G&L is finished
- Thread starter esandes
- Start date
marcello252
Well-known member
Fender will rescue you. Maybe.
Butch Snyder
ObsoleteChickenPickingologist
Fender did buy the rights to Leo's name and likeness; but didn't buy the former G&L employees.
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
I don't know why, but Fender buying Leo Fender's name feels kind of scummy
Fender don't use PLEK machines so I'm reluctant to get one. The Fender I have has some dead frets when bending. I guess EBMM is my next consideration. They offer SS frets and PLEK all of their necks, just as G&L did.
BTW, Fender also bought out all of the intellectual property from G&L.
I will say that EB/MM are some of the best necks I've used.
uOpt
Something Cool
I just wish they also made necks with a slightly wider nut.
The old Petrucci model had a wider nut, but the nut slots were cut right back the same as the narrow nut
I think the narrower nut is one of the reasons I like them so much.I just wish they also made necks with a slightly wider nut.
The old Petrucci model had a wider nut, but the nut slots were cut right back the same as the narrow nut
blakejcan
Well-known member
I was thinking about that too. Guild and the like are all super unique. A lot of G&L is just Fender stuff but with a slightly different flavor but also Leo's name.
Ditching G&L the brand and retaking the Leo name would add more credence to Fender as the originator and sole provider of all things tele & strat shaped in the universe
Ditching G&L the brand and retaking the Leo name would add more credence to Fender as the originator and sole provider of all things tele & strat shaped in the universe
I'd think they want to erase the fact that Leo actually started 2 different companies after he left Fender. G&L has nowhere near the saturation that Fender Corp has. I can see them putting Leo's name on genuine Fenders, and possibly using some pickup ideas from G&L (if they buy those, too), but I think as a brand, G&L will be forgotten in 10 years.
chadd
Well-known member
Most of their models are basically derivatives of Fender designs. The other brands you mention had much more unique offerings
I would think the current Fender corp has never even mentioned what Leo did past 1965.
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
Guild, DeArmond, and Gretsch all offer pretty different guitar shape designs. G&L had strats, teles, and jazzmasters - just with different pickups and an ugly headstock. Fender already makes strats, teles, and jazzmasters but with a less ugly headstock . . . so it would make sense to maybe just take the pickup designs and ditch the rest of the brand.
Masta' C
Well-known member
We know (and Fender knows) that "heritage" and "nostalgia" are worth a lot in the guitar market.
Most players don't know or care about the specific evolution of brands beyond the basic fact that Leo Fender created some of the most iconic designs in history and he is the reason "Fender" appears on the headstock of their guitar. 99% of players couldn't tell you who actually "owns" the Fender brand at a given moment. It's more about what that logo and those designs represent in our minds. A "Strat" is a social symbol as much as anything!
It's a shame that G&L is technically gone, but it's possible that Fender really leans into the "Leo Fender" link to enhance their core branding. I wouldn't be surprised to see uber-premium models with "Leo Fender" on the headstock, rather than the standard Fender logo, which has been heavily diluted with budget models.
I also wouldn't be surprised to see "G&L by Fender" or "G&L by Leo Fender" labeling start to appear on products that deviate from the classic designs of Fender's core lineup. Maybe products that would have previously been part of the "Modshop", "Paranormal", "Alternate Universe" type lines, as well as rehashes of proper G&L models, like the Rampage.
Either way, I don't think G&L is "gone forever". It just won't be the same as what most of us knew it to be up to that point. But brands like Jackson and Charvel still exist thanks (or not) to Fender, so there's hope...
Most players don't know or care about the specific evolution of brands beyond the basic fact that Leo Fender created some of the most iconic designs in history and he is the reason "Fender" appears on the headstock of their guitar. 99% of players couldn't tell you who actually "owns" the Fender brand at a given moment. It's more about what that logo and those designs represent in our minds. A "Strat" is a social symbol as much as anything!
It's a shame that G&L is technically gone, but it's possible that Fender really leans into the "Leo Fender" link to enhance their core branding. I wouldn't be surprised to see uber-premium models with "Leo Fender" on the headstock, rather than the standard Fender logo, which has been heavily diluted with budget models.
I also wouldn't be surprised to see "G&L by Fender" or "G&L by Leo Fender" labeling start to appear on products that deviate from the classic designs of Fender's core lineup. Maybe products that would have previously been part of the "Modshop", "Paranormal", "Alternate Universe" type lines, as well as rehashes of proper G&L models, like the Rampage.
Either way, I don't think G&L is "gone forever". It just won't be the same as what most of us knew it to be up to that point. But brands like Jackson and Charvel still exist thanks (or not) to Fender, so there's hope...
