Two guitars a day: LsL Instruments answers Fender's Stratocaster letter
Lisa Lerman says the letter asked the Santa Clarita builders to destroy their inventory and prove it, leaving European orders for their Saticoy in limbo.
CBS LA
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 108,947 views a day, 22 times a normal first day on this channel (4,955).
Small Santa Clarita guitar shop receives cease-and-desist from Fender
At LsL Instruments in Santa Clarita, a good week is measured in single digits. Ten people work in the shop, and finishing two guitars a day, Lisa Lerman tells CBS LA reporter Jasmine Viel, "would be a successful week for us."
That small scale is the heart of the report. Fender has sent cease-and-desist letters to dozens of guitar makers around the world, and LsL received one. On screen, the letter cites "copyright infringement of the 'Stratocaster' body shape." The guitar in question is the Saticoy, which Lance Lerman holds up as a raw, unfinished body: "This is an S-style guitar. We call it the Saticoy."
The demand was blunt. "They wanted us to destroy all our inventory and show them evidence," Lisa says. She adds that it disrupted the business, because pending orders for S-style guitars were supposed to ship to Europe.
The report links the wave of letters to a German court decision and recalls that Fender failed to trademark the Stratocaster body in the United States in 2009. It also carries Fender's statement that it will not sue boutique builders. The Lermans are not fully reassured. "We just don't know how far this is going to go," Lisa says.
The Short drew about 110,000 views in its first day, and its comment section filled up hundreds of times faster than a usual CBS LA Short. Many commenters debate what the law can protect: a headstock, a body shape, a design whose patents ran out long ago. Others leave something simpler: owners of LsL guitars describing the instruments they play, and newcomers saying the report made them want one.
The workshop story even ran ahead of the channel's Norte Fire coverage, which also drew unusually large audiences the same day.
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What viewers say
To Lance and Lisa and the LsL team, you have built the guitar I would call the best I’ve ever played, my 2011 Saticoy.
Don’t forget that most/all your customers are immediately impressed when playing one. ❤@BeegeeplusSee it on YouTubeLSL makes absolutely killer instruments
@GasStationSushiiiiSee it on YouTubeLSL is one of the top boutique guitar builders. This is a localized story of this issue that has hit the guitar building community worldwide. It helps me understand the issue better.
@peterdvideosSee it on YouTube
2 more comments
I want an LSL guitar.
@sharkair2839See it on YouTubeI now want one of these guitars
@dookieday1See it on YouTube
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- Channel
- CBS LA
- Subscribers
- 1,160,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 6,184,576
- Channel views, pace per day
- 604,799 (on a normal day: 678,973)
- Video published
- October 17, 2026
- Video views so far
- 109,946 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 109,931
The numbers
A local business report about a ten-person guitar shop traveled far beyond the channel's usual audience for a Short, and its comment section was busier still.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which guitarist famously set his Stratocaster on fire at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival?
Hendrix knelt over his Stratocaster and set it alight at the end of his Monterey set, one of rock's most famous stage moments.