Opinions on strat / tele looking at G&L

[twoonie2]

Hey all..

I've been looking at picking up a strat or tele as a potential project guitar (unless the stock options on the chosen instrument do the trick for me)...

I've had newer American and Mexican Fenders in the past (the mexicans were better bang for the buck in my experience.. ) but want something similar yet different.. (brand)

So now I'm looking into the G&L brand - does anyone have any suggestions as to which model would be the best to acquire in terms of strat or tele - either to keep as stock or for a project guitar..

thanks in advance for your feedback!

[guitarman2]

Hey all..

I've been looking at picking up a strat or tele as a potential project guitar (unless the stock options on the chosen instrument do the trick for me)...

I've had newer American and Mexican Fenders in the past (the mexicans were better bang for the buck in my experience.. ) but want something similar yet different.. (brand)

So now I'm looking into the G&L brand - does anyone have any suggestions as to which model would be the best to acquire in terms of strat or tele - either to keep as stock or for a project guitar..

thanks in advance for your feedback!

I owned a G&L Asat (Tele) many years ago that I could kick myself for getting rid of. The quality and craftsmanship was a cut above the American standards as far as I'm concerned. The tone was nice and warm not trebly as some teles tend to get. I found it a warmer tone. I was close to buying a used one at L&M a couple of weeks ago but the price I thought was unreasonable for the condition of it. It had the same sweet tone.
I only played the Legacy's (Strat) in the store and also thought the quality was superior to Fender. The also have the Tribute line of Tele's and Strat's that are much cheaper. I have no experience with them. At the time I bought my 2004 American Standard Tele the G&L Asat's were quite a bit more (I paid $1,800 for mine used in the 90's) and so I opted for the Fender. Recently when I bought a new Tele I was more wanting the AV52RI so again didn't go with the G&L. I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for a good deal on a used one in the future though.

[Scottone]

My absolute favorite G&L is the '85 Broadcaster. I had one for a couple years and let it go in an attack of GAS....big mistake in hindsight.

The ASAT Classics are really nice too, and I played one of these for several years as my main guitar.

[guitarman2]

My absolute favorite G&L is the '85 Broadcaster. I had one for a couple years and let it go in an attack of GAS....big mistake in hindsight.

The ASAT Classics are really nice too, and I played one of these for several years as my main guitar.

+1 on the Broadcaster. The G&L that I almost bought at L&M was an Asat Classic. It had a nasty burnhole in the finish on the front body and a couple of substantial nicks in the neck. All around fairly rough to look at but very sweet sounding. They wanted close to a grand which I thought was just too much considering I think new is about $1,200 or $1,300.

[smorgdonkey]

Keep your eyes peeled for an older G&L Tribute Legacy Premium. They are swamp ash bodies and sound great stock. They would be great to modify if that strikes you at any time as well because now they can be had for so little. When I bought my Legacy they were still around $700 in Canada new. I got a good deal on it on eBay and it was a great guitar. I ended up selling it purely out of the numbers game really.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/smorgdonkey/G%20and%20L/TributeLegacyPremium.jpg
I sold it last month for $300.
I tried a bunch of new Tributes the other day in a music store and they felt really sharp and mechanical to me (if you can derive my meaning). The Legacy I had felt nice and warm...comfortable.

The one that was closest to the one that I sold was about $580 but there were others there in the $380 range. I had heard that the Tributes were now being built in China or Indonesia but there was a "Made In Korea" sticker on each guitar...anybody have the scoop on that?

Anyway, I have had 3 USA Fender Strats and I still have 2...I think the G&L Tribute that I just sold held it's own against the USA Fenders. I still have 2 other G&L Tributes...one is an ASAT Classic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/smorgdonkey/G%20and%20L/ASATclassictrib.jpg
...it was the first guitar I ever bought off eBay and it was the beginning of a long guitar buying addiction.
The other G&L Tribute I have is an Invader:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/smorgdonkey/G%20and%20L/Invader.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/smorgdonkey/G%20and%20L/upandangle.jpg
These things are just great guitars. My impressions are that something has changed with the production of the new ones but I still think it would be a great platform to work from...and if you are patient you could grab a used one that are likely getting price pressure from the new ones being less expensive.
I had the Invader for sale for a few weeks but I don't know if I can sell it after playing it last night. Two really nice humbuckers and a coil tap...through my Traynor YCV40WR it was fantastic.

I have a USA G&L bass as well...Leo didn't F* around...