New G&L Facebook page - CLF RESEARCH CO.

I was looking through old bins in Unit J, which is at the far end of the 2548 Fender Avenue building near the train tracks. It’s like our smaller version of what the old Fender guys in Fullerton remember as the “Back 40” where old machines and randomness goes. Anyway, I was stoked to find this El Toro E control plate. Yeah, it has been pillaged a little, but I’ve been messing around in El Toro land and I might need it. I’m like a squirrel out looking for nuts, and I’m taking this tasty nut back to the lab.

I’m in the mood for another project build. So I’m up in loft shopping...

Score!!! Early SB-2 with parts loaded! My guess is around 35 years ago Chris had a build go wrong in final assembly, and somehow the thing got stuffed up in a loft. Hide the evidence! Who knows lol.

Anyway, I was in the last stack I felt like going through, and there tucked behind it in the darkness was this guy. The light caught it and there it was, like it was finally time for this lost soul to go from dust to destiny in Leo’s Lounge.

I’m in the mood for another project build. So I’m up in loft shopping...

Wow...The longhorns caught my eye, then the double bound ASAT, then the turquoise ASAT Bass,
then... .... just...Wow

I’m in the mood for another project build. So I’m up in loft shopping...

I see a lefty!

I see a lefty!

The blue-ish one?
Some sort of ASAT lll (with a smaller mfd in the middle..) ?

cheers

That's the one!

Plus, there is a nice black? one in the top center.

I can provide an address...


Cheers,
Will

I’m in the mood for another project build. So I’m up in loft shopping...

While we are shopping...I see what looks like a 3rd style Interceptor in the second row back. Well, I have a minty fresh Leo Patent Pending Dual Whammy Boss bridge just waiting to go into that guitar. It looks to be routed for such a bridge. Any chance we can work something out ala the Custom Shop or CLF Research? Maybe Gold Mist with Jet black on the edges? I am open for suggestions.

Tom

Time to get started on Project SB-2nd-Chance. First thing: see what’s goin’ on in the electronics. Of course there’s a crap ton of dust, with bonus points for being caked all over those pots. Helps seal in the tone, right? ; ) I’ll give it some love then we’ll see how it does.

So far, so good: no crackles from Project SB-2nd-Chance. That was easy! Guess I’ll go ahead and take it apart to refin.
I’m thinking about doing Pharaoh Gold Firemist. Remember how hot that old SC-2 came out? This would be like its big brother.

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Is the red body on the left a Climax?

About a month ago I posted about starting Project Fake Broadcaster. Well, there was a problem that I have been too embarrassed to admit.
After I posted about my sweet new project, I was informed that the Broadcaster body is actually a customer guitar here for a replacement neck,
and the body was put in the lab for safekeeping. Yeah...right. So I’m sitting in Leo’s office coming up with a Plan B.
Serious stuff for the boss to do on a Friday afternoon. ; )

Project Fake Broadcaster is back on track, now that I am massively dusty. Just came down from a loft with a score.
Prototype vibes from this 3-bolt maple body, no date, never been built out, looks like “MP” in the pocket which means it
should have a maple neck. Red X could mean reject, this one is special, or a possibly a treasure chest is buried there.
There’s some messing with the jack zone that may be experimental. Whatever, I can make it work. It has some scrapes from
decades in CLF loft land, but if it’s not bad I’ll just buff it out and build it. Original paint is original paint.

I bought this 1986 Invader in August but all I really did was ask Jerry to sign it. The guitar looks OK but functionally it is jacked up, including a stripped locking screw on the Leo Fender Guitar-Tech nut. It has the rare Leo Fender fine tuner Dual Fulcrum vibrato but it is also in sad shape. Let’s give it a CLF Spa Treatment!

Memo fired up Leo’s old school BK Precision oscilloscope. This is quality.

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But of course, it's the Comanche body at the top of the heap that caught my eye...!

I love that bridge!

Leo made it for EVERYONE!

I found a Leo Fender Guitar-Tech string lock for the 1986 Invader. On the second pic, the hex bolt next to the low E does not thread in. Can’t dive bomb like that!

Project Fake Broadcaster has a pickguard and bridge! Well, almost. Out in the Unit J warehouse I found an original CLF black crinkle powdercoated aluminum pickguard. The bridge I have had in my desk drawer since like ‘94 and I remember talking to dealers on the phone while doodling on the saddles. There is a saddle missing, and I don’t remember what I did with it. Maybe it’s still around in a drawer, I’ll figure it out. Anyway, I’ve had it sooo long and I’m finally gonna use it for Project Fake Broadcaster. I think that’s kinda cool.

Ta da! I found the missing saddle, intonation screw and spring. Reunited and it feels so good.

I decided that Project Fake Broadcaster should be more than just a Partscaster. For a while, anyway. These are Leo’s own Broadcaster pickups from his pickup sample bench. These are “the real ones.” ; )

The thin urethane on Project El Toro’s neck is settling in nicely. Looks like next week we can party with The Bull.

