Early Era Lefties

I've seen an abundance of early era G&L's on places like reverb.com and used.guitarcenter.com, etc.

These, of course, seem like virtually undiscovered--and definitely underappreciated--gems of the guitar world. Unique vibe to most of them, probably great sound (though that is more about "taste" than anything) and best of all, a well-made USA instrument that are often well under $1000!

That said, I'm left handed , and 22 years in, for that matter.

Finding a lefty among this crowd is, as usual, a much more rare thing. I'd have a whole array of G&Ls to choose from if not for being lefty. I have a Legacy (though from ~2003), and those can be found here and there of course, but something slightly different---the early and more "unique" G&Ls--seem rather hard to locate lefty.

Does anyone know what the most common G&L guitar that was produced as a lefty in the early years, from 80-91, or 80-95, etc? Is there one that is overwhelmingly more common than others, a few that are equally rare, etc?

Also, if anyone has a unique lefty G&L (with trem!) that they'd part with, I'd love to hear it, but I'm even more so interested in finding out what is most likely to show up or look out for, if/when one does appear in the usual places.

- Matthew

I have an early F100 in lefty, 1980 according to the seller, never taken it apart to verify the exact date though. I have seen various early lefty G&Ls for sale over the years.I can't say there is one model more common from the '80 -'91 era but from the '91 to present era the Legacy seems to be more prevalent.

There was / is a refinished F100 on ebay in the last week or two, which brings up another point ... finding one that is unmolested or unmodified will be difficult.

You might want to check out the lefty guitar forums, leftyfrets.net and leftyguitartrader.com , and TGP ( thegearpage.net ).

Gratuitous photo ...

That F100 looks great! I'll add my Legacy because you mentioned 80-95...

Liquids , is there something in particular you are looking for ???....... I scroll epay pretty regular and post alerts in the Public announcement page somewhat regular basis for the lefty's since I know its harder to find lefty ..... I'm a lefty but play righty

heres a lefty BBE I posted in the Public service announcement a week or so ago

http://www.ebay.com/itm/G-L-Legacy-Stra ... 4d243e46f8

Good stuff. The F-100s always make me drool. Would love to play one, let alone own one!

I'd be looking for stuff with trem beyond the ubiquitous Legacy and Strat-shape S-500 first and foremost: Skyhawks, SC, F-100, etc. I'm sure there are models I'm not aware of, either. At least two pickups, but three isn't necessary.

Basically, as a starting point, a non-strat shape with trem would fit the bill for the right price. Beyond that, ideally a rosewood board (since my legacy is maple), not overly hacked, etc....but for a reasonable price I'd probably take what I could get. I would love something with MDF pickups since I imagine I'd get the most unique tones. More important is--knowing when something is out there...I get tired of searching, but I suppose I'll stumble on a good one. Hopefully I'll still have the gas and the cash to pull the trigger.

Any more info about the rarity/availability of lefties in the early days and among early models is certainly welcome. Anyone seem to see more early lefty model (???) than others?

Being a righty, I've never thought about lefties or paid attention to the ones I might have stumbled across. Anything is possible with Leo-era G&Ls, though. If you are looking for a non-Strat shape, then an '82-'83 SC-2 or an ASAT would be what you're looking for (setting aside the possibility of an x-body Interceptor, which would be far beyond $1000). Some early ASATs were equipped with Kahlers, which IME is a great combination. Still, I'm not sure how many were built as lefties, though. You'd probably have better odds of finding a lefty ASAT with a DFV from the late '80s or the '90s.

Ken

I've seen an abundance of early era G&L's on places like reverb.com and used.guitarcenter.com, etc.

These, of course, seem like virtually undiscovered--and definitely underappreciated--gems of the guitar world. Unique vibe to most of them, probably great sound (though that is more about "taste" than anything) and best of all, a well-made USA instrument that are often well under $1000!

That said, I'm left handed , and 22 years in, for that matter.

Finding a lefty among this crowd is, as usual, a much more rare thing. I'd have a whole array of G&Ls to choose from if not for being lefty. I have a Legacy (though from ~2003), and those can be found here and there of course, but something slightly different---the early and more "unique" G&Ls--seem rather hard to locate lefty.

Does anyone know what the most common G&L guitar that was produced as a lefty in the early years, from 80-91, or 80-95, etc? Is there one that is overwhelmingly more common than others, a few that are equally rare, etc?

Also, if anyone has a unique lefty G&L (with trem!) that they'd part with, I'd love to hear it, but I'm even more so interested in finding out what is most likely to show up or look out for, if/when one does appear in the usual places.

