1 (edited by Locke 2010-11-13 22:43:39)

Topic: G&L vs Fender

Picked up my first G&L guitar the other day... a Bluesboy. Must say its the most fantastic instrument I've ever played. Extremely loud and resonant acoustically, beautiful binding and grain, and wonderful tone, oh and hand built. All for $1000 (used). For those that aren't aware, G&L stands for George Fullerton and Leo Fender. It was founded in the 80s by the two.

Its got a Seth Lover 'bucker in the neck and a tele pup in the bridge (the guitar is a tele). Its remarkably versatile. I use it in my school jazz ensemble and for blues/rock. The seth lover really has won me over to humbuckers... wonderful sound. Its a seymour duncan, and essentially an exact copy of PAF pups as Lover gave Duncan the exact schematics to the originals.

To my hands and ears, this and all other G&L guitars play as good or better than Fender custom shops at the price of a USA model. I mean really... my USA 60th Anniversary just doesn't begin to compare, and that is my favorite strat. The only fender guitar I've liked more is a masterbuilt clapton strat I had the opportunity to play.

ANYWAY... what are your opinions of G&L vs Fender? While I'm still a fender amp man, I think fenders just don't have the quality in guitars anymore.

Re: G&L vs Fender

I own a G&L ASAT Classic Bluesboy semi-hollow (made in Asia) and I love it. Beautiful guitar, great quality. Way better than my Fender Mexi-Strat.

Re: G&L vs Fender

To be honest, I'm yet to play more than a couple US or Mexican Fender guitars that play or sound better the Squier strat I own.  Seriously...  That Squier is the first electric I've ever owned, and to this day, it beats almost every Fender I pick up.  The only two Fender guitars I can remember competing were an SRV sig and a John Mayer sig.

Early this past summer, I went to nearby shop with NO intention to buy a guitar and they happened to have a couple G&L guitars.  I had never played one before, but I was always curious about them (and I'm an Umphrey's McGee fan--Jake Cinninger is great and he plays G&L).  So I grabbed the first one that caught my eye and just strummed 3 chords and I was literally hooked.  First off, it was an absolutely beautiful guitar.  Secondly, it played like a dream--perfect action and intonation.  Needless to say, I came back the next day and bought it.  Best guitar I've ever played.  Oh, and it's a Commanche Tribute, by the way.

Re: G&L vs Fender

After I bought it, I was so crazy over it that I did the same thing as you and started a thread about it, too...

http://www.jbonamassa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14123

5 (edited by Locke 2010-11-14 19:36:10)

Re: G&L vs Fender

Thats really cool! My teacher had a tribute lent to him by a friend and I got to play it a couple times, and it was a great instrument. Held its tune better than my strat, and it resonated better.  Wonderful quality all around, at a very reasonable price.

My Bluesboy is a USA... and the workmanship really shows. All the guitars are handmade... the intonation is perfect and the guitar NEVER goes out of tune. The burst on it is quite odd, I suppose it's supposed to be a sunburst but it really looks like a Gibson cognac burst. Extremely beautiful, especially with beautiful grain on both the body and neck.

Probably the biggest bonus for me is the weight... the thing weighs nothing and it's still solid body. My strat is very heavy for such a guitar.

As I said in my first post, the guitar blows all the CS fender guitars I've played out of the water. My friend's '56 NOS feels like a log bolted to a tree stump when compared! As you can see, they've made quite an impression on me.

I was saving my money for prime tix for the next Clapton tour (I *love* the new album, and he's back to playing Gibsons!!!), but upon playing the g&l I spent the money on it and haven't looked back! Better yet, it doesn't look like he's coming back to the NE for a while, so I have time to get ticket money AND have the guitar =]

Re: G&L vs Fender

I always thought G&L were better quality than the Fenders of comparable price.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool