G&L really THAT good?

Re: G&L really THAT good?

I used to have a 1960 Strat--one of the Holy Grails of guitardom. Had to sell it to survive after a nasty divorce in 1990. When I went looking for another Strat, I found the G&L Legacy. No comparison--the G&L was a superior guitar in every way. I now own 15 G&Ls; and the only Fender I own is a Precision "Lyte" bass.

And G&L IS a custom shop. All of their guitars are built to order. You want a Legacy with a different profile, graphite nut and locking tuners in a cool color--they will build it for you.

A lot of us G&L folk hang out at www.guitarsbyleo.com.

Check it out.

Bill
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

Wow wasn't expecting such a great response! looks like there isn't many people that have anything remotely bad to say about them!
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

SouthpawGuy said:
Sorry, no clips or videos, and I did buy them used, and most are in absolute mint condition. I'm well into double figures now with G&Ls, they are highly addictive.

Some more pics ...
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SouthpawGuy There some really sweet looking guitars!

At the moment I'm looking at a Legacy special that would work out at 800 euro tops including shipping. I see you have a lecacy and Legacy special, Is the only difference between the 2 models the pickups? The legacy Special comes with Dual blade and a Power blade SC sized humbuckers and the Legacy with "G&L vintage style Alnico V single coil pickups", thats the only difference i can see?

How does the Legacy compare to the Legacy Special tone wise? :friday:
 
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Re: G&L really THAT good?

AlexR said:
Wow, the only 3 bad G&L's in history and you happen to get them all!!

Seriously though, you must have had some amazing bad luck there, or just some unmet expectations
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Apparently so! Seriously though....the action on the one Legacy (ash bodied) was the highest I've ever seen on a guitar. It was insane that it even got out of the shop......just something to keep in mind if you're ever doing a custom order. Worse yet is that G&L wouldn't make good on it.

The alder body Legacy played like a charm....but had the worst sustain of any guitar I've ever owned. And the Asat Deluxe I owned was just "meh" across the board. The tone was ok, and the action was ok....but it was an expensive guitar to just be 'ok'. I'm much happier with my PRS's and Tom Anderson.
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

B2D said:
G&L's are like beefier sounding Fenders They're overbuilt in the pickup and bridge hardware department, and their necks and frets are SUPER easy to play. They're not on the same level as Suhrs, Andersons, or CS Fenders (which i consider to be works of art in addition to guitars) but I prefer them over standard MIA Fenders.
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+123

They're very good. I've played a bunch of them and been more-or-less impressed with every one. The hardware and pickups are great. The fit-and-finish is above that of standard USA Fender. They fall somewhat behind Suhr and CS Fender in materials, but that's acceptable and expected at their price point.

My only gripe with them is the really wide-feeling D-shaped necks which many seem to have. Not my favorite neck shape, but I don't have big hands so that could be part of my issue.
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

I have played a lot of G&L's and they are all really nice, but for me, the models that they knocked it out of the park on are the ASAT and the ASAT Classic. Just incredible guitars. I still have a beautiful ASAT Classic that is the go to tele here. Just perfect.
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

y2stevo said:
SouthpawGuy There some really sweet looking guitars!

At the moment I'm looking at a Legacy special that would work out at 800 euro tops including shipping. I see you have a lecacy and Legacy special, Is the only difference between the 2 models the pickups? The legacy Special comes with Dual blade and a Power blade SC sized humbuckers and the Legacy with "G&L vintage style Alnico V single coil pickups", thats the only difference i can see?

How does the Legacy compare to the Legacy Special tone wise? :friday:
Click to expand...

Yes the only difference is the pickups, and the Special generally has locking Schaller tuners by default. The Gotoh blade type pickups in the Special sound a lot different than the alnico vs' in the stock Legacy. They have a lot more power, especially the Power Blade in the bridge, and don't have as much quack as positions 2 and 4 on the stock Legacy.

