DoctorPaul's Guitar Emporium
2004 G&L (USA) S-500 Custom
"Casey"
When is a Fender NOT a Fender? When it's a G&L, that's when. Just like a Fender, but ... better. Now I KNOW that this isn't technically a Fender, but I'm comfortable putting this in the Fender section of the site. The reasoning should be obvious. If not, read on.
Let's get some history. You comfortable? Clarence Leonidas Fender (Leo to his mates) was the founder of Fender (the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company) in the 1940's. He was apparently a bit of an electronics nerd, and started off fixing valve radios, then PA systems. By the mid-1940's, he was making valve amplifiers, and then designed a pickup that he fitted to lap-steel guitars. His first solid-body electric guitar (with a similar pickup) came along in 1950 ... the Esquire. The Broadcaster and the Telecaster soon followed. Then it happened. In 1953 he designed the Stratocaster, which was first sold in '54 and is still a best-seller today. So. Congrats Leo. Fender sold A LOT of Strats. However, as you'll see in my vitriol against the brood of Strats that I own, they certainly aren't perfect. For a start, the original trems were shit, the pickups were weedy, and they feel kinda funny to play.
Leo sold Fender in 1965. As he agreed not to make guitars for 10 years (part of the deal with Fender's new owners, intended to stop him competing with them), he set up making guitars and amps under the "Music Man" name in 1974 ... although isn't that NINE years later? Naughty. In 1980, it appears that he got bored / pissed-off, and co-founded "G&L Musical Instruments" with his mate George Fullerton. George and Leo. G&L. See what they did there?
The guitars were pretty closely based on Leo's original designs, but we're all updated to bring them ... up to date. They were (and still are) built in pretty low volumes in their factory (workshop?) on Fender Avenue, Fullerton, California. And they're hand made. By people.
Leo finally fell of his perch in March 1991, at which point his missus (Phyllis Fender) became the "Honorary Chairman" of G&L. Which is all kinds of sweet.
So there you have it. These are like Fenders, but built in low volume, and built very nicely using top quality bits and pieces. The USA models are premium bits of kit ... Fender Custom Shop quality or thereabouts. There is also a (more recent) range of G&Ls, made by the boat-load in the Far East somewhere. They're a damn sight cheaper than the USA models, but I hear that they're normally good players. Whatever. It's the USA models that moisten me up. Leo was pretty keen on the USA G&L guitars. So much so that early adverts quoted him as saying that they were "The best instruments I have ever made". They're strong words, but I believe him.
Despite the fact that the USA G&Ls are routinely made in low numbers, this one is a limited edition, with even fewer than normal made. In fact, as they made "less than 25" of them, they were classified as "non-catalogue" guitars.
The body is a two-piece affair, made from very nicely grained mahogany ... which is quite unusual for a strat, but of course, this isn't JUST a strat! The rosewood board has a 12" radius, and rides on a 2-piece maple neck, which is bolted on to the mahogany goodness.
The electronics are where it gets really interesting though. This has three "MFD" (Magnetic Field Design) single coil pups (one of Leo's inventions), which don't involve winding wire around magnetic slugs (like regular single coils) but rather have the windings around iron slugs, each of which sit on a bar magnet ... the coils aren't wound around the magnet, but sit over it. Each of the slugs (one per string) has an adjustable grub within it, so you can balance the response from each string. The result of that tomfoolery is that they have significantly more balls than a traditional single coil, and are warmer and rounder, which fits well with the mahogany body. So a Strat, but warm and full-sounding? That gets MY attention straight off the bat.
The three standard strat controls aren't standard at all, but rather are a master volume, a bass-cut and a treble-cut, which is far more controllable than just a pair of tone control. Nice. There's also a mini-toggle (as well as the usual 5-way blade selector), which allows you to run with all pickups on or with the neck and bridge pickups together ... which is kinda telecaster-esque, albeit with more balls. Which is great.
The construction is very, very solid throughout, and the fit and finish are excellent. As I have lots of Custom-Shop guitars around here, I'm comfortable saying that this is of the same quality ... certainly tangibly better than Fender's production line offerings. This plays as well as the spec would lead you to expect, with a warm rounded fluidity that you don't often find with "normal" strats.
So. It is with a happy heart that I'll say that, of all the Fender Strats around here, my favourite might ot be a Fender. Well ... it might not say that on the headstock ...
The G&L USA S-500. Get one.
By the way, the name "Casey" comes from the fact that I had a clearout-sale of some guitar cases ... most folks with dozens and dozens of guitars will likely confirm that storing cases is a pain in the balls, and I'm no exception. So, the proceeds of that sale were significant (I sold several shitty no-brand cases as well as some nice stuff from Gibson, Fender tweed stuff, as well as some nice G&G and Hiscox cases). As the proceeds were used to buy this, "Casey" seemed appropriate.
The downside? It came in a very nice Hipshot case ... damn! Anyone want to buy a case?!
