S500 / Tremolo arm

[NUCCIOPAL]

Would I be able to use any tremolo arm (i.e. strat style) for an S500 or would it only work with an original replacement part from G&L?
I just bought a used S500 (being shipped) which did not include the trem arm and I'm just wondering if I could just use any arm while I wait for the original part.

[louis cyfer]

you need a g&l arm. some wilkinson arms may fit, but definitely not the fender ones.

[KenC]

You'll also need to confirm the production year for your S-500. The vibrato tailpiece hasn't really changed in thirty years, but the arm socket has. The arms are not model-specific though. You can find replacement arms for BBE-era G&Ls in the on-line store at G&L's website. For Leo-era instruments you can check with Gabe Dellevigne (http://electricstringedinstrument.com/index.php) for an exact replica of the original.

If you're not sure which year your S-500 was built, you could either remove the neck to check production dates or just post a couple of photos here with a request for help. The S-500 has been around for over thirty years, but folks around here could help you pinpoint an approximate year based on the features.

I hope this is helpful!

Ken

[NUCCIOPAL]

Thank you Louis Cyfer and KenC. I understand that is important to figure out the year of the guitar in order to get the right part.
I should receive it sometime next week but in the meantime I actually found it listed in the registry althoug with no additional information other than the color and fretboard.
The SN starts with CLF (CLF11757) and it has 4 bolts so am I correct in thinking that it is a '97 or later? I will try to figure out how to upload a photo but would that SN help you direct me to the right replacement arm?
I really appreciate your help and I hope that one day I would be able to return the favor.

[Miles Smiles]

So your guitar should have been built in 1998 or 1999 and for sure you need the last version before the metric version, this one:

http://www.glguitars.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=36

[NUCCIOPAL]

So your guitar should have been built in 1998 or 1999 and for sure you need the last version before the metric version, this one:

http://www.glguitars.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=36

Thank you very much Miles Smiles. I will wait to order it until I get the guitar to see if it needs additional parts (G&L shipping charges are quite high).
Would you by any chance have additional info about this S500? The store I bought it from did not know what kind of wood it has other than the maple neck. It is a Tobacco Sunburst...

[Miles Smiles]

For that finish, most likely the body wood will be alder.
There's not much to say, it's a type of Stratocaster and
it should have locking tuners and 3 MFD pickups and there should be a mini switch, which combines the neck and the brigde pickups, so you'll have 7 different combinations. The tone controls are effecting all pick ups and one cuts off high while the other does cut off low frequencies.

Sometimes you'll find an S-500, which has been reduced to a normal Strat by replacing all the electrics, this will hopefully not the case.

[Miles Smiles]

For that finish, most likely the body wood will be alder.
There's not much to say, it's a type of Stratocaster and
it should have locking tuners and 3 MFD pickups and there should be a mini switch, which combines the neck and the brigde pickups, so you'll have 7 different combinations. The tone controls are effecting all pick ups and one cuts off high while the other does cut off low frequencies.

Sometimes you'll find an S-500, which has been reduced to a normal Strat by replacing all the electrics, this will hopefully not the case with yours.

[NUCCIOPAL]

For that finish, most likely the body wood will be alder.
There's not much to say, it's a type of Stratocaster and
it should have locking tuners and 3 MFD pickups and there should be a mini switch, which combines the neck and the brigde pickups, so you'll have 7 different combinations. The tone controls are effecting all pick ups and one cuts off high while the other does cut off low frequencies.

Sometimes you'll find an S-500, which has been reduced to a normal Strat by replacing all the electrics, this will hopefully not the case with yours.

Thank you again Miles. Yes, it has the mini switch and it should have the original electronics.
I'll post photos as soon as I figure out how

[Miles Smiles]

I'll post photos as soon as I figure out how

Like this, you have to store the pictures elsewhere (dropbox, google drive) and then you may post the links here.

This is my Legacy:

[Craig]

I'll post photos as soon as I figure out how

See Tutorial: Posting photos for details and
examples.

Hope this helps.