G&L vs. Fender

I was at a Guitar Center today looking at amps from 5-15 watts. Since I had not brought my ASAT Tribute with me I played a variety of Fenders, incl. MIM Teles and Strats and US versions of the same. I have to say, nothing except the US strat came close to my imported ASAT. It alone did not seem flimsy after my rock solid ASAT.

I tried a bunch of amps and the Vox AC15 was nice, but I don't need all the bells, whistles, emulators, etc. The Blues Deluxe is a great amp, but too loud for my purposes.

Having said the above, the Vibro Champ XD really had a few sounds I loved, but out of 16 amp settings I ended up liking maybe 3 of them (the old ones, of course!) It was also unbelievably loud for a 5 watter. I guess there are tube watts and solid state watts. Maybe it is the projection, or the speaker efficiency.

When I get the money set aside, I'll head back there with the ASAT for a final showdown.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.. or so they say.. I have a few fenders
Strat Plus Dlx with lonestar pickups/pickguard, Tele Plus, a Warmoth hardtail
strat that I put together and an Eric Johnson 2 tone sunburst with a maple board.
I can honestly say (imo) that the asat and WR's are better (more fun ro play and
sound great) than the tele and the Comanche and S 500 are as better than any strat
I've ever played and have that something extra like the EJ and my warmoth do.
My Warmoth isn't quite there yet since the pickups/ wiring isn't right, I got some
of the early no-load pots and have never been happy with them.

I would compare G&L's with the Nash and Anderson's that I've played, I didn't like
every one of those but the ones I did like were amazing just like my G&L's.
G&L's are in my opinion a boutique guitar at a working man's price..

as for the amps you mentioned, it the Vibro Champ XD has 3 sounds you love and
13 you don't.. Don't use the 13... I've got amps that have one sound I love like my
old JCM 800. Having an amp that has more than one sound that you love is what
I consider a bonus. Take a pedal or two next time and make sure it takes pedals
well (do this with any amp you test) and 3 sounds can turn into a lot more....

There are a lot of great sounding amps in the 5-15 watt range. I've tried many of them and my faves have been the new Vox AC15 with the Celestion speaker and the Laney Lionheart 5 watter. I tried the Vox with a Chinese Squier Vibe tele sitting next to it, and I swear the Vox made it sound like a $2000 guitar.

I've been playing a Fender Blues Junior for 15 years but the current crop of low wattage amps sound more refined to my ears. As Chris said in the previous post, it's horses for courses tho.

I bought a Vox Ac15 with the Celestion blue a few months ago & I'm completely obsessed with how my Legacy & SC-3 sounds though the thing. I know many people mod the AC15cc1x, but I don't want to touch a thing.

Fender Princeton Reverb, Blues Jr., and '57 champ all fit into what you are looking for.

Fender amps are the best.

In terms of guitars, the only fender that I've liked more than my BB is the Masterbuilt Clapton strat that a family friend owns. Perfect in everyway, imho.

I've heard a lot of people compare the G&L to the Fender Custom Shop line. I've also talked to luthiers and techies who think the G&Ls are more consistent than the CS line. Tough for me to say, though...that's not my field of expertise.
What I do know is this: I have a Fender CS Strat ('57 Reissue with DiMarzio Vintage noiseless pups) which rocks the house upside down. Just does everything I'd want a Strat to do. I played it alongside a beautiful Legacy, recently, and found no reason to like one over the other. They're both great, great guitars, both with sound and feel. So, if my soundcheck is any indication, I'd say that the comparison between the Fender CS and G&L line is an accurate one.

Edit: I'm embarrassed to say that I recently discovered that my Strat's an AVRI...not a Custom Shop.

I have to say, though, that I still love it.

Last edited by gitapik on Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I've heard a lot of people compare the G&L to the Fender Custom Shop line. I've also talked to luthiers and techies who think the G&Ls are more consistent than the CS line. Tough for me to say, though...that's not my field of expertise.
What I do know is this: I have a Fender CS Strat ('57 Reissue with DiMarzio Vintage noiseless pups) which rocks the house upside down. Just does everything I'd want a Strat to do. I played it alongside a beautiful Legacy, recently, and found no reason to like one over the other. They're both great, great guitar, both with sound and feel. So, if my soundcheck is any indication, I'd say that the comparison between the Fender CS and G&L line is an accurate one.

