Martin Seeliger founded Lakewood Guitars in Germany in 1986. As an 18 year old Seeliger had served an apprenticeship with Manfred Pletz mainly building classical guitars, but also steel string guitar and all kinds of mandolin-type instruments and acoustic basses. Upon completing his apprenticeship, he worked as an instrument repairman for local music shops in the area and quickly learned that guitar repair and restoration can be even more difficult than building a new instrument. But during that period he had the chance to handle thousands of guitars with many different sounds, to see many different building techniques and to speak with the owners of these instruments about what they liked and did not like. Seeliger brings this experience to bear in the management of Lakewood.