StRanger7032 Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 As some of you may remember from my two recent rant threads about 2013+ American Stratocasters, I've had a string of very bad luck trying to get a good Strat. I finally swore that I was done with Fender Strats after owning three of them in the last two years with major fretboard problems. The problem is that I really wanted a Strat-like guitar in my collection. It became a mission to find a good one. I had heard good things about the 80s-90s Peavey USA guitars. A good one can still be had for $300...American made. I bought a 1994 Peavey Predator in excellent condition on eBay. It was an absolute joke. When I played it, I immediately remembered why I hadn't bought the one I played new in 1994. It felt similar in quality to a $199 Indonesian Squier-or maybe worse. It went back. Then I found a 1999 G&L USA Legacy at a Guitar Center across the state from me. I called and had them pick it up and inspect it for me. No dings, great condition they said. I took a chance and bought it sight unseen. When it arrived, I was prepared for disappointment. I looked it over, wow! Ok, there was one tiny ding and the headstock had been lightly bumped a time or two. Overall, it was in unreal condition for a 1999 guitar. Looking at the frets, it appeared that the previous owner(s) just played open chords on it. After playing it for a bit, I got the feeling that this might be "the one". It was already setup perfectly. The action was actually too low for me (and I like it low). The fret work was great, and it appears to be the original fret job. I raised the action a tiny bit and adjusted the intonation accordingly. The neck relief was already perfect. The only thing I noticed is that the nut slots might have been cut a little too low on the B and high E, resulting in a little open string buzz. Strat nuts are cheap-I'm not too concerned. There's hardly a scratch on the body, and it looks new after a quick cleaning. It sounds every bit as good as a USA Fender. I didn't ask about the neck profile, and was surprised to find it was a deep-V. That's going to take a little getting used to, but its different and I sort of like it so far. I think I found my Strat finally! If you're not familiar with G&L, the company was founded by Leo Fender and George Fullerton years after Leo sold the Fender Co. Leo claimed they were the best guitars he ever built. I would agree so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Congrats on finding one that makes you happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 The bridge looks nice and chunky. Has it got a fuller sound than a strat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Well done. I like white Strats+maple. I agree with Larry, that bridge looks like an improvement over the regular ones, and the regular ones a are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Nice looking Strat mate. I gotta agree too - that bridge looks particularly cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 I got to play a G&L Legacy one time in an Arlington, TX guitar store. It was a really solid and great-sounding guitar!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 . The end of a long search. Glad you found one that fits you and in such nice shape. Great looking G&L Strat. Congrats. . B) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Some day I'm gonna get me a USA Fender Strat.... But I just cant justify $1500 plus for a bolt-on neck guitar Just recently a long time colleague from work offered to give me her late husbands 1963 Tele, but I refused and told her to sell it.... He was the only owner..... So gave her Gruhn's contact info and maybe put it on consignment with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StRanger7032 Posted May 28, 2016 Author Share Posted May 28, 2016 The bridge looks nice and chunky. Has it got a fuller sound than a strat? The bridge was one of the improvements Leo made on the G&L guitars. The saddles are slotted to keep the strings in the center and the bridge keeps the saddles themselves from moving side to side. This one is a hardtail, but the trem bridges look the same. In terms of sound, I don't hear much difference from a Fender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Some day I'm gonna get me a USA Fender Strat.... But I just cant justify $1500 plus for a bolt-on neck guitar Just recently a long time colleague from work offered to give me her late husbands 1963 Tele, but I refused and told her to sell it.... He was the only owner..... So gave her Gruhn's contact info and maybe put it on consignment with him. Dude where have you been? I have not seen you on here for a while and was beginning to wonder about you. Where do you live in SoCal?? I just returned from vacation in Orange County. Good to see you back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 The bridge was one of the improvements Leo made on the G&L guitars. The saddles are slotted to keep the strings in the center and the bridge keeps the saddles themselves from moving side to side. This one is a hardtail, but the trem bridges look the same. In terms of sound, I don't hear much difference from a Fender. Was wondering about these I have picked up and played a couple at a small shop here close by, They seem to be very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The RandyMan Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 Some day I'm gonna get me a USA Fender Strat.... But I just cant justify $1500 plus for a bolt-on neck guitar Just recently a long time colleague from work offered to give me her late husbands 1963 Tele, but I refused and told her to sell it.... He was the only owner..... So gave her Gruhn's contact info and maybe put it on consignment with him. I think I saw that one on Antiques Roadshow not too long ago . . . but seriously folks, a '63 Tele?? That's one of those "One-owner Ferrari in a barn" finds! Duane, good on you for watching out for her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StRanger7032 Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 I just picked up a brand new American Strat loaded pickguard from the Stratosphere with the awesome Custom Shop Fat 50s pickups. The pickguard itself won't fit the G&L but the pickups, pots, knobs, and switch will bolt right into the G&L pickguard. The original pots in the G&L have seen better days, and for $150 I was able to buy the whole electrical guts from a Strat. Now I'll get the sound I love from the American Standard Strat with none of the playability issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I just picked up a brand new American Strat loaded pickguard from the Stratosphere with the awesome Custom Shop Fat 50s pickups. The pickguard itself won't fit the G&L but the pickups, pots, knobs, and switch will bolt right into the G&L pickguard. The original pots in the G&L have seen better days, and for $150 I was able to buy the whole electrical guts from a Strat. Now