Love the old G&L, maybe currently obsessed.

[Virg]

I have an '82 s-500 mahogany burst.
and a 94 Tribute Special
really love those early G&Ls
I'm now a looking a little harder for more early models..
missed a beauty at the local second hand shop.. from memory was an s-500

Hello from Melbourne.
31 y/o student/busker

[Craig]

I have an '82 s-500 mahogany burst.
and a 94 Tribute Special
really love those early G&Ls
I'm now a looking a little harder for more early models..
missed a beauty at the local second hand shop.. from memory was an s-500

Hello from Melbourne.
31 y/o student/busker

Welcome!

We have a rule: "it does not exist without pictures!". We definitely want to see your S-500 and
MIJ Tribute Special (ASAT or Legacy?). See Welcome! Read This First
for information about our site, including details on posting photos, videos and audio.

[Virg]

ahh my bad
'94 Legacy Special , not a tribute..
pics coming

[KenC]

Welcome to G&LDP, Virg!

Ken

[Philby]

Hi Virg. Welcome to the club. There are a couple of dudes around here from Melbourne.

A G&L obsession is not a bad thing as long as we don't end up fighting over the same models on the local market.

Just kidding. Finders keepers. Looking forward to your pics

[Virg]

well thanks a lot , all of you...

now i've gone out and bought another one..

[KenC]

well thanks a lot , all of you...

now i've gone out and bought another one..

Spending time around here will do that to you!

Ken

[Craig]

well thanks a lot , all of you...

now i've gone out and bought another one..

Congrats, what did you get and where are the photos?

[darwinohm]

Welcome Virg, what did we buy????? -- Darwin

[Virg]

The oldest of the group, meets the new member.
A third is spending time in the company of other (non G&L guitars) and missed the photo shoot.

1982 S-500 in mahogany sunburst , and a sparkly 1997 number, it's new fancy friend

[Elwood]

That makes me smile, nice pics Virg!
thanks

elwood

[jediguitarist]

Saaaaweeet s500. Black pickups on black pick guard look great. Compliments the burst.

[Fumble fingers]

love them both !!

[Virg]

Im trying to figure out what the sparkly guitar is.

From first blush, it looks like a John Jorgenson Signature,
except it doesn't have the signature on the neck..
- same looking pickups, neck, sparkly finish etc..

[Elwood]

Im trying to figure out what the sparkly guitar is.

From first blush, it looks like a John Jorgenson Signature,
except it doesn't have the signature on the neck..
- same looking pickups, neck, sparkly finish etc..

The JJ's use a larger flake . Most likely yours is a tasty custom order .
It looks like fine champagne , I'll admit I'd like one just like it .

elwood

[Virg]

It was a little annoying. Not being the expert on G&L,
i bought it when the owner said it was JJ signature..
Picked it up today, considering taking it back...
It's a nice guitar, but I did think I was getting the JJ Signature.


What would be the difference?

I note the larger sparkles on the pickguard




I note in another thread about the JJ sig,

the neck of this one http://guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/viewtopic ... 500#p38500
is a matter of days different from the one I have.

Very confused now.. Seems like I have a JJ signature, from the same time frame, within weeks of maked signature models, yet without the signature on the headstock..
maybe just a ASAT special?

[Elwood]

Well , I see the larger flakes in the finish now, so I take back what I said before.
I recall similar discussions , try a search on the site using jorgenson and maybe flake as search queries.
If the guitar was a good deal and you like it I'd keep her, but not if the price was mush higher due to being mis-represented.

elwood

edit*
found this thread and a couple pics for quick comparison...I'm sure you could find more,
a couple JJ owners might chime in to help ( especially after I reposted their pics - thx guys !)

http://guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/viewtopic ... son#p38490

[Virg]

thanks a lot elwood,

I have been searching all day (procrastinating)
There was discussion of the finish being subcontracted.
The ASAT in my possession appears to be in-house (pics)

Those with more knowledge will no doubt chime in
$900 , a fairly reasonable price..
- honestly, i'm more annoyed that I didn't spot it myself.
I take pride in being thorough. Being a good man, and thorough.
Letting this pass me by, is akin to the time I thought the petrol pump price was engaged in a conspiracy against me!
learned from the experience. I'll let the ego calm down, and enjoy what is a beautiful guitar..

