I NEVER REALLY CARED FOR THE LEGACY...

So I have never seen a Legacy that made me want to buy one. I know they are well made and sound great with all the permutations of tone available. But not being a Leo era guitar or any special build, and the fact that there are so many of them out there, I have shied away from them and concentrated on special instruments including some post Leo models such as the Commemorative, ASAT HB, ASAT Classic Three and the like. My favorite players (other than the ASAT HB) are the invaders, the F-100 and those heavy MOJO models from the Eighties. Something recently changed my mind and it's scary and mind blowing. No outrageous provenance (to my knowledge) but what I believe to be a near one of a kind. Now keep in mind that I have always wanted to own a Paul Reed Smith because they are such works of art with all the special tops and colors. But anything made in the USA or worth playing is $4k and up. The cheeper ones are still beautiful as hell but not ever going to amount to anything worthwhile. I believe I have found the best of both worlds.

Let me introduce you to my newest find...I do not know what year it was built but some of the options provide a clue to its birthdate. Craig, perhaps one of your contacts at G&L could shed some light on Legacy Serial Number CLF45012, if you have time. So that I can know a bit more about this beauty. It is Very Heavy.

First off, not only does it have matching Headstock color, but matching veneer. A most awesome Honey Burst on Tiger Stripe Maple.



The body itself is amazing with the gold hardware and Natural Wood Binding . I think it's what they call faux binding because it's the edge of the Maple cap not a separate piece glued into the edge. You can see the grain of the Maple on it.



The back of this thing is also outrageous in the clear red over the Swamp Ash body and clear red would have been a good color for the front too.



So now I have given away a little mystery...the most incredible Bird's Eye Maple Neck I have ever seen. Behold...








I'm really not sure I can say much more about this beautiful instrument. The pictures do not do it justice but might give you an idea of just what the craftsmen at G&L have produced. I will probably never see a Legacy like this again. There is one that might come close in the registry but without the gold hardware. I am truly blessed to have found this one and through, what Jos described as "ruthless negotiation" I got it for a somewhat reasonable price. I have used the guitar builder app several times to see what I can build as the ultimate new guitar but couldn't build this and, even if I could it would cost $4K or more. (but it would be an ASAT.) But this thing also sounds fantastic. It was supposedly built for a G&L endorser but I do not have any info as to who that is or when he had it made.

Oh and by the way... here's my new NIGHTHAWK!!!


October 21st, 1983. Black, B\W\B Pickguard, Chrome Hardware, DF bridge, Bi-cut Maple Neck, Ebony Fretboard, Mahogany Body. Pure MOJO, Awesome Sound!! Near Mint Condition.











I must say, I have most of the G&L's I want so I may be suspending my GAS for a while. Only thing left would be a Broadcaster in good condition. To all of you that have helped me to understand and identify these beautiful guitars I wish to thank you all with my utmost appreciation and respect.

Tom

“Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty.
Beauty is not love.
Love is not music.
Music is THE BEST.”
FZ

Ooooohh!
The neck looks like champagne(or Guiness) bubbling.

cheers!

...and a helluva postscript
Nice NighthawG ...congrats.

Beautiful Legacy !! .... that gold hardware is scrumptious , it's a shame more people didn't order gold hardware when it was available , such a great option wish they would bring it back , if nothing else it least for a limited time ..... sweet Super hawk too

Love that nighthawk , it's a real beauty. Nice bevy of G&L's you have amassed.

Great stuff Tom, on both counts!!

That Legacy you should take apart and see if there is a reference to a NAMM show, either literally or a reference to a foreman or something. Something like this:


Your guitar looks decked out enough to fit that mold.

- Jos

that is gorgeous. The neck is really special and the body is amazing.

Let me introduce you to my newest find...I do not know what year it was built but some of the options provide a clue to its birthdate. Craig, perhaps one of your contacts at G&L could shed some light on Legacy Serial Number CLF45012, if you have time. So that I can know a bit more about this beauty. It is Very Heavy.

First off, not only does it have matching Headstock color, but matching veneer. A most awesome Honey Burst on Tiger Stripe Maple.


FZ

The color is Cherryburst not Honeyburst.

This is the first G&L I have seen with a veneer Maple matching headstock. I will contact one of my G&L contacts on Tuesday to see If they can provide some history.
As Jos suggested, take a peek under the pickguard and post a photo.

Outstanding Legacy HB!

Correct Craig, not sure why I said Honey when it is absolutely Cherryburst.

I am literally afraid to open this thing up for fear of scratching it or something. I will get up the gumption someday but let's wait and see what you can find out from your sources. I thought I saw a matching veneer headstock in the registry but could be wrong.

Tom

Tom,

Just wait for the next string change and "flip open" the pickguard. If it is a bathtub rout, which it likely is, there might be a treasure trove of information down there.

