NGD Espada

Hey all, I wanted to share about the CLF Research Espada. I picked this up in the fall, and I really have to give props to G&L—this is a great sounding, great playing, versatile instrument! Fundamentally, I'd say it falls in the ASAT-style category in tone and feel. It has that bright single-coil sound in the neck and the bridge separately, and the two pickups combined give that classic tone. It's quite warm and clear, with the broad frequency response from an MFD-design pickup.

But wait: flick the white toggle down to run the coils in series, and the pickup is louder, warmer, more mid-focused, and brings a legitimate humbucker tone. Jazz, blues, rock.... Plenty of growl with overdrive. In either mode, turning on the preamp (red toggle) boosts the volume substantially for leads. Switching it all the way down adds treble boost. For how I play, that's mostly unnecessary, but it might be great if you have darker amp settings, or it might work well with an old-school fuzz pedal to both boost the gain but get only ankle-deep in the mud. (I don't have a fuzz to try this with; just a theory.) Or, that treble boost can be handy for the neck pickup.

So, tonally, this guitar covers a lot of bases. Great for gigging with in different styles (once gigging returns...), and I'm sure all that tonal flexibility would be great to have in the studio.

I really like the 9.5 inch radius fretboard, the action is low and buttery—it's a pleasure to play. A friend who's more of a humbucker player and not a G&L user (except when he tries mine) places it in his top three of my G&Ls (alongside the Trinity and the G-200). Highly recommended!!

Proof of existence!!

Last edited by tomanche on Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hey Tom,

Sweet score!

These are definitely on my list to get. The variety of tones is very enticing.

Only hesitation for me is the neck reviews I’ve read, many report thicker than typical G&L neck. I’m a 12” or 7.5” guy but could be swayed. What do you think of the neck? How is it compared to a Trinity, not radius but overall feel? (I can do a comparison)

Any comparison to standard Z coils?

Only hesitation for me is the neck reviews I’ve read, many report thicker than typical G&L neck. I’m a 12” or 7.5” guy but could be swayed. What do you think of the neck? How is it compared to a Trinity, not radius but overall feel? (I can do a comparison)

Any comparison to standard Z coils?

Hey now, Sam, thanks! And thanks for your good questions! I had to grab the Trinity and the Espada. Going by feel (not measuring), I'd say the Espada is just a little thicker in the first position/cowboy chord area, but doesn't get much thicker as you slide up the neck. So it feels nearly the same as the Trinity thickness overall, but a flatter radius (my Trinity is 7.5", but certificate is unmarked ). The Espada plays beautifully in all registers—quite easy to get around on.

My Comanche Studio VI (2007) has the classic 1 neck (12" radius), which is definitely beefier than the Espada or Trinity. My Legacy Deluxe (2008) has the classic 1V, which has the same beefiness and the V added as you go up the neck. Those two are a fair handful (almost Les Paul territory), but I like the radius.

I do pretty well whether the radius is 7.5 or 12 (and now 9.5) on my G&Ls. I am a sucker for the 80s slim necks, like on the purple Skyhawk, some ASATs...

As for the pickups, the Espada's are quite different than the standard Z coils. Not really that close, in a good way. If I had them in similar platforms ( ), it would be easier to compare. If you already have Z coils, the Espada brings something else. I like 'em both. I'd like to see three Espada pickups in an S-style body, with an expander switch... it's been done with the Doheny

ooooh...that's nice
Congrats!!

I'd like to see three Espada pickups in an S-style body, with an expander switch... it's been done with the Doheny

Yesss.

Thanks, Elwood!

Another thought about the Espada pickups versus the Z coils:
I only have Z coils in the Comanche VI, where they are wired in parallel for a sweeter sound than the series wiring of the standard Comanche or ASAT Z-3. So, I can hear in the Espada a thinner and sparkly sound that has some character akin to the parallel Z coils, but the Espada in series is punchier, louder, thicker—maybe closer in character to the standard Comanche/ASAT Z-3?

Sam, you have a guitar with just the two Z-coils, right? Now, that would be interesting to compare to an Espada....

More thoughts:
—the neck pickup generally has a "woodiness" that's more S-like than ASAT-like, and perfect for bluesy notes.
—both pickups on and the bridge pickup solo are deep in the ASAT camp.

Today I played:
1. the Dead's "Sugaree," starting in the neck/parallel, which had all the clarity and treble you could ask for. Took solos there and with both pickups on, with a little breakup. I love playing Garcia licks on an ASAT or similar; I wish Jerry had done so more. (Side note: he plays George Harrison's/Delaney Bramlett's rosewood Tele in a jam in the "Festival Express" movie!)
2. Zep's "Ten Years Gone," with both pickups/parallel with a little amp overdrive. Switching to series gave the perfect boost from the clean quiet verse chords to the more driven lick in the chorus (I usually use the guitar's volume knob). I usually go to the neck pickup for the outro licks and the solo, and increase the drive on the amp or with a pedal. Sounded great on the Espada neck pickup today with extra amp drive and the preamp on. I regularly play this song when I'm using an ASAT variant. (Page used a Strat on the recording, but a Tele with B-Bender live at Knebworth 1979; I don't know which in 1977.) Sounds extra killer into a Vox-style amp.
3. Also when I play an ASAT type, I tune to open G and play a couple Stones songs. Today it was "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," and what really worked well on the Espada was Mick Taylor's solo on neck pickup, preamp on. Got me closer to that Les Paul humbucker tone (I assume that's what he used) than an ASAT ever has, such that I could hear more of the solo in my head and got closer to it than I ever have. (Someday, I'll work on it!)

So, that might give you some ideas of the range of the Espada...pretty cool!!

Nice tunes...Fun fun fun

From the demo vid, I'm guessing you can coax some SRV tones with a little boost
on a clean channel.

Jerry would have approved of the Espada I'm sure.

Beauty! I am smitten with the idea of a shell pink Espada with rosewood board and matching headstock. Dream a little dream.