Hello from Spain

[wazowski]

Hi everyone,

I live in Spain. I'm about to buy a second hand guitar and I was thinking in a stratocaster.

I own a Billy Corgan strato but I want something "more strato". I hope you know what I mean...

So I started looking for Fenders, which you can find by hundreds, even in Spain.

And then, I found this G&L 30th anniversary legacy in perfect condition. Almost new (the owner says it still has that smell of new things when you open the case)

The owner wants 800 euros (1000 dolars) which I think it's not a bad price here since they are very difficult to find in stores and the legacys are sold at around 1.400 euros.

In that price range, the only Fenders you can find here are japanese, american standard, things like that. The deluxe, custom shop, etc. are more expensive and somehow I'm sure the G&L is in pair with the "good Fenders" in terms of overal quality. but I never had the chance to try one.

Anyway...I've been doing all the research I could until I found this forum so I decided to register just to ask you to convince me that I should buy the G&L instead of a Fender.

What worries me is that G&Ls are not popular here and, if I don´t like the guitar, it'll be very difficult to sell (the one I found has been on sale for months)

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Miles Smiles]

Hi, welcome!

800 € will be 800 $ in such a case and it is a quite good price for a good as new Legacy with original case and certificate. Especially if there are not many offers in your region. If you want a Stratocaster and you're happy with the look of the 30 anniversary, you'll get no better chance.

You can't simply convert Euro to Dollar, as if you buy in the US you will at least pay the Dollar price in Euro, as there's shipping (~120 $), then taxes and toll which are around 24% from total, which is product price and shipping. I've done this several times.
They want to see the Ebay auction or whatever and your credit card or paypal transactions, so cheating is quite hard or impossible, just for the very unlikely case you'll find a seller, who will give false price declaration.

If the seller is waiting that long, maybe you can even lower the price, but the guitar is for sure worth more than 800, compared to what you'll pay and get from other brands. I bought my 1996 Legacy for about 700 € in 2006 in good but played condition with case and everything and I'm still happy with it and I never played a better Stratocaster and I never would trade it for a Fender, not even a Custom Shop one, at least as the Fenders normally come with a less good vibrato unit.

I don't like the look of the anniversary, otherwise I would ask, where I could find it, in case you're not interested.

[meursault]

+1

it's not a bargain, but it's a fair price...

can't you try it ?

[wazowski]

Thanks for the info Miles.

It's true, I can't just convert euros to dollars. Maybe I did because I work as a freelance for a US company and I'm paid in dollars that, unfortunately, I have to convert into euros and given the current exchange...

If I decide not to buy it I can give you the details, in case you want to buy it. I think the look of the 30th is just gorgeous

meursault, no, I can't try it. The owner is quite far from my hometown. That´s why I´m trying to get advice from here.

It is true that it's not a bargain but, as Miles says, it could be even cheap if compared to what you get from other more famous brands for those 800 euros. But, again, I haven't tried one nor I can try this one so, it's just a feeling.

[Miles Smiles]

Can"t think of any issues, especially if the current owner didn't really play it. I think I'm right, when I say the anniversary series is all gone through the PLEK machine.

Here's a video, I did with mine. Difference is, mine has 3 bolt neck joint and the pickups of mine have a little less output as the current Legacy pickups have.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PRrIR97FFA[/video]

This is a video I did with my Partscaster. Body is from alder made by MJT, neck is a cheap one with Schaller tuners, made for G&L and the pickups I bought some years ago on Ebay, probably from a Tribute Legacy, but they are just G&L, no difference.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeJ33WScv9Q[/video]

For all my videos, you should switch to higher resolustion (720 HD) for higher quality sound.

[Craig]

Welcome!

In case you have not read this post: Welcome! Read This First.
Also, do some searching on the forum and G&L Knowledgebase, as there is a lot of info and feedback about G&L instruments.

You can't go wrong with a G&L Legacy.

Best of luck on your search.

[wazowski]

Thanks for your videos, Miles. Nice playing...

The fretboard of the G&L is rosewood, isn't it?

I'm not sure about the ebony fingerboard of the 30th. I had a blade R4 with ebony fingerboard but that was back in the `90s and I can't remember if liked it or not

Thanks for the welcome, Craig. Sure I did some searching on the forum before registering and the one conclusion I got is that most G&L users have or have had Fenders and most of them prefer their G&Ls over the Fenders

[Miles Smiles]

Thanks for your videos, Miles. Nice playing...

The fretboard of the G&L is rosewood, isn't it?

Thanks, yes it's rosewood. Ebony is the more luxury variant.

BTW, I have been in the market for a red Legacy with maple fretboard, but as this sunburst with rosewood came up, I had to take that opportunity.

[meursault]

you will only hear good things about G&L's here !

to be honest since i have my G&L's i don't play the others any more... play and sounds amazingly good... some will think i'm overstating but they really give the feeling to have a CS in your hands...

[Miles Smiles]

you will only hear good things about G&L's here !

to be honest since i have my G&L's i don't play the others any more... play and sounds amazingly good... some will think i'm overstating but they really give the feeling to have a CS in your hands...

If you want the feeling of a custom shop, you'll have to get you a Squier.

Check out at around 2:50

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCEdT2d43jU[/video]

[meursault]

yeah ! i know andertons videos... those guys are excellent and soooooooo funny !...

and this one is a good example!


edit : and i already have a squier !

[KenC]

Welcome to G&LDP. $1000 for a 30th Anniversary would be a reasonable price in the US. I imagine the scarcity in Europe would make it an even better deal.