Or you can do the capo trick, take off the neck, and do the above while making pictures of everything of course

Thing we know is that since give an take 2005 G&L no longer offered gold hardware but was still using it for instruments to be shown at the NAMM show. Hence our suspicion. Based on information available to me, I'd place your S/N somewhere in 2006 or 2007, i.e. after gold hardware ceased to be available as a regular option.

- Jos

I figured the date to be no earlier than 2006 or 2007 but likely 2010 or so. But maybe they still had some gold left over in '06 or '07. The guy I got it from said he was a G&L endorsor and they made it special for him with options only offered to endorsors. Now you have me curious. It came with what look and feel like new strings and in almost perfect tune. It has locking tuners so I could do the capo thing but I don't want to do anything that might disrupt the setup. Let's wait and see what Craig can find and if it's inconclusive I might open it up. Of course if all I do is change the strings, it's easy enough to at least remove the pick guard. For the price of a set of strings it may be worthwhile.

Thanks Jos...we'll know more soon.

Tom

I heard back from Dave:

Hi Craig,

The description of CLF45012 right from the order in the computer shows:

LEGACY HB CHERRYBURST MP
TGN BE PRL GOLD HARDWARE WBTGN FLAME

Translation: Legacy HB Cherryburst maple, tinted gloss neck, birds eye, gold hardware, wood binding, flame top.

It was shipped to Jim’s Music in Tustin, California on January 11, 2007. The invoice seems to indicate it wasn’t charged for, but no mention of an artist name.
It may be that we comp’d the guitar to the artist via Jim’s, where the artist had a relationship with the dealer.

I think the artist should pay me now. : )

Dave

Can you tell us who this unnamed G&L endorser is?

The name of the seller is Justin Adams. Anyone heard of him?

I did open up the guitar today and here is what I found.

Under the pick guard


Neck pocket and neck


Nothing sticks out as overtly unique other than what we already know. No other Legacy or G&L with matching veneer headstock among other things. It is a sweet sounding and playing guitar. The easiest intonation I have done on a guitar. It probably needs a better nut but it's good for now.

If anyone can discern additional information from the markings I would appreciate the info. Like I said, some is obvious and some is kind of cryptic in nature. Like what is the significance of the TGN/WB?

Tom

Think Jos is your man on this one Tom…

Cheers,
KF

Hi Tom,

Thanks for looking under the covers!

I see all sort of reference to the wood binding (W/B) bird's-eye (BE) tinted (TGN and TG) maple (MP) neck, the cherryburst (CHY BST) painted headstock (PH) but nothing indicating the gold hardware. Nor is there any indication of a NAMM show association although the date stamps jibe with when such instruments are usually assembled. BTW, I think the "flame cap" in the pickup cavity is actually referring to the headstock, and not the body, given its proximity to "BE TGN", also associated with neck specks.

Still a most beautiful guitar!

- Jos

P.S. Is that also a "G&L neck dept" stamp in the pup cavity?

[Craig]

The name of the seller is Justin Adams. Anyone heard of him?

This Justin Adams? See also his web site

Code:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Adams

. [unsafe wikipedia link changed to non clickable by Admin].

- Jos

Last edited by Craig on Sun Jun 05, 2016 9:52 am, edited 3 times in total.
Reason: removed unsafe wikipedia.org link as identified by URLVoid

Hi Tom,

Thanks for looking under the covers!

I see all sort of reference to the wood binding (W/B) bird's-eye (BE) tinted (TGN and TG) maple (MP) neck, the cherryburst (CHY BST) painted headstock (PH) but nothing indicating the gold hardware. Nor is there any indication of a NAMM show association although the date stamps jibe with when such instruments are usually assembled. BTW, I think the "flame cap" in the pickup cavity is actually referring to the headstock, and not the body, given its proximity to "BE TGN", also associated with neck specks.

Still a most beautiful guitar!

- Jos

P.S. Is that also a "G&L neck dept" stamp in the pup cavity?

It is not a NAMM guitar. See my May 24th post to this thread: Re: I NEVER REALLY CARED FOR THE LEGACY....

If anyone can discern additional information from the markings I would appreciate the info. Like I said, some is obvious and some is kind of cryptic in nature. Like what is the significance of the TGN/WB?

Tom

The TGN/WB (and TGWB) refers to the Wood Binding. Instead of Natural Gloss WB they tinted (dark stain) on the complete body top before masking the wood binding area and then applied the color coats and gloss
finish coats. This is not unique but not a standard option.

Thanks for the deciphering all. Mostly obvious once I see the codes revealed.

Yes, definitely does not appear to be a NAMM guitar. I reached out to Justin Adams on his FB page but have not received anything back.

The pickup rout does have the neck dept stamp Jos. and, I think the neck pocket has it too and was covered up or something.

Very cool guitar and now we know most of the story.

Tom