JustRooster

Yep, got another. There's a gentleman at October Guitars in Wausau, WI, named Dion that's an absolute wealth of knowledge. He knows I'm a Strat guy to the core. Well, I was in his shop, as it is my favorite in the area, playing around. I told him about my Bluesboy, and told him about how I thought the neck was too flat, so on and so forth. He put this in my hands. Next thing you know, I was swapping my Bluesboy for it.





As with every G&L ever made, the finish is just not done justice in photos. I used to be blown away by the flame maple top on my ASAT, but this Swamp Ash is really, really deep. The lighting isn't the best in this photo, and I was shooting on auto. One day when the sun shines I'll pop this thing outside and get some really quality photos to show it off.

As far as play, it's really smooth. Vintage tint on the hard rock maple neck. This thing definitely feels much better than the Bluesboy, but I'm partial to the maple/maple anyway. I had a '98 MIA Stratocaster with a 12" radius on it, and this neck feels very similar to it. The lacquer is surprisingly not sticky at all. Every time I touch it I do so feeling like I need to prepare myself for the speed bump, but it isn't there. Good stuff.

I've owned 8 different Fender Strats in my day. This is my first G&L. So I'll just spend some time talking about the difference. This is a Tribute Legacy. It's build quality is almost exactly that of my old CIJ ST57. If I didn't see the headstock, I would have guessed it was a CIJ Strat. Anyone who's ever felt the lacquer on a CIJ neck knows exactly what I'm talking about. It's distinct.

The Dual Fulcrum bridge is phenomenal. Better than any Strat I've ever owned. Mind you, I've never installed an aftermarket Strat trem, so my whole experience is off the Fender factory trems. Either way, this thing is just rock solid. The thing I like about it is that the sweet spot is a bit further in the push than most other Strats. You guys know that to get the surfy sound out of most strats that you barely have to breathe on the trem, and if you push more than a bit you're venturing into some Vai sounds. This thing seems like the travel on the whammy bar is just a bit more forgiving, which I think adds a lot more feel to the vibe sound. I started playing guitar about 11 years ago when I was 12. The first 5 years of my guitar life I was basically trying to copy Hendrix, so the whammy feel is important to me.

The pickups. They're very solid. Classic Alnico sound, I'd more of a contemporary voicing. This Legacy doesn't sound as 'vintage' as some of my past Strats. Very clear, lots of snarl, good ring. That's probably to do with the build quality, though.

There were 4 other Legacies in the shop today, and this one was about $40 more than the rest. I still walked out with it because of how well it rang out. Unplugged, this thing had sustain that I wouldn't have expected out of a $530 Strat. The Bluesboy was the first guitar in years I bought blind, and I got burned I always like to play before purchase. As many of you regulars have read me write a billion times; strats are odd animals. You can find a Mexican gem, and an American lemon. You just gotta get out and find the one that fits you.

Anyway, got me a good deal. I payed $450 new for the Bluesboy. Ended up trading that and a G&L gigbag towards this, and my end bill was only $50. The moral of this story is this: Find a good local guitar shop, and go there A LOT. Give them your business. Pay the extra dollar or two for a couple packs of strings to build that relationship. That extra $10-$15 you spent on accessories over a year or two can save you a couple hundred later.

If anyone wants soundclips, lemme know. I still have some recorded soundclips of my MIA strat with the N3 noiseless for comparison.


Here's the specs:
CONSTRUCTION: bolt-on
SCALE: 25 1/2"
PICKUPS: G&L CLF-100 Alnico V single-coils made in Fullerton, California
BODY WOOD: Swamp Ash on translucent and burst finishes, Basswood on solid finishes
NECK WOOD: Hard-Rock Maple with Maple or Rosewood fingerboard
NECK WIDTH AT NUT: 1 5/8"
NECK RADIUS: 12"
NECK PROFILE: medium C
FRETS: 22 medium jumbo, nickel
TUNING KEYS: 18:1 ratio, sealed-back
BRIDGE: Leo Fender-designed G&L Dual-Fulcrum™ vibrato
CONTROLS: 5-position pickup selector, volume, treble, bass (PTB™ system)

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Glenn Guitar

Looks lovely, i love my G&L to bits too.

