The place to discuss, post photos, video, and audio of the G&L products (US instruments, stomp boxes, etc.) produced after 1991, including the amps & gear we use with them.
The lighting, the camera and the monitor you are viewing all make a huge difference in color. Without a genuine reference, it can be impossible to tell if you like it until you see it in person. Black is about the only color you can be pretty sure of. Of course you may already know all this but I thought I'd put in my tuppence for the record. I am a video engineer. (not that that makes me an expert but I know stuff.)
Another thing you need to consider is the age of the instrument in a photo. The photo of the S-500 looks to be an older built instrument than the other two instruments.
White and Vintage White will change to a creme or yellowing tone over time. Also, since you are interested in the new Nitro finishes, they will likely age quicker than the
Polyurethane finishes.
Here is G&L's photo of Vintage White on their Finishes page:
You really need to see the color on a G&L instrument in person.
Thanks guys for the replies. That's a good point about the yellowing with time Craig. I didn't think about that. I did email the sales dept. regarding a nitro lefty and have yet to hear back. I REALLY would love a lefty Bluesboy in this color, but it seems as if they determine the specs on their own and build them. In other words, no custom orders on the nitros. So we'll see what they say.
Wow, bummer. You mean that you can't order a current instrument with Nitro finish as an option? If I ordered one I would definitely want Nitro.
BTW, the pic Craig posted is about as close as you might get for comparison as it comes from the G&L site, has an all black background and hopefully the same camera was used. So, theoretically if you use only pics from there to compare new colors, they should be accurate comparisons but not necessarily exact as in person viewing. White is a hard color to depict. If that's the color you want and you are afraid what you see might not turn out to be to your liking in person, take Craig's point and see it in person. Makes ordering a guitar hard if you have not seen the color at a guitar shop or a friends guitar.
Good luck my friend, keep us posted on what you end up with.
They are built in small batches of specs which we determine, meaning no options or deviations.
So we get what we get. I agree it would be awesome to custom order one, but I also see it from G&L's side too. I think this run of nitros is to see if there's a demand for it. Perhaps if there's enough acceptance, they might be offering it full time as a standard option. Of course this is completely unfounded and purely speculation, but it seems it could be that way.
I'll have to find a G&L dealer around here who has a vintage white one to look at. I'm most certain there are no lefty VWs in the area which doesn't matter since I'm looking at the color, not looking to buy (yet).
FWIW, years ago I bought a beautiful American Deluxe Telecaster in white blonde, but when the guitar was delivered I was horrified to see how yellow it actually was. I complained to the seller and he was dumbfounded as well, as he used very recent photos for the ad. For whatever reason, as FZTNT mentioned, the lighting and camera can really distort the hue in an image versus how it looks in person. So yeah, as much as I live white guitars, it's the one color instrument I have to see in person before buying.