Re: Shoot out w/Eric Johnson: New Fender American Vintage 56 Strat vs. Old 57 Strat
I bought a used 1960 Strat back in 1973, and kept it until 1990, having to sell it after my divorce. That was a great guitar, though it had been played hard and refinished when I bought it. It didn't work well for me when I was doing my solo act back then, but whenever I would play with a band it was my go-to guitar. Really hated to sell it.
So, a couple of years after my divorce, I went looking for a Strat; not a lot of money in my pocket. I was trying to find another pre-CBS guitar, but started looking at the '62 American Vintage model. These had been out for a few years and felt pretty close to the '60 I'd owned. I was in a store that had one, talking to the guy and he pulls down a guitar and says, "Try this."
That guitar was a G&L Legacy. Now, I knew about G&L from the beginning, the company Leo founded after Music Man folded. I fell in love with the Music Man Sabre II when they came out, and that was the guitar that I used for my solo act. Just so versatile, with the active tone controls and the built-in preamp. I think I bought my first one in late '78 or early '79. In 1985, after Music Man had folded, I was in SoCal and found a luthier who had bought Music Man parts at auction, and he assembled a Sabre II for me. I later had luthier Mike Lull in Bellevue, Washington, add a third pickup (a Sabre bridge pickup) to that guitar to make it more Strat-like. I've always thought that the Sabre was one of Leo's best designs, even though it didn't do well in the market. But, I was playing with a band again, and felt like I need a guitar with a vibrato. Enter the Legacy...
The original Strat design has some, well...call them idiosyncrasies. The Klusons aren't the best tuners, and on my old Strat they were marginal at best. The truss rod is difficult to adjust. The pickups are weak, and there's that damn sub-harmonic on the low E-string. There's no tone control for the bridge pickup. The bridge pieces splay all over the place, and the "synchronized tremolo" isn't always synchronized. And bending notes on that small-radius board with the small frets...not my favorite thing to do. None of this should come as a surprise to any modern player--nor to Fender, as they now build 4,367 versions of the Stratocaster addressing each of these issues in some form or another. And of course vintage replicas for those "masochists" (LOL!) who like dealing with these "idiosyncrasies"...and they will even relic them for you!
So when John put that Legacy in my hands, it took about two minutes to discover that each of those issues I had with a vintage Strat had been fixed. Better pickups, with no E-flat warble; better tuners; global tone controls; flatter radius and bigger frets made bending a breeze. The truss rod was accessible with the neck on the guitar, and a neck tilt adjustment that actually WORKED meant no more shims. The bridge was obviously made of better materials and went up and down and returned to pitch--every time. The sunburst was perfect. I bought it on the spot.
And I have never looked back.
Oh sure, I'd love to have the 1960 Strat back, if for no other reason than to fatten up my back account. But the guitar I'm going to play...is the Legacy. I've bought several of them over the last 20 years, and hung on to every one. I've also acquired a few of the Comanche, S-500 and Legacy Special models--same platform, just different pickups. I have ONE Legacy with a set of Antiquity Texas Hots, and other than that, I have not done a single mod on any of these guitars. For me, they have made the right mods to the original Strat design, yet they kept the vintage flavor. The build-quality is top-notch, and the guitars are one of the best values in the marketplace. I'd have to spend a heck of a lot more on a Fender than what I've paid for any of my G&Ls. And I don't even own a Fender-branded guitar any more.
I know that these guitars aren't for everyone. I was talking to a guy at a store the other day; he wasn't familiar with G&L and I brought one of mine into show him. He seemed to really like the guitar, but when I asked him to critique it, the only two complaints he could come up with were: he didn't like the "tit" on the headstock, and it didn't say "Fender", and therefore he wouldn't buy one. (So much for an open mind...and good marketing, I guess.)
For me, it is all about the fine line between vintage and modern. I want these modern features of my G&Ls, but I want build quality as good as the old Fenders. I can certainly applaud Fender's efforts to re-create their "Golden Era" instruments of the '50s and '60s, but the G&L gives me that blend of vintage and modern...the right mods without destroying the vintage flavor, and superb build quality at a reasonable price.
I'm sure they've done a great job with the new '56, and I'm pretty sure the guys that like the vintage instruments will love it.
But I'm comfortable saying that it's not for me. I'm happy with my ace and king--I've already got a winning hand.
Bill
