how good is great

I just posted my hello post in the introductions forum, and i have a pretty broad question about F-100s: Just how good are they?

To clarify: In my intro post I declared my deep love of my '80-81 L-1000. It is the nicest playing/sounding bass that I have had the privilege to play and the fact that I own it is gift from the deities. But I know that its value to others is based on more than those attributes. Better known or rarer instruments are much more collectable. So my bass is, to me, a grossly undervalued gem.

Now I am looking at an F-100 from same year that cosmetically is identical twin of the finish and look (controls, plate, pickups, color...) of my bass. I see many raves about them (with a few reservations about the wiring/pickups in this practically prototype guitar).

So here's the real question: When people say these guitars feel like an old friend, or that they play really well, are there caveats? Are the raves saying that they are great "for the money?" Or are they suggesting, "if you can't get the vintage tele, LP, strat of your dreams -this is a great runner up?" (More like the raves from non pros for Agile LesPauls or Ibanez 335 clones.)

Or is it the general feeling that, strictly as a player's instrument and not for collectability, these are as awesome as my L-1000?

I think that any decent GnL from 80 or 81 will keep its value. It might not become a rarity and soar in appraised value, but will always sell for as good or more than typical current prices. So from an investment standpoint, they are probably safe but not real moneymakers. But as someone reluctant to spend "real" money for anything that isn't truly special, I'm looking to see if the raves are unconditional.

Will this possibly be the guitar love of my life the way my bass has been and continues to be? Without mundane warnings like "depends what you are looking for," (I will know as soon as I try it if my hands and its neck are not meant for each other.) But are F-100s the possible soulmates that best friends would say, "give this one a chance. She's worth it?"

Thanks to all.

Randy

for me .... yes ..... the Leo era is the last era of true hand built guitars (that could be good and bad for the era) and Leo's were among the finest ..... I have three Leo era guitars , all three feel like home or grandma's house ..... my kids will have to sell them when I'm gone because I won't


as far as Leo to BBE ..... I like the 12 radius and medium jumbo frets best , BBE's are easier to find in this combo , my hands also like a little wider neck than the 1 5/8 so again it's a little easier to get a BBE in this combo ..... love them both

I've had many F-100's (and still have a few).
They have all the attributes that make your bass a winner. Tight execution of brilliant specs.
I'd rather have an f-100 than a 70's LP, especially for gigging...if that helps.

There's not alot like them so you might have to test drive one for a while to see if it fits with your
palette. They can get some really nice clean neck tones, tele-esque sounds, fat LP tones, and if you have the F-100E
version that's some nice icing on the cake.
I'd hope any guitar playing friends would have a chance to see what fun making music with an F-100 is.

elwood

Thank you both. You've definitely helped. But 2 replies is still within the margin of error, as they say in this election season.

Before I go get m'self an f-100, are there no other loyal (or disgruntled) owners who want to chime in?

Thanks again.
Randy

Thank you both. You've definitely helped. But 2 replies is still within the margin of error, as they say in this election season.

Before I go get m'self an f-100, are there no other loyal (or disgruntled) owners who want to chime in?

Thanks again.
Randy

I did a quick search and found this post: NGD: 1980 G&L F-100 Series I (Searching for F-100 Info).
There have been past discussion, so you might want to use the Search function to find them.

Hope this helps.

I have an '81 F100. The neck is the smallest / slimmest on any guitar I own, doesn't bother me at all really as I'm not particular about neck profiles. The MFD humbuckers are deceptive, they can be loud and clear and really in your face and will overload the clean channel on a lot of amps very quickly. I usually run the volume, treble and bass controls about halfway on the F100. On all other MFD equipped G&Ls ( ASAT Special, S500, ASAT III, ASAT Classic Custom), I tend to set the PTB or volume and tone to about 7.

To me the whole point of the F100 is the electronics, if you don't like the pickups you may not like the guitar, and it would be pointless to buy one to replace the pickups.

gratuitous pics

I've got two vintage F-100's and one contemporary F-100. I do like the sounds I can get from them. All three have different sounds and characteristics about them. The MFD humbuckers have very high output compared to most other guitars. It can distort your clean channel on the amp with the volume up all the way on the guitar. The F-100 has a unique sound of its own. You can't easily compare it to other brands. I'll try to describe the sounds.

First up is a 1980 series II with a maple body, maple neck and saddle lock bridge. My favorite sounds on this one are the bridge humbucking and both humbucking pickups together. The bridge has a powerful thick sound that really cuts through. I would say it has more clarity and a more powerful sound than my Les Paul. It can be ear piercing in a pleasant sort of way. The rhythm pickup sounds good as well, although it is missing that bright bite due to its positioning on the body. In the single coil setting the pickups can sound rather muddy for any rhythm playing. They sound ok for playing individual notes, but have none of the single coil chime found in my SC-3 or Legacy. I rarely use the single coil setting on this guitar. Don't buy a vintage F-100 for the single coil settings!

Next, is a 1983 series II with a swamp ash body and maple neck and tremolo. This one has the bi-cut neck, original style headstock, newer style tuners. This guitar sounds fantastic in the humbucking settings. The pickups have a more balanced sound. The bridge humbucking setting is not quite as bright as the 1980. I imagine the windings varied in the early guitars, plus the wood is different. The rthythm humbucking pickup has a nice balance to it. It sounds slightly clearer and brighter than the 1980. The single coil settings are not quite as bass heavy or muddy sounding as the 1980. I can get a ok rhythm sound in the single setting, but still missing the single coil quack and chime.

Next up is a contemporary F-100 with a mahogany body, ebony neck, and DFS tremolo. The humbucking pickups are dark and powerful. Some of this may be the wood, some may be how they wind the pickups today. The rthythm humbucking has a mellow dark sound while the bridge humbucking brightens up a bit and can cause your clean channel in the amp to start breaking into a distortion. when both humbucking pickups are played together, it sounds great for clean rthythm playing. The brightness from the bridge pickup cuts through a little more than the rthythm pickup by itself. The contemporary F-100 has very usable single coil settings. There's no bass enhancement circuitry to muddy the sound. I can actually use the single coil settings on this one for playing a thinner rthythm sound.

I hope this helps you out.

Last edited by Challenger on Mon Jan 18, 2016 7:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Wow. What thoughtful and detailed posts. Thank you all. I pulled trigger and got the f100. I'll post pics of it with my matching L1k.
Playingwise, neck is awesome and easy to be instantly comfortable with. Frets overhang past the ebony fingerboard tiny bit, which I think means needs humidity. I've played new guitars with worse. Doesn't affect ease of playing - lovely acoustic sustain and fast action. But does feel very jagged when sliding your hand over it.
Could only try through his amp quietly, but I'm very excited to see what it'll do playing through my own stuff.
Only one complaint. Very bummed about some nicks in finish. I'm so spoiled, being the original owner of my bass I was expecting similar lack of glaring flaws. But from even a couple of feet away it looks pretty.
Gotta go bed now. Hope she still looks beautiful in the morning. The guitar, that is.
Randy