1987 G&L Invader. first question as a newbie

I'm a huge Cantrell fan. I've been thinking about buying a Rampage. I'd love a USA model but money is tight right now. I was looking around at the music store where i take lessons. he's had, what looks like a Rampage with a HSS configuration. i assumed it was probably a low budget guitar so i walked past it for the past few weeks. yesterday, i decided to check it out. I had no idea what it was and i'd never heard of an Invader. I took it into my lesson and, as much as i hate to say it, wasted most of my hour messing around with it. I really liked it. luckily, this is a small store and i know the owner so he let me take it home. after some research, i found out it was an 87 American made Invader. HSS, Dual Fulcrum Trem and three mini toggles. it's a cream white. The guitar is a fairly used looking, it has some dings, scratches and yellowing. otherwise, it plays and sounds great. the trem arm is missing and, after noticing some other same model year Invaders, i realized the locking nut is missing too. which makes sense, i couldn't figure out why they would put a fine tuning bridge without a lock nut. He's asking $650 for it but i think i can get him down. Is it worth it, even with the missing parts? how accessible are the parts? I think i found a trem arm on the G&L site but i can't find the nut. Are these a good investment?

another question, how good are the Rampage Tributes? I've seen them at GC used for under $400.

thanks

the old Leo-era Invaders are good guitars and i used to have a red one. not the last word in style but built to the same high standards as any Leo instrument, and usually a good buy. the locking nut is often missing and wasn't one of Leo's better ideas. in any case it's not like a DF Trem requires a locking nut. though you can find them if you look. trem bar is easy enough. check Ebay to see what other Invaders are going for but without seeing it, and in the condition you describe and in this market, i'm thinking $400-450 tops. Tribbies are great guitars for the bucks and then some and you can find some great deals used. with any asian-made instrument (and plenty of big name US ones too) you want to look for fret issues and the like, but a lot of my friends love their G&L Tributes. plus they make great platforms for upgrades if you so desire.

http://www.ggjaguar.com/invader.htm

Does this Invader have a G&L bridge (Dual Fulcrum) or a Kahler ?
(I'm guessing the DF if you saw the whammy on the store site).

The DF's with fine tuners are a plus for collectors, some even came with a socket on both sides of the bridge
for whammy placement preference.

I have bought and sold minty Invaders for 750-900, and bought a couple beaters for around 200 (still played
great) .
Like Jon mentioned, evaluate the frets closely...they tended to get pretty hashed. I also agree that would 450 be a fair price . I love the ebony they used on those old Invaders for the fretboards...makes for a rock solid feel .

Elwood

here's a link to Greg's page with all 3 versions of the DF FT. my guess is the Invader has version #1 as that's the same as on an 87 Skyhawk i had. both the 1st and 2nd versions have a boss on both sides. the 3rd has one on the treble side only. all are very good DF's although the 3rd is probably the best in terms of the fine tuner. my Invader had a Kahler and i have to say it was very nice. good stuff all around though the necks can be a bit shallow for some hands. but that's very typical of Leo-era in general.

http://www.ggjaguar.com/finevibe.htm

Difinately number 3. I didnt realize it had a boss on both sides for the bar. that's cool as Sh*t. What a great idea. I did notice it has a fairly shallow neck profile. i typically like thinner necks. my strat and LP both have thinner necks. this one seems thinner than the other two though.

Do you know whether the original case comes with the guitar? If so, it would add value (obviously). - ed

I doubt it. He let me borrow it for a week and had to search for a gig bag for it. I think i'm going to try and see how low i can get him. The jury is still out as to whether or not i like it through my rig.

The jury is still out as to whether or not i like it through my rig.

If an '87 Invader doesn't sound good through a rig, I would look for a different rig!

Ken