The Crew

Master Luthier Tom Albert runs the shop with help from Gehrig Uhles, Michael Collins, Anthony Ludington, Alex Sorotchkine and Larry DeMyer. Spencer Lull tends to sales and operations as President with help from Preston Lull.

  • Spencer got his first guitar from his dad when he was eleven and has been obsessed ever since. 

    Growing up in the shop, he experienced firsthand the time and care that went into every instrument repair and build. He would often geek out with his father about every idiosyncratic nuance of instruments, what made them tick and what changes affected tone, playability and overall quality.

    Spencer and his father were very close and would often discuss the shop and future plans. While it was always the plan for him to continue the family business, the timeline was accelerated after Mike’s passing in February of 2020.

    With an extensive background in business development, marketing and administration, Spencer manages the day-to-day operations of the shop and is the guy to talk to if you have any questions about a custom build!

    Spencer is beyond honored to keep his father’s legacy going strong and is committed to ensuring that every instrument that leaves the shop is something the entire team is proud of.

    In his free time, you can find him at the shop, playing guitar, bass or piano, or spending time with his wife.


  • Tom got his first guitar when he was ten, took a couple lessons at the community center and was hooked. Guitars would become part of his life for good.

    Years later, while in college searching for a career path, and after picking up a recently repaired guitar from Mike Lull, Tom’s wife commented to him “you could do that” launching his pursuit of a career as a Luthier. Within a few months he enrolled at the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery.

    After completing the course in the summer of 1992, Mike hired him and he’s been hard at work ever since. Tom had the benefit and privilege of working side by side with Mike for nearly 28 years. He was Mike’s right-hand-man the entire time.

    Tom loves the challenge of making every instrument the very best it can be. He truly wants all of our customers to love their guitars/basses! He is the Master Luthier of Mike Lull’s Custom Guitars and everything that leaves the shop goes through him. He is honored to continue Mike’s legacy through continued instrument building for artists all over the world.

    Tom lives in Snohomish and has been married to his lovely wife Susan since 1991. They have three grown daughters and a new grandson.

  • Less than a week after graduating Roberto Venn School of Luthiery, Gehrig began his career at Mike Lull’s Custom Guitars.

    Although his passion for tinkering began as kid by taking apart every piece of furniture and VCR his parents owned, he now puts his talents to better use in extensive guitar repair and guitar building.

    After a 4 year stint at Dusty Strings learning the ins and outs of vintage acoustic repair, Gehrig is back at his roots here at Mike Lull’s Custom Guitars.

    When not in the shop you can find him playing in his band, High Pulp, at a brewery, or humiliating his coworkers on the golf course.

  • Michael grew up in a musical family which led to an innate curiosity about musical instruments, their design and construction. He completed the luthiery course at Roberto-Venn in the fall of 1992. After working in repairs at a few music stores, he was hired at the Massachusetts firm of Hubbard and Broekman Harpsichords and Fortepianos where he honed his skills in manufacturing and woodworking. 

    Meeting his wife prompted a move to Canada, where he took a special interest in the construction of Archtop and Selmer-Maccaferri guitars and authored a book and instructional video on the subject. 

    After his return to the US, he opened a shop in Phoenix Arizona to continue to build instruments as well as honing his skills in CAD drafting and CNC manufacturing in his shop, while also working for Fender Musical Instrument Corporation. 

    When he is not designing, building, repairing or playing musical instruments, he likes to spend time with his wife and children as well as enjoying the great outdoors while long-distance cycling and camping.

  • Anthony is an Indiana native whose comedy career in Arizona led him to stumbling upon Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery. He was fascinated by the notion that he could learn to build and maintain the tools used by artists and attended R-V's Fall 2020 Five-Month Guitar Making and Repair program.

    Anthony now calls Washington State home, he is proud to be part of the outstanding crew at Mike Lull's Guitar Works.

    In his spare time, he writes & performs stand-up comedy, makes tie dyes, and of course, plays guitar!

  • Alex Sorotchkine began a lifetime love affair with music (and guitars, in particular) in early childhood. After secondary school in the former Soviet Union, he spent two years in the College of the Arts in Siberia and another five years in the College of Music in St. Petersburg, after which he toured with his band playing lead guitar and working in music production until 1991 when he emigrated to the U.S.

    Ultimately landing in Phoenix, Alex spent the next seventeen years taking courses and classes in music and video production, script writing, and, ultimately, producing a music production that traveled in India. His guitar(s) have always been his closest (non)living relatives! In 2014, Alex attended Roberto Venn School of Luthiery and followed up his time there with apprentice work, additional courses, and working with CNC technology and 3-D modeling.

    Alex is thrilled to have the opportunity to work at Mike Lull's Guitar Works - a company whose passion and reputation for quality work and dedication to detail match his own.

  • As a kid at summer camp, Larry injured his foot and didn’t want to go home. One of the counselors gave him a guitar, taught him three chords and suggested he figure out how to play it. That was the beginning of a lifelong passion to learn all he could about guitars and music.

    As soon as he could, Larry applied to and graduated from the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, studying under William Eaton, John Roberts and Bob Venn. Between 1978 to 2004, he worked in a number of vintage guitar shops based out of his hometown of Indianapolis as a luthier, guitar buyer and appraiser.

    Larry has toured the United States, Canada, Ireland and Europe with his guitars and has worked as an audio engineer/producer with many album credits. Two years ago he left the Chicago area to follow his son, a professional dancer with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and now lives in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood. Larry is honored to be part of the team at Mike Lull.