that Scott Sr. handles the painting/finishing of all Lentz Guitars, and Scott Jr. handles the internet presence and website development, and manages the day-to-day operations and business aspects of the shop. Every other part of the building process they share.
Scott Jr. has also developed his own line, the JR Reserve guitars, which, like the guitars in the Reserve line, are made from start to finish with absolutely no compromises, to be the very best an electric guitar can be. Over the years, Scott Jr. has garnered an enormous amount of knowledge about what makes a guitar great, and the JR Reserve guitars are his vision of the ideal electric guitar.
What LENTZ Guitar® Customers Are Saying:
Whenever people come out to see me play, they see me with this amp, these pedals, and that speaker cabinet. The next time they see me play, it's a different amp, different pedals, different speaker cabinet, and so on and so on through the years. The one thing that has not changed is my choice of guitar...
What LENTZ Guitar® Customers Are Saying:
As a player, there is nothing better than having an instrument crafted that feels so comfortable in my hands that it is effortless to play. Lentz Guitar® delivers with fantastic tone, fine craftsmanship, attention to detail, and spectacular finishes...
What LENTZ Guitar® Customers Are Saying:
My Lentz Guitar® - Artist Reserve S Style gives me the right amount of versatility and awesome playability I need while out on tour filling in for Richie Sambora on the Bon Jovi tour...
What LENTZ Guitar® Customers Are Saying:
Scott - When you said on the phone that this particular build was one-in-a-thousand of the guitars that come from your workshop - you were not kidding. The guitar is a work of art! It is one of the most beautiful paint jobs I have ever seen on any instrument! I say this without hesitation and owning some of the best instruments in the world...
What LENTZ Guitar® Customers Are Saying:
One year, while playing at a guitar show in Dallas, a friend handed me a Lentz strat. It was the first Lentz I had ever played. Now, I had brought my trusty, boutique super strat with me to play. This guitar had been my best friend for years, and the guitar I used on almost every gig. It had beaten every challenger I put up against it...
What LENTZ Guitar® Customers Are Saying:
Scott - the guitar arrived safe and sound on Friday - thank you for the prompt shipment.
I'm sending an email so I make sure I capture all my thoughts. You guys nailed it on every front. Aesthetically, the guitar is stunning. The burst is done just right. The darkness of the Brazilian rosewood is just plain sexy...
LENTZ GUITAR®, 968 RANCHEROS DR., SAN MARCOS, CA 92069 • 760.743.1598
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