Considering Switch Back to G&L

Hi everyone,

My name is Tim Worley and I am a new member on the board, although not new to G&L. About 15 years ago, I had an ASAT Special that was quite possibly my favorite guitar ever. Unfortunately, it had a defective neck - the wood was so soft that it could be bent a couple inches in either direction, and sensitive to temperature/humidity changes that the action could swing like a pendulum from day to day, to the point it was literally unplayable; a professional setup would buy me a day or two of playability at best. Multiple guitar techs told me it was just a bad neck and there was no fixing it, so I reluctantly traded it in and got an American Tele, which is now my #1 (and I absolutely love it too!). Always missed that G&L though.

Still, I have kept an eye on G&Ls ever since. I'm set on keeping my Tele, as it just rocks, but I also have a 96 American Strat that I am considering unloading in favor of a Tribute Legacy. On paper, the Strat is great - and when I play it, I recognize that it is an objectively outstanding instrument. Nevertheless, it just seems to lack the "it" factor I find on my Tele (or even Les Paul). I've always wondered if maybe I'm just not meant to bond with a Strat-type instrument. Then I stumbled across a Lake Placid Blue Tribute Legacy in a store the other day that just *spoke* to me. Can't describe the difference exactly, but I'd have to say my US Strat feels refined, while the Legacy just had a "mojo" to it that that Strat seems to lack. I was also impressed by the build quality - it seemed equal or superior to my US Strat.

I'm strongly considering selling/trading the Strat and getting the Tribute Legacy to replace it. But part of me is afraid of making a decision I'll regret. After all, I must have seen something in the Strat to justify buying it all those years ago, right ;? I've seen lots of comparisons online between US Legacy and US Strats, as well as between Tribute Legacies and MIM Strats. But has anyone had experience comparing a Tribute Legacy to an *American* Strat? If so, how would you compare the quality, playability, etc.? FWIW, I am not a professional musician, just a guy who loves to jam in my basement on quality instruments.

Welcome to the forums Tim,

I've never purchased a tribute, but I've considered buying one several times in the past year. I'm interested to hear what others have to say. My expectation is that all things being equal, a "good" G&L tribute Legacy will likely be just as good or even somewhat better than a "good" MIM strat. But I'd rather hear from people who have played both before pulling any triggers.

Welcome Tim! My first G&L was a tribute Legacy. I had been playing a deluxe players strat (MIM, american noiseless pups) for many years, but, like you, checked out the G&L out of curiosity, and I really liked the PTB tone control set up, the quality of the DFV bridge/tailpiece and the American made CLF-100 pups that had a really wonderful strat tone and were IMO superior to those on the DPS, which I then sold. With some setup, the neck on the trib Legacy was very good. Mine had a basswood body which was perhaps not as resonant as I would have liked. Trib Legacies with clear finishes have an ash body, those with solid finish, like black or red or lake placid blue have the basswood.

I eventually replaced the trib Legacy with a usa Comanche, which is...stellar. I also have an '07 usa Fender strat that I bought used and I would say that the neck on that guitar is better than the neck on the trib legacy, but i think i just got lucky with that one. I have played usa strat's that were very unimpressive in alot of ways, and of course, all guitars have their own personality. My strat has custom shop texas special pups on it, which are fine, but I actually think the G&L CLF-100's sounded better. My strat has a 2 post bridge/tailpiece, but i still like the G&L's better. Even though I love my strat neck, when I play out I take the comanche because it just sounds better.

Sounds like you were unlucky with your asat neck. I have had several other G&L's, usa and tribute, all with great necks. Good luck shopping, hope this is helpful in some way.

I have two American Standard Strats from the 90's and my son has a Tribute Legacy (Guitar Center exclusive model) I also have 12 USA G&L's. I prefer the G&L vibrato and PTB tone controls. I think the G&L pickups are better also. I like the satin neck finish on my Fenders better than the almost non existent satin finish on my son's tribute. Perhaps the GC tribute finishes are different than the other tributes? The selector switch on my Fenders also feel more solid than my son's Tribute. However, the tribute is a fine guitar and good value for the money.