I am inclined to agree here, where the G&Ls shine however, is the fact that fender CS is upper 2k to lower 3k range. A G&L can be had for lower 1k range.

I am inclined to agree here, where the G&Ls shine however, is the fact that fender CS is upper 2k to lower 3k range. A G&L can be had for lower 1k range.

Exactly. The CS instruments are so ludicrously priced that there are very few players that would use one. As a collector, sure. They are lovely instruments to play and have some nice components, but they can be purchased aftermarket for not much at all. I have come to the conclusion that the paint and CS decal on a CS guitar are the most valuable parts. Though I'm unsure of the price of a liter of Fender paint and a Fender sticker, by using maths I've calculated it to be $1000+....

I'd much prefer to get something custom built by a luthier than shell out for a CS guitar. YMMV

I am inclined to agree here, where the G&Ls shine however, is the fact that fender CS is upper 2k to lower 3k range. A G&L can be had for lower 1k range.

Exactly. The CS instruments are so ludicrously priced that there are very few players that would use one. As a collector, sure. They are lovely instruments to play and have some nice components, but they can be purchased aftermarket for not much at all. I have come to the conclusion that the paint and CS decal on a CS guitar are the most valuable parts. Though I'm unsure of the price of a liter of Fender paint and a Fender sticker, by using maths I've calculated it to be $1000+....

I'd much prefer to get something custom built by a luthier than shell out for a CS guitar. YMMV

I don't have the money to be a collector. I'm a player and I lucked out, bigtime, on my CS. Got it on consignment at a small shop for $800.00. Apparently, this very wealthy guy just buys 'em and then practically gives 'em away when he sees another he likes. Made me happy....that's for sure. I saw the exact same guitar in a boutique shop for $3000.

There's no doubt that the G&Ls are fantastic guitars...and not just for the money. But I disagree with you about "the most valuable parts" of a Fender CS. I love mine. Couldn't be happier.

I guess we are more or less in agreement!

A friend dropped off his US Strat for me to try and I did another side-by-side here at home with that and my ASAT Tribbie. I still prefer the ASAT neck and general feel (although if you forced me to play the strat I wouldn't complain ). Also, i'd say that the MFD pups on the ASAT are at least a third louder than the stock Fenders.

Of course, I still can't duplicate on the ASAT the tones you get in the bridge/mid "sweet spot" on the strat. Gonna keep trying.

Another treat: I'm gonna get to play it through another friend's pre-CBS Princeton Reverb tonight. He had it in for a tube-job a year or so ago and it sings.

I can compare my pair, a G&L S-500 ash body/rosewood fingerboard and a 2010 American Standard Strat alder/maple. Before I do that, I should mention that I got into the Strat market in 1999, which, in my opinion, was a bad time to be trying out Fenders. From my experience, it was a very low time for Fender. The fret jobs were bad, the necks were boat shaped, widening right out to the edge of the fretboard, and the electronics were noisy. After getting my hands on G&Ls, made sense to me to get into one. At the time, the S-500 with its hotter pickups made sense to me because I knew I'd mostly be playing with some distortion. It did great at that. Shortly after I had mine custom built, the local G&L dealer went out of business. Somewhere along the line, probably after I rediscovered David Gilmour, I got interested in some clean sounds I was hearing. I went out shopping recently. Without the benefit of a dealer to check out G&Ls, I ended up shopping Fenders. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that many of my misgivings about Fender had been addressed. They've improved their fret work, they've gone to a modern C shaped neck on the AM st. series, they hand-round the neck edges, and they've got decent electronics in the guitars finally.

Now to compare. Frankly, the G&L Dual Fulcrum CREAMS the Fender vibrato tailpiece. The G&L is just soooo smooth and effortless. The S-500 IS a great blues workhorse for distorted sounds. Getting a sound is like falling off a log. Over time I've had problems bonding with its neck because the flattened fingerboard radius and skinny profile seem to emphasize the 25.5" scale (I come from a Gibson background) and can lead to hand fatigue for me over a night of gigging. The G&L wood quality is far superior to the Fender.
The current Am. St. Strat has its strong points. Apparently the maple board, something I resisted for years, lends an upper-mid bark that makes the clean sounds just fall out of the thing. The alder/maple combo just provides a very different voice from that of the ash/rosewood combo. For some reason, the Fender modern C neck and 9.5" radius seem to de-emphasize the long scale and make long term sessions more comfortable. The feel of the hand-rounded neck shoulders is very comfy and broken in. Position 2 (bridge/middle) is, well, the classic vintage position 2 sound. The new electronics are amazingly low-noise.

