new g&l owner

[n0nspaz]

hi all
i have a g&l legacy in the custom shop and am looking forward to the birth. i heard about g&l after a pop music producer friend said his comanche was the best electric he had ever played. this will be the first guitar i have custom ordered but not the first i have modified.

my strength is commericial music production & mixing. 15yrs audio electronics experience. i've modded & semi-designed guitar pedals and a large modular synth at one point. i tend to buy cheap guitars, to hack the electronics, but i will still make some mods to the Legacy (just more carefully)

jazz/rock guitar was my first study, with formal music training, but i'm always happy to talk studio/recording or guitar mods. on that note, another reason i was drawn to the g&l right off the bat was the PTB. i am always rolling off the low end on guitar recordings so having a HPF is goig to be great.

cheers

[Salmon]

Hello n0nspaz,

I believe the PTB adds more than removes. People frequently suggest rolling off the bass of the PTB G&L Legacy/S-500 to get closer to a traditional Strat sound so 0 is normal and full on is added bass. Personally, I like that and would not want a traditional Strat to have less bass than typical. The PTB manages bass and treble tweaks keeping them clear and isolated as opposed to muddying up the high or low end. I think of the full on position as a large full bodied version of the 0 tone, aka it is a large full bodied Strat tone.

I will be looking forward to your contributions here.

[n0nspaz]

interesting way to think about the tone controls.

good news, my Legacy came in last night, only 34 days after the day i ordered it. kudos to the g&l team for underpromising and overdelivering.

here were my requests to the dealer:
-swamp ash
-2-tone sunburst. even gradient from middle to edge: not too dark on the edges, not too light in the middle. fins are not all black.
-colored headstock in 2-tone burst
-#1 neck, flatsawn maple, light tint gloss
-rosewood
-medium jumbo
-black-white-black 3ply guard
-black pup covers & knobs
-black tolex case

the result?
i am very pleased with both the look and the sound so far. this is my first g&l, and the finest guitar i have owned since starting at age 12 (i am 42 and more of a part-time producer than a player these days, when not doing graphic design by day).

the sound is warmer and less shrill than a typical american strat, more quack less highs, which is what i was hoping for by choosing swamp ash and rosewood. the paint job came out close to what i imagined and i am grateful they took the time to avoid overspraying black on the edges/fins.

i have a set of SeyDunc California 50s here, i wonder what those would sound like in there.

the action is very low and pleasing. compared to my other frankenstrat/partscasters it feels like driving a bmw vs a toyota, smooth action and a light touch is all that is needed. it is kind of uncomfortable and will require recalibrating the player the low E and A are slightly buzzing though (with factory 10's) so i suppose they set it up a little too low for effect).

the neck is a bit lighter in finish but perhaps will yellow a bit more with age. the only minor disappointment amongst my overall being thrilled with the workmanship) is the knobs and pickup covers have a cheap plastic feel with rough edges (right hand was getting scratched up a little by the pickup covers' edges) but these will easily be replaced. it would make a better first impression if g&l used better plastics. but again, i am glad this is all i have to complain about. this is a solid well made guitar, custom to my specs, for under $1500. where else can you get that?

not sure how to upload an image from my phone, will do soon.
cheers

[Salmon]

I have not heard of the plastic being sharp before.

G&L necks tend to be made from lighter (coloring) woods.

As far as darkening over time, 5-10+ years maybe if at all. They are poly coated. Does that really darken? I wonder whether people are just gunking them up with dirt and oils (natural and revibe/preserving) and it skews the perception of darkening. That is a long time to wait. By then you will be used to it anyway. With paint and varnish used in fine art some darken when in the dark and lighten when in the light while others it is the opposite so who knows? With nitro finishes I have seen evidence of darkening when hardware is removed on old guitars. I have new guitars and any older guitars I have owned did not have finishes where this was noticeable. My experience of this is very limited.

Please upload some pictures when you take a break from playing.

Images from phone: Email them to yourself. Then download them to your hard drive. If you create or already have an account with Photobucket you upload them to the Photobucket account. PB creates links for posting in forums. You just copy and paste those in your post here.

