17 USA G&L's

Hello,

I've currently got 17 USA G&L's in my collection. A few G&L have come and gone, including some referenced below. Here are the G&L currently in my collection:

1981 G-200
1983 Black Cavalier with gold hardware and saddle lock bridge
1983 F-100 in Clear Blue with black crinkle hardware and DFV
1984 Clear Blue Cavalier with DFV
1987 Skyhawk in Clear Blue
1990 Comanche VI Signature in Blonde
1994 Legacy Special in Cherryburst
1995 Legacy Special in Red Swirl
2000 Legacy Special in Butterscotch (exact guitar shown in 2001 catalog and built for 2001 NAMM show)
2002 Legacy Special in Sunburst
2004 Legacy in Redburst
2015 Invader special build
2016 Legacy HH RMC in Whiskey
2017 Fallout with one piece Monkey Pod body
2017 Fallout in Redburst with Quilted Maple Top
2019 Doheny V12 2020 NAMM show guitar in clear blue over swamp ash with maple fingerboard
2021 CLF Research Espada in 3-tone sunburst.



1981 G-200


1983 Cavalier


1983 F-100


1984 Cavalier


1987 Skyhawk


1988 SC-3 (this guitar has been sold)


1990 ASAT (This guitar has been sold)


1990-1992 Comanche VI


1994 Legacy Special


1995 Legacy Special



2000 Legacy Special (exact guitar shown in 2001 catalog and built for 2001 NAMM show)


2002 Legacy Special


2004 Legacy


2015 Invader


2016 Legacy HH RMC


2017 ASAT Deluxe in sample color Bourbonburst (this guitar has been sold)


2017 Fallout with Monkey Pod (East Indian Walnut) body


2017 Fallout with Monkey Pod (East Indian Walnut) body


2017 Fallout


2018 CLF Research Skyhawk (this guitar has been sold)


2019 CLF Research Doheny V12 NAMM show guitar


2021 CLF Research Espada


1983 and 1984 Cavaliers


1980 F-100, 1981 F-100, 1981 G-200, 1983 F-100


1981 G-200, 1983 Cavalier, 2002 Legacy Special, 2017 Fallout


Legacy Specials and Invader


Legacy Specials and Invader


My NAMM show guitars
2019 Doheny V12 (one of only three known clear blue with swamp ash body and only one with maple fingerboard)
2000 Legacy Special (exact guitar featured in the 2001 catalog and built for 2001 NAMM show)

Last edited by Challenger on Sun Mar 17, 2024 5:42 am, edited 112 times in total.

nice collection, challenger!
love the asat special

all are sweet , but I'm really digging the Bowling Ball Special ..... glad you made your here

Welcome!

Very nice collection!

When you get a chance, please add your 1980 CAR F-100 to the G&L Registry.

Awesome selection and presentation. Love em all, but that blue F100 is topz. Welcome and look forward to see what new items you have to present in the future. 8 is Enough might have worked for television, but it has no place where the love of these guitars is concerned. Thanks for sharing and may God bless you and yours!! -Adam

Ditto to all others, very nice collection.

Along with the good dr, "You can never have too many ASAT's!"

Recently found a Cavalier in near mint condition and Clear Forest Green F-100 in excellent condition.

Wow....! That dark red Strat with the white pickguard, what's that? Wonderful piece of art!

Are you referring to the red swirl Legacy Special with the blade pickups? The swirl finishes were discontinued due to delaminating issues with the finish. Mine has lighter spots that have grown with age. They all started around the edges (bridge, pickguard, neck joint, etc.) and have slowly worked their way towards the center of the guitar. Can't really feel any difference in the finish, but something has changed with time.

The other red ones are a bright red SC-3 from 1988 (with matching headstock) and a Legacy in Redburst with pearloid pickguard from about 10 years ago.

Last edited by Challenger on Sat Feb 18, 2023 6:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

Are you referring to the red swirl Legacy Special with the blade pickups? The swirl finishes were discontinued due to delaminating issues with the finish. Mine has lighter spots that have grown with age. They all started around the edges (bridge, pickguard, neck joint, etc.) and have slowly worked their way towards the center of the guitar. Can't really feel any difference in the finish, but something has changed with time.