So, preference? My preferences are probably simply keyed to the particular wood combos and particular guitars I've chosen. I'd be willing to bet you can get the same out of a G&L with proper wood combos. I bet with a little study I could come up with a neck shape that was more comfy as well. Do the Legacy models put out the classic quack and latex of a vintage Strat in position 2 and 4?

Bob

Over time I've had problems bonding with its neck because the flattened fingerboard radius and skinny profile seem to emphasize the 25.5" scale (I come from a Gibson background) and can lead to hand fatigue for me over a night of gigging.

I always thought this problem was just me. I can't even go 30 min without getting hand cramps on my S-500, mainly when doing a lot of chording. The neck fits my hand like a glove, the width is just right, but the 12" radius is just a bit toooooo flat.

I agree with Bob - the C-shape necks on the new Fenders are excellent. The hand rounding has made a BIG difference.

Re. Legacy's and quack in positions 2 and 4. I think the reverse winding on the middle pickup kills some of the quack. It might be my imagination, but the PTB tone circuit seems to take away some of the quack too. My quackiest guitar is a Fender strat 62 re-issue with CS 57/62 pickups. The middle pickup isn't hum cancelling and the great tones from positions 2 and 4 are well worth a bit of extra noise.

Do the Legacy models put out the classic quack and latex of a vintage Strat in position 2 and 4?

Bob

The Legacy I checked out has a rosewood fingerboard. My Strat's got a maple one. I totally agree with Bob: the clear tones just glide off of a maple neck. Rosewood's great, too. I started out with a Les Paul and play lots of acoustics....so I'm into them. But the maple neck's just got an extra *ping* to my ear.
So: the 2 and 4 positions definitely have that "quack and latex" sound on the G&L...but I had to scoop out the amp's eq a bit more and put some more pluck into my right hand to get it. I'm pretty sure because it was a rosewood neck. Regardless: it's just an adjustment and the sound's there. Just takes a bit more coaxing, imho.

...I'm a player and I lucked out, bigtime, on my CS. Got it on consignment at a small shop for $800.00. Apparently, this very wealthy guy just buys 'em and then practically gives 'em away when he sees another he likes. Made me happy....that's for sure. I saw the exact same guitar in a boutique shop for $3000.

WOW!!!! Man, you're one lucky guy to score one so cheap. I'd buy one at that price too! They are great guitars to play. And at that price it's much less of an investment and much more a tool for the trade.

BTW - is that it in your photo? I love a red guitar!

WOW!!!! Man, you're one lucky guy to score one so cheap. I'd buy one at that price too! They are great guitars to play. And at that price it's much less of an investment and much more a tool for the trade.

BTW - is that it in your photo? I love a red guitar!

Yep...that's my Strat. It's a Fiesta Red. I've gotta take a nice shot of it and post it up here.

At $800 it was a no brainer. Had to sell a '77 Strat I'd had for years to get it. No regrets. That was a nice axe, but didn't quite have it in the 2, 4, and 5 positions. Heavy too. You're right: it's a tool of the trade. It's way too nice to be hanging on someone's wall or sitting in the case. I've played two other CS Strats. Both were killer. Both were too expensive. This one was a gift.

But here I am talking about my Fender. That Legacy I played was awesome and I just ordered an ASAT Classic a couple of weeks ago. Two years of putting my gig money into a shoebox and not touching it. I'm beyond amped about getting that guitar. My first Tele...

But here I am talking about my Fender. That Legacy I played was awesome and I just ordered an ASAT Classic a couple of weeks ago. Two years of putting my gig money into a shoebox and not touching it. I'm beyond amped about getting that guitar. My first Tele...

And what a first tele at that

I played one and was blown away. I couldn't decide between butterscotch or clear orange. They both look incredible (actually...they ALL look incredible). Then I chanced on this picture, online, and my decision was made. Vintage White/mintpickguard/gun oiled maple neck. Beautiful:



" " is right...

(nice amp, too....)

