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Post by SteveM on Nov 22, 2022 18:59:57 GMT -5
G&L
It’s pricey by my standards, and I know resale value is low. How does this compare in the current Fender line?
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Post by Leftee on Nov 22, 2022 19:05:21 GMT -5
You should buy it and let us know.
That is a beeee-yoot!
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Post by LeftyMeister on Nov 22, 2022 19:48:29 GMT -5
If I was a strat guy, I'd buy it.
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Post by samspade on Nov 22, 2022 19:56:58 GMT -5
Yep, weird that Music Man and G&L resale is low, but both manufacturers are making great, great stuff. I would get it
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Post by SteveM on Nov 22, 2022 20:32:59 GMT -5
Remember the old, “you deserve a Les Paul…”
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Post by LeftyMeister on Nov 22, 2022 20:46:27 GMT -5
If you've never owned a G&L, the Tributes are really good guitars for a lot less money.
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Post by LTB on Nov 23, 2022 5:23:42 GMT -5
G&L
It’s pricey by my standards, and I know resale value is low. How does this compare in the current Fender line? I haven't Played their guitars but i can Tell you the G&L Tribute LB-100 bass is almost as good as my Fender American Pro and blows my Fender Player P Series out of the water. I have a G&L Fullerton Custom LB-100 coming and its neck has a double action truss and Carbon Rods with a very good neck profile. The hardware and pickup is very nice on the Tribute with hardware a little better on the Fullerton model.
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Post by Leftee on Nov 23, 2022 8:38:18 GMT -5
The G&L trem is a great thing.
I’d wager those pickups sound very nice, too. From the Strat perspective I only have experience with their MFD pickups - which are awesome in their own way.
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DrKev
Wholenote
It's just a guitar, it's not rocket science.
Posts: 418
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Post by DrKev on Nov 23, 2022 11:49:01 GMT -5
They are excellent instruments. As good as anything in their price range.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Nov 23, 2022 12:31:48 GMT -5
Beautiful instrument. I've never been drawn to the G&L brand which always struck me as a "why bother when there are Fenders?" proposition. Which says more about the effect of marketing and heroes on silly guitar players than anything.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Nov 23, 2022 19:54:11 GMT -5
How it compares to Fenders is kinda the wrong question. If you want a Fender, you won't want a G&L, but if you want a G&L a Fender won't really please you. I know that isn't all that helpful.
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Post by LTB on Nov 23, 2022 20:03:29 GMT -5
Beautiful instrument. I've never been drawn to the G&L brand which always struck me as a "why bother when there are Fenders?" proposition. Which says more about the effect of marketing and heroes on silly guitar players than anything. Yeah, that was me in 2011 when I had a choice between a Fender American Special Jazz bass for $849 (then) OR a G&L JB-2 for about the same. I chose the Fender and it was a great bass. Still haven't played a JB-2 but now own some G&L Tributes and a Fullerton coming. I do not like all the G&L models but the Tribute LB-100 (P style) is really nice sounding and playing.
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Post by LeftyMeister on Nov 24, 2022 6:49:26 GMT -5
Beautiful instrument. I've never been drawn to the G&L brand which always struck me as a "why bother when there are Fenders?" proposition. Which says more about the effect of marketing and heroes on silly guitar players than anything. The distinction here is the G&L was invented by the guy whose name is on the headstock of a Fender.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Nov 24, 2022 8:54:27 GMT -5
Yep, I know the history of G&L. My point was that I had always kind of overlooked them because they were sort of "almost Fenders". Its an admitted shortsightedness. These days I'd consider one as much as the other if I couldn't cobble a bolt neck guitar together for less.
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Post by LTB on Nov 24, 2022 11:09:52 GMT -5
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Nov 24, 2022 13:33:50 GMT -5
Yep, I know the history of G&L. My point was that I had always kind of overlooked them because they were sort of "almost Fenders". Its an admitted shortsightedness. These days I'd consider one as much as the other if I couldn't cobble a bolt neck guitar together for less. Yeah, the whole "More Fender than Fender!" thing isn't good. They're their own animal, regardless of where Leo was and when.