I'll get the sound I love from the American Standard Strat with none of the playability issues. It's worth a try, but don't be surprised if by doing that, you discover the G&L pups are better than you give them credit for. G&L guitars, particularly the American ones, are VERY good guitars and there is lots to like about them, but they aren't Fenders and they aren't really the same as far as sound, both because of the pups and the way they are built. They may have been advertised as "real Fenders" because Leo Fender was doing them, but he wasn't trying to replicate what he did when he made in the 50's and 60's. He was going for something better, an "improved" Strat, if you can accept that. It would be great to hear of your experience, what differences you hear between them. I have heard some play the G&L stuff many times, played some myself, and loved the sound of them. But I have never had a chance to actually compare the pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StRanger7032 Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 It's worth a try, but don't be surprised if by doing that, you discover the G&L pups are better than you give them credit for. G&L guitars, particularly the American ones, are VERY good guitars and there is lots to like about them, but they aren't Fenders and they aren't really the same as far as sound, both because of the pups and the way they are built. They may have been advertised as "real Fenders" because Leo Fender was doing them, but he wasn't trying to replicate what he did when he made in the 50's and 60's. He was going for something better, an "improved" Strat, if you can accept that. It would be great to hear of your experience, what differences you hear between them. I have heard some play the G&L stuff many times, played some myself, and loved the sound of them. But I have never had a chance to actually compare the pickups. The original G&L pickups are definitely good, but I've played some newer American Standard Strats with the Fat 50s and I absolutely love those pickups. What I didn't love was the fact that the Strats couldn't even be setup to Fender's own specs without horrendous fret buzz. The pots and possibly the 5 way switch on the G&L have had it, so I'm going to switch out the whole mess and see what I think. The nice thing is that I won't have to break any solder joints except the jack to make the switch, so I can resell the Fender stuff if I don't like it. I'll definitely keep the original G&L parts intact. I'll post an update on the sound differences once I get the new parts and install them (hopefully later this week). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 StR: I wouldn't say you ranted. And if you did, it was entirely justified. A beaut! Happy playing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StRanger7032 Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 StR: I wouldn't say you ranted. And if you did, it was entirely justified. A beaut! Happy playing! Thanks! When you buy 3 $1300 guitars in 2 years and all of them are unplayable due to poor quality fretboards, some complaining/ranting is hard to avoid. Thankfully this one's a keeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StRanger7032 Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 Update: The Fender Custom Shop electronics went in today. What a huge difference! The stock G&L pickups were good, but the Fat 50s are spectacular. There's a noticeable increase in clarity and balance in all positions, and the switch settings have more tonal difference between them than with the old electronics. For the icing on the cake, the aged hardware looks much nicer than the old bright white stuff. I think this is the best result I've ever had from a pickup change. No complaints at all on this one so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Nice. I will say, of all the Strat pups I have tried and swapped out, about half the time they end up being modern-ish Fender pups, custom shop and the like. They really are among the best available. Would really like to try the G&L pups one day, though. I have heard them, and played them, just never got the chance to do a swap and really compare differences and get to know them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StRanger7032 Posted June 6, 2016 Author Share Posted June 6, 2016 Nice. I will say, of all the Strat pups I have tried and swapped out, about half the time they end up being modern-ish Fender pups, custom shop and the like. They really are among the best available. Would really like to try the G&L pups one day, though. I have heard them, and played them, just never got the chance to do a swap and really compare differences and get to know them. Fender Custom Shop is making some great electronics these days. I've had a set of their 1969 pickups too. Those were closer to the original G&L pickups in tone. The Fat 50s are very balanced, possibly due to the fact that the pole pieces are adjusted (somewhat extremely) to each string. They have a lot more of that Fender "spank" or "quack" to them, which I really like. They make a Strat extra-Stratty, if that makes any sense. I might be convinced to part with the G&L set if you're interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Well the guitar is looking really good now. I hope this is the one for you.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Fender Custom Shop is making some great electronics these days. I've had a set of their 1969 pickups too. Those were closer to the original G&L pickups in tone. The Fat 50s are very balanced, possibly due to the fact that the pole pieces are adjusted (somewhat extremely) to each string. They have a lot more of that Fender "spank" or "quack" to them, which I really like. They make a Strat extra-Stratty, if that makes any sense. I might be convinced to part with the G&L set if you're interested. IF I had money....I would be interested. I don't know what a fair price would be though. Might also consider that should you ever part with the guitar, it might be worth more with the G&L pups, and you might want to keep the Fender ones as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 I have a set in one of my strats, outstanding pickups. Enjoy the spank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StRanger7032 Posted June 6, 2016 Author Share Posted June 6, 2016 IF I had money....I would be interested. I don't know what a fair price would be though. Might also consider that should you ever part with the guitar, it might be worth more with the G&L pups, and you might want to keep the Fender ones as well. Yeah, I'm still not sure if I'll sell the pickups. Although I seriously doubt that this guitar will ever leave my collection, it might be worth less without the stock pickups like you said. I need to replace one of the tone pots anyway, since I'd only sell it as a whole harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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