2006 Made in Korea Tribute LEegacy, should I purchase?

[VocalGuitar]

Ok this is about $280usd asking price.

I simply cannot believe how high quality it is for the price. Its as good as my MIA strat, if not better due to the dual fulcrum trem, which is amazing for some reason and stays in tune.

So, what I know.

All american parts. Pups, Swamp Ash body, tuners, etc, all US made.

Was built in Korea though.

But wow it sounds REAL good, its like the Strat I wish the MIA was, its closer feeling to an Ibanez Satriani in playability with more classic tones.

it is unfortunately a SSS setup, I wanted an HSS, but putting a hot rail pup or similar in the back should do the trick for getting metal tones, while keeping that hendrix tone in the neck.

Im totally new to GnL. I know the new tributes are made in Indo and whilst still very good for the asking price, the MIK ones are better, closer to the Fullerton Legacy models.

Im still stunned such a fine instrument can cost so little. I think Leo made the real Strat he wanted in the Legacy/S500.

[Craig]

All american parts. Pups, Swamp Ash body, tuners, etc, all US made.

Your info about the Made In Korea is not quite correct. See this post in our G&L Knowledgebase:
What is the new Tribute series which G&L announced in 2003?.

Please post some photos [front and back] so we can see if it is stock.
For posting photos see this post and look for the link to the Tutorial: Posting photos: Welcome! Read This First.

Hope this helps.

[VocalGuitar]

Your info about the Made In Korea is not quite correct.

Thanks for that link, which parts do you think I was incorrect on?

Here the pics

[VocalGuitar]

The link doesnt say Tobacco Sunburst for the swamp ash body, but the owner is aliment it was purchased new as swamp ash.

How would I be able to test that?

The guitar is down under in NZ.

There are a couple of stains on the maple fretboard, is it possible to remove this?

The neck is what I like the most. I think its the 12" Radius. It feels a bit wider maybe too, like my fat sausage fingers arent compressed.

But wow they finished things off well, no budget signs like with Squier ie sharp frets needing filing etc. Really impressed with the neck. Im more of a set neck person, but this is one of my Fav bolt on necks, just behind the Ibanez wizard 3.

[dhgleaves]

So you're in NZ? I'd say that's an even better price based on what I've seen them listed for there. I'm in Oz but used to live in Christchurch, and sold a couple G&Ls there.

And, by the way, tuners would not be USA made. Even the tuners in USA G&Ls are not made in the USA (other than some Sperzels in the past).

David

[Tooslowhand]

That seems like a very good price for that guitar, especially in NZ-AUS. I can't speak for Korean made G&L guitars, but I have 3 Korean Epiphone instruments and they were very well made. My Les Paul Jr. and Les Paul Std. are as nice as anything Gibson makes today. Their only downside was the electronics quality, which I replaced. You don't have that issue with the Tribute as many of the parts were U.S. made.

[Craig]

Your info about the Made In Korea is not quite correct.

Thanks for that link, which parts do you think I was incorrect on?
<snip>

<snip>
You don't have that issue with the Tribute as many of the parts were U.S. made.

Guys,

As mentioned in my earlier post, this referenced post: What is the new Tribute series which G&L announced in 2003?:

Pickups:

Fullerton-made real deal MFD, except Legacy with Alnico as usual.



Bridges:

Dual Fulcrum and Saddle Lock, made under license by the best quality hardware manufacturer in Asia. They make hardware for many well-known USA makers, and used on their USA made models. All have die-cast saddles, instead of the machined billet brass. The exception is the Tribute ASAT Classic, which does have 6 brass barrel shape saddles, modeled after the real G&L ASAT Classic bridge, not some off the shelf import bridge. The hardware is of incredible quality. No effect on USA models, this is strictly Tribute, one reason the Tribute name is cast or stamped on them rather than G&L.



Electronics:

None of those cheezy dime size pots here. Replicas of CTS pots, right down to the 1 meg reverse taper pots we needed for the bass knob on the PTB. We had these custom made for us, including the different shaft sizes for our basses. Same with the mini-toggle switches. This electronic pieces took forever to come through with, and a major quantity commitment on our part to have them custom made. Active basses have preamps that are made in Korea to our spec. None of these parts are used on USA models, we will use the same suppliers as usual.

Only the MFD pickups and the CLF-100 Alnico single coil pickups are the same Fullerton factory made pickups as used in the USA models.
Bodies and necks were built in the Korean factory using woods sourced by that factory.

Hope this clarifies the previous mis-conceptions.

[Craig]

Here the pics

This guitar has a 3-Tone Sunburst finish on a Swamp Ash body.

Here are a couple of pages from the 2006 G&L Tribute Series Catalog:



Also, see the Internet Archives of the 2006 G&L Tribute Series Legacy Specifications page:
http://web.archive.org/web/200603270311 ... /index.asp

Hope this helps.

[VocalGuitar]

Cheers for that, so that confirms its an Ash Body.

I like the Alnicos over the MFDs Ive played on the s500, tonally for me they are just more suitable.

[VocalGuitar]

So it sounds like this is a good buy?

The MIK T Legacies seem a lot higher quality than the current models, both parts and finish. Do they still get sent back to the US for quality control before being sent out?

Also, I want a hendrix type tone in my neck and a thrash metal tone in my bridge. What humbucker in single coil size would be my best choice to change in the bridge? I presume the neck will be fine for what I need.

[dhgleaves]

Yes, it's a good deal. If you don't buy it, I'll fly to NZ to get it myself. I don't know that the MIK models are necessarily better than the current ones, but they are both high quality. Regarding the pickup suggestion, I don't really know because I don't play that kind of music, but you might try Dimarzio's pickup picker https://www.dimarzio.com/pickup-picker.

[Keith]

I have a Tribute Legacy of this vintage - mine is the black with tortoise HSS that is shown in the brochure above.

I bought it new and I'll tell you - it's a great guitar. Sounds good, plays good, great build quality.

And yes, the hot rails will work well if you don't dig the single coil in the bridge. I did that swap on my USA Legacy, and I'm really happy with it.

Now, my Tribute Legacy and the USA Legacy do "feel" a little different. Mainly the necks - the neck profiles are a little different, with the Tribute being a little more round, and also the frets don't feel quite as tall on the Tribute as on the USA.

If the guitar is in good shape, that is, if it's been taken well care of all these years, I think you'll like it.

- Keith