Eye opening experience (G&L content)

[Gasp100]

So, I've owned quite a few G&L's and I could never really figure out why I could not completely bond with them overall. Great craftsmanship, great materials, VERY solid and dependable design, very consistent (from what I owned/played) but for some reason the G&L's (all USA made, ASAT's, Bluesboy's, Legacy's, etc...) never stayed.
As noted in another thread, I recently sold a great Legacy on ebay for a silly low price because I wanted to move it and just pay down debt. Figures, the person who bought it at that silly low price has UNREASONABLY HIGH expectations + buyer's remorse. As I inspect the guitar now I would rate it a SOLID 9.5 out of 10; the buyer insisted I grant a complete refund... whatever...
But now that I have the rare opportunity to actually try "one that got away" for a second time my thoughts on this guitar (and G&L's in general) have completely changed. This is an excellent guitar at any price. The prices these go for on the used market are unbelievable and I'm kidding myself to think Fender's that are built to this quality and spec are on the used market anywhere near this price.
Now I will say that I bought a Van Zandt Vintage Plus bridge pup (not installed yet) and it's possible I will replace all pups eventually, but I do that with many of guitars I have owned. I guess this is just a weird circumstance where I can sort of go back in time and I'm rediscovering these wonderful guitars again. Next up I'm going to try and hunt down a Hamer USA guitar similar to one(s) I have owned in the past. Another killer buy on the used market.

[SLG]

I've always like the quality and features of G&L guitars. My only exception would be the smaller, thinner necks. Until recently, G&L didn't offer much choice in necks. I have a ASAT Classic Thinline that has a medium thickness neck. It plays like a dream. I still wish Fatback/Nocaster size necks were available for G&L's. Unfortunately, Warmoth, USACG, Allparts, etc., do not make replacement necks for G&L instruments.

[Billy Penn]

I've always like the quality and features of G&L guitars. My only exception would be the smaller, thinner necks. Until recently, G&L didn't offer much choice in necks. I have a ASAT Classic Thinline that has a medium thickness neck. It plays like a dream. I still wish Fatback/Nocaster size necks were available for G&L's. Unfortunately, Warmoth, USACG, Allparts, etc., do not make replacement necks for G&L instruments.

I have a G&L ASAT Special and love it!! Similar but yet different than a Tele. I agree with you SLG about the thinner necks. The ones I tried at NAMM were better than the thinner necks in the past. The ASAT I have is from the early 90s with thin neck. I had Musikraft make me a replacement neck for it. A nice big fat Nocaster type and not the guitar is AWESOME!! If you contact them they make make one for you. I had to cut a headstock shape myself because it came with a paddle.

[alguit]

I had no idea Musikraft made necks for G&L's-no one else does, and they're based right here in NJ!

I had a Legacy body I sold because I couldn't get a neck for it (not paying G&L's ridiculous price for a replacement, that's for sure...).

To the OP-I'm glad it worked out for you-we don't always get second chances, do we?

I still have an early ASAT which is a keeper (and I scored it for $400 bucks from Lark Street Music years ago). US-made Hamers ARE, as you note, also a great buy, highly underrated...

[Pikesoldier]

i tried 4 different sets of pickups in my s500 trying to make it speak to me sound-wise. finally had to sell it. never had the sparkle of my fenders.

on the other hand, it played like buttah and had an extremely comfortable neck.

[Billy Penn]

I had no idea Musikraft made necks for G&L's-no one else does, and they're based right here in NJ!

I had a Legacy body I sold because I couldn't get a neck for it (not paying G&L's ridiculous price for a replacement, that's for sure...).

To the OP-I'm glad it worked out for you-we don't always get second chances, do we?

I still have an early ASAT which is a keeper (and I scored it for $400 bucks from Lark Street Music years ago). US-made Hamers ARE, as you note, also a great buy, highly underrated...

Give them a call or email and see if they will make you one. I actually sent my ASAT neck to them so they could get the heel right. The neck turned out great and I cut the headstock just like an ASAT. It was a fun project and now the guitar is awesome. If I remember correctly the neck was a little expensive because it was the first one and they were not geared for production. I think they did it for me because I told them NOBODY makes a repleacement G&L neck and I also did an interview with them for my site 300guitars.com. They got some mileage from it. Anyway give them a call or send an email and ask......couldn't hurt!!

