I didn't see THAT coming...

[Keith R]

Hi there,

I'm not quite a G&L owner yet - that doesn't happen until Wednesday - but I thought I'd say hello anyway.

I'm Keith, I've been playing for 40-odd years, and I've never owned a "proper" SSS configuration guitar: humbuckers all the way for me, not least because I'd rarely heard a single coil tone that appealed to me.

(Can I even say that here? )

All that has changed recently, since I've come across Nick Johnston and and Stig Trip - the glassy, singing, bell-like, just on the edge of overdrive tones they achieve have completely won me over, and it was easy enough, once I realised that this was the sound I'd had in my head for a long time, to decide on my upcoming 59th birthday treat - so I'm currently awaiting delivery of a Surf Green Tribute S-500; and I can honestly say that I've rarely felt as excited about the pending arrival of a guitar.

Pictures will be forthcoming - I've read the rules!



The choice of colour is purely down to the fact that I still remember the first-ever electric guitar I (nearly) had: I was about 13 years old, and my folks and I were in a "second-hand" shop on the outskirts of my local city to buy my first electric.

On the wall was a pale green Strat copy, and I instantly fell in love with it. It must have been beyond my parents' spending power though, as I ended up with a vile Woolworths "Audition" guitar instead.

I still remember the price: £11.50. A quality item it was not, for all it got me started.

But the image of that green "Strat" has lingered ever since, and I've finally got round to scratching the itch...

Now then, a question. The guitar I've bought is specced as having a basswood body and a rosewood fretboard. Assuming that's what actually arrives, I don't seem to be able to find a reference to that specific model/spec/colour combo in the database.

Can anybody signpost me to it, please? I'm just interested to see roughly what year of manufacture it's likely to be.

No problems if not - I'm positively itching to get my hands on it anyway - but I like to know these things, so any help will be gratefully received.

[Challenger]

Welcome to the G&L family. The tribute serial number will give you the manufacturing date. The first two numbers should be the year and the second two the month of manufacture.

[Keith R]

Thanks, Challenger.

I know the serial number contains the (rough) year/month of manufacture, I'm just trying to jump the gun.

I'm also curious about the model/spec/colour combo more generally, as it doesn't seem to be that common.

[Craig]

Thanks, Challenger.

I know the serial number contains the (rough) year/month of manufacture, I'm just trying to jump the gun.

I'm also curious about the model/spec/colour combo more generally, as it doesn't seem to be that common.

See the G&L Specifications and Options sub-forum in the G&L Knowledgebase forum.

Here is the current Tribute Series Specifications: January 23, 2019-present Tribute Series Production Models. There is no Surf Green S-500 but there is a Sonic Blue one. Only the Legacy comes in Surf Green.

Did you buy this from a private seller or a G&L dealer?
What are the first four digits of the serial number?

Looking forward to seeing photos of your Tribute guitar.

BTW, welcome to our site!

[Keith R]

Here is the current Tribute Series Specifications: January 23, 2019-present Tribute Series Production Models. There is no Surf Green S-500 but there is a Sonic Blue one. Only the Legacy comes in Surf Green.

Hi Craig - thanks for confirming that my (diligent) search of the database hadn't missed anything.

Did you buy this from a private seller or a G&L dealer?

It's a UK online shop. I've checked the link via urlvoid as per the posting instructions:

https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/electric-gui ... surf-green

What are the first four digits of the serial number?

Dunno, Craig - I don't have the guitar yet.

I wonder if I've "accidentally" landed a Fullerton guitar? I've just noticed that the headstock in the picture doesn't actually say "Tribute".

The specs mention Indonesia as the Country of origin though. The specs as they appear on that page look like a cut and paste from an official source - but they say "green", "basswood" and "rosewood", which as we're discussing, doesn't seem to be a Tribute combo.

Ah well - I'll know in a couple of days.

Looking forward to seeing photos of your Tribute guitar.

Happy to oblige - I'm also a keen photographer (wildlife/motorsport, mainly) and it will be a nice change to do some "product photography"...

[Keith R]

Curiouser and curiouser...

