- The Interceptor Guitar & Bass:Introduction and history
- The Interceptor Guitar & Bass:1st X-body Interceptor II
- The Interceptor Guitar & Bass:1st X-body Interceptor III
- The Interceptor Guitar & Bass:2nd X-body Interceptor HH
- The Interceptor Guitar & Bass: 3rd style Interceptor SSS
- The Interceptor Guitar & Bass: The Interceptor Bass
This is not to say you wouldn’t be able to buy an X-body Interceptor. As stated in the Introduction, Dale would never forego a good sale. I know that my friend Jeff Gruwell has a beautiful Clear Red X-body Interceptor HH built in 1991 with some interesting changes. It has an 1st style X-body with more wood behind the DFV. Furthermore, there is a Schaller humbucker in the neck but the bridge pickup consist of 2 S-500 pickups combined together; an idea Leo was playing with up to the day he passed away.
But the main offering was a model with a rounded butt, long sharp horns and rear-mounted controls. The 3rd style Interceptor could still be had with 3 single-coil MFDs or 2 Schaller humbuckers as before. But now one could also get it in a new HSS configuration: a Schaller humbucker in the bridge and 2 Skyhawk MFD single-coil pickups in the middle and neck positions. This ad shows the model announced as being ”NEW FOR ’88” and first included in the January 1, 1988 price list:
Today’s column will feature 2 Interceptor HSS guitars. Treating them side-by-side allows the discussion of variety of features available on many G&Ls of the day, ranging from vibrato unit to string locking mechanisms to color scheme.
Here are the 2 guitars, a Purple/Black one with a Kahler 2320 flat mount fine-tuner vibrato (S/N G023765) with neck date of SEP 08 1988 and a Tan/Gold Sparkle (S/N G024286) with neck date OCT 12 1988, looking very similar to the instrument featured in the ad slick above (with two main differences discussed below).
The only difference is the Leo Fender Vibrato Lock, a neat little thing mainly helpful when you want to change strings because it does not lock the vibrato arm from being pushed down, it's normal mode of operation. Notably, both have the 2nd generation of the Leo Fender Vibrato (aka Leo Fender Fine-Tuner Vibrato) with 2 arm bosses. Also note the featured Tan/God Sparkle Interceptor HSS only has 2 springs, compared to the usual 3 with "copper" spring in the middle, to provide the restoring force.
All of my other guitars with a Kahler 2320 unit have the "Black Krome" version; this one is the standard chromed vibrato:
Those familiar with the Invader model will already have noticed that the control lay-out and functionality of the Interceptor is identical to that model. The 3 mini-toggle switches allow each pickup to be turned on or off and otherwise there is just a master volume and master tone control.
These pictures also show the beveling of the edges and the beauty of the 2 color scheme:
Back to the wiring, given the simplicity of the electronics the harness is fairly uncomplicated and looks clean:
Both guitars have beautiful rosewood fingerboards on pre-BBE #4 necks, i.e. 25" radius and 1¾" nut width. Definitely more appropriate for guitar pyrotechnics!
The Purple/Black Interceptor with Kahler vibrato has an (after-market) Kahler String Lock Pro installed, which makes string changes a lot easier, and G&L stamped (Schaller) closed tuning machines. The Tan/Gold Sparkle uses Sperzel Locking machines to add tuning stability.
One other main difference with the previous (X-body) Interceptors is the headstock. Ray Ransdell redesigned it by taking off the G&L teat, stylized the lower curve a bit more, and the model logo became more block like. All these changes accentuated the overall "aggressive" look of the model. The headstock on a 2nd X-body Interceptor HH is provided for comparison in the center. This shape headstock was subsequently used on the Invader and all non-Signature Skyhawks and Comanches.
The sound of these instruments is amazing: powerful and rocking. Many like the bridge pickup to be hotter but I have grown fond of these Schaller humbuckers which were custom wound for G&L. In my opinion, the good relationship between Leo Fender/Dale Hyatt and Helmut Schaller has been a boon to G&L at many times during its first 10 years of existence. And it should not be overlooked that with about 92 produced, also this version of the Interceptor is exceedingly rare. Unfortunately I have no knowledge how this number breaks down between SSS, HH, and HSS configurations but the Registry and Gallery as of January 2021 shows these numbers and examples:
- 3rd style Interceptor SSS: 2
- 3rd style Interceptor HH : 3 (ex: Steve Kellett's 1988 Interceptor HH)
- 3rd style Interceptor HSS: 8 (ex: Joe Maas' 1987/1988 Interceptor HSS, Jim DePitts' 1989 Interceptor HSS, Brad Traweek's 1991 Interceptor HSS)
The next installment features one of the other rare pickup configurations: a 3rd style Interceptor SSS!
- Jos
But you are right. That is a 2nd generation Leo Fender Vibrato on the Interceptor in the ad as wells as the Tan/Gold Sparkle Interceptor in this thread.
My question was whether there will be an additional account of the 3rd body HH model). I've found the Interceptor page on your yowhatsshakin site and it's fantastic. But if there is anything else on this model, obviously I am keen to check it out.