IMO a Legacy Tribute is a better value than the MIM Fenders. Personally, I wouldn't replace a USA 90's Strat with a Tribute, just because of the neck finish. That alone is a deal breaker for me. However, I wouldn't hesitate to sell a USA Strat for a USA Legacy. The only reason I still have the Strats in my collection is mainly sentimental in nature. My 1991 Strat was my first electric guitar (never sell your first guitar) and my 1999 Strat is a hardtail that is no longer made and has some sentimental memories for me. You may also consider looking at a USA Legacy for comparison. If a new USA Legacy is out of your budget, you can usually find decent used ones for not much more than the price of a new Legacy Tribute.

If the tribute feels good to you and the mojo is there, perhaps you should make the move. Regardless of where it is made or what name is on the headstock, the guitar needs to speak to you and you need to enjoy it. Don't worry about regrets or what other people think, go with what feels right to you.

Welcome to the forums Tim,

I've never purchased a tribute, but I've considered buying one several times in the past year. I'm interested to hear what others have to say. My expectation is that all things being equal, a "good" G&L tribute Legacy will likely be just as good or even somewhat better than a "good" MIM strat. But I'd rather hear from people who have played both before pulling any triggers.

Hell-o. I'm also new to this board. A few months back at a local jam someone brought in a Tribute 5 string bass. The owner held that thing as his pride, joy, true love, etc. I was heavy as hell but the sound was so full bodied it almost knocked me off my barstool.

Welcome Robert!

I almost pulled the trigger on a tribute L2000 bass. I'm not a big fan of active electronics, but the price was so sweet. The only thing that stopped me was the fear that I'd have to buy a bass amp to go with it.

Interestingly, Challenger, the neck is what most attracted me to the Tribute (well, that and the great tone). My USA Strat has a very well-built neck, but it's rather thin. I've read that American Fenders from the 80s on are supposed to have the same modern C shaped neck, but I can feel a noticeable difference between my '96 Strat and my '02 Tele - the Tele's neck is a bit more substantial and just feels better to me. And I have fairly small hands, but still the Strat neck feels a bit thin to me. The Tribute Legacy had a beefier neck than my Strat as well (not baseball bat by any means, but more substantial). It had a gloss neck, rather than the satins I've seen on most Tributes, and I really liked it. The fretboard also felt slightly wider than my Fender's, and I liked the jumbo frets, which I have never played much before. I have played several other Tribute Legacies at various shops around town, and was not impressed with any of them, but this one blew me away.

I am planning to take my personal amp and the Strat to A/B against the Legacy, and see how they compare head-to-head. That may be the deciding factor. Unfortunately, none of the local dealers carry USA G&Ls, so I can't check any of those out in person. My current plan has been to (potentially) try to sell the Strat and buy the Tribute Legacy, with the little bit left over from the sale going to buy some new pickups for my Les Paul. But would it be reasonable to think I might be able to break even selling/trading the US Strat for a US Legacy?

Sounds like the perfect plan to compare side by side with your amp. You will likely come out ahead to sell your Strat on your own and buy the Legacy without a trade in. Hard to speculate how a dealer would handle the trade. Let us know what you decide.

Update: I took my own amp back to the store today and A/B'd the Tribute Legacy against my Strat. The Legacy blew the Strat away tonewise, and in general I preferred the feel - just more fun and inspiring to play. Only issue: the high E string had a tendency to slide off the edge of the fretboard if I wasn't careful. The string wasn't popping out of the nut or string tree, just sliding off on the fretboard itself. The strings were older and a bit lighter gauge than I usually use, so not sure if that could have contributed to it. I'm thinking the frets may have been over-beveled a bit. It only does this on the high E, not the low E. I would totally pull the trigger on it if I knew this could be easily fixed, but that's the one thing giving me pause. Anybody dealt with this before?