I've just talked to the shop, and although they can't explain why the website says what it says about the guitar being from Indonesia (except that "maybe it's a mistake..."), I'm assured that the guitar I'm getting is Surf Green, so it looks like I'm getting a Fullerton G&L for the price of a Tribute.

Happy birthday to me..!

[Craig]

Thanks for link (and checking the link, too, ).

It is a Tribute Legacy in Surf Green finish. Look at the pickup specs for the S-500 and the Legacy and you will
see that the Legacy has the CLF-100 Alnico pickups (made at the Fullerton, CA. USA factory). The S-500 would
have MFD Single Coil pickups also built at the Fullerton factory. There are demos of both guitars on the G&L main website,
so that you can hear the differences in tones.

On the front of the headstock you can faintly see "Tribute Series" below the G&L logo. That and the serial number/country of origin
will identify that it is a Tribute Series instrument. Also, see: Serial number significance.

Hope this helps.

[Craig]

Curiouser and curiouser...

I've just talked to the shop, and although they can't explain why the website says what it says about the guitar being from Indonesia (except that "maybe it's a mistake..."), I'm assured that the guitar I'm getting is Surf Green, so it looks like I'm getting a Fullerton G&L for the price of a Tribute.

Happy birthday to me..!

As I mentioned in my last post, the photo of the guitar in the link you provided shows a Tribute Legacy in Surf Green finish.

If it is a USA model, the serial number will begin with CLF and it should also come with a tolex hardshell case.

[Keith R]

I'm sure this is more complicated than it needs to be!



I'd assumed that "Tribute" and "Legacy" were two separate lines (with Legacy being US guitars), so I'm clear about that now *.

OK, if this is indeed an Indonesia guitar (which I'm entirely relaxed about) it won't have a rosewood fretboard, right?

Again, not a problem, because I've seen some nice-looking Jatoba boards, and I know it will do the job. I also think that a lighter, orangey board will look good with a Surf Green body until it darkens (and if I'm lucky it might even have some figuring).

And I know I like the MFD pickups - they won't be a barrier to me getting the tone I'm after (the amplification is another matter!)

I know this will all be cleared up anyway when I have the guitar in hand - it's all on the back of the headstock - but I've always been a bit impatient...

Thanks again for your help, Craig - your work ethic is exemplary..!

* Added: Urghh... This is confusing. My guitar isn't an S-500, it's a Legacy, misidentified as an S-500. So I'll be getting the alnicos after all.

(You did explain this, Craig - I just misinterpreted the message).

[Craig]

From the current Tribute Series Specifications: January 23, 2019-present Tribute Series Production Models:

Legacy™
Finishes
· Gloss Black, tortoise pickguard, tinted gloss neck, Maple fingerboard
· Fullerton Red, 3-ply white pickguard, tinted gloss neck, Maple fingerboard
· Surf Green, 3-ply white pickguard, tinted gloss neck, Brazilian Cherry fingerboard
· Natural Gloss, 3-ply black pickguard, clear gloss neck, Maple fingerboard
Body wood Basswood (solid finishes) or Swamp Ash (translucent & burst finishes)
Neck wood Hard Rock Maple
Neck dimensions 1 5⁄8” width at nut, 12” radius
Pickups 3x G&L CLF100 vintage Alnico V single-coil pickups
Controls 5-way pickup selector, volume, PTB system
Bridge G&L Dual-Fulcrum vibrato™

So, the Tribute Legacy in Surf Green will have the Brazilian Cherry fingerboard.

[Keith R]

Yep, Brazilian Cherry/Jatoba it is - thanks again, Craig.

There are a lot of adverts on the net right now similar to the one that drew me in, suggesting that this specific guitar comes with a Rosewood board. Not at all a deal-breaker for me, but it does make figuring out exactly what I've bought, difficult.

I've got it now. Ironically, I'm right back to what I thought I'd ordered..!



One thing I hadn't picked up on earlier is that the neck has a tinted gloss finish. Interesting to see how that looks in the flesh, and I hope there's enough of it on there to cope with a gentle 0000 steel/wire-wool rub-down...