The other red ones are a bright red SC-3 from 1987 (with matching headstock) and a Legacy in Redburst with pearloid pickguard from about 10 years ago.

Yep, that's the one!
So that's a Legacy Special (I'm still very much a rookie at G&L, but I have been playing mine hard everyday ) That guitar looks like a ton of mojo! Do you have a picture of the full guitar?
If you ever decide to sell that one give me a call This was "love" at first sight (sorry! )

Here is a picture of both my Legacy Special's. I've had the red swirl for 20 years. I bought the sunburst one to replace the red swirl back in 2002; however, I could never bring myself to sell it. The Legacy Special sounds fantastic for a variety of musical styles. I used the red swirl often when I played out live.

I echo some of the other responses: gorgeous collection, especially that Cav you have.

- Jos

The Cav and the Asat Special, beauties.

Yumm!!

Congrats on some sweet axes - dig the gold appointments on the Cavalier - what's up with that? Thought only the Commemoratives had sparkly gold bling all over… perhaps it was a custom order. The ASAT, the green F-100 and the bowling ball Legacy are cool too. Nice collection!

Cheers,
KF

Wow X 10!

Love the ASAT.... Who am I kidding... Love them all!

Congrats on some sweet axes - dig the gold appointments on the Cavalier - what's up with that? Thought only the Commemoratives had sparkly gold bling all over… perhaps it was a custom order. The ASAT, the green F-100 and the bowling ball Legacy are cool too. Nice collection!

Cheers,
KF

KF,

Up to 2005 (IIRC), ordering gold hardware was optional. That year G&L stopped offering the option due to rapidly fluctuating gold prices on the world market.

I have several "decked" out non-Comm guitars as does Craig. Some are built specifically for display at shows like NAMM, some not.

As far as that Cav goes, picking between the gold hardware one in this post or my own 1-piece hog Cav without pickguard, it's a tough choice

- Jos

Your killing me with all these guitars. Please save some for the rest of us. The SC-3 is fantastic! Nice collection!


y2kc

it is great to see a wonderful non-ASAT based G&L collection. The F-100 is one of my favorite models.

Ditto, Ditto, Ditto and welcome! I think I now have ten G&L's and am looking for more. These guys have been very helpful on this forum and you have an impressive collection. The Cavalier with the gold is killing me. I MUST HAVE IT!!

Tom

Just added a Blueburst S-500 Deluxe to my collection. It has the flame maple top, wood binding, locking tuners and the neck even has some flame on it. Picture Has been added above with my other G&L pictures.

Again, nice collection. Since the original post I picked up this beauty of a Legacy. It's a 2007 but made for a G&L endorser thus the gold hardware. It's also one of the only known G&L with matching Veneer headstock, not just the paint. It's in immaculate condition, I am afraid to touch it sometimes for fear of F'ing it up but it does play well. The BEM neck is awesome too.



It has all the bling and options including wood binding, Pearl dots and mini toggle.

Tom

Hey,

Great guitars!

y2kc

Hubba Hubba hubba, great collection!

Our family vacation this summer was to drive from Iowa to Maryland to see my sister and nephew. On our way to Maryland, I stopped by Guitarworks (premier dealer in Greenwood, IN) as we were within 10 miles of Greenwood, which is on the south side of Indy. Kevin Franklin, the owner, had quite a selection in stock. I stopped there a year ago on my way home from Maryland and came close to buying a Comanche. It was ruby red metallic with a light empress body. Kevin tried to send me home with that Comanche and offered a reasonable price. I told Kevin that I would have to think about it over lunch and may return to complete the sale. Kevin said he had a good feeling about me purchasing that Comanche and felt I would return. Over lunch, I talked myself out of the purchase. It was a beautiful guitar, but just didn't completely have the 'gotta have it' factor for me to buy it with only an hour to decide.

