NGD - My First USA G&L

[yz250f49]

Finally got a USA G&L. Local mom and pop had this Used (Mint Condition) Comanche at a great price. Sold a tricked out Honda 50 (88cc) that I made some money on, and with a couple of pedals traded in that I never use, I paid less for this than a new Tribute series guitar.

Really love the sound of this, very chimey and versatile sounds available with the switching and all. This is great addition to my 3 other Tribute G&L's.

One thing confuses me, is all the ads I've seen over the years usually state that these come with a Swamp Ash body, yet this one looks like alder. What does it look like to you?
Now I see ads that Alder comes on a Standard finish. What is the difference between mine and a Premium finish? Just the body material?

Not sure what year this is, and searching the database didn't seem to clear up the mystery. It didn't come with a spec sheet and the decal on the neck is "CLF37xxx". Don't really want to take the neck off right now, as it just had a fresh set up.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[astutzmann]

that is suh-weeeet

[JimmyJames]

Congrats! Welcome to the USA G&L club. It is my favorite club to be in. And boy did you get a good one. Anytime I am going with a maple neck I have to have the tinted tung oil finish. On rosewood I just do the stock finish. But the maple looks so good with the tint. The Z coils are amazing pick ups. I have always said that MFD are my favorite single coils. But I think Z coils are just as good. I cant say one is better than the other.

You did great on this guitar. You should be a proud owner. Everything about this guitar looks sexy.

[yz250f49]

Thanks for the comments guys! Been playing it for the past few hours.


In the meantime, I think I answered one of my own questions regarding the body wood.

Found this on MF website:

"The Comanche Electric Guitar has a swamp ash body (alder on opaque finishes) with a gorgeous figured maple top."


Well, my finish is definitely not opaque, so that makes it Ash like I thought it was.

Next quest is to find the approximate year of manufacture.

[darwinohm]

Beautiful guitar! That is back when they still had the beautiful GOT necks! -- Darwin

[Tomas83]

That's a gorgeous Comanche. I'm not sure about the wood from the picture and the light I have here I'd say alder. It seems like a customized order, but I'm sure there are plenty of real experts who are gonna tell you.

[Fumble fingers]

the grain on back sure kinda looks like alder , more of a straight pattern .... or it least compared to my swamp ash guitars that are curvy grain .... either way its a beaut !!

[john o]

wow YZ250f49, that comanche is gorgeous! Try to get at least a few hours of sleep tonight!
congrats

[yz250f49]

wow YZ250f49, that comanche is gorgeous! Try to get at least a few hours of sleep tonight!
congrats

Ha ha, I'll try. I finally sat down to watch some TV.

[KenC]

That's a gorgeous guitar. I'd say the body is alder with a flame maple top. This is a factory option, with a very significant up-charge. Premium finishes are the transparent ones and Blonde. Standard finishes the opaques and sunbursts. Yours looks like Honeyburst, which is on the Premium list. You also have a birdseye neck with a GOT finish, so whoever spec'd this guitar out spared no expense!

The "CLF" prefix was used on American G&Ls from the end of 1998 to the present. The absence of a big ugly metal tag on the back of your headstock means your guitar is from the days when decals were still being used for serial numbers (a good thing, IMHO ). I'm more into the pre-BBE G&Ls, but some of the folks up to speed on more recent ones can tell you when that change-over happened.

Ken

[yz250f49]

That's a gorgeous guitar. I'd say the body is alder with a flame maple top. This is a factory option, with a very significant up-charge. Premium finishes are the transparent ones and Blonde. Standard finishes the opaques and sunbursts. Yours looks like Honeyburst, which is on the Premium list. You also have a birdseye neck with a GOT finish, so whoever spec'd this guitar out spared no expense!

The "CLF" prefix was used on American G&Ls from the end of 1998 to the present. The absence of a big ugly metal tag on the back of your headstock means your guitar is from the days when decals were still being used for serial numbers (a good thing, IMHO ). I'm more into the pre-BBE G&Ls, but some of the folks up to speed on more recent ones can tell you when that change-over happened.

Ken

Hi Ken, I think I read somewhere that they went to the metal tags in 2011, so I've narrowed mine down to somewhere between late 1998 to probably late 2010.
It surprises me that they didn't keep detailed records of the USA made units via the serial numbers.

Also, does anyone know when they started providing spec sheets that they give out with the newer guitars? I was thinking it was in 2011.

Is there anyway to email the factory with a serial number and get detailed info on a guitar? I'm guessing not from what I've researched.

