James Tyler L.A. Studio Classic, “Coma”

I've been playing Tylers for over 30 years — one of the first session guitarists on the East Coast to get on board. What pulled me in back then was Mike Landau. Watching Mike play his early Tylers was enough. I had to have one, and I've never looked back.

This L.A. Studio Classic is a tip of the hat to Mike Landau's Coma Strat, and it delivers exactly what that lineage promises. The body is alder — lightest grade — and the guitar is acoustically alive in a way that reminds you why wood selection matters before a single electron flows through the pickups. Pick it up unplugged, and it sings. That resonance doesn't disappear when you plug in; it translates directly into the amplified sound.

The Vintage Natural semi-gloss is a rare finish in the Tyler world — and when Tyler does it, nobody does it better. There's an organic, almost tactile quality to it — you feel the wood under your hands rather than a thick layer of finish. It gives the guitar a broken-in feeling right out of the case. Paired with the quartersawn maple neck in the ST64 profile, the playing feel is immediate and comfortable.

The pickup configuration follows the original Dann Huff "Black" model spec — Duncan Classic Stacks in the neck and middle, Tyler's "Secret" humbucker at the bridge. The series/parallel switching, plus the push/pull on the tone control to combine the neck and bridge pickups, gives this guitar remarkable versatility in the studio. As Jim would have said, "those who know, know."

What I keep coming back to with this guitar is how much the wood does the talking. No wild finishes, no visual flash — just a beautiful piece of alder doing exactly what great alder does. That's what drew me to the early Tylers in the first place, and it's what this one delivers. The Vintage Natural semi-gloss finish gets out of the way and lets the instrument breathe. You feel the wood under your hands, and you hear it through every note. Tyler guitars have always understood that the best guitar is the one that sounds alive before you even plug it in. This one does.

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.

ABOUT TYLER GUITARS
James Tyler has had a guitar in his hand almost every day since he first picked one up the summer after seventh grade, in 1964. In college, Jim studied Architecture, Design, Music, Photography and for a couple years, Theology. He paid his way through these years of collage doing guitar repair work at local guitar stores, and as a factory trained auto mechanic for Alfa Romeo, Lancia, BMW and Fiat. Later into the 1970’s, he got connected with the guys at Norman’s Rare Guitars in the San Fernando Valley, and became their main repair and restoration guy. Jim’s abilities continued to expand and soon he had enough experience and reputation that he opened his first repair shop in Reseda, CA in 1980. Since then its been a whirlwind of successes, including being chosen to be displayed among the great California guitar companies such as Fender, Rickenbacker, Mosrite and Charvel in the Museum of California's exhibit The Ultimate Guitar Show and building for artists such as Michael Landau, David Williams, Steve Lukather, Michael Anthony, and Dan Huff. James' design shapes and various ground breaking guitar finishes and most recently his line of pickups have virtually transformed the guitar building industry.