As for shipping, don't forget to allow extra for import duty vat etc. I've never been able to work out how much extra a guitar will cost, they seem to just pick an arbitrary figure and then double it :banghead:.
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

I gave in and just got this little puppy off ebay

G&L Legacy Special

GL2.jpg


GL1.jpg


Now I need something to do to pass the time till it arrives!! :friday:
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

Might need to start an official G&L guitar porn thread...I'm insanely close to pulling the trigger on an ASAT Special.

The more pics the better.
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

Eblis said:
Might need to start an official G&L guitar porn thread...I'm insanely close to pulling the trigger on an ASAT Special.

The more pics the better.
Click to expand...

I think your right! I came across a couple of great looking asats when I was looking for the legacy, an asat might be my one of my next purchases!!
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

I found one, too!

ASTCL_Rustic_BtrBld_MP.jpg


Two, in fact. Actually, just about anything in Belair Green will work.

gl-s-500-belair-green-01.jpg

DSC04121.jpg

SC2_BelGrn_RW.jpg
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

Nice finish! I think I had those same rails pickups in the Invader I used to have.
I'm pretty sure they're G&L's version of a Hot Rail....but a hair cleaner sounding.

I'm of the belief that Fenders and G&L's have a lot of differences in feel and tone, making them apples and oranges. Notice some of the design differences, maybe done for patent reasons. The necks aren't interchangeable, because the G&L is set in deeper with no fretboard overhang. And the bridges sound way different. There's more sustain with the G&L bridge, but it doesn't have the airy quality that Fender bridges have. There's a lot of G&L neck carves/radius differences too, so you'll always find one you like, but sometimes end up with one you didn't expect.
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

y2stevo said:
I gave in and just got this little puppy off ebay

G&L Legacy Special

GL2.jpg


GL1.jpg


Now I need something to do to pass the time till it arrives!! :friday:
Click to expand...

Nice catch !

That looks like the "old school burst" finish. The body also looks to be mahogany, if so you just caught yourself a special Special :friday:
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

y2stevo said:
I gave in and just got this little puppy off ebay

G&L Legacy Special

GL1.jpg


:friday:
Click to expand...



Yeah that is gorgeous. (Drool!)

The Gotoh blades on the Legacy Special I think create more of a PAF-ish humbucker tone. My Legacy Specials are great, because I use them to back up not only my Legacy, but my Les Paul as well. If I have a hard rock song that the Legacy's alnicos aren't up for, and I need the vibrato--the LS is my go-to guitar.

I use the PTB controls normalled on T-10, B-5. I set my amp up for a nice clean sound, and I set the amp's treble to get me the max treble I will need from the bridge pickup. Now I can roll the PTB Treble down for warm woman tone, or roll the Bass up to add punch to my solos. Roll the B all the way down, T-10 and lower the VOLUME--now your're in alnico territory.

They are really great guitars, especially combined with a Legacy. The Legacy brings the funk, and the LS brings the power.

Here are three of my faves of the sixteen my collection. Two blondes and a redhead, WITH NO CLOTHES ON!!!



P2110278.jpg




"Mary Kaye" Legacy, Transparent Blonde, Duncan Antiquity Texas Hot pickups;
"Marilyn Monroe" Legacy Special, Butterscotch Blonde, Ebony FB, Birdseye GOT neck;
"Jo-Jo" Legacy Fullerton Red, GOT neck, cream plastic.

Oh, and the beef about the headstock? The little pointy thing is called a tit.

So, my guitars have tits, and yours don't! Neener, neener!!! LOL!

Bill
 
Re: G&L really THAT good?

y2stevo said:
I think your right! I came across a couple of great looking asats when I was looking for the legacy, an asat might be my one of my next purchases!!
Click to expand...

ASATs are extremely addictive.

ASAT Special Deluxe ... ash body, maple top, rear routed controls, large MFDs
P1010507.jpg


P1010509.jpg


ASAT Classic Custom ... ash body, chunky birds eye maple neck, neck soapbar MFD ( extra fat and funky tone), bridge "stock" MFD
P1010014.jpg


P1010009.jpg
 
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