G&L USA Guitars (Andertons)

Sporky

Adamski said:

it puts the independent in a position where the USA Fender Line is being undercut by basically a USA Fender equivenlent line that they have zero opportunity to buy and sell at the same prices.

G&L have been underrepresented in the UK for decades. They're now going to be readily available at sensible prices, and you think that's a bad thing for consumers?

Guitarists are suckers for the historical re-enactment brands; I don't think G&L are going to hurt Fender sales at all. If they do then it's probably a good thing - if G&L can make a better guitar for less money then what does that say about Fender?

Anything that takes out the greedy distributors is probably a good thing - they increase the price of the product without adding any value to the consumer.

fftc

I don't understand all the whinging about this. If it means that G&L guitars and basses are readily available over here then it is a good thing. Buyers will decide the price they are happy to bear for the quality level. If you want to have a go at someone try the previous importer of G&L who did such a rubbish job it was very difficult to get your hands on one!

duotone

sunshinewelly said:

https://www.andertons.co.uk/gl-guitars/b-stock-g-l-tribute-legacy-in-gloss-black

cheap

Yep, I remember seeing that last.  Worth remembering that this is ''B stock" guitar though.

Musicman20

Sporky said:

Adamski said:

it puts the independent in a position where the USA Fender Line is being undercut by basically a USA Fender equivenlent line that they have zero opportunity to buy and sell at the same prices.

G&L have been underrepresented in the UK for decades. They're now going to be readily available at sensible prices, and you think that's a bad thing for consumers?

Guitarists are suckers for the historical re-enactment brands; I don't think G&L are going to hurt Fender sales at all. If they do then it's probably a good thing - if G&L can make a better guitar for less money then what does that say about Fender?

Anything that takes out the greedy distributors is probably a good thing - they increase the price of the product without adding any value to the consumer.

I agree. Distributors do very little. Even when warranty repairs come into play...(IME).

Fifty9

I think the guitar market is a v difficult one to sell into as we are basically v fussy, detailed spec driven, value focussed tightwads (some exceptions of course by by and large that’s us)

in a nutshell this move brings higher quality to the masses & some variety in the middle tier. USA G&L vs Mexican Fender, Tokai Japan Standards vs Gibson USA studios. 

Surely it’s good for us the consumer from a quality & value standpoint & if Fender & Gibson are losing market share in the middle ground then maybe it’ll keep their prices in check a bit.

sunshinewelly

duotone said:

sunshinewelly said:

https://www.andertons.co.uk/gl-guitars/b-stock-g-l-tribute-legacy-in-gloss-black

cheap

Yep, I remember seeing that last.  Worth remembering that this is ''B stock" guitar though.

 described as having a couple of scratches - they have a few of them

monofin

drwiddly said:

I bought a US made S500 off a forum member a few years back. It's an excellent guitar and better than any Strat I've played (although a bit different). I found I needed a ballsier bridge pickup for the bands I'm in so swapped the MFD for an Oil City Masterwound Hot Rails and it's pretty much perfect for me now.

@drwiddly ; I do miss that s500.
Glad it's in a good home but if you ever want to part ways I'm here!!

Blaendulais

Can I derail this thread to say Chappers is now as bald as me 

Schnozz

In a world where Caparison, Parker and Bilt headstocks are present, I think G&L are the last of our worries.

What CloudNine says about G&Ls being heavy, is really their only fault; I'm sure I've had a legacy at 9lbs, which I've never come across with other bolt-on brands.

However...

If there were lighter, then they would be a match for the likes of the PRS Silver Sky etc - I think the ASAT is the best tele short of £2k. 

Just listening to that video you can hear how well they record and cut through when compared to a Fender, but I always find it hard to stomach the marketing nonsense (Musicman are also bad for it).

The modern classic neck is close to a Charvel pre-pro and with jescar frets on a flat radius, they're incredibly easy to play. The bridge is still the best two point short of a Floyd Rose and it doesn't really matter if it has locking tuners or not. The finishes are like glass.

I hope others give them a short, as you'll be hard pushed to find a negative review. Solid workhorses.

I think the Caribbean rosewood that's not rosewood looks nice, but I think we could do with a review thread on here, to discuss which CITES alternatives we rate.

drwiddly

monofin said:

drwiddly said:

I bought a US made S500 off a forum member a few years back. It's an excellent guitar and better than any Strat I've played (although a bit different). I found I needed a ballsier bridge pickup for the bands I'm in so swapped the MFD for an Oil City Masterwound Hot Rails and it's pretty much perfect for me now.

@drwiddly ; I do miss that s500.
Glad it's in a good home but if you ever want to part ways I'm here!!