I have learned two things from the endeavor so far: (a) A Strat-style guitar CAN give me a tone and feel I love; and (b) my current US Strat is not "the one" to give me what I'm after. The search is on!

Update: I took my own amp back to the store today and A/B'd the Tribute Legacy against my Strat. The Legacy blew the Strat away tonewise, and in general I preferred the feel - just more fun and inspiring to play. Only issue: the high E string had a tendency to slide off the edge of the fretboard if I wasn't careful. The string wasn't popping out of the nut or string tree, just sliding off on the fretboard itself. The strings were older and a bit lighter gauge than I usually use, so not sure if that could have contributed to it. I'm thinking the frets may have been over-beveled a bit. It only does this on the high E, not the low E. I would totally pull the trigger on it if I knew this could be easily fixed, but that's the one thing giving me pause. Anybody dealt with this before?

I have learned two things from the endeavor so far: (a) A Strat-style guitar CAN give me a tone and feel I love; and (b) my current US Strat is not "the one" to give me what I'm after. The search is on!

The Tribute Legacy might need a simple neck re-alignment, see: String alignment issues and a simple cure.

Recently returned to the G&L fold, with a new BluesBoy courtesy of Wolfe Guitars.
Could not be happier.

You will be too!

Welcome to the board Tim! I would encourage you to make the leap back to G&L, despite having problems with the neck your old one. The only Fenders I own are those which have no model equivalent to G&L. I've not had the issues you've experienced. But, I did have a custom guitar sent to me that was not built to specification and they rebuilt the guitar without hesitation.

My first G&L was a Wil Ray tribute and loved that thing, only selling it once I had USA model made. Let us know what you end up with!

Update 2: I went back to the store and talked with the guitar guy about the Tribute Legacy with the high E slippage issue. He confirmed that he had had several other employees check it out and they had the same problem on it. He showed me that the alignment of the slots on the nut was off, so all the strings were shifted too far toward the high E side *at the nut.* Said it would probably be fixed by a new nut, but he didn't feel right selling it without disclosing that. I ultimately decided to pass, and he totally understood.

Interestingly, I was in another store yesterday to try out a Boss Katana amp (which rocked, BTW!). I started out demoing it with a Reverend Pete Anderson Tele copy, which sounded pretty good through the amp. Then, just for kicks, I pulled another random Tribute Legacy off the rack and started playing it. Killer tone again, and really nice feel (though not as nice as the LPB that I passed on). Just made the amp sing, and reminded me again that I just can't seem to get these tones from my US Strat. Interestingly, this Legacy also had the identical string slippage issue on the high E... Talked to a guy who used to be a G&L dealer at a third store, and his comment was "There's probably nothing 'flawed' with the guitars - it's just the interaction of your particular playing style with that particular guitar." That said, these two experiences back-to-back with different Tribute Legacies are starting to make me wonder if string slippage issue is a common issue on the Tribute line? I'm open to getting one, but the two nicest ones I've played locally are both no-gos for me due to this issue, and it makes me a bit concerned about the prospect of buying one sight unseen.

Update 3: Took the advice of several people here and expanded my search to look at USA Legacies. Found a nearly new one in great condition at a fair price on Reverb. It currently has Custom Shop 69 pickups installed, but the seller is throwing in the stock CLF-100s and pots along with it. Assuming I like it when it arrives - which I think I will! - I'll be selling the Strat to pay myself back for this one, and probably selling one of the pickup sets, which should hopefully make this close to a break even deal. Thanks for all the advice throughout. Glad to be back in the G&L fold!

Update 3: Took the advice of several people here and expanded my search to look at USA Legacies. Found a nearly new one in great condition at a fair price on Reverb. It currently has Custom Shop 69 pickups installed, but the seller is throwing in the stock CLF-100s and pots along with it. Assuming I like it when it arrives - which I think I will! - I'll be selling the Strat to pay myself back for this one, and probably selling one of the pickup sets, which should hopefully make this close to a break even deal. Thanks for all the advice throughout. Glad to be back in the G&L fold!

Glad to have you rejoin us! Photos of this new beauty?