This topic went in a lot of directions I never anticipated. I own an AVRI Jazzmaster that is a great guitar. I own about a dozen other American made Fenders, Martins and Hallmarks. To me this guitar looks like a decent American made guitar if it's in the $900-$1,300 price range.

I play with a friend who has a G&L S500 Strat copy. It's the only G&L I've ever played and think it's a fantastic guitar. If you don't like this guitar, that's cool. I'm kind of surprised by how much it's hated, though.

If I were to pick this guitar up, it wouldn't be because I need a "dad" guitar, hipster guitar, or a "working man's Jazzmaster". I'm not a surf traditionalist and love all kinds of Instro Music. The Out of Limits aren't traditional surf so playing around with a guitar that's not historically correct to 1964 doesn't bother me. Plus I already own guitars like that so buying something different would just give me another toy to play with.

Anyway, sorry for getting everyone so riled up. Now I'm heading over to the Bluegrass Hangout to ask what people's thoughts are on taking a Gibson acoustic to a festival...

Kevin
The Out of Limits
www.facebook.com/theoutoflimitsband
https://theoutoflimits.bandcamp.com/

Last edited: Sep 18, 2017 09:59:56

Sorry about my role in derailing the thread, Kevin.

The funny thing is that last night in response to a new Strat I bought and posted pics of on FB (I'll post on SG101 later today), I got the following comments from a surf music fan and guitarist that I believe has been on SG101 in the past - there was nothing said about G&L guitars before his comments, he brought it up, but I thought it was quite a coincidence in light of this thread. Here you go:

I really prefer the G&L over the Fender's. The dual fulcrum vibrato is so much better than the Stratocaster. This guitar is so magnificent..

In my view G&L is more Fender than Fender. I visited G&L maybe 10 years back and walked the shop floor. The layout of the shop and guys working out of the back sliding garage doors was an exact replica (including OEM equipment) of the 500 South Raymond Avenue 9 building, Fender factory. At G&L Leo was again dedicated to R&D and really improved on some of his earlier ideas. I was reading an anecdote about Leo Fender during his G&L days where someone brought in some Precision Bass from the 50's to show off to Leo. Leo just looked at it as one of the basses he designed and build. Didn't seem to have any idea or attach any significance that the instrument was already becoming very desirable as a vintage collector's piece. I love that forward thinking. All perspective.

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Thanks, Eddie! Much appreciated. I'm convinced that I have a Surf Festival curse. Every time I play a festival it seems like something goes wrong. I've never broken a string on stage until Saturday and those were brand new .11 flats... And on the second song, too! Thankfully Chris Moree let me borrow his guitar so we could keep going but then I spent the rest of the show getting used to playing an Ibanez with .11 rounds.

Then at the Sunday After Show, Chris broke a string on his Ibanez and finished out their set with my Custom 60. The circle was complete.

Kevin
The Out of Limits
www.facebook.com/theoutoflimitsband
https://theoutoflimits.bandcamp.com/

Last edited: Sep 18, 2017 11:43:13

Like I said above G&L's are simply a headstock I don't care for, appearance wise. I get what Mr. Fender was trying to do & no doubt they make good stuff. I have a question about the 2-point trem in the picture above. Does it function differently than the common practice of backing off the inner 4 screws on the typical Strat trem?

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

I think this answers your question Badger

http://www.glguitars.com/features/DF-vibrato.asp

Kevin
The Out of Limits
www.facebook.com/theoutoflimitsband
https://theoutoflimits.bandcamp.com/

Kevin, THANK You very much! Interesting.

Ivan, maybe they were looking at Space Cossacks' reunion vids...?

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Oh man, I spend the last five days living the Dad Life, stripping down to bare walls my just completed music room, so the concrete under it can be jackhammered up to find and repair a water leak caused by an idiot contractor who made a major screw up and laid flooring over it while the movers were hauling in all our stuff, as my wife and daughter are on vacation at a family reunion in Arizona, and I read this for the first time!

I have a dad body, dad hair, dad clothes, dad van, dad house, I have Dad's last violin and I listen to Dad's music... and I wouldn't have it any other way! I am Dad! Hear me... oh, my aching back!

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

IvanP wrote:

Surf_Skater wrote:

My kids are millennials, I never realized they've been mocking me by calling me dad.

Really, that's your take away from what I wrote? I give up.

Just a silly joke Ivan, not directed at your comments at all.
I've raised four kids to adulthood and they've turned out to be hard working, free thinkers that stay out of trouble. I will wear the "Dad" badge proudly although I'm also not happy about having a dad bod.

My suggestion to the OP is find a local dealer and if the price is right and it feels right for you, is buy it, enjoy it and proudly display the fickle finger of fate to anyone that makes a negative comment about it.

alright, I officially hate you all right now. I just went sniffing around to see what the t style G&L was called, and I caught an instant case of gas. I did not need to see this thinline in greenburst.
http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/USA/guitars/asat-semihollow/index.asp
And of course it matches all the Neb's guitars perfectly. I have a bound greenburst tele, but it is NOT a thin line, like my numero uno.
fheck.

crumble wrote:

ncgalt1984 wrote:

I think this answers your question Badger

http://www.glguitars.com/features/DF-vibrato.asp

It looks like a good device but listening to the GL Jazzmaster on YouTube it doesn't sound like either Stratocaster or Jazzmaster. I would agree with the guy demoing that it has a chimey sound, open and clear but where's the personality, the quirky pluck and twang of the original Fender guitars? I am curious about G&L guitars though, I once had a 10 year hiatus from music and the only CD I bought was Alice in Chains - Dirt. Soon after I read interview with Jerry Cantrell who was giving the G&L brand a good plug, I'd never heard of G&L before. A G&L is still on the bucket list!

I was at the Huntington Beach Pier show the other day watching Outer Wave with a friend who is not familiar with surf and he noted that the guitar sound had no sustain. I think typical expectations of guitar tone have included 'violin-like sustain' since the fuzz pedal became mainstream.
I owned a G&L for a little while when I was new to surf technique and loved the axe, a SC-2 reissue in Himalayan Blue. I didn't know enough about the style to say whether the axe, quintessential New Wave guitar, really nailed the sound of surf and doubt it did because the designers weren't catering to surf pickers. I did like the build and aesthetics of that axe though.
The sad fact is that mid century playing styles, that level of picking proficiency especially, is no longer current among the mass of guitar shoppers. I doubt any manufacturers are aiming at such an elite cadre of players as appreciate the dry plunk of a vintage offset played clean.
If I saw the new Doheny in a shop, I'd sure want to play it though it would probably be strung with 9s.

Squink Out!

Last edited: Sep 19, 2017 14:37:03