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Post by LTB on Nov 24, 2022 15:43:25 GMT -5
Yep, I know the history of G&L. My point was that I had always kind of overlooked them because they were sort of "almost Fenders". It’s an admitted shortsightedness. These days I'd consider one as much as the other if I couldn't cobble a bolt neck guitar together for less. Yeah, the whole "More Fender than Fender!" thing isn't good. They're their own animal, regardless of where Leo was and when. Took me along time to want to try one but now that I have the Tributes are better than MIM Fenders and “almost” as good as My Fender American. I about a week ( hopefully) I will find out how the American made Fullerton’s stack up! Shame a nicer made instrument originated by Clarence “ Leo” Leonidus Fender doesn't retain its value like Fender bearing his name.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Nov 24, 2022 16:29:10 GMT -5
Yeah, the whole "More Fender than Fender!" thing isn't good. They're their own animal, regardless of where Leo was and when. Took me along time to want to try one but now that I have the Tributes are better than MIM Fenders and “almost” as good as My Fender American. I about a week ( hopefully) I will find out how the American made Fullerton’s stack up! Shame a nicer made instrument originated by Clarence “ Leo” Leonidus Fender doesn't retain its value like Fender bearing his name. Even that doesn't feel like a fair comparison.
We all know not to compare Strats and Les Pauls all that closely. Granted, G&L and Fender make much more similar instruments, but IMO they're different enough to not compare like that. It isn't like comparing another brand that is specifically making vintage strat copies or something. It might be more like comparing a Guild electric to a Gibson. If you see Guild as a Gibson copy, the Guild will never win, but if you see the Guild as its own animal, it will suck up more and more market share. A diehard Tele fan isn't going to be wooed by an ASAT, nor should we waste his time telling him the G&L is superior to his butterscotch '52. But, someone who likes Teles and wants something a bit different may like it. Also, someone who never could connect with Teles or find one he likes might feel more at home with ASAT. Or someone else entirely that just wants a decent solidbody guitar. It really doesn't matter what years Leo was at which company.
I think G&L did themselves a disservice by leaning in too hard on Leo's presence for their marketing. Fender made a similar mistake with Guild - they had no idea how to market it, and when a music store had a Bluesbird hanging next to a Les Paul, no one wanted the Bluesbird if it just seemed like a copy. Once they got Gretsch, they figured it out, and Gretsch went from a wonky vintage brand few people paid attention to, to one of the giants.
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Post by LTB on Nov 24, 2022 17:15:42 GMT -5
Yes, the G&L with MFD pickups are no comparison but the LB-100 Is a better P than many Fenders, especially the MIM. The pickup was designed by Paul Gagan who worked for Fender and new their pickup in and out and in my opinion made a better sounding P pickup than Most Fender's. (I do realize this as with strings is subjective and purely my tastes). I like the Fender Custom Shop 62 P pickup a lot but for me I like this on even more. Others may disagree and sure they probably will
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Post by LeftyMeister on Nov 25, 2022 8:46:37 GMT -5
Comparing G&L to Fender, versus a knock-off, is akin to comparing Heritage to Gibson. They were made by the same craftsmen/artisans/designers who made the originals.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Nov 25, 2022 9:16:26 GMT -5
Comparing G&L to Fender, versus a knock-off, is akin to comparing Heritage to Gibson. They were made by the same craftsmen/artisans/designers who made the originals. I don't quite agree. G&L didn't set out to be a more authentic Fender, they set out to innovate in ways that Fender didn't. And, they did that. They experimented with new hardware designs, new pickup designs, and other tweaks. I like some of them, others I think are a little too dated to the '70s/'80s. It is more like seeing a fork in the road... the road starts as the classic Fender, then diverges. Down one path you get the Strat Plus with roller nut and lace sensors, the other path you get a Legacy or S-500.
I'm not sure what Heritage's selling proposition was, but it was always sold as more authentic. That struck me as odd, since we're talking the team that made the Norlin era Gibsons that were despised for a long time (less so these days), compared to when the company reevaluated specs and tried being closer to old models (how successful they were is another topic). If people like a Heritage and prefer it over a Gibson I think that is great. But, the "more real than your Gibson!" bit just doesn't have me all that convinced.
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Post by Leftee on Nov 25, 2022 9:30:29 GMT -5
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Post by LTB on Nov 25, 2022 9:49:53 GMT -5
I have Had 2 G&L Tribute basses that had two iterations of MFD pickups, the SB-2 had the P style And a J style pickups. The P is ok if you like more output with more modern sound and rivals the output of an Active bass in terms of volume. I hate the Single coil J as it is more susceptible to hum and was used to brighten the Neck pickup as it only comes with 2 volumes and no tone. Early models had a tone control. A lot of people like the 2 volume concept. The pickups seem to be very string selective and work better with rounds but even with rounds the pickups are somewhat selective.
The Short scale Fallout bass had the larger rectangular MFD with larger magnets. I liked The tone better but couldn’t bond with the short neck.
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Post by SteveM on Nov 25, 2022 20:06:10 GMT -5
Well, Sweetwater is taking 10% off this Fender American Professional II. Swap out the pickguard for tortoise shell and Iv’e got a really interesting head-to-head comparison.
