Looking for a budget baritone guitar?
Then stop reading now.
The LsL Instruments Adam Christianson Signature guitar is incredibly expensive.
Is it worth it?
- Amazing build quality
- Amazing tone thanks to hand-wound pickups and guitar's overall build
- Very ergonomic
- It's very expensive and you'd expect some additional features for this price
Yes. It is worth every penny. But this is an instrument for professional musicians who want the absolute best.
If that’s not you, we recommend looking at some of our other baritone guitar recommendations.
If it is you, read the rest of this LsL Adam Christianson Signature guitar review to find out exactly what makes this instrument so special.
Table of Contents
LsL Instruments Adam Christianson Signature Guitar Review: Overview And Features
Few guitar masters are alive today who can surpass the innovation of The Architects ax man Adam Christianson. And knowing how great he is, it’s no surprise that his guitars keep up with his musicianship.
As you may know, Adam is into baritone guitars, featuring longer scale lengths. And the one we’re looking into here is a special one. Made by LsL Instruments, it is more vintage-oriented than other baritone guitars sold today.
But that’s not the only thing that makes this Telecaster-style guitar special. To put it simply: this guitar is a masterpiece.
It falls into the so-called “boutique” category. It is a pretty versatile instrument, although it has a strong “twangy” old school vibe. It is definitely a professional instrument, and it comes with a professional-level price tag as well.
Unless you’re a professional guitarist with plenty of cash to spare, we recommend looking elsewhere for your next instrument. But if you do have the funds, you can hardly do any better than this, when it comes to baritone guitars.
Key Features
- Classic Telecaster body shape and design
- Swamp ash body with nitro finish
- Bolt-on roasted flame maple neck with a hand-crafted “D” profile
- Fixed Hipshot bridge and string-thru-body design
- 27.5-inch scale length
- 24 jumbo frets
- Classic locking tuners
- Two hand-wound custom humbucker pickups
- Controls for volume, tone, pickup selection, and coil-split
- Amazing build quality
- Amazing tone thanks to hand-wound pickups and guitar's overall build
- Very ergonomic
- It's very expensive and you'd expect some additional features for this price
Design And Construction
The first thing thing you notice about this guitar is the old school design and its other striking aesthetic features. It has been out since 2018 and rocks that “worn out” look.
It even has some classic Telecaster design features, including the same kind of pickguard and the same type of control plate with basic volume, tone, and pickup selection controls.
What’s different are the 24 jumbo frets and a scale length of 27.5 inches. The guitar features a swamp ash body with a bolt-on roasted flame maple neck.
Hardware
The pickups are somewhat “softer” humbuckers that are hand-wound. They also come with a coil-split option, giving you that dual single-coil configuration for which Telecasters are well-known.
Some of the other components are also hand-made, including the guitar’s neck profile. The Adam Christianson Signature model also has a simple fixed bridge and strings that go through the body, which can help increase overall sustain. And despite its bolt-on body and neck construction, this guitar has fairly easy access to higher frets.
Advantages And Disadvantages
Pros
- Great design and build quality
- The worn-out finish makes it aesthetically pleasing
- Hand-wound pickups sound amazing
- Great sustain
- Additional control for coil splitting makes it versatile
- Really comfortable neck
- A very reliable instrument
Cons
- Very expensive
LsL Instruments Adam Christianson Signature Vs Dean Icon Black Satin
Since the world of baritone guitars has a somewhat limited following, it’s always a good idea to find another example for comparison. Fans of these instruments usually have similar interests and need something to cover the low-end riffing territories.
But budgets differ greatly. That is why we decided to compare the Adam Christianson Signature LsL model to the much less expensive Dean Icon Black Satin.
These are two completely different baritone guitars, but the Dean model can be a great alternative for metal players who don’t have a huge budget, but need a guitar that can still do a lot of stuff for the price.
So the first obvious thing that separates them is the price range. Both are amazing guitars in their respective price ranges, but it’s pretty obvious that Adam Christianson’s model is much better overall, with all of its qualities and features. What makes them somewhat similar is the overall simplicity.
The Icon features Dean’s classic double-cutaway body design, reminiscent of a Fender Stratocaster. Read our article comparing the Fender Stratocaster vs Telecaster for the differences between these two popular cutaway shapes.
As the name suggests, it is covered by an amazing black satin finish, along with single-ply cream binding that makes both the body and the neck look more stylish. The guitar’s ebony fretboard has special Pearl Icon inlays. This is a gorgeous guitar.
The body of the Dean Icon is made out of mahogany, giving it a slightly darker and mellower tone. What’s also great is that it has an arched top, which adds to its pleasing look.
The neck is primarily made out of mahogany. It has a 27-inch scale length, an ebony fretboard with 24 jumbo frets, and a set-neck construction.
It’s all accompanied by a classic tune-o-matic bridge and Grover tuners. The guitar also has a dual-action truss rod, which is the same as the Adam Christianson model.
The pickup configuration and the controls are where these two guitars go completely separate ways. The Dean Icon has with two active EMG pickups, the classic 81 and 85 combo. It comes with a very nice control configuration with its two volume and two tone pots. There’s also a simple 3-way pickup selector switch, but no coil-splitting or coil-tapping features.
Even though it’s a metal-oriented instrument, there’s some diversity in the kinds of tones that you can make with it. But it’s pretty obvious that the Adam Christianson model is superior in every way. Of course, that comes with a substantially higher price. You’ll de3finitely want to add insurance to the guitar’s shipping cost if you order this one by mail.
That said, the Dean Icon is a great choice for what you pay, especially if you’re looking specifically for a great metal guitar for those heavy chugging downtuned riffs.
Learn more in our full review of the Dean Icon Black Satin baritone guitar.
LsL Instruments Adam Christianson Signature: Conclusion And Rating
It’s pretty obvious that the LsL Adam Christianson Signature guitar is not for everyone. This is a fully professional baritone guitar, mostly intended for those who adore crispy bright sounds and some of those bluesy or jazzy vintage-oriented overtones.
It’s not a complicated guitar by any means, but the build quality, the tone, and the instrument’s performance put it up there with some of the best guitars we’ve ever had the chance to check out.
What’s more, it’s a pretty diverse guitar, too. The only real drawback is that you’ll need a substantial sum of money to get your hands on one.
Despite the high price, this is still a great value for anyone who has the funds to afford it. That’s why we have no choice but to give it a perfect Musicaroo rating of 5 out of 5.
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