Custom Shop - Opinions wanted

I’ve convinced myself that I should order a new G&L with my tax refund this year. Great idea, I know. I’m not 100% the Custom Shop is worth the not insignificant premium as the only difference will be either a thin urethane or nitro finish on the CS VS polyester on the standard US models. I don’t want anything crazy and can get what I want from the standard option list, though the chance a specifying a very light weight body is nice advantage of the CS. I do want this to be the best guitar in the quiver, and this is why the CS option is on the table. It will in all likelihood be the last guitar I buy for a while due to impending extensive home renovations.

Has anyone played a CS guitar? Are they worth the extra cash?

My experience with the Fender Custom Shop instruments i’ve played is that they are in no way worth anywhere near the extra money. My experience with my most recent G&L - a nitro Legacy from the 2016 run - is that there is not much room for improvement.

Talk me into or out of this please.

Any input is valued!

Jamie, if it was me and I was searching for just items that are normal made to order options, I would go that route. I have two made to order guitars and love both of them (LE-2 and ASAT Classic S). I certainly would consider Custom Shop if I wanted to do something out of the ordinary. In fact I have one I love to see if they would built, but I know I don't really need it just really want it... Essentially first body SC-3 in Pharaoh gold fire mist, butt the middle and bridge pickup togther (slanted) to make a humbucker with switching for in phase / out of phase / single coil, slant the neck pickup as well, global three way selector, white pickup covers, roasted maple neck, 12in radius, body match headstock to the original shape, saddle-lock, old school control plate in chrome to match chrome saddle-lock bridge, and red competition stripes...

Either way you choose, I'm sure it will be great. But hard to image they can get much better if you sticking to regular made to order options.

Let know which you choose!

Cheers, Dan

I’ve convinced myself that I should order a new G&L with my tax refund this year. Great idea, I know. I’m not 100% the Custom Shop is worth the not insignificant premium as the only difference will be either a thin urethane or nitro finish on the CS VS polyester on the standard US models. I don’t want anything crazy and can get what I want from the standard option list, though the chance a specifying a very light weight body is nice advantage of the CS. I do want this to be the best guitar in the quiver, and this is why the CS option is on the table. It will in all likelihood be the last guitar I buy for a while due to impending extensive home renovations.

Has anyone played a CS guitar? Are they worth the extra cash?

My experience with the Fender Custom Shop instruments i’ve played is that they are in no way worth anywhere near the extra money. My experience with my most recent G&L - a nitro Legacy from the 2016 run - is that there is not much room for improvement.

Talk me into or out of this please.

Any input is valued!

There are more differences than just body/neck finishes, see: Jan. 1, 2019-present Custom Shop Specifications & Options..
Note: They do not list exotic woods and custom finishes, so check with a G&L Custom Shop dealer for specific special requests.

Hope this helps.

Dan - I think you’re right, option order is probably the best way to go. I’ve also toyed with the idea of a first SC body build - an accurate to the headstock shape SC-1 - but don’t think they’d go for it.

Craig - What I mean is that for the order I’ll be placing, that the body finish would be the only difference.

Craig - What I mean is that for the order I’ll be placing, that the body finish would be the only difference.

There are some differences between Custom Shop vs Option Ordering:

From the Jan. 1, 2019-present Custom Shop Specifications & Options post:

CUSTOM SHOP COMMON SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

Frets: medium-jumbo Senko 18% Nickel Silver
Case: Custom Shop Deluxe Tolex
Body Wood. Hand-selected for weight or grain pattern where applicable. Hand sanding.

All Models: Hand-inspected thru every process step to ensure accuracy of craftsmanship and detail.
Custom Shop staff responsible for all sanding processes up to and including post finish polish.

Thin Skin Urethane finish for both body and neck

All Models: Urethane offers the durability of a Poly finish with the sonic benefit of a thin lacquer finish
offering the player a balanced tone foundation.

All Models: In addition to offering the most popular neck shapes and radii, our necks offer a feel and
comfort of a truly classic instrument that is painstakingly crafted by our Custom Shop staff.

Custom Shop Pickups

All Models: Backed by our decades-long innovation expertise, G&L Custom Shop pickups offer individually
machine-wound bobbins to exacting specifications. Hand wound options available (see options section)

I just went the custom shop route. I wanted a 3A flame roasted neck, and the only way to get that was the custom shop. I also find that lighter guitars sound better ( at least to me) so the ash body being hand selected for lightness was a big plus. I could have saved about $1100 had I gone the build to order route, but I wouldn't have had the flame neck of anything else I wanted. At the end of the day its just a tool, but since I was spending the money why not get an attractive tool. Personally I think, even with two problems I've run in to it was worth the extra money and I'd do it again.

Glad your experience was good with the CS - I'd love to see that neck Somehow I have never played a 'light' G&L - But I've played both lighter and heavier guitars that sounded good; couldn't really make a generalization that way anyway.

This past weekend I spoke at length with a prominent premier dealer about a custom shop order. I wanted to try out a Doheny V12 with a Saddlelock bridge and a different neck profile. I was told Custom Shops start around $800 more than stock models then go up from there. Because I didn't want anything crazy he actually suggested I get a Legacy and they'd drop in the V12 electronics. It wouldn't be an "official" G&L guitar anymore, but it would be significantly cheaper. He said if you want to go all out go Custom Shop, but if you can accomplish what you want via option order or some other creative alternative that would be the best approach. Just my experience.

