Lunch Report - Friday March 4th

[astutzmann]

Last day, thanks for listening everyone, its been fun!

Good thing its only a week, running out of ideas!

LUNCH

As per my diet, today's lunch will be chicken salad over greens instead of in a sandwich.

G&L QUESTION

I'm sure this has been asked before, but what is the reason that G&L is not as well known as it should be? Is it part of their strategy to stay small, intimate? Or is it just that the BIG boys have done so much marketing and hype that the little guys are more hidden?

Seems to me that people know Fender, Gibson, Taylor, Collings, Martin, etc but not G&L. I am forever having to describe who G&L is when people ask about my guitars.

NON G&L QUESTION

Same idea, put a different way. When I see live bands play, I understand the big acts using Fender/Gibson, because of marketing so they are paid to do so, or get their gear for free.

In golf, this bugs me a bit, because pro's are playing with the technology that pays them the most, not necessarily the best product for them (of course, my dad always said its not the instrument, its the musician)

When I see other live bands, not well know, struggling week to week musicians, I wonder about their gear choices. When I see a local band, they always seem to have a Fender Bass player and at least one strat. Sometimes I see a gibson, but not nearly as much. Why would seemingly good musicians who play in local bands, always seem to choose Fender of other guitars, like G&L? Perhaps a strat, modded or not, is just versatile enough? Maybe its cash? Its only when I saw a bunch of older guys in a band, did I notice that their gear was special, different amps, etc (they have regular day time jobs that pay well, lol).


Thanks again for the opportunity to be LR and thanks to everyone who responded, loved all your posts!

Alf

[LouL]

Lunch: I feel your pain. I've been on a diet since the new year. Most days I have a salad myself. I had the same thing, left-over chicken over salad.

G&L question: It's a good question. I didn't know about G&L until about a year ago. Found them in a local store and tried one. Glad I found them, I absolutely love it. But considering I've been playing guitar on and off for 20 years, I'm amazed I never saw them before.

[westsideduck]

.

G&L QUESTION

I'm sure this has been asked before, but what is the reason that G&L is not as well known as it should be? Is it part of their strategy to stay small, intimate? Or is it just that the BIG boys have done so much marketing and hype that the little guys are more hidden?

............................................................It's not like they don't advertise, the name is out there, they advertised heavy in the 80's and I never heard them spoke of back then either, I think it also depends what part of the country your in, back in the 80's there were a lot of larger dealers in Cali and they were big in Chigagoland and the Detroit area as well, not so much in Southern Ontario or Western NY.


When I see other live bands, not well know, struggling week to week musicians, I wonder about their gear choices. When I see a local band, they always seem to have a Fender Bass player and at least one strat. Sometimes I see a gibson, but not nearly as much. Why would seemingly good musicians who play in local bands, always seem to choose Fender of other guitars, like G&L? Perhaps a strat, modded or not, is just versatile enough? Maybe its cash? Its only when I saw a bunch of older guys in a band, did I notice that their gear was special, different amps, etc (they have regular day time jobs that pay well, lol).

.......................................................When I was gigging back in the late 70's to late 80's I'd never heard of G&L, you either had a Fender, Gibson or a nice lawsuit Ibanez, young musicans don't have the money to have three guitars on hand to cover all the tones, you played what you had and made due, hell, for 20 years I had one guitar and was happy with it.

Nice job this week for a newbie! If you ever want to stop by and check out some nice leo era G&L's (No lefties though) drop me a line, if you take rt 62 to or from Ellicottville you pass within a block of my place.

Gary


Thanks again for the opportunity to be LR and thanks to everyone who responded, loved all your posts!

Alf[/quote]

[astutzmann]

cool, I will, thanks

[blargfromouterspace]

Unknown G&L: I beleive it's a part of their strategy to not have too many big name endorsees which seems to be the only way to sell guitars in large quantities. I like that there are a minimum of artist signature models. If you order a guitar to your spec from G&L then you're getting your own signature model, which makes you feel very special


Band equipment: It's true that you see mainly Fender and Gibson, and here you often see Maton acoustic guitars rather than Martin. I've only ever seen one other guy playing a G&L on stage before! I think tradition sways a lot of peoples choice when it comes to guitars - if you're playing surf music then you're going to want to play a Strat through a Twin. The other guys in my band both use Fenders - the bass player has a precision that he got new in '78 (making it older than me!) and the other guitarist has an MIJ Tele from '91. They're both lovely instruments. They've both done innumerable gigs and have acquired an authentic 'road worn' look, they still work flawlessly and sound great to boot. There's nothing wrong with Fender guitars, they're great tools as well as instruments - they're just not as good as G&Ls!!!!

Gibson, however, is another story....... A freind tells a story about when he was supporting Tommy Emmanuels band on a tour. One of the guys was playing a Gibson Black Beauty which wouldn't stay in tune and after making a few suggestions about the setup to help it hold tune, Tommy said "but if you want it to stay in tune get a Telecaster"!



Great week Alf, I hope to see you around here. And keep us up to date on that parts-o-caster, get a thread going in the project page with lots of photos!

[zapcosongs]

Marketing and G&L Anonymity: You've hit upon one of the great mysteries of the Universe for me. On one hand, I'm glad to be in on the secret, both for monetary and psychological reasons. On the other hand, it doesn't seem like over the years, our favorite company has gotten great value for it's advertising dollar necessarily. I have a number of ideas as to what might be done, but near the top of my list is the Company doing something that pushes the Leo Fender button so hard that BBE/G&L gets sued in a case it can win or settle well when all is said and done. That should bring a bit of attention, education and attitude to the fore. It's so simple...