- Matthew

You might search our G&L Registry for "Lefty" in the Other field and sort the results by Model. While the G&L Registry is by no means a complete record of past built
G&L instruments, it can give you a snap-shot of what Lefty models have been added to it.

Please use our GbL Marketplace to place a Want Ad for your search of Lefty Leo-era G&L's.

Hope this helps.

Best of luck on your search.

Heads up .. a lefty Superhawk on Ebay ... viewtopic.php?f=41&t=11594

Thanks!

Interesting....are those dual HB's original?! I'd be shocked, but you guys know more than I do...

Or is this another one of those "I hack modded the soul out of an old G&L because, G&L?!...then, sold it" sort of things?

they look stock to me , better jump , lefty's are far and few between

Thanks!

Interesting....are those dual HB's original?! I'd be shocked, but you guys know more than I do...

Or is this another one of those "I hack modded the soul out of an old G&L because, G&L?!...then, sold it" sort of things?

The photos aren't the best, but from what I can see it looks stock. The Leo-era superstrats used a humbucker that was built by Schaller to Leo Fender's specifications. I am very pleased with the pickups in my '86 Superhawk.

The Superhawk on eBay is probably an early one, judging from the lack of a "by Leo Fender" decal on the headstock. All of the other hardware looks correct for the period. It appears to be an ash body under that clear red finish, which makes it a bit unusual. Maple was the typical body wood for these.

Ken

The G&L page says that the Skyhawk is not available left handed... ?

I did find this, which seems to show that yeah, the guitar is probably stock(ish): http://www.ggjaguar.com/superhwk.htm

Go figure. And it definitely looks like it's ash under there--agreed.

The photos aren't the best, but from what I can see it looks stock. The Leo-era superstrats used a humbucker that was built by Schaller to Leo Fender's specifications. I am very pleased with the pickups in my '86 Superhawk.

The Superhawk on eBay is probably an early one, judging from the lack of a "by Leo Fender" decal on the headstock. All of the other hardware looks correct for the period. It appears to be an ash body under that clear red finish, which makes it a bit unusual. Maple was the typical body wood for these.

Ken

The G&L page says that the Skyhawk is not available left handed... ?

Hmm, I think you mean the Superhawk ..., is this correct?

The current Superhawk is a Signature model (Jerry Cantrell) and therefore, limited to only the options listed in the Spec page.

Liquids, welcome to the forum.
I just wanted to add this thought. I was speaking with an historian on this forum a few days ago and he mentioned that lefties of the era were always special orders - from dealers or individuals. This makes them very rare, so don't let one pass you up. You can always turn around and resale until you find 'the one'.

The Skyhawk is the successor to the Legacy, but I think you'll love a Skyhawk. Amazing strat sounds and with the treble and bass controls, you can dial in tons of tones.

The G&L page says that the Skyhawk is not available left handed... ?

This one is a Superhawk, I think the first one I've seen in lefty.

As for the Skyhawk I've seen one lefty one for sale, refinished in black.

Here's an early F-100...this time it's being auctioned with no reserve.
(had a BIN at 750)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1980-G- ... 462bc5ddae

I've seen an abundance of early era G&L's on places like reverb.com and used.guitarcenter.com, etc.

These, of course, seem like virtually undiscovered--and definitely underappreciated--gems of the guitar world. Unique vibe to most of them, probably great sound (though that is more about "taste" than anything) and best of all, a well-made USA instrument that are often well under $1000!

That said, I'm left handed , and 22 years in, for that matter.

Finding a lefty among this crowd is, as usual, a much more rare thing. I'd have a whole array of G&Ls to choose from if not for being lefty. I have a Legacy (though from ~2003), and those can be found here and there of course, but something slightly different---the early and more "unique" G&Ls--seem rather hard to locate lefty.

Does anyone know what the most common G&L guitar that was produced as a lefty in the early years, from 80-91, or 80-95, etc? Is there one that is overwhelmingly more common than others, a few that are equally rare, etc?

Also, if anyone has a unique lefty G&L (with trem!) that they'd part with, I'd love to hear it, but I'm even more so interested in finding out what is most likely to show up or look out for, if/when one does appear in the usual places.

- Matthew

Almost all early lefties were special order from the factory. One exception as an example being the three Lefthanded Broadcasters circa 1985/1986. This may be the rarest of the early lefties.
A 1988 (commonly referred to as the) 3rd style Interceptor. Actually it is the fourth style Interceptor.

This may be the rarest of the early lefties.

I haven't seen that finish color on others, it's more cinnamon than root beer...maybe sarsaparilla ?