[KRosser]

I love the necks on my G&L's...but then again, I have small hands and large necks make my hands feel fatigued after a few hours, and I play a few hours to many hours every day.

[jazzrat]

I keep reading about thin necks on G & L 's.....my '06 Legacy has the Bi-Cut neck and is nearly the same profile as my EJ strat but maybe slightly fatter. Definately not on the thin side. Way bigger than AmStd Fender.
It's a terrific neck and killer guitar.
Curious what years had thinner vs. fatter necks.

[c_mac]

i tried 4 different sets of pickups in my s500 trying to make it speak to me sound-wise. finally had to sell it. never had the sparkle of my fenders.

on the other hand, it played like buttah and had an extremely comfortable neck.

Wow, my experience was totally different. When I bought my S-500 I bought it because it sounded amazingly better than any Strat I had ever tried.

[bc-cosmo]

I love my 2005 Bluesboy, and so does pretty much everyone who plays it.

Semihollow ash, no f-hole, light, fat and spanky all at once.

Based on comments from you all, I guess I got lucky on the neck--medium-thick with big frets. Just an outstanding player. Go, Leo!

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h283/stevedaily/guitars%20etc/DSC_0022.jpg

[GreenKnight18]

I recently had a nice G&L ASAT Classic with the fattest neck I've ever played. HUGE. Too big for me in fact.

I love G&L's too... but their pickups are too beefy for my tastes.

[Gasp100]

"medium-thick with big frets" -- that is how I would describe my legacy (and a few other G&L's I have had). The big flat/fat frets and flatter radius (in some cases) take a little getting used to but overall I would not consider most of the G&L necks on guitars I have owned/played "skinny" or "thin". That are not baseball bats by any means (in most cases), maybe they have less of a shoulder and more dramatic tape from the back of the nut to the heel than other guitars?

[b2sc]

I recently had a nice G&L ASAT Classic with the fattest neck I've ever played. HUGE. Too big for me in fact.

I love G&L's too... but their pickups are too beefy for my tastes.

I've got an ASAT Classic with a huge neck too. It really is No-caster big so yes, they do exist. I threw in a pair of boutique Tele pups and it's Tele Heaven.

[Presc]

I feel like mine has a decent thick neck. As many others describe, medium-thick, large frets. Granted, the guitar I owned before I had this G&L was a Prestige Ibanez RG, so compared to that guitar, these frets are pretty normal! This guitar was made in 2005. I haven't played any old ones, but don't people seem to say the early G&Ls had thinner necks than the more modern ones?

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb23/Prescalade/Guitar24of24.jpg

[DavidMgT]

One of the challenges with G&L is that, because of their designs, people think they will sound like Fenders, when they are very different instruments. They also have a great deal of variety within their product lines. I could not (after 3 tries!) bond with the soapbar MFDs in the ASAT Special, however really like the MFD single coils in the ASAT S.

I have also really grown to love the ASAT Deluxe - its solid Mohagany body and FMT give it more clarity and balance than my Les Paul Standard.

[Paul Conway]

One of the only 'one that got away' experiences I've had - where I felt remorse about not leaping on a guitar - was IRO a G&L Bluesboy. It just had the fattest, clearest, most perfect sound in all positions, but it was about £1300 and the neck was the 1 5/8" nut, 7.5" radius type. If it had had the correct neck, I think I may have made myself very poor that day.

Very hard to find G&L's in this country, sadly, and very expensive.

[DavidMgT]

One of the only 'one that got away' experiences I've had - where I felt remorse about not leaping on a guitar - was IRO a G&L Bluesboy. It just had the fattest, clearest, most perfect sound in all positions, but it was about £1300 and the neck was the 1 5/8" nut, 7.5" radius type. If it had had the correct neck, I think I may have made myself very poor that day.

Very hard to find G&L's in this country, sadly, and very expensive.

The ASAT Bluesboy is indeed a great guitar. Mine is my favorite guitar that I own and one that I would never part with.

Keep checking on ebay. You may get lucky and find a seller that is willing to ship it to you.

[OutterLimits]

I love my 2005 Bluesboy, and so does pretty much everyone who plays it.