Rusbe is working his magic on Project Fake Broadcaster’s neck. The finish has cured for 32 years so it’s probably ready to buff. ; )

Now Rusbe is working on Project Fake Broadcaster’s body. It was a little beat up, so I told Rusbe to just do whatever he thinks is best.

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Rotary buffer action. I’m starting to think this body might actually look nice.

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Project Fake Broadcaster parts look better than I imagined. Rusbe nailed it.

Wow. Shiny fretboard. I never *chose* a black guitar but they choose me.

I found an old battery cover for Project El Toro. This one was never plated or powder coated so I’ll have this done in black crinkle.

I asked Memo to make a copy of the simple preamp in the CLF-67/68 prototype (Project Clarence Leo Future).
\He used a board and parts from the lab, but couldn’t find an axial capacitor so he swapped in a radial cap (that yellow
thing) and set me up with pots and jack, all wired up. At some point I’ll probably make a modern version of the CLF-67/68
prototype using an ASAT body, Saddle Lock bridge, this setup Memo made and probably some variation of Leo’s pickups.
That should be fun.

Ta da! I found the missing saddle, intonation screw and spring. Reunited and it feels so good.

Any idea where I could buy those intonation screws? I would like to replace a bunch of them with nice new shiny ones but Can't seem to source them anywhere. Thanks for any suggestions.

Tom

I asked Memo to make a copy of the simple preamp in the CLF-67/68 prototype (Project Clarence Leo Future).
\He used a board and parts from the lab, but couldn’t find an axial capacitor so he swapped in a radial cap (that yellow
thing) and set me up with pots and jack, all wired up. At some point I’ll probably make a modern version of the CLF-67/68
prototype using an ASAT body, Saddle Lock bridge, this setup Memo made and probably some variation of Leo’s pickups.
That should be fun.

That's cool, any chance you could build those for sale? Or at least make the schematic available?

Tom

Any idea where I could buy those intonation screws? I would like to replace a bunch of them with nice new shiny ones but Can't seem to source them anywhere. Thanks for any suggestions.

Tom

A quick search here, I found this post:
Re: Legacy USA intonation screws

I believe the intonation screws for saddles for both the DFV and Saddle-Lock are the same.

Hope this helps.

Any idea where I could buy those intonation screws? I would like to replace a bunch of them with nice new shiny ones but Can't seem to source them anywhere. Thanks for any suggestions.

Tom

A quick search here, I found this post:
Re: Legacy USA intonation screws

I believe the intonation screws for saddles for both the DFV and Saddle-Lock are the same.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Craig, these may "work" and do the job but they have vastly different heads so they would not be authentic. Good site with lots of parts though. Thanks for the resource.

Tom

Leo’s sample Broadcaster control plate assembly dated July 17, 1985. This should do nicely on Project Fake Broadcaster.

I’m kind of stressing right now. Darragh has just installed washers and a truss rod bullet. Now we find out how “real” this neck is for Project Fake Broadcaster.

Darragh asked me what tuners to install. Uh...yeah...need to deal with that. So I got dusty and found these old guys for Project Fake Broadcaster.

So far so good! The truss rod is moving freely and the neck is responding well. Darragh has removed the finish from the frets and tomorrow he’ll mask it up for the actual fret work.

After being separate for three decades, body and neck are joined. Darragh got that fitment dialed in.

I like to imagine Leo driving his white Cadillac with his Patsy Cline tape playing. Just a cool image.

This L-2000 was completed here on March 1, 1985. I love the black crinkle powder coated control plate with those CLF knobs popping. (Doheny V12, cough cough).
This bass was made just before the change to the rear mount controls, so it’s kind of transitional because it has both a control plate and the trademark G&L hook style headstock.

Darragh removed Leo’s Broadcaster pickups from the test boards and now he’s lengthening the leads for Project Fake Broadcaster.

Darragh prepping the Saddle Lock route in the body

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Prepping holes for bridge mounting screws

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Leo’s Broadcaster pickups are mounted.

Patrick dressed the frets on Project El Toro’s neck and it feels sooo nice even though the neck finish still needs to be polished.
The polish department is super busy right now, maybe late in the day we can get this jewel buffed.

Patrick has been giving the ‘86 Invader a major spa day. He replaced the Leo Fender Guitar-Tech string lock, went through the rare Leo Fender Dual Fulcrum Vibrato with Fine Tuners,
sexy fretwork... I forgot what else. My job is to find an old crinkle back cover and screws.

This gorgeous old SC-1 belongs to my patient friend Robert Poss and I’m here at G&L Custom Shop giving it some love.
This is literally *the* guitar that got me thinking about making the Fallout model. Well, this and his red one. I’ll tell you more later.
Now we’re gonna do work.

Pots are actually in nice shape, so Dave Brown will do some light cleanup with some contact cleaner. There’s a date code 8227 which is the 27th week of 1982.
This guitar’s cool factor is hitting me hard right now. Want!!!

Dave Brown taking a little off the sides like a fret barber. Truth is Robert’s old SC-1 should have a refret, but we’ll make it play quite a bit better and it stays original.
On a special guitar like this, I feel like that’s more important than peak performance.

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Still some divots but we could smooth some more out up the neck. There’s not much to work with but what is there can be a lot nicer.