Soon to be ordering my first G&L, advice and questions

[Copper Coyote]

Hello everyone, first time poster and long time reader here

In 3 months I will be finishing my doctoral degree and I figure the perfect celebration gift for completing 6 years of a living nightmare is to order my first G&L - custom spec'd

For the past year I have been debating between the Comanche and the Legacy 2HB. Two cool options on different ends of the spectrum. I decided it should be the Legacy 2HB (only bc I have never been able to play the Z-Coils, so I just wouldn't know what to expect)

Now, I have a few questions.

The first (1) where is the best place to order from if I want to special order it?

these options are the what I would like:

• - spanish copper metallic w/ matching REVERSE headstock
  - Stainless Steel frets
  - G&L neck profile "3"

On a google search I see 'MusicStoreLive', 'UpFront Guitars', and 'Axe Palace'.

I am wondering which place you guys have used and had success, since some of my options seems to be unusual (reverse headstock, SS frets, and different neck profile).

My 2nd and last question is this (2) the Legacy 2HB comes standard with SD JB/59 pickups, I've not been much a fan of the combo, would it be possible to have the guitar ordered with Seymour Duncan Full Shred's? it's a minor point, and I suppose I could easily swap the pickups out after, but I am just wondering if I can get it straight from the factory with Full Shred's (which may relate to which company I order it from) ?

Thanks

[Fumble fingers]

for me , Centerville Music Dayton Ohio , The Guitar Store Seattle and Music Source in/near Chicago will go above and beyond , all three are great G&L dealers

[blargfromouterspace]

I've ordered 3 from Upfront guitars - Gordon will help you out.

Those options, bar the pickups, shouldn't be a problem for any dealer who knows their stuff. I'd be asking if they could do one without a pick guard to get an '80s shred guitar look going on - they've made at least a couple of Legacy Deluxe 2HBs, they both look good. I'd also advise against the painted headstock - if you don't like the guitar you'll have a very hard time selling it. Spanish copper is a great decision, - IMO its G&Ls best colour.

[Copper Coyote]

Thanks for the suggestions guys

I never even thought about ordering it w/o a pickguard. That would look cool. Does that technically make it a "Legacy Deluxe", even though the guitar is a solid color alder?

I was considering the painted headstock bc they look really nice in the photos I was cruising on various G&L builds. Don't think I would worry too much about resale, my family wanted to help contribute as a "gift" for graduation, so it would pain me to ever sell it even if I wanted to, for sentimental reasons

Yeah, the pickup change wasn't a major point, I could just swap em from and stick the JB/'59 in one of my other guitars. I just wanted to gauge the waters and see if anyone had ever ordered a G&L with different Duncan humbuckers than the usual.

now it's choosing maple vs rosewood/ebony board and a bone or graphtech nut

[Fumble fingers]

yes it would be a Legacy Deluxe with alder and solid color ..... and it would look real cool ..... I would also order locking tuners and quatersawn neck

[Copper Coyote]

yes it would be a Legacy Deluxe with alder and solid color ..... and it would look real cool ..... I would also order locking tuners and quatersawn neck

Yeah, I was definitely going to go with 1/4-sawn maple. I have a few usacg project builds since 2005 that have had quartersawn necks and I have been very happy with the results.

I was on the fence about locking tuners or not since I have seen many people say "it doesn't make a tuning difference". But maybe I should just go with them for peace of mind.

[Fumble fingers]

locking tuners don't really hold a tune any better than non-locking , but they are so much easier to change strings it's more than worth the money to me

[meowmix]

Get the 1 11/16" nut width neck.

Normally, I suggest the 1 3/4" but they don't make those anymore. Get the next largest size.

No pickguard is a great idea.

[Fumble fingers]

Get the 1 11/16" nut width neck.

Normally, I suggest the 1 3/4" but they don't make those anymore.

they do still make number 4 neck and it is still a option for most types of G&L's .... the Cantrel number 4 is thinner than the normal number 4

[MHoepfl]

Welcome to the boards, and congrats on your degree! Doctoral work is no joke.

I just bought my first USA G&L. Having bought mine online, I would say that the deciding factor in where you purchase (online vs. a local dealer) could/should be how confident you are in your ability to perform your own setup work.

I'm a very new player, and setup work still makes me a little squeamish - let alone on my first brand-new American instrument. With the online purchase, the instrument was set up (very well, in their defense) and then put through three days of FedEx in Northeastern/Mid-Atlantic winter. A lot of me wishes that I'd purchased it from a local dealer, so the only travel time between dealer set-up and my living room was about a half hour in my heated car. It would also be nice to have a local guitar tech to stand behind the instrument.

That said, I bought my bass online and I had a very nice time of it. The pricing was very nice, and my rep did a fantastic job getting me through the process and getting my bass to me.

[jeffmarshall67]

Call the Guitar Store in Seattle. Top notch. As with any custom order, go over every single detail 3 times!

Why would a painted headstock make a guitar less desireable? I have a S500 I ordered last year in Spanish Copper with painted headstock and it is incredible looking
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q280 ... cf7dd3.jpg

[Copper Coyote]

Call the Guitar Store in Seattle. Top notch. As with any custom order, go over every single detail 3 times!

Why would a painted headstock make a guitar less desireable? I have a S500 I ordered last year in Spanish Copper with painted headstock and it is incredible looking
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q280 ... cf7dd3.jpg

Oh hey! I think I saw your guitar on a google search last week when I was thinking about a rosewood G&L with a matching headstock in SC

Yeah, that looks nice! color tone of the rosewood matches well with the copper.

ok, 2nd time I have seen GS in Seattle me in this thread. This week I think I will call both UpFront Guitars and GS Seattle to price things out and see if there is any difference

All my guitars are 1 11/16"s nut width, I think going up to 1 3/4" might feel a bit weird for me.



I have seen conflicting reports on this, does anyone know the answer: Do the USA model G&L's come standard with the STAINLESS Vibrato system, or is that considered an upgrade, and Chrome is the standard?

[Craig]

I have seen conflicting reports on this, does anyone know the answer: Do the USA model G&L's come standard with the STAINLESS Vibrato system, or is that considered an upgrade, and Chrome is the standard?

No, the DFS Vibrato system is a bridge option. The DFS bridge first came out as standard on the 30th Anniversary F-100, Legacy and S-500 Special
Build Collection. After that, the DFS bridge became an optional bridge type for standard production models. See: Current US Bridge Options.
Also a new option, beginning with the 2014 Price List is: G&L DFS Dual Fulcrum - cold rolled steel block only.

Hope this helps.