I'll bear that in mind mate but for the time being, it's going nowhere (except to my next gig!).

dindude

I’m keen to try another but I ordered an ASAT Special from the US a few years ago and it was poor. 9lbs, lumpen neck profile, square fretboard edges and one of the worst fret end jobs I’ve seen on a decently priced guitar. It felt over-build, under-toned and less than the sum of its parts. But they get so much love I can only assume I got unlucky.

The JM style dohety interests me most, but doesn’t look like the US ones have made it in this first batch.

Whitecat

I think the “morbidly overweight” issue that seems to
come up a lot is largely in the past - World Guitars had about 10 in stock before this GAP group took over, and I think all of them were under 8 lbs. My read on other forums about G&L in general seems to support this - most agree that they have taken steps over the past few years to ensure they aren’t buying in wood that could be inexplicably made into boat anchors...

Dominic

Had an S500 which was an incredible guitar but so bloody heavy ( 1970s Les Paul in disguise )

guitars4you

Whitecat said:

I think the “morbidly overweight” issue that seems to
come up a lot is largely in the past - World Guitars had about 10 in stock before this GAP group took over, and I think all of them were under 8 lbs. My read on other forums about G&L in general seems to support this - most agree that they have taken steps over the past few years to ensure they aren’t buying in wood that could be inexplicably made into boat anchors...

Weight has been an issue in the past - Get a good one and they are fine but some can be heavy - Not played/sold any new versions for a few years now, so ring rusty on the latest news - I've always had more interest in ASAT models when in stock v Strat flavoured models - Some ASAT's can be very nice

Whitecat

guitars4you said:

Whitecat said:

I think the “morbidly overweight” issue that seems to
come up a lot is largely in the past - World Guitars had about 10 in stock before this GAP group took over, and I think all of them were under 8 lbs. My read on other forums about G&L in general seems to support this - most agree that they have taken steps over the past few years to ensure they aren’t buying in wood that could be inexplicably made into boat anchors...

Weight has been an issue in the past - Get a good one and they are fine but some can be heavy - Not played/sold any new versions for a few years now, so ring rusty on the latest news - I've always had more interest in ASAT models when in stock v Strat flavoured models - Some ASAT's can be very nice

Yeah, I’ve still got a bit of GAS for a Bluesboy specifically... but the S-types don’t tick any of my boxes, nice as they may be...

guitars4you

Whitecat said:

guitars4you said:

Whitecat said:

I think the “morbidly overweight” issue that seems to
come up a lot is largely in the past - World Guitars had about 10 in stock before this GAP group took over, and I think all of them were under 8 lbs. My read on other forums about G&L in general seems to support this - most agree that they have taken steps over the past few years to ensure they aren’t buying in wood that could be inexplicably made into boat anchors...

Weight has been an issue in the past - Get a good one and they are fine but some can be heavy - Not played/sold any new versions for a few years now, so ring rusty on the latest news - I've always had more interest in ASAT models when in stock v Strat flavoured models - Some ASAT's can be very nice

Yeah, I’ve still got a bit of GAS for a Bluesboy specifically... but the S-types don’t tick any of my boxes, nice as they may be...

Yep probably my favourite as well is a Bluesboy - either solid or Thinline style

Schnozz

This was my heaviest, but it was stunning...

https://www.basschat.co.uk/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q69/garbev/1-10.jpg&key=2fdf7512c3ded63ddaa16f13146f18c74dc986e7aa0bc7bae38c47a9848ed69c

And then there was the best Floyd Rose Superstrat I've owned (despite having had Charvel Custom Shop Stars etc):

http://i1031.photobucket.com/albums/y373/Schnozzalee/P1080171_zpsqbbgcvns.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY4WDEwMjQ=/z/T3sAAOSw42JZB53T/$_86.JPG
I've had 8 now - Big fan. The quality is on a par with Yamaha.

CloudNine

Schnozz said:

In a world where Caparison, Parker and Bilt headstocks are present, I think G&L are the last of our worries.

What CloudNine says about G&Ls being heavy, is really their only fault; I'm sure I've had a legacy at 9lbs, which I've never come across with other bolt-on brands.

However...

If there were lighter, then they would be a match for the likes of the PRS Silver Sky etc - I think the ASAT is the best tele short of £2k. 

Yeah, would definitely agree with that @Schnozz The build quality is very very good. I used to wonder how much some of the hardware weighed, as the Trem on the S500 looked like a serious piece of machinery. Felt like something you could jack a car up with.

mbe

I hate these cartels. Take Thomann for example, with their monopoly of Harley Benton guitars. 

guitarfishbay

mbe said:

I hate these cartels. Take Thomann for example, with their monopoly of Harley Benton guitars. 

Not sure if this is intended as a joke, but that is their in house brand.