Blueburst S-500 - Fullerton, 2000 with custom tweaks

[danburne]

Hi all

I've just bought a Fullerton California, S-500, completed July 17, 2000. According to G&L [with my comments in square brackets]:
- body wood is ash
- S series [MFD] pickups
- dual fulcrum bridge
- rosewood freboard [it's dark - I'm guessing Chechen aka Caribbean rosewood, which strictly speaking isn't a true rosewood]
- maple neck
- 1-5/8” nut width, 12” radius

It has a white pearloid scratchplate and a couple of unusual features:
- matching blue painted headstock
- Schaller locking tuners
[Possibly less unusualy, chrome volume and tone controls]

If anyone has any further info / insights - or can point me to any - I'd be curious to know more!

[Craig]

Welcome to our site!

Your S-500 is a beauty! (G&L's Blueburst finish is extra special, IMHO)

I suggest you contact Memo Romero (G&L Service Manager) and ask him to look up the serial number of your guitar in the factory logs.
He can tell the specs and completion date. His email address is repairs@bbesound.com.

Chechen (aka Carribean Rosewood) was not an available fretboard wood type until 2018. Your guitar looks like it has a Rosewood fretboard.
Locking tuners and matching headstock finish were options. The S-500 came stock with the metal chrome control knobs.

Hope this helps.

[danburne]

Great - thanks for that. The info above is from Memo, with some additions/comments from me.
So it sounds like it's "regular" (EIR?) rosewood - just a dark, pretty consistent and dense set - it's almost ebony-like.
Handy to know about the options and the metal chrome knobs being stock (seems to have varied a bit over the years/models, from Fender style to these).

[Tooslowhand]

That looks like regular rosewood to me. I have a USA Fender Strat from the '90s and the rosewood board is dark like your S-500. Beautiful guitar BTW.