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Post by LTB on Nov 25, 2022 21:22:42 GMT -5
Well, Sweetwater is taking 10% off this Fender American Professional II. Swap out the pickguard for tortoise shell and Iv’e got a really interesting head-to-head comparison. I like this and agree with your pickguard choice. This is a nice Fender Strat but what I do not like is not just with this Fender but The G&L Tribute L-100 bass I recently purchased have the same dark grainless Rosewood that looks more like Ebony than Rosewood. Seems poorer choices in Rosewood Species are gaining ground these days. I wish Brazilian Rosewood or similar could be had these days but they are outlawed here due to being on the endangered species list. Am I correct?
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Post by Leftee on Nov 25, 2022 21:45:13 GMT -5
I like Fender’s Mystic Green w/maple.
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Post by LeftyMeister on Nov 26, 2022 8:40:12 GMT -5
I don't quite agree. G&L didn't set out to be a more authentic Fender, they set out to innovate in ways that Fender didn't. And, they did that. They experimented with new hardware designs, new pickup designs, and other tweaks. I like some of them, others I think are a little too dated to the '70s/'80s. It is more like seeing a fork in the road... the road starts as the classic Fender, then diverges. Down one path you get the Strat Plus with roller nut and lace sensors, the other path you get a Legacy or S-500.
I'm not sure what Heritage's selling proposition was, but it was always sold as more authentic. That struck me as odd, since we're talking the team that made the Norlin era Gibsons that were despised for a long time (less so these days), compared to when the company reevaluated specs and tried being closer to old models (how successful they were is another topic). If people like a Heritage and prefer it over a Gibson I think that is great. But, the "more real than your Gibson!" bit just doesn't have me all that convinced. That's a valid point, but their body styles and overall designs still pay homage to Fenders and Gibsons. The point of my comment above was that both the G&L's and Heritages were made by their original creators versus a knockoff, so the gap isn't as wide as...say...comparing them to a Rondo or other copycat companies.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Nov 26, 2022 13:08:55 GMT -5
I don't quite agree. G&L didn't set out to be a more authentic Fender, they set out to innovate in ways that Fender didn't. And, they did that. They experimented with new hardware designs, new pickup designs, and other tweaks. I like some of them, others I think are a little too dated to the '70s/'80s. It is more like seeing a fork in the road... the road starts as the classic Fender, then diverges. Down one path you get the Strat Plus with roller nut and lace sensors, the other path you get a Legacy or S-500.
I'm not sure what Heritage's selling proposition was, but it was always sold as more authentic. That struck me as odd, since we're talking the team that made the Norlin era Gibsons that were despised for a long time (less so these days), compared to when the company reevaluated specs and tried being closer to old models (how successful they were is another topic). If people like a Heritage and prefer it over a Gibson I think that is great. But, the "more real than your Gibson!" bit just doesn't have me all that convinced. That's a valid point, but their body styles and overall designs still pay homage to Fenders and Gibsons. The point of my comment above was that both the G&L's and Heritages were made by their original creators versus a knockoff, so the gap isn't as wide as...say...comparing them to a Rondo or other copycat companies.
Fair. I guess it all depends on how different people experience the instrument. I'm mostly thinking about the goals of the maker - so, a vintage reissue '50s Strat compared to a knock off that is trying to specialize in '50s Strat copies is going to have more in common in my brain because they both have their sights set on the same target. That is the part where I don't think makers/marketers are always clear. Who, exactly, are you making the instrument for? Through a lot of music history the musicians figured it out on their own (Strats were NOT designed with Hendrix in mind, nor were Les Pauls designed with Jimmy Page in mind) so that arguably doesn't have that much value, but when the guitar market is huge, there needs to be some guidance. That's why I think a label of authenticity on a G&L is misleading, because to some people that might imply strong pre-CBS vibes, but that is pretty far from the truth. If thinking about the Gibson factory floor workers in Kalamazoo makes a Heritage more enjoyable or thinking about Leo at his desk with his pocket protector makes a G&L more enjoyable, then that's great. To me most of that is more just archaeology. It is a lot of fun to explore and very important for the history of the instrument, but it doesn't make me want the guitar any more than another one.
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Post by Lesterstrat on Nov 26, 2022 20:26:55 GMT -5
Remember the old, “you deserve a Les Paul…” Well, of course I do.
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Post by SteveM on Jan 3, 2023 22:47:46 GMT -5
News!
A Forest Green S500 arrives tomorrow.
Used, from GC in Oklahoma.
30 days to return.
A bit of a pig in a poke, as their photo was terrible.
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