I have a definite preference for older G&Ls (you can check my profile page to get an idea ) and usually don't have much trouble passing up good deals on recent ones. I'm not saying that to put down G&L's current quality, which is excellent. I just prefer older instruments that have spent a lot of time vibrating and settling in. Anyway, I did get a chance to play a 30th Anniversary Legacy last year and was very impressed. The only minus for me was the very white satin neck, but I've heard that they darken up nicely in a year or two. The pearl finish was gorgeous, and the build quality far surpassed the Custom Shop Telecaster hanging right next to it. If I had $1000 to spare at the time I would have seriously considered that Legacy. It didn't last long in that store, though.

I understand your concern about putting money into a guitar that isn't well known to the general public. We have the same thing here in the US. One of my neighbors has a serious Les Paul and PRS collection. He stumbled across a good deal on a Bluesboy just before I met him, and then one day I sat back and listened while he played just about every one of my G&Ls. As far as I know, every guitar he has bought since then has been a G&L. IMO, the build quality and tone are on par with the other very top-notch production shops like PRS. You won't get the same level of goodness in a Leo Fender designed or inspired guitar without jumping to double the price (or more).

If you look through the posts on this forum you will see very little griping about G&L instruments, aside from damage in shipping or occasionally with the setup of a new instrument. Pretty much the only reason people discuss changing anything on a G&L around here is to tweak the sound to their preference by rewiring or swapping to a very high-end pickup set.

I hope this helps. Wait, there's one more thing: if you go ahead and get this Legacy, you might as well start putting money aside right away for your second G&L. For a lot of us the time between getting our first and second G&Ls was a matter of months, or even weeks!

Ken

[wazowski]

Thanks KenC, your post was very helpful. Thanks to the previous posts as well. Anderton's videos are always a pleasure to watch.

Fortunately, as I said, I work for a US company so scarcity hasn't touched me (yet) but it's true that this scarcity makes selling things very difficult. So, if I find that I don't like the G&L and try to sell it, I will have to either wait a long time or lose money. But I'm beginning to believe that there is no chance for that to happen due to the quality of G&Ls.

I prefer older guitars too. But you never know...A friend of mine who has dozens of very expensive vintage guitars has a few stratocasters. One of them is an "all parts" made by a friend of us who is not even a renowned luthier. Another one is a very expensive Mary Key Cunetto era. In a blind fold test this friend did with some other friends, the all parts won over the Cunetto and the other 23 stratocasters in the test.

So the conclusion I get from your comments (the one conclusion I was looking for) is that this legacy is in pair with the custom shop models from other brands for half the money (or even less) Yesterday I sold my beloved Orange amp so I think it will be today when I send confirmation to the seller to buy the G&L.

As for your last comment...my first intention was to get a different guitar (not strato) But the stratocaster I have is a Billy Corgan which is not much of a traditional strato. Then, I decided to look for a more "classic" strato and, if I really like the new one and find that it's better than the Corgan, I will trade the Corgan for a telecaster which is one of the guitars I've never had but always wanted. If everything goes as expected, it seems like, eventually, I will end up with a Legacy AND an ASAT

One last thing...if I finally get the 30th, I promise I post some pictures of it

[meursault]

i think that the preference for older or newer production is a question of taste, not a question of build quality...

anyway good luck for your sale/buy/trade times... but... if you have sold your amp, what's left to plug your future guitar ?

[wazowski]

True!

I have a blackstar to play at home.

[wazowski]

To be more specific....I used to play in a band that split recently so I don't the big amp anymore because my intention is not to play in another band in the near future.

That's why I sold the Orange to buy another guitar to play at home.

[meursault]

which orange was it ?

[wazowski]

A thunder30 combo, modded (celestion V3, master volumen, etc.)

Amazing mid-range amp, by the way. My friend had it for the last couple of months and he fell so in love with that little beast that he put away his other amps (soldanos, plexis,...) I tried to sell it to him but he didn't get it and right now he is missing it.

[meursault]

ok... that's not a pretty hard to find one... ^^

[KenC]

So the conclusion I get from your comments (the one conclusion I was looking for) is that this legacy is in pair with the custom shop models from other brands for half the money (or even less)

Yes. The fit, finish and tone of every modern G&L I've played has been outstanding, and the 30th Anniversary Legacy I played last year was no exception. The PRS factory is about twenty miles from my house, so the shops around here are full of their instruments. When I see and play them side-by-side, I don't notice any difference in quality between $1500 G&Ls and $3000 PRSs. IMO, no modern Fender or Gibson I've seen has been in the running.

As for your last comment...my first intention was to get a different guitar (not strato) But the stratocaster I have is a Billy Corgan which is not much of a traditional strato. Then, I decided to look for a more "classic" strato and, if I really like the new one and find that it's better than the Corgan, I will trade the Corgan for a telecaster which is one of the guitars I've never had but always wanted. If everything goes as expected, it seems like, eventually, I will end up with a Legacy AND an ASAT

I was a Strat fan from the moment I started playing electric guitar in high school. It was almost thirty years later when I played (and promptly bought) my first ASAT, and immediately I became a convert. I love my S-500, Nighthawk and Skyhawk, but 90% of the time the guitar I reach for is an ASAT or SC model. I'd suggest looking at the current SC-2 and Fallout models along with ASATs when you're ready for that second G&L.

i think that the preference for older or newer production is a question of taste, not a question of build quality...

It's definitely a question of taste. Like I said, I wasn't knocking the modern instruments. Every recent G&L I've played has had flawless construction and a gorgeous finish. I was just trying to point out that the 30th Anniversary got my interest while others haven't.

Ken

[wazowski]

Decided!

I just sent an email to the seller.

Next week I'll really join your group

[meursault]

Decided!

I just sent an email to the seller.

Next week I'll really join your group