Philosophy

The Mission

Precision and Soul. These are the two words to sum up our efforts to build an amazing guitar. If you have precision, you have all elements working in harmony with the others and responding in a musical way. If you have soul, you have built at every stage, with your heart, with your mind, you have cared about the instrument and the musician who will play it.


Tone:

After many years of playing, modifying and repairing guitars, builder Chris Lau has built up an aesthetic that is strong and simple...first, definitely first, a guitar should sound fantastic. His design decisions are based on hearing hundreds of models and builds with endless pickup choices and mods...

Quality:

Secondly, a guitar should 'work'. And by work we mean the usual stuff – not break strings, keep excellent intonation, only need minimal maintenance year after year – a guitar should be built to last, built to play. The neck should be straight. The nut slots should be the right height. The strings shouldn't pull off the edge of the board... you shouldn't need to tighten that truss rod all the way just to get it playable...You should be able to achieve a great action and keep it over the years. Sounds like a no-brainer? Isn't this just what all guitars are like? At the very least, isn't this what big brand guitars are like? Sadly, we have all owned guitars, many we paid quite a bit for, that don't meet these standards.

Playability:

The most frequent comment we get on a Lauda guitar is how playable it feels. The neck, it's finish, shape, the fretwork, have been obsessed over... and it really shows. These guitars feel great - fast, smooth, effortless. So often a guitarist has remarked: 'Are these elevens? I usually don't play these...' You can use your own string gauge of course, but it is an indication of the great action and liveliness these guitars have that players feel they can jump a gauge without losing their mojo! And it is the thing we are most proud of with our instruments.Versatility: Lauda is also shooting for versatility. Most players need more than one sound. The ideas behind a Lauda guitar mean you can flick a pickup switch or tweak a tone knob and get a great tone, different from the one a moment ago, that isn't a compromise. That's why we have blues players and metal players buying the same model of guitar. A great sounding instrument will let you demand a variety of sounds – and shape your very own. This also makes Lauda guitars a fantastic choice for working musicians, adapting really well to a multiple of genres with ease and authority. No more wishing you could be bothered lugging three guitars around just to sound right...

Balance:

A Lauda guitar is built to be fundamentally balanced – in weight, in tone, it needs to be comfortable standing or sitting, the bridge needs to be in the right spot for your right hand, the contours should fit, the volume and tone knobs need to be accessible...when you buy a good instrument, these – and lots more - are the things you pay for.

We have spent a lifetime working towards these guitars, and that's how long we want you to love yours.

Make it Lauda!

Available exclusively online from Lauda Guitars.