[Craig]

That's a gorgeous guitar. I'd say the body is alder with a flame maple top. This is a factory option, with a very significant up-charge. Premium finishes are the transparent ones and Blonde. Standard finishes the opaques and sunbursts. Yours looks like Honeyburst, which is on the Premium list. You also have a birdseye neck with a GOT finish, so whoever spec'd this guitar out spared no expense!

The "CLF" prefix was used on American G&Ls from the end of 1998 to the present. The absence of a big ugly metal tag on the back of your headstock means your guitar is from the days when decals were still being used for serial numbers (a good thing, IMHO ). I'm more into the pre-BBE G&Ls, but some of the folks up to speed on more recent ones can tell you when that change-over happened.

Ken

Hi Ken, I think I read somewhere that they went to the metal tags in 2011, so I've narrowed mine down to somewhere between late 1998 to probably late 2010.
It surprises me that they didn't keep detailed records of the USA made units via the serial numbers.

Also, does anyone know when they started providing spec sheets that they give out with the newer guitars? I was thinking it was in 2011.

Is there anyway to email the factory with a serial number and get detailed info on a guitar? I'm guessing not from what I've researched.

Regarding Custom Specifications Build sheets, see this post in our G&L Knowledgebase: How do I determine an instrument's age?.

The factory does have records by serial number. Try contacting Chris Robosan (see: G&L Support).

Hope this helps.

[Nubs]

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what color that is. It looks to me like a flame honeyburst finish. Does that sound right to everyone?

[Craig]

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what color that is. It looks to me like a flame honeyburst finish. Does that sound right to everyone?

The color looks to me to be either Honey or Honeyburst over an optional Flame Maple top. The body is either Alder (custom order) or Swamp Ash (standard body wood with this finish).

[yz250f49]

Thanks Craig! I'll give Chris a try for more info.

[SouthpawGuy]

Nice one !

It looks like an ash body to my eyes, especially in the cutaway.

[tomanche]

Congratulations on a beautiful Comanche!! One of my favorite G&Ls. I'm going to vote for swamp ash with the flame maple top and the honeyburst. This spec with these more costly options (including the bird's eye maple neck and the gun oil tint) was what Musician's Friend carried for a long time in their catalog as their de facto Comanche. (I kinda wish they also offered a less expensive Comanche, so that more folks would try them out and learn how versatile and awesome they are, but...)

My Comanche is 47xxx and was built in June 2007. My guesstimate is that yours is 2006, perhaps 2005. The gun oil tint is from that era. You could search the Registry page on this site for a range of serial numbers and see when other guitars and basses within 100 or 200 of your serial were built. That would narrow it down but remember that serials and build dates are not in matching sequence.

You got a great deal and a wonderful score! I hope you continue to enjoy that guitar!!

[glvourot]

Nice Axe ! Play the hell out of it .

[yz250f49]

Congratulations on a beautiful Comanche!! One of my favorite G&Ls. I'm going to vote for swamp ash with the flame maple top and the honeyburst. This spec with these more costly options (including the bird's eye maple neck and the gun oil tint) was what Musician's Friend carried for a long time in their catalog as their de facto Comanche. (I kinda wish they also offered a less expensive Comanche, so that more folks would try them out and learn how versatile and awesome they are, but...)

My Comanche is 47xxx and was built in June 2007. My guesstimate is that yours is 2006, perhaps 2005. The gun oil tint is from that era. You could search the Registry page on this site for a range of serial numbers and see when other guitars and basses within 100 or 200 of your serial were built. That would narrow it down but remember that serials and build dates are not in matching sequence.

You got a great deal and a wonderful score! I hope you continue to enjoy that guitar!!

Thank you for the compliments! You were pretty good with your estimate of the build year! See below:

Well, I decided to email G&L with my serial number and here is what they replied with:

"It was manufactured in 2005.
Finish – Honeyburst
Body wood – Premium Grade Maple top over Swamp Ash
Neck - #1 Birdseye Maple tint and gloss
Pearl pickguard"


I guess not all Swamp Ash is created equal..... It's funny, the grain on my Swamp Ash Tributes (Legacy and ASAT) are more pronounced, so there's no mistaking them. I have seen Swamp Ash Commanches with the Premium finishes on websites that look real similar to mine.

[Case24]

Absolutely gorgeous Comanche you have there! Congratulations!

[Lacking Talent]

Had one just like this, I know you're going to enjoy it!

[yz250f49]

Thanks for all the kind comments! I am enjoying it for sure!

I plan to post it's G&L siblings in another thread real soon!