[n0nspaz]

poly in general used to darken with age, i think moisture seeps out of it, because some old poly even becomes brittle and cracks (i'm thinking stuff from my grandparents' house...)

these days tho u can buy poly that won't yellow. nice for furniture builders....

this still feels like i'm borrowing someone's instrument... and i had better be darn careful with it !

pics here https://drive.google.com/#folders/0B9zu ... UhTejNwNjg
hope this works.
embedding didn't work for me from googledrive

cheers S

[Elwood]

Boy, google doesn't make it easy to grab the image url.

[Salmon]

Neither of those links worked for me.

[n0nspaz]

i was sure to turn access to all/public so i am not sure whats up with google drive. works great for me otherwise

playing the Legacy tonight was a little disheartening at first. i like to make comparison recordings of just the straight DI tone of my guitars, then i can reamp them thru my fave plugins. the DI sound of the legacy is kind of muddy and flat, similar to a partscaster i have and a schecter dual HB that i used to own. just not inspiring.

i also am not used to these kind of tuning machines, so i looked up proper restringing procedure then put 10.5-48 Boomers on it. quick and easy. 20-30mins of tuning and shaking the strings to get them to settle...took forever to get the strings stable. i am pretty picky about pitch. (i would not expect an open E chord and a barre chord to ever both be 100% in tune) these strings just kept slipping. my technique must need work

into Amplitube (probably my fave) gtr plugin, i was stunned at the balance and clarity and even-ness/consistency of tone across strings. and then i was just rockin out for the next hour. nice and punchy, and just enjoying the PTB

i suspect it needs a good setup.

[yowhatsshakin]

i was sure to turn access to all/public so i am not sure whats up with google drive. works great for me otherwise.

FYI Google Drive is asking everybody to log in and even to download Google Drive if not present. Even after I log in with my Google account, I still do not have access to your folders.

- Jos

[suave eddie]

I can access the folders and view the photos, but as Elwood said, it does not seem possible to grab the image URL.
You probably need to use a different photo hosting site such as Photobucket.

[Craig]

Please see this post: Tutorial: Posting photos.

[GentlemanJim]

I can't open your link either, would love to see your special order baby, oh and congrats on a great instrument you done good....................................

[Monahan]

Congrats on the new Legacy!

I custom ordered mine in 1999-- white body, rosewood fingerboard and #3 maple neck with vintage tint. The body finish has faded ever so slightly, and the neck was pretty dark to begin with, but I can't tell if it changed color at all.

It's kind of funny that you don't care for the pickups. I felt the same way and swapped them out a few years later with Kinman noiseless. Now I'd like to return to stock Actually, I'd like to put some MFDs in it with the stock wiring But I'm in no hurry since I've been playing bass more than guitar these days.

Photobucket is a free photo host website-- maybe you could post a photo there, copy the link and paste it to your post here.

Enjoy the new guitar!

~Monahan

[n0nspaz]

thanks all for being patient. i wasnt aware i could simply create a gallery on the sister site here:

http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/ma ... emId=12960

let's see if this works

[n0nspaz]

great, the photo gallery seems to have worked. you may notice that there is some kind of lint or miniature dead bug in the lens of my phone/camera. that is not a blemish on the instrument.

overall i have to say i am a little underwhelmed with the tone, and it needs a setup. i special ordered swamp ash because i thought it would give a richer tone with more character than the alder. maybe i got a heavy piece. the (acoustic) sound reminds me of a dual humbucker schecter i sold. certainly not as muddy or lackluster/cheap sounding. but i expected a cleaner sound with more high end. again i am speaking acoustically, or just thru a DI into a recorder.

what i like is the (sonic) balance between strings- consistent tone and volume between strings. this will definitely record well. and it plays nicer than anything i have owned, and i still need to set it up for 10s. string height is a little diff btwn string, intonation is not dialed in.. but im sure this is nothing

biggest thing that keeps me from really loving it is i was hoping for more openness and a little less mud. i suppose i will pair it with a set of complementary (scooped sounding) pickups. maybe i will be pleasantly surprised. maybe then it will come together.

