G&L Guitars and Basses

G&L Guitars and Basses
Handmade innovations from the legend builders
by Gretchen Stack and Augie Winters

G&L Guitars and Basses
When Elvis was in grade school, Leo Fender started developing solid body electric guitars. When the King was finishing up junior high, Leo came out with the first practical working musician's solid body electric. Sixteen years later (about the time Elvis was going Girl Happy and entertaining the Beatles) an ailing Leo Fender sold his incredibly successful company for a pretty penny. But he still had a lot of tinker left in him. He regained his health and continued working in the industry, finally starting G&L (George and Leo) with his old friend George Fullerton in 1980. Fullerton had worked with Leo as an engineer as far back as 1948.

Leo passed on in 1991, but not before he'd had 11 years to accomplish the main purpose of G&L-to continue the development of solid body guitars and basses beyond their pre-CBS roots. Judging from the instruments G&L sent us for review, George and Leo's mission has been well accomplished. Gretchen took on the guitars and Augie handled the basses.

Commanding Comanche
The Z-coil pickups are IT! They're the perfect combination of hot single-coil bite and hum elimination. No dummy or stacked coils, just the brilliantly simple idea of two three-string pickups staggered with reversed polarity. They have hand-wrapped coils, ultra-heavy ceramic base magnets, and individually adjustable pole pieces. The result is an amazingly aggressive and stout tone.

The standard five-position blade is greatly enhanced by a mini-switch that adds the options of all three pickups at once or just the neck and bridge. The treble cut and bass cut knobs have a different feel from normal tone pots and actually proved more usable once I got the hang of them. Regardless of tone setting, this is definitely not an axe for players who want to hide in the mix-its bright edge can be softened but never banished to the background.

G&L Guitars and Basses
G&L obviously doesn't skimp on the hardware. The dual-fulcrum bridge vibrato (another later-life Leo credit) is considerably more sturdy than its counterparts of yore, and the locking tuners really stabilize the tuning.

The Comanche I played had a truly gorgeous flamed maple top with a glowing honeyburst finish and faux mother of pearl layered pickguard. Like all G&L bodies, it was a hunky two-piece, made of swamp ash (alder on the opaque finishes). It evinced amazingly precise workmanship, especially considering that all G&Ls are truly handmade-without the use of any computerized equipment. Not for wimps, the Comanche promises a white-knuckle ride that'll leave you panting for more.

S-500 Deluxe
I'm a sucker for a nice neck, and this is bar-none the sweetest neck I ever wrapped my dainty digits around. A gorgeous chunk of birdseye maple was split up the middle, routed for a truss rod, and invisibly glued back together. The fretboard was then crafted right onto the neck with no separate piece of maple. The super-jumbo frets are perfectly polished. The result is visually staggering and truly a joy to play.

G&L Guitars and Basses
The gorgeous cherry finish on the flamed maple top is enhanced by natural wood binding and not hidden by a pickguard. The lighter S-500body shape fit my small frame well and was easy on the shoulder. With the exception of the straight single-coil Magnetic Field Design pickups-which share most of the manufacturing techniques used in the Z-coil-the hardware and setup on the S-500 is identical to the Comanche. I found its tone easier to subdue and slightly less edgy, a real treat to the ears!

ASAT Classic Bluesboy
An MFD single coil at the bridge dishes out Texas twang with a bold burn while the Seth Lover humbucker at the neck can be coaxed into sweet crooning or gravelly Chicago chunk. The turtle pickguard, natural wood binding, and 3-tone burst finish on the model I played created a unique visual vibe that grew on me. Its handmade character is distinctive enough that it's not for every player; but if the chemistry is right it could easily take over your life.

Click Here
L-2000
It feels really good to play a G&L. When I first picked up the L-2000, its heft and balance, its deluxe hardware, the glass-like smoothness and beauty of its woods, and sophisticated controls told me immediately that this is a serious instrument.

Like all G&Ls, the L-2000 is a solid, substantial handcrafted bass that has been expertly finished and set up. The body is relatively thick, and when you play it unplugged you can feel its resonance vibrating smoothly and deeply. The string-through-body bridge is massive with a unique set screw on the side that tightens the saddles together to make them into one unit for a better transfer of string-to-body vibration.

I immediately liked the feel of the neck. The frets are jumbos so it plays very light to the touch. It's fairly wide with comfortable spacing between the strings. The vintage-style open-gear machines combine steel and aluminum--light and very high quality.

Plugged in, the L-2000 was immediately impressive with easy action and deep, clear, sustaining notes from bottom to top. And the electronics give you great sound tools. Besides volume, treble, and bass knobs, you can switch it to active, active with treble boost, or passive. You can also switch between or combine the two humbuckers, and you can switch between parallel and series--series adding a nice low-end boost.

ASAT Bass
The ASAT has its own feel, as any handmade bass does, but in general it is similar to the L-2000 in quality, solid feel, and friendly neck. The main difference is the cool vintage body shape. The hardware and electronics are the same as on the L-2000. Both are wonderful instruments that would be a pleasure to own and play. The legend of Leo aside, the G&L basses speak for themselves.