[Keith R]

The guitar arrived today (a January 2019 serial number), and first (unamplified) impressions are hugely positive.

The Good
I've never played an electric "acoustically" with as much resonance and sustain as this - it rings like a bell, with a really loud, sweet, clear acoustic tone which bodes well for plugging it in.

The Jatoba neck is - as expected -  quite pale, but I like it aesthetically: it's not figured per se but it has enough going on to be interesting, and it already looks better for the application of a little bit of oil. I'll get some boiled linseed oil tomorrow, and put a more liberal coating on to see how much darker it gets. Jatoba darkens anyway in the light (within a few days, apparently) so it'll be interesting to see where we end up.

It plays absolutely beautifully, even with the action being a bit higher than I usually prefer. I knew I could expect that, but the combination of a fairly flat (12" radius) board and jumbo frets is perfect for me, and the overall width of the board is just right for my hands too. I'm even OK with the gloss finish on the back of the neck, although I'm almost certainly going to flat it off with some steel wool anyway.

It's of note (to me, anyway!) that because I've played "D-profile" necks for the last 20-odd years, I wondered how well I'd get on with the C-profile neck of the Legacy.

I'd been playing it for 20 minutes before I remembered that it was something I was worried about!

It's honestly the best neck I've ever played - I'm fast and accurate, and it's effortlessly supple and light under the fingers.

The frets might need a little bit of polishing (although I know from experience that the "scratching" sound you can sometimes hear on bending a string acoustically doesn't come though an amp. But some steel wool will make 'em look prettier - I like the look of polished frets - so...)

There is a high fret - the third fret - but I'll leave it for now, because I think I'm going to put heavier strings on than the stock (I think that's right - the guitar didn't come with any literature) 10-46 set. Weird, because that's my usual gauge choice, but on this guitar they actually feel a bit light. A testament to how well the neck plays, I think.

The trem stays in tune very well now.

The top B and E strings would hang up and sharpen on dumping the bar (note that properly set up, low and parallel to the body with around a tone of upward pitch change on the high E, there's not a huge pitch range on the trem, but that suits my use anyway - I'm a note-dipper, not a dive-bomber!) but a dab of ordinary petroleum jelly in the fret slots has sorted things perfectly, and for a guitar with a non-slippy nut and a bent-metal string tree, and without locking tuners, it's great.

The standard tuners will still be going though - I'll replace them with staggered locking heads (most likely from Hipshot), which will remove the need for the string tree, too.

The Not-Quite-As-Good
A small list.

The guitar should have come with an Allen key to adjust the tension of the trem arm. It didn't. Not a problem, as I have several sets of Allen keys, so the trem arm is now set up as I want it.

But the Allen bolt doesn't seem to want to stay put. Maybe it'll settle, but at the moment it does loosen off again, which is a pain. I like the trem arm locked in place right at my finger-tips, not hanging loose, so I'll have to figure something out. Maybe some PTFE tape around the bottom of the arm, just to give the end of the bolt something to dig into?

Added: Ah. The nylon bushing is missing. Wonder how easy it will be to track one down in the UK..?

In the meantime I've improvised a solution by cutting out a small section of a rubber o-ring of suitable diameter, and it's working well...

The only real disappointment is a hairline crack in the paint at the upper side of the body's neck pocket. It's only about half an inch long, and as long as it gets no worse I'll get over it. It also looks a bit better having given it a clean, as some crud had settled in it, making it more visible.

An obvious fault like this on an otherwise impeccably-finished body, is a let-down though - I've owned numerous Cort-built guitars over the years, and have high regard for the quality of their work.

And because (as it turns out) the guitar has come to me from The Netherlands, sending it back for a replacement is neither an attractive nor a realistic option.

But I'll survive. I think I'll cover the crack with a little bit of "invisible" tape, just to keep it in check.

All in all though, this is a lovely musical instrument. My earlier confusion about whether or not this was an S-500 led me to believe that I'd be getting the pull-out expander pot "all pickups on" wiring, but I'm fine with that not being the case.