Only problem i have i stringing up the guitar, as the high E string always slips out.

If you have the same tuners that i think you have on the guitar, i think this might save you some trouble: http://www.musictoyz.com/gearhead/gear16.php

I'm yet to try it out yet though, but it seems like a good guide to go by.

HNGD!

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Upgraded HSS USA Fender American Series Strat
G&L USA 30th Anniversary Legacy
Laney Lionheart 20 112
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Dave_Mc

very nice Love the colour and grain of the wood

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dannyalcatraz

Niiiiiiiiice!

And yes, I agree with you about cultivating a relationship with your local music shops. I'm on good terms with guys in several- including a GC- and get advance info on all kinds of things.

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halfj06

That shop regularly stocks g&l's? I might.take a road trip there when I make a new purchase in a month or two? What didn't you like about the bluesboy? I was looking at that model especially. Hngd, its beautiful

Mephaphil

Nice! Happy new guitar day buddy!

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JustRooster

Hey! More Wisconsin players. There are 3 shops that I know of in Wisconsin that stock G&L. October Guitars in Wausau, Chain O' Lakes Guitars in Waupaca (never been there, but their online catalog is good), and Dave's Guitar in La Crosse. If you're going to road trip to any of those, definitely go to Dave's. Even if you don't find a G&L you like, they have a vintage guitar museum on the 2nd floor. They have Stratocasters that are so old they weren't even named Stratocasters yet.

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gregs1020

very nice!

so the back of the bluesboy neck was flatter than this one, more D shaped than this?

gorgeous ash lines on that thing.

JustRooster

Nope, I'm talking fretboard. The fretboard on the Bluesboy felt like an Ibanez or Jackson. It was shredder flat. I'm sure plenty of people would have liked it, but I personally need a vintage style fretboard radius. This Strat's neck has the feel of a lot of 90's Strats, which the necks were more modeled after the 50's Strats after the 50th Anniversary.

I'm picky about Strats. I'm really happy about this one.

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gregs1020

i thought a 12" radius was the flatter fretboard that G&L offered? maybe they made a 15" on the imports?

50s strats had that 7.5 or 9.5 radius iirc, that's awseome that the legacy has a 12".

am i reading right that the list on that is $499? i may have to think about this here.

JustRooster

Yeah, I know what the spec sheet says, but it definitely doesn't feel flat. You know how I am about strats. Also, the 50's strats had the 7.25" radius. I had a CIJ ST57 neck on my Paisley, and side by side it felt just like my '99 MIA. I don't know how.

I read somewhere by some old guru on Strat-talk.com that the 90's necks were meant to feel like the 50's necks. You wouldn't think that on paper the C-shaped 12" would feel like a 7.25" Soft-V, but I owned them side by side, and they were definitely very similar.

And yeah, this one was $530. A little mark up for the dealer I didn't mind paying. I don't know why anyone would buy an MIM Strat new with these on the market.

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gregs1020

maybe it's a 9.5, those were common too.

that's a lot of guitar for $530.

gas attack!

JustRooster

Eh, could be. I get the specs on all my old Strats mixed up a lot. Either way, new guitar, new day.

Something I just noticed. The edges of the frets are filed in slope with the roll of the maple fretboard edges. That's some nice quality.

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FatalGear41

GAS cannot be cured. You need to just give in to it. HNGD! Enjoy it!

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Final

Happy NGD man, I'm a big fan of G&Ls and still regret selling my tele years ago to this day.

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I've set a date with the infinite.

My music.

Reisgar42

Wait...

Wait hold on...

Jake got a Strat?

What?

In other news, winter is cold; dogs bark sometimes.

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WholeLottaIzzy

I don't like blue finishes on guitars but that thing is sexy.

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samuraigoomba

Nice! I think the Bluesboy was cooler, but you're the one who's playing them, not me.

JesusCrisp

Happy new "Strat" day!

IDK why but to me it has kind of a Suhr-ish vibe to it.
Very pretty looking anyway!

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