I know I’ve seen hardtail Dohenys - are those CS only? Is that why you were steered toward a hardtail Legacy?

Personally I think, even with two problems I've run in to it was worth the extra money and I'd do it again.

Oh dear. What were the problems?

I know I’ve seen hardtail Dohenys - are those CS only? Is that why you were steered toward a hardtail Legacy?

It's the neck profile. Doheny's are the only models with the 21 fret neck. Apparently they are not interchangeable and requires new programming or something to cut the neck pocket.

I know I’ve seen hardtail Dohenys - are those CS only? Is that why you were steered toward a hardtail Legacy?

It's the neck profile. Doheny's are the only models with the 21 fret neck. Apparently they are not interchangeable and requires new programming or something to cut the neck pocket.

Ah makes sense - I don’t know why G&L chose to use a Fender neck heel and not the standard 22 fret neck; body proportions? I really do want to try a Doheny, but I have a feeling my next guitar may be an American Jazzmaster... Trying to keep my ‘make an offer’ finger still for a few moments

One of the main reasons I never go for an s-500 or legacy is precisely because they don't have the rounded neck heel of a strat. I hate guitars that are like 95% strat but not quite, because it's like an uncanny valley feeling. The legacy body and pickguard are SLIGHTLY different, neck pocket included, and it makes me feel uncomfortable personally.

My fav. G&L bodies are sc-2s, cavalier/skyhawks, and ASATs(you can't really mess with a standard T shape. always looks classic to me.). Those shapes are original quintessential G&L shapes rather than an "almost strat."

I wish their s-500 was still on the skyhawk platform and their legacies were just strats with MFDs and a G&L headstock.

Personally I think, even with two problems I've run in to it was worth the extra money and I'd do it again.

Oh dear. What were the problems?

Nothing serious.

- The nut slots are cut too shallow, causing the high E to slip out during an upstroke. It doesn't happen all the time, but it happens enough that I'm going to file the slots down a bit. You can see the string sitting above the slot, which isn't uncommon with vintage fenders either so its not necessarily a mistake, but for how I play I need it to sit just a touch deeper. The action is also higher than I'd like but well within acceptable limits, and I tie it to the nut problem anyway so I count it as one.

- The tuner on the 5th string is getting hard to turn. It feels like its pretty close to seizing and I probably should call them and swap it out before that happens.

Thats about it. The tuning is very stable, even with the string problem and even when using the bar. The guitar also sounds great, so I'll iron out those problems and use it till the sun explodes.

Glad your experience was good with the CS - I'd love to see that neck Somehow I have never played a 'light' G&L - But I've played both lighter and heavier guitars that sounded good; couldn't really make a generalization that way anyway.

The "light guitars sound better" thing could well be in my head, so add salt as needed. There's some pretty good pictures of my guitar that someone posted on this forum. They show off the figuring on the neck better than I ever could in a picture.

http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=15873

The one nice thing about a new guitar is a warranty - The only time I bought a new guitar (not a G&L) I had to use it three times in a year (acoustic guitar; two different broken tuners, a loose brace.) Glad those are only issues with setup and replaceable hardware components.

Awesome neck/guitar

That's pretty disappointing about the nut, that's the sort I thing I'd expect the extra money would cover. Easily sorted though I guess, and that guitar is a real looker. Pretty similar to what I'd be getting.

I'm on board with the light guitars sound better. Seems that they would resonate more as there's less energy required to 'shake' a relatively lower weight. That's just a hypothesis.

That's pretty disappointing about the nut, that's the sort I thing I'd expect the extra money would cover. Easily sorted though I guess, and that guitar is a real looker. Pretty similar to what I'd be getting.

I'm on board with the light guitars sound better. Seems that they would resonate more as there's less energy required to 'shake' a relatively lower weight. That's just a hypothesis.

Its really not as bad as it sounds. Both G&L and the dealer I went though missed it in QC. Other than that small issue its a superb guitar and I'll be back to the Custom Shop for another. I'll just make sure they play hard on that open E first.

I'm on board with the light guitars sound better. Seems that they would resonate more as there's less energy required to 'shake' a relatively lower weight. That's just a hypothesis.

I think it goes both ways - Resonation means the body is absorbing energy from the string, so if you picked a material (say, a concrete floor) to put the strings between that did not absorb the string's energy you would probably get a lot of sustain/string movement (though you'd be minus any acoustic coloring from the body vibrating the air around it.) Then again - we all know wood does resonate. So if you have a non-resonant guitar, the likely culprit is your bridge or some component prior to the wood is defeating your string's energy so it never reaches the body (like if you use a hardtail bridge where the saddles aren't able to lock ) So if your guitar is well built of quality components, your body resonates - but once it does, it's sucking energy from the strings.

But IMO, sustain doesn't really even equal tone anyway, and if there's a correlation between a heavy guitar and sustain, you might still think a less sustaining guitar with a different tone color has a better sound regardless. TLDR - I can appreciate heavy or light guitars, and count on resonance being a thing

Well put Danley. I have two ~6.5lb T-types and they do not sustain as well as heavier ones. To my ear they sound better, and I guess that’s down to the body sucking all that energy up