Fast forward to this summer. Here I was at Kevin's store again, this time on the first day of my trip instead of the last. Kevin even remembered me from last year. This time, there were easily over 50 USA G&L guitars hanging before me. There were some beautiful ASATs, but I'm more of a double cutaway fan so my attention was geared towards the Legacy body style models. There were two guitars that really caught my eye on this visit.

One was a butterscotch blonde S-500 with single ply black pickguard and a beautifully grained quarter sawn neck. It had a fantastic look and the neck was to die for. The other was a Fallout with a monkey pod body. I played both and liked the sound and feel of each. As beautiful as the S-500 was, I already have an S-500 deluxe. So, my attention turned to the Fallout. I liked it and the look was unique with the monkey pod body. I kind of always thought I would get a Fallout with the Old School Tobacco finish or Blueburst with matching headstock, but that was not what was before me. The salesman waiting on me was named Steve and offered a sale price as everything was tagged at retail. It was a reasonable price, but I was going to have to think about it. Plus, I was on my way to Maryland and didn't need a new guitar in tow.

So I left the store for a second time empty handed. In Maryland, I got an opportunity to check out a couple guitar stores that did not carry G&L. I really felt out of place amongst the Fender, Gibson, Paul Reed Smith, and others. I didn't care for the people waiting on me in Maryland and really liked the way I was treated by Kevin and Steve. I also came to the realization that G&L was my brand and instantly felt right in my hands. I guess I already knew this, but these visits reinforced it.

While in Maryland, I couldn't stop thinking about the Fallout. Then I found a picture of it on G&L's Facebook page and there was a comment where somebody questioned if it was a one piece body or superior grain matching. G&L replied that it was indeed a one piece body. Funny, I didn't notice that the body was one piece at my visit. Anyway, that became the deciding factor. There was a beautiful uninterrupted grain on the Fallout and I had to have it. It had been a week since I was there, so I contacted Kevin and Steve to see if they still had it for sale. Steve replied that it was still available and looking for a good home. I asked him to email me pictures of the front and back of the body and the spec sheet. He sent me the pictures I requested. I negotiated a price that was slightly lower than the week before and arranged to make the purchase. I was so excited that night, that I could not sleep until the Fallout would be in my possession. I have some nice guitars, but it has been awhile since I've been this excited.

Once plugged into my amp at home, it sounded even better than I remembered at the store. I played through a Peavey tube amp at the store and the Fallout sounded good. However, when I plugged it into my Hughes and Kettner Tube 50 last night. The sound blew me away. The P90 sounded incredible when playing clean rhythm. The middle position sounded killer for clean rhythm as well. No buyers remorse here. Now, I'm asking myself why I waited so long to buy a Falloit. Oh well, I guess everything happens for a reason. The Fallout could easily become my new favorite G&L. For those of you that read this long post, thanks for letting me share my story about the purchase of number twelve. Pictures are above with my other G&L's.

If you are ever in the Indianapolis area, I highly recommend Guitarworks. The selection is incredible, Kevin and his staff are very friendly, knowledgeable, and live and breath G&L (as many of us do).

Gorgeous fallout! The grain is stunning! The lines seem to emanate from the pickups and bridge, it looks really cool! Congrats!

Yeah, nice collection....
But that Cavalier! Wow.

I recently added G&L number 13. Clear Blue Skyhawk that was purchased new in July 1988. I bought it from the nephew of the original owner who passed away a few years back. The nephew is a drummer and never really played it. He held onto for a few years and decided it was time to sell. So, this was essentially a one owner guitar. When I received the Skyhawk, it was like a "barn find" with old oxidized strings and years of dust. The fingerboard looks like it had never been cleaned and had lots of dirt on it. Included was the original case, vibrato arm, original bill of sale and warranty card.

I spent three hours cleaning it up and it looks great. After a quick setup, it plays and sounds fantastic.

Nice Job rescuing that beauty!
Love that blue

Challenger, I'm not usually a fan of blue guitars, but your '88 Skyhawk is a beauty. Congratulations.

Dang, I am jealous! Every guitar there, all nice! I will collect money and buy other G&L Amazing stuff!