I can hardly tell the difference between my USA Strat radius (9.5) and my US Bluesboy radius (7.5). The REAL difference for me comes in the width of the neck. I play jazz and the nice fat neck on the bluesboy made fretting the chords easier by a factor of 10! Although playing power chords is a bit more of a chore for blues...

I LOVE the sound of the seth lover. Beautiful warm jazz tone when the tone is slightly rolled back (too many people roll back the tone WAY too much), and a wonderful open and fat sound when playing blues/rock. The tone on the seth lover actually gets better as you go up the fretboard.. which is kind of the opposite from any strat I've ever played. It gets really midrangey... in a really sexy way. I love it. My amp needs new power tubes and it needs to biased hot, so the overdrive isn't great, but the seth sounds best when slightly overdriven.

I've just been trying to rear in the shrillness of the DRRI. I like the sparkle of the clean channel... but it can get way too thin and icepicky. I'm hoping that biasing the amp hot will fix that. I love the amp though... just takes me a while to find something I like. I think I eventually settled on treble:4 and bass: 3.5... otherwise it starts grating into your ears. Usually I'm a plug and play guy lol... been on a tone quest recently.


Moral of story: G&L guitars rock (esp the bluesboy!) and when combined with fender amps make sounds that can only be dreamt of.

Man...my next axe will be a Bluesboy. In fact, I almost got off the Tele trail when I saw this for sale:



Stunning.

But I really want that Tele and ended up going for it. Bluesboy will have to wait. Hopefully not so long. Got some stuff I could sell.

You've made the right decision gitapik - the standard ASAT Classic is a wonderful guitar. The BB is a more specialized beast as the Seth Lover takes a little while to get used to after a regular T-type setup. That said, the BB is, IMO, the most versatile guitar out there, especially in the semi-hollow form, which I'd recommend very highly. I used one the other night when I was recording with my band and got every sound with it - I didn't even take the other guitars I brought along out of their cases! I'd sell your stuff and get one - I did!

Yeah...I wanted the Tele simply 'cuz nothing sounds like a Tele and I've wanted one for a long time.

I've also wanted a semi-hollow body for a long time and the Bluesboy fits the bill really well. My Les Paul's been modified and is really sweet in all styles...but I loved the Bluesboy I played on. Figure I'll have my hands more than pleasantly full while I'm saving up for that one.

I've also wanted a semi-hollow body for a long time and the Bluesboy fits the bill really well. My Les Paul's been modified and is really sweet in all styles...but I loved the Bluesboy I played on. Figure I'll have my hands more than pleasantly full while I'm saving up for that one.

Most certainly! There's nothing quite like a nice Les Paul. You seem to have very good taste in guitars!!! When I received my SH BB I sold my Gibson ES335 - the BB's sound beat the Gibbo, even for jazz, as did the construction, finish, case..... There's something about a bridge humbucker that never sounds quite right to my ears, but I love humbuckers in the neck.

Most certainly! There's nothing quite like a nice Les Paul. You seem to have very good taste in guitars!!! When I received my SH BB I sold my Gibson ES335 - the BB's sound beat the Gibbo, even for jazz, as did the construction, finish, case..... There's something about a bridge humbucker that never sounds quite right to my ears, but I love humbuckers in the neck.

We're on the same page, there. I was considering a 335, too, but left that idea behind after playing the BB. I'd actually like to hear one with single coils in both positions...much as I like the standard config. Does G&L make 'em like that?

I'd actually like to hear one with single coils in both positions...much as I like the standard config. Does G&L make 'em like that?

Well, but of course! They are just named differently, depending on what single-coils you want to use. The ASAT Classic SH comes closest since it uses the same bridge pickup as the Bluesboy. Otherwise there is the ASAT Special SH with traditional MFD's.

- Jos

I'd actually like to hear one with single coils in both positions...much as I like the standard config. Does G&L make 'em like that?

Well, but of course! They are just named differently, depending on what single-coils you want to use. The ASAT Classic SH comes closest since it uses the same bridge pickup as the Bluesboy. Otherwise there is the ASAT Special SH with traditional MFD's.

- Jos

Wow...those are some beautiful looking guitars. Thanks, Jos.

Like I said: I love the Bluesboy I played, with the humbucker...but I'm a big fan of a single coil near the neck. The warmth of the humbucker's really nice...but I like that dry definition of the single coil, for lack of a better word. That'll be a hard decision. Have to find a single coil version nearby to make it. Down the road.