Loaded pickguard ID; also: guitar show trade etiquette?

[jjj]

Short version:

1. does anybody know if the pictured electronics came out of specific make/model of guitar
2. I did a trade with a dealer at a guitar show, but the guitar has major discrepancies and issues that were not disclosed during the trade; am I just a sucker, is the dealer a slimeball, or both?

Longer version:

Hi everyone. I traded a guitar + $$ for a 1993 G&L Legacy (USA) at a guitar show near Philly on Sunday. It sounded pretty good, as far as I could tell using the little practice amp and trying to hear over all the other players. Anyway, I should have gone over it with a fine toothed comb because once I got it home and took it apart I found that neither the pickguard or electronics were G&L. After doing some research I found that the PUPs are SSL - Vintage Flats ("2R" stickers) but the wiring seems goofy and tone controls don't work very well. The previous owner completely destroyed the routing cavity getting this thing to fit. Massive chunks of body were removed with a screwdriver or sharpened rock. Holes were drilled everywhere, glue blocks installed, and the pickguard was carved out to fit.

I'd like to know if the electronics were so special as to warrant such destruction to this guitar semi-expensive, USA-made guitar. If anybody knows where they came from I'd really appreciate the info.

Regarding my trade with the dealer at the guitar show: I'm planning on calling him (he has a big store about an hour away) and telling him that the guitar has major issues that he did not disclose. The guitar actually sounds pretty good but the resale value is shot if I decide to sell it later, and I'm not one to hide a guitar's issues from a seller. But, this was my first guitar show, and I'm wondering if everyone is just looking for suckers like me and I just made a rookie mistake and shouldn't expect any recourse. Do people disassemble guitars as these shows before buying? I admit I have sour grapes here, but if it's generally accepted that guitar show dealers are slimeballs then the joke's on me.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Loaded pickguard ID; also: guitar show trade etiquette?

Pickups should be SSL-2s. Body should have a swimming pool route. I would replace that non-factory switch and pots and wiring. Order the CRL switch and pots from the G&L Online Store. Ask them to include the correct caps and rewire the controls to the factory PTB controls. Should cost about $20-30 bucks and you'll have a great guitar. If that is the only issue with the guitar and you have less than about $600 in the guitar, you did okay. The Lake Placid Blue finish is really nice one.

You can get more info on the G&L Forum, including wiring diagrams. Enter the guitar in the Registry.

The SSL-2 is a great pickup. Middle pickup s/b RW/RP. I think think the bridge and middle are installed wrong. Pickguard looks factory from what I can see; I think the early guitars sourced them from Chandler. If you like vintage Strat tones, it's all you need. The PTB controls will give you the most control of any strat wiring system. G&L's are great guitars. I have MANY Legacys.

You can go back to the dealer, see if you can get some cash back....but good luck.

Bill

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Loaded pickguard ID; also: guitar show trade etiquette?

I can see being a little peeved at discovering the hack job and I would certainly bring it up to the dealer, but if you couldn't see the issues until you pulled the pickguard, the dealer may not have known about them either. I would probably ask for something like 10%-20% back from the dealer, but approach it from a disappointed customer perspective who is otherwise happy with the guitar and don't attack the dealer personally, as he really may not have known.

So many used guitars get circulated and there's no way to know the real condition of each without tearing each one down. Most shops just check to see if it makes sound, tweak the truss rod if needed and throw on a fresh set of strings before putting it back out for sale. A good shop owner will work with you as a nod to good customer service, but keep in mind his margins may not be very large on a used item sold at a trade show, so don't expect a huge refund.

 

[jjj]

Re: Loaded pickguard ID; also: guitar show trade etiquette?

Thanks for the perspective. I'll give him a call and see what we can work out. Hopefully we can come to a gentlemanly agreement.

 

[jjj]

Re: Loaded pickguard ID; also: guitar show trade etiquette?

Thanks Boogie. I might order those electronics and wire them up correctly. Regarding the pickguard it's not stock, as it's been carved out by hand to fit around the trem, and all of the Pots/switches are positioned such that the prev owner dug out (not carved, not routed) big chunks of the body under the pickguard to make everything fit.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Loaded pickguard ID; also: guitar show trade etiquette?

For legal reasons, the G&L design could not use the exact same shape and proportions as its famous forebear. Look at the photograph of the bottom corner of the control cavity. A block of wood has been glued in to receive the fastening screw for a regular Fender Stratocaster pickguard.

 

[jjj]

Re: Loaded pickguard ID; also: guitar show trade etiquette?

Hold the phone! According to http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/faq-old.php3#Q2 Seymour Duncan SSL Vintage (flats) were stock on a Legacy between 1992-1994; mine's a '93. It seems that my pickups were stock. So that means that... the owner got a new pickguard, really wanted to make it work really bad, so he started hacking away :eyecrazy:. Electronics are still a mystery.