cheers all

[Lefty]

great, the photo gallery seems to have worked. you may notice that there is some kind of lint or miniature dead bug in the lens of my phone/camera. that is not a blemish on the instrument.

overall i have to say i am a little underwhelmed with the tone, and it needs a setup. i special ordered swamp ash because i thought it would give a richer tone with more character than the alder. maybe i got a heavy piece. the (acoustic) sound reminds me of a dual humbucker schecter i sold. certainly not as muddy or lackluster/cheap sounding. but i expected a cleaner sound with more high end. again i am speaking acoustically, or just thru a DI into a recorder.

what i like is the (sonic) balance between strings- consistent tone and volume between strings. this will definitely record well. and it plays nicer than anything i have owned, and i still need to set it up for 10s. string height is a little diff btwn string, intonation is not dialed in.. but im sure this is nothing

biggest thing that keeps me from really loving it is i was hoping for more openness and a little less mud. i suppose i will pair it with a set of complementary (scooped sounding) pickups. maybe i will be pleasantly surprised. maybe then it will come together.

cheers all

You might want to try another brand of strings before you give up on the stock pickups. I had been using GHS Rollerwound Nickel Rockers on my G&L guitars & they sounded much better (to my ears) than the stock D'Addario's. Then I tried Curt Mangan Fusion-matched Pure Nickel 10-48 strings: http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/cumafumapuni.html My Bluesboy came alive!! I have since put those strings on my ASAT Special & my ASAT Classic - The sparkle & clarity of each note is outstanding. (You can also shop @ http://www.Curtmangan.com to select different gauge strings.) Might be worth a try?

[Monahan]

Great photos! Love G&Ls burst finishes-- they've got some truly talented folks there

I'm with Lefty about the strings. My favorites are the GHS Nickel Rockers. They feel great and have a warm tone to them. The D'Adddarios sound too bright to my ears, but sometimes thats a good thing depending on the kind of band you're playing with, and of course the guitar. Either way, strings make a big difference.

[n0nspaz]

thank you guys
i will do some research on strings. have never used nickel. i have ghs boomer 10s on there now.

incidentally i am used to kinking the string around itself when restringing, not just putting the string in the post and winding around it as it is recommended for these types of split shaft posts. but i cannot keep it in tune. i am new to this type of string winding but a 30yr player.....i think i will go back to giving the strings that 'reverse kink' if you know what i mean. because i cant keep it in tune. (i will post pictures if this is unclear)

also realized that i put a 500k mid pickup in my old strat (which i was comparing the sound of the Legacy to), so the old strrat mid pup definitely has an advantage in brightness there. with a custom wiring scheme too.... i am comparing apples and pears in a way. i think i just need to tweak this guitar, maybe even change a pot value. some like to keep things stock and that is cool, but to me i need to hot rod things to try to find the tone i want.

i think with a really sweet well-made, balanced instrument like this , the tone will come eventually. and the playability is pretty close to pure luxury already.

good playing !

[cbm]

I know that this is an old thread but, IMO, the key to the Legacy is the way the tone controls work. Once I got used to leaving the bass on 5-ish, I started liking my Legacy Special a lot more. My general recipe is to leave the bass on 5, treble all the way up, and volume on 7-ish, which ends up with the Legacy Special reminding me of a Strat: not really sounding like a Strat, just reminiscent of one.

[n0nspaz]

agreed... rolling off the bass to 6-7 and the treble just a tad is hitting a sweet spot for me lately

but the biggest improvement was upgrading to a new cable http://www.guitarfetish.com/10-Foot-Low ... p_100.html has scooped the sound enough to help bring out some more personality in this Legacy. more sparkle, more punch, less mud than my old 20' Spectraflex from the 80s, which is not my darkest sounding cable by any means. big difference.

remember i am going direct into an active DI then into amp simulators in a computer, not into an amp so YMMV

and it's not that one component is better than another..but matching the electronics to the instrument is the thing (wine & food..?) i need a cleaner sound from it so pairing a guitar like this with a lot of 'body' to it with cleaner cable or pickups is working great. to me the tone is the best of both worlds now, bigger and fuller than a Strat, but clearer more distinct notes with much more tooth and texture.