What was the other question? (It's Friday, so what the heck). - Ed ;+)

[GDub]

I don't diet, I run. So my advice is chuck the diet and exercise.

And musicians play the instrument what they want to play. If they don't play G&Ls they're slackers.

[sam]

Hey Alf,

Great week. Diet?!? We don't need no stinkin diet (I am trying too! )

What is the reason that G&L is not as well known as it should be? Is it part of their strategy to stay small, intimate? Or is it just that the BIG boys have done so much marketing and hype that the little guys are more hidden?
The answer is they just haven't turned their "tiger blood" into "winning" solution! (here's to Charlie ) Darth and the boys do a great job and Steve has brought in a whole new aspect (see the videos). Being a wine enthusiast I will use this comparison. While the general public chooses a bottle of "popular product X", there are small wineries that produce KILLER wine that those in the know buy cases of. I look at G&L like that. BTW I am buying cases of G&L!!!!!

Why would seemingly good musicians who play in local bands, always seem to choose Fender of other guitars, like G&L? Perhaps a strat, modded or not, is just versatile enough? Maybe its cash?
Well.....while we believe all gigging musicians are rolling in the dough and their tip jars are overflowing, most lie between the line of I am following hero X or guitar shop ABC just ran on a special of the latest F$%#* / G#&$(#& and they chose that. It's a combination of dollars and "sense" and marketing. BUT.... those in the know will go for quality found at G&L, PRS, Sadowsky, Zemaitas etc..

TGIF!!

[astutzmann]

Great replies and Great week!

I hear you on the cash front. While I had a wonderfully lucky career and can afford nice guitars, I know its not the same for many working musicians.

My guitar teacher is 33 years old, has been playing since he was 14, has a bachelor's degree in music, guitar and a master's degree in classical guitar and he's broke, 2 kids, wife not working and let me tell ya, ya don't get rich from general teaching.

He has 5 guitars, his best is a '94 USA Fender Strat with Fralin pickups, the rest are junk. He's from the UK and he had a nice classical guitar that he used to get his masters, but had to sell it to pay for his move to canada.

He turned me on to G&L and I'm glad he did.

He would love better guitars and is really wanting a harp guitar, but I know he can't afford one. I'd like to figure out how to help him get one.

[bassman]

Fenders are familiar and plentiful. They come in affordable import versions and its going to be real difficult for any guitar company to unseat their substantial head start in market impact. Fender had a 35 year headstart and Gibson had 75 years. Not too shabby!

G&Ls are very cool and misunderstood and often times, just plain unknown to too many musicians. The G&L Tribute line is the best way to get more G&Ls in the hands of these working players.

I think over time. G&L has and will continue to make progress in their product perception. More people will come to know and love their guitars and basses just as we have.

[RickT]

When it comes to purchasing a guitar, it is all about the availability. If the dealer list is long and the dealers actually have a decent stock on hand, the chances are there will be more sales. Also, from a store owner's perspective, they want to move merchandise, if you can make the same margin on product A as you can on product B but you can turn your inventory on product A faster, then you are more likely to make product A more available.

It is easer for a shop to sell a Fender than it is to sell a G&L primarily due to familiarity with the Fender brand. In order to sell more G&L, the dealer may have to discount the price more heavily, reducing the profit for the store. It does take more time and effort to sell a G&L branded guitar than a Fender or Gibson. So it becomes a matter of investing the time in selling G&L or the other brands.

And, I think Fender does a great job of hooking these guitar players early with their economy packs. They start early on Fender, get loyal to the brand and stick to that through most, if not all, of their playing career.

Personally, I think the G&L guitar quality is well above the non-custom shop Fenders. That's why I started with Fender but play G&L.

RickT

[BillEvans1956]

Personally, I think the G&L guitar quality is well above the non-custom shop Fenders. That's why I started with Fender but play G&L.

RickT

Yep. Agree there. I started with a MIM Stratocaster and when it was time to 'upgrade', the options for me were either a USA made Strat or a G&L. I made my choice and ain't looked back since. A very happy enthusiast here!

Bill

[BillEvans1956]

He would love better guitars and is really wanting a harp guitar, but I know he can't afford one. I'd like to figure out how to help him get one.

Hi Alf,

Check this guy. http://www.justinguitar.com/ All of his online lessons are free. He sells product too though. And teaches privately and at the London Guitar Institute, although his private teaching is irregular as the website takes a lot of his time and he's now concentrating on his own playing, gigging, recording, etc. So, there is a model there for a successful guitar tuition enterprise. Maybe your guitar teacher should contact Justin to discuss how he's become so successful at what he does. No reason why he couldn't become equally successful. There are loads of online guitar tutors, but Justin's is the only one I really rate highly at all.

Bill

[astutzmann]

Hi Bill:

Awesome, thanks for that. I have seen Justin before and will look at him more closely now,

THx,

Alf

[Dr B]

Young kids want fender or gibson because that's what they see their heroes play.....you dont see many G&L out there on TV - or even if you do (and its a legacy or Asat) many will just assume its Fender and not see the difference in the headstock. Fender is, to me, the 'coca cola' of guitars. Yes its nice, but it might not be the best drink in the fridge for you. There are others with less agressive marketing that are, in terms of engineering and tone, on a par and if not better (and way cheaper).

I would put my Tribute Asat up alongside any MIM tele or strat and any off-the-shelf USA Fender for build quality and tone. Obviously custom shop is a different thing, but so are the prices. Pound for pound, lesser known guitars like G&L and Blade are superior to my amateur ears and hands.