[KenC]

Virg,

My JJ Sig is the one in Elwood's second photo (the one shot on a maple floor). Yours is about two years too late to be a JJ Sig, but the body looks exactly like one. The sparkle pickgaurd on yours is exactly like the ones used on most of the JJ Sigs, which I don't believe was an option on any other production models.

From what I understand, the JJ Sig production ended after about 190 guitars were built. John Jorgenson pulled his endorsement over some artist relations issues, and was given the remaining guitars that had not been sold yet. I believe mine was one of those, as he autographed and numbered the back of the body:



By the way, here is what a JJ Sig headstock looks like:



The only differences between an ASAT Special with a Silver Flake finish and a JJ Sig are the pickguard and headstock decal. The pickups and circuit are identical. This model was originally going to have a special hum-cancelling MFD that Leo was working on, but after Leo's death the design was never completed. The use of regular MFDs in the JJ Sig was a big part of why the endorsement was pulled and production stopped. Your guitar must have gotten one of the remaining sparkle pickguards left over from the JJ Sig production.

As far as what you paid for it, $900 isn't a bad deal for a late '90s ASAT with a flake finish in the US. From what I've heard about the market in Australia, it sounds like a pretty good deal.

Ken

[KenC]

Virg,

I looked back over your posts in this thread and checked the links, and now I'm really curious. Hopefully Jos ("Yowhatsshakin") will see this thread and chime in. His JJ Sig is very close to yours on the dates, but these were from 1997. AFAIK, JJ Sigs were only produced in 1995. Checking the registry shows that all entries except for Craig's and Jos's are from 1995. Craig's has dates from 1996, which he noted were probably due to the date stamper being off. Since yours and Jos's are so close, I wonder if they could have been incorrectly stamped 1997 instead of 1995. If that's the case, yours could have been a body intended for JJ Sig production that was matched to an ASAT Special neck right after the endorsement was pulled.

Your guitar looks a lot like one that another G&LDP regular from Melbourne sold about a year ago. I remember some discussions about, but can't recall the details. If this one had been his, he may be able to provide some background on the guitar's history.

Ken

[yowhatsshakin]

Virg,

The JJ Sig in Elwood's first pic is mine. But you can read a lot about that one in the cited post . It is funny that Elwood posts the one pic I took of the JJ in a CCD case to tease Jamie (aka blargfromouterspace). Be aware that is not the OHSC! About everything I know about the JJ Sig can be found on its page on my website, which in turn references the 2 featured on Greg Gagliano's site: one with a rosewood fingerboard and one with a rare maple fingerboard.

You'll notice that both Craig's JJ and mine have this distinctive Marty Bell stamp in the neck pocket which is not present in yours. Also notice that my JJ Sig neck is only a week(!!) younger (at least according its date stamp) as yours. Not sure what to think of that. Were they out of decals? The neck date of mine is still somewhat of an enigma to me. But I certainly don't mind its beautiful flame!

Hope this helps,

- Jos

P.S. Ken, your wish is my command You got your response in just before mine.

[KenC]

I just checked the old catalogs and price lists in the Gallery. It looks like Silver Flake finishes became an option on the 1997 price list. That may explain the lack of Marty Bell's stamp in the neck pocket. It would also support this guitar being a regular production '97 ASAT Special with a leftover JJ Sig pickguard. That would make this one of the earliest large flake G&Ls.

Any which way, it's still a beautiful guitar!

Ken

[Fumble fingers]

Virg , its still a great deal even if it's not a JJ , that thing is baddd azzz , I would be stoked over that guitar !! ..... I love the big flake

[yowhatsshakin]

Any which way, it's still a beautiful guitar!

Virg , its still a great deal even if it's not a JJ , that thing is baddd azzz , I would be stoked over that guitar !! ..... I love the big flake

+1 on both.

[Virg]

I did send Jamie (aka blargfromouterspace) a message..
This does look like the one he sold a year ago.
I'll ask for pics, or confirmation in some way..

would like to figure this guitar out!

As for necks, we have 2 here.
11 April - JJsignature
18 April - ASAT

you'll note that on the JJ, there is crossed out text..
I imagine it says 'ASAT' , '#2', 'shiny'
notice how they both have the same writing on the neck..
So? Left over bodies and JJ decals? Ran out a week later and put ASAT on the rest?