Sweetwater Espada: Is It BTO or Not?

[tylerbabbie]

Hi all,

This is my first post. I'm a very happy owner of a '94 ASAT Classic, and I'm looking at maybe getting a second G&L.

I was clicking through the factory photos section of this site when I saw this this BTO Espada.

I found it on Sweetwater here.

I'll post an image too in case it sells:



You can match the wood grain to see that it's the same guitar. So, the first difference I noticed is that they have a white pickguard on it now, except for in one photo:



I asked my Sweetwater rep about the pickguards and whether I could see the spec sheet for the guitar, but he says that it's a standard, non-BTO model and says he doesn't have the spec sheet. He didn't answer my question about which pickguard it comes with.

So, here are my questions: does Sweetwater have a BTO Espada hanging around the website as a standard, or is it mislabeled as BTO on the guitarsbyleo gallery? Would the pickguard be the only difference? I emailed G&L using their contact form but haven't heard back for a few days, so I figured I'd ask here.

Thanks for any help!

[tomanche]

The Sweetwater link (now?) goes to an Espada with a completely different wood grain. So I can't quite answer your good question.
Regarding the Espada more broadly, I owned one and replaced it with another: both with the original design split-coil, single-coil pickups. To my taste, those pickups are amazing and the switching is highly versatile. I lean toward that over standard humbuckers (with coil split) in the Espada. My 0.02...

[tylerbabbie]

Thanks, Tomanche! I am leaning against the Espada HH Active now, but it's still in the running, if only because I've never had a humbucker electric before (my ASAT has handled everything so far!). If you don't mind me asking, did you/do you have the active option on either of yours? If so, how is it?

For anyone else interested, the guitar is still on Sweetwater's Espada HH Active page as of 10/4 afternoon, with serial number CLF2405076. I can still see it at this link: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... honeyburst

[tomanche]

Yes, mine are active. So, with series, parallel, and active options, it can cover a lot of tones and ground. Some of that will definitely overlap with your ASAT Classic, tho. I guess it depends what you want in your arsenal. A compelling argument can be made for an HH guitar to complement your ASAT Classic.

[tylerbabbie]

Thanks for your thoughts, Tomanche! That's exactly the argument I'm having with myself. Do you use the active tones much?

If someone else has ideas on how to solve the mystery, the basic question is still open: is this Espada BTO or a standard build? They raised the price 100 bucks in the last few days so between that and the above alternatives, my interest is finding itself... challenged. I found some really cool prototype active-electronic S-500s on the G&L clearance shop and a gorgeous b-stock green hardtail S-500--all cheaper.

But it would be cool to know.

[Craig]

Thanks for your thoughts, Tomanche! That's exactly the argument I'm having with myself. Do you use the active tones much?

If someone else has ideas on how to solve the mystery, the basic question is still open: is this Espada BTO or a standard build? They raised the price 100 bucks in the last few days so between that and the above alternatives, my interest is finding itself... challenged. I found some really cool prototype active-electronic S-500s on the G&L clearance shop and a gorgeous b-stock green hardtail S-500--all cheaper.

But it would be cool to know.

The CLF Research Espada HH Active model for 05/2024 is available in the following configurations:

ESPADA HH ACTIVE CLF RESEARCH

791018372059 ESPDHH-A-CLF-JTB Jet Black Alder RW 3-ply Black
791018372066 ESPDHH-A-CLF-VTW Vintage White Alder RW 3-ply Black
791018372073 ESPDHH-A-CLF-HNB Honeyburst Ash RW 3-ply Parchment
791018372080 ESPDHH-A-CLF-CHY Cherryburst Ash RW 3-ply Black

Reference post: 3/1/2024-7/31/2024 Fullerton Deluxe & CLF Research Series PL.

The post of the factory photo of the BTO CLF Research Espada HH Active which has a Honeyburst finish over Swamp Ash body with a 3-ply Black Pickguard, which would
indicate that this is not a standard CLF Research Espada HH Active, but is a BTO model because of the 3-ply Black pickguard it is shown with.
I cannot confirm that this factory photo is the same guitar as the one on the dealer's website which shows it with a 3-ply Parchment pickguard, except for the one
photo of the body with a 3-ply Black pickguard. But if it is the same guitar except for the pickguard, that leads me to think that the dealer replaced the Black pickguard
with a 3-ply Parchment pickguard. Which would it from a BTO CLF Research Epada HH Active to a standard CLF Research Espada HH Active model.
It is odd that they say that they do not have the Factory Specifications sheet for this guitar, as it would indicate the pickguard which was installed on it at the factory.
You might contact Memo who is the Customer Service manager and ask him to look up the serial number of the guitar shown on the dealer's website to find out what pickguard
it has listed in the factory log. His email address is: repairs@bbesound.com.

Hope this helps.

[tylerbabbie]

Thanks! That's very helpful--and thanks for the website. It's a wonderful resource.

[tomanche]

Thanks for your thoughts, Tomanche! That's exactly the argument I'm having with myself. Do you use the active tones much?

Let's see (being careful not to confuse them with the Doheny V12 circuit!): The choices are passive, active low-Z/impedance, and active with treble boost. I think I've posted about this in an Espada thread also. [Link: viewtopic.php?f=135&t=16805]
I like low-Z in general for preserving the guitar's signal and tone through long cables and pedalboards. My pedalboard is already set up with a low-Z box as the first thing the guitar signal sees. (The awesome Sarno Steel Guitar Black Box; also used by long-time G&L endorser Jake Cinninger of Umphrey's McGee, among others.)

Thus, I mainly use the active with boost for switching to solos.

[tylerbabbie]

I think we finally figured it out: current theory (shared by the Sweetwater rep) is that this particular espada was a special order that was then canceled. Sweetwater seems to have put a white guard on it to sell it as a standard.

Thanks for your help!

[Craig]

I think we finally figured it out: current theory (shared by the Sweetwater rep) is that this particular espada was a special order that was then canceled. Sweetwater seems to have put a white guard on it to sell it as a standard.

Thanks for your help!

Just to be clear, they would have put on a 3-ply Parchment pickguard to make is a standard CLF Research Espada HH Active model (791018372073 ESPDHH-A-CLF-HNB Honeyburst Ash RW 3-ply Parchment). Hopefully, they will remove that one photo with the Black pickguard, too.

Thanks for the follow up on this.