Semihollow ash, no f-hole, light, fat and spanky all at once.

Based on comments from you all, I guess I got lucky on the neck--medium-thick with big frets. Just an outstanding player. Go, Leo!

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h283/stevedaily/guitars%20etc/DSC_0022.jpg

Nice Axe!

[GA20T]

I never wanted to like the G&Ls until I got my hands on my bandmate's ASAT classic Tele. One of the liveliest sounding electrics ever, played unplugged or amplified. I keep looking for flaws in that guitar but Fender & others come up short in direct comparison every time. She's a little on the heavy side, a little clunky feeling, but eats just about everything out there. Their hardware & pickups are superb IMO.

[phoenix 7]

I think G&L's are very underrated. My ASAT Z-3 sounded fantastic.

[SLG]

I keep reading about thin necks on G & L 's.....my '06 Legacy has the Bi-Cut neck and is nearly the same profile as my EJ strat but maybe slightly fatter. Definately not on the thin side. Way bigger than AmStd Fender.
It's a terrific neck and killer guitar.
Curious what years had thinner vs. fatter necks.

Some G&L instruments built in within the past five years have medium thickness necks. Earlier instruments sported thinner necks. The 3-bolt neck guitars had some of the thinnest neck profiles.

[jads57]

I have 2 Asats Super & Classic 3 , have sold the necks and the p/ups off of them.
I've replaced the Super w/ a neck for Doug at Soulmate Guitars neck .920 at 1st fret to .980 12th fret and Vintage Vibe Asat Humbuckers.
The Classic has a Guitar Mill neck same fat dimensions .920 at 1st fret-.980 at 12th and Vintage Vibe CCRider neck p/up & Dimarzio Area T 61 neck and T Bridge p/up. Very happy w/ all of the changes!

[ToneBrokerBill]

I was Strat shopping today and went to a local shop specifically to play the G&Ls. I played a Legacy, an S-500, and a Comanche. I was underwhelmed by the Legacy - mostly it just didn't feel comfortable. I really liked the S-500, and I loved the Comanche. That guitar sounded like 3 or 4 different type Strats all rolled up into one, and then had other tones on top of that.

The strange thing, however, was that I just didn't "click" with any of the guitars. Maybe I've been brainwashed by seeing and hearing so many Strats, but I just couldn't bond with the G&Ls. Intellectually, I knew the Comanche was a better guitar in many ways, but I walked out of the store without a guitar and then bought a '57 reissue Strat about an hour later at another shop.

I tried, I really did.

[Boris Bubbanov]

David, you just answered the question I sometimes ask myself when I am playing one of my mid-2000s Comanches: Why don't more people play these things? The answer is.

Conditioned Response.

There just is not another guitar that can cover more sonic terrain better than a USA G + L Comanche, Dual Fulcrum or hardtail.

[Robert1950]

Fenders and G&L are both Leo Fender guitars.

[DavidMgT]

David, you just answered the question I sometimes ask myself when I am playing one of my mid-2000s Comanches: Why don't more people play these things? The answer is.

Conditioned Response.

There just is not another guitar that can cover more sonic terrain better than a USA G + L Comanche, Dual Fulcrum or hardtail.

Its funny..If Fender bought a bunch of G&L Legacies and just changed the headstock and made them into the latest of the numerous iterations of the strat..say the Strat USA "plus"; people would go absolutely crazy and hail the guitar as the best strat ever made.

[wrxplayer]

I've always been a G&L fan and have owned a few.

Business being stinky and with a major expense coming up in October, I decided it was time to downsize. As part of that I picked up a G&L George Fullerton signature (G&L's version of a '57 strat) at a very favorable price and am selling my Grosh. Played back to back, I prefer the Grosh, but the G&L + the money in my pocket makes the switch worthwhile.

Interestingly, the next "trade down" involves selling my USA Hamer, which I put in the emporium just a couple of hours ago. It's an exceptional guitar. It's being/been replaced by an Epi Elite.

[bc-cosmo]

Guitar Shorty loves his...

http://laist.com/attachments/la_elise/leimert%20dinner%20and%20a%20show%20guitar%20short y.jpg

[newfmp3]

I'm looking at a comanche right now. 07 model, what are the necks typically like on these,i have small hands.....but not feet!:)