Again I really like that sc-3 and every guitar you have collected. Good stuff!

y2kc

Wow, can't even tell it was ever dirty and dusty. Sure looks pretty! I'd wish they bring back this body style, pickguard, and control layout on the S-500 to distinguish it more from the Legacy. The more I see these vintage models the more their style grows on me. They are just so cool. I think this would help them stand on their own rather than viewed as another copy by those who don't really know G&L.

Congratulations on the new acquisition! Rock on!

Cheers, Dan

Love the Clear Blue Skyhawk. Great find!

The Cavalier and Skyhawk are so sexy. Maybe someday I'll get rich enough to buy G&L so they can be reissued just as they were.
Such a gorgeous design from top to bottom.

I guess I have a soft spot for the clear blue finish. I recently added a mint condition clear blue Cavalier with DFV. It came with the original case, warranty card, owners manual, keys, vibrato arm, etc. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I had the same reaction with my clear blue F-100 and Skyhawk. I bought all three of these within a couple hours of them being listed.

I guess I have a soft spot for the clear blue finish. I recently added a mint condition clear blue Cavalier with DFV. It came with the original case, warranty card, owners manual, keys, vibrato arm, etc. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I had the same reaction with my clear blue F-100 and Skyhawk. I bought all three of these within a couple hours of them being listed.

A handsome trio to be sure!

What they all said.

Great collection!

I really can't resist the vintage clear blue finish. Just acquired a pawn shop find 1982 S-500 to add to my clear blue collection. Also in this picture are my 1983 F-100, 1984 Cavalier and 1987 Skyhawk.

Last edited by Challenger on Thu Aug 30, 2018 7:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.

...Man. That's great, better watch out for a Comanche or Invader next. Love the matching headstocks - I'd probably just sit there re-recording the same riff for an hour with all of them to figure out which sounded best

Chip,

What a distinguished group of ol time G&L's! Kudos!

- Jos

Thanks for all the compliments. I love how the vintage clear blue nitrocellulose finish take on a greenish hue. It is hard to capture in a photo sometimes, but this picture shows it fairly well.

Skyhawk is almost solid- I think the S500 blue tone looks best. Believe Fred Finisher commented that transparent blue was a challenge to spray at the factory.

Just to stick with the theme, although not a true group picture, are the 3 Clear Blue guitars in my collection. From left to right, a 1986 Skyhawk w/Kahler Vibrato, a 1988 so-called "late first style" S-500, and Will Ray's very first ASAT with date stamps from 1990 but likely assembled in 1992:


Danley, you can see how different the Clear Blue can look on pretty much identical light conditions even though all bodies are ash.

- Jos

Jos, nice trio. Now you have me wanting a clear blue ASAT. Will's old ASAT looks fantastic!

Nice find Chip. I'm sorry to say that I do not own a blue guitar. Anyone for Yellow?

Tom

Great collection.

Really dig the bright red SC-3 from 1987.

Reminds me of my 2 knob strat from 1983.


Cheers,
Will

Coincidence all mine are/were/about to be black. Though bright & metallic orange are my preference.

I'm back up to 14 G&L's in the collection. I couldn't resist a spur of the moment purchase. I found an Invader in Clear Forest Green with the Saddle Lock Bridge. I bought it for the pickups (I like the dual blades), color (rare color and I was missing my green F-100 that I sold) and saddle lock bridge (rare on the Invader).

After it arrived, I was kind of miffed that there was no serial number. The neck plate also did not have the G&L logo. It had the birthmarks on the neck and body. After doing some investigation, it all checks out. Thanks to some information on this site:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=20

Come to find out, this is one of the first four bolt neck guitars from G&L. They introduced the four bolt necks on the Invaders (other models followed in mid 1997). My example has a body date of February of 1997 with a number 4 ebony neck and the rarely seen (on the Invader anyway) saddle lock bridge. The neck plate is not engraved because the 4 bolt neck wasn't officially given the green light yet. Not sure how many of these Invaders were built without serial numbers. I'm guessing just a handful before the 4 bolt was approved. This one found its way into the market and now into my collection. ***Update*** this guitar has been sold.

Last edited by Challenger on Sat Jun 27, 2020 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.