G&L Acoustic Guitars?

[vinyldocdave]

I recently purchased an acoustic guitar for my son at a used guitar shop in the Portland, OR area. It's a G&L Acoustic guitar. After I did a little research, I found that G&L never mass produced any acoustics outside of 6-12 prototypes and most of them were kept by the G&L employees. There's absolutely no identification on the guitar in terms of serial numbers or anything. The only identification of any sort on the guitar is the G&L logo on the headstock.

I'm curious if anyone here has any additional information on G&L's experiments into acoustic guitars. Is there any way to tell if the one I have is actually one of the few prototypes that were produced?

[Elwood]

It looks right to me, same headstock and logo on the others I've seen pictures of.


and that back is gorgeous...Congrats on finding a real rarity.

[yowhatsshakin]

What a find! Congrats As far as S/N, look inside the sound hole to see if there isn't one stamped on the neck block (similar to Collings guitars). If there is, let us know.

- Jos

[louis cyfer]

wow. i would love to have that. looks great, i bet it sounds good too.

[vinyldocdave]

My son and I looked for months searching for just the right guitar. new and used, expensive and cheap. he just wanted the right feel and sound. as soon as he picked up the G&L he knew he wanted it. the tone and action were exceptional. we compared it to several in the shop (taylor, gibson, and several other expensive guitars). believing the guitar to be a cheap knock off, and the face well worn to boot, it still out played the others. it was an easy choice to buy it.

I did call a tech from G&L and he said, "I know of that guitar and can tell you it is a one of a kind. he only knows of maybe a dozen that were made". Now I am really curious to know it's history.

[vinyldocdave]

I checked the neck block and the entire interior and still no serial number or logo or stickers. It does have a bolt on neck. is this common?

[Elwood]

I checked the neck block and the entire interior and still no serial number or logo or stickers. It does have a bolt on neck. is this common?

not really, a few brands in the past have played with bolt on acoustics (framus,cbs-fender),


I think we need many more pictures

[blargfromouterspace]

Wow, what a find. I've never even heard of an acoustic G&L.

+1 on HEAPS more pictures!

[jonc]

Actually a bolt-on neck acoustic is quite common and many high end builders including Collings, Taylor, etc. use them. These are quite different from bolt-on necks with an external neck plate (like the Fender or Framus Elwood mentioned) and for my money they are a plus since it makes doing neck resets a breeze. Unlike a traditional build. There are some who say that only a traditional neck/body joint like on a Martin will do, but there are many plusses to having a bolt-on neck, and none of the downsides. I don't know if there's an archive of the old board but there was a good thread about G&L acoustics on there some years back. I forget who made these for G&L but there weren't many made. Nice find.

[Elwood]

Good info jon, thanks
Was it 'Tacoma' guitars , or something like that?


edit: aha...found something:

http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/gldp/messages/755.php3

[vinyldocdave]

thanks for the info. its a good start. I will check back to see if anyone else may have more details.

also I was told the acoustic guitar plays better with age and use. I was comparing the g&l to fairly new guitars. this G&L obviously (because of the pick marks) has seen some serious onstage gig time.