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[JimmyJames]

I have been a G&L fanboy since the early 90's. I got my first G&L in 1994. It was a black ASAT with a maple board. It was black on black with the big MFD pickups. I loved the look of everything being black. THe black pickguard was a metal pick guard with like a crinkle finish. I have not seen another pick guard like this in person. But i was dang neat. A local shop owner really liked me. We all hung out in his shop in Indianapolis. This was a time when ash trays were sitting on top of amps. The old school guys know what kind of shop I am talking about. I got a free music education in that store. I would go in and just hang out. I was encouraged to do so. A lot of the guys were much older than me. Pro Live Sound guys, drummer, bass players, singers, and guitar players would just hang out and talk. I learned so much without even picking up a instrument. Thank You Roger Alden!

I went in one summer day in 1994. I told Roger I wanted a Tele! He said "Why on earth would you want a Fender?". I responded with great confidence "Because Keith Richards plays a Tele". I thought that was quite the zinger. He said "You ever played a G&L" I told him no. I asked What in the world is a G&L? He gave me the low down.

I had a guitar to trade in a 400 bucks in my pocket. I had planned on trading my my guitar and the cash for a American Tele. Roger pulled down a used G&L ASAT that was 600 bucks used. I thought "Dang those pickups look really cool". I plugged it in and was blown away. It did not sound just like a Tele. But dang it sounded amazing and it felt better than the Fenders I had played. I really liked my LP Custom. It had jumbo fret wire in it. Any fender I had was done with the smaller wire. Feeling the jumbo wire, the slightly larger neck, and the bad ass look of black on black I was in love. To me it felt like a mad scientist has transformed my Gibson LP Custom into a Telecaster.

I told Roger my plans of trading my Strat and using cash (A new American Tele cost more than this used G&L). He asked how much do you have? I told him I had 400 bucks in cash. The guitar was tagged at 600 bucks. He said "I want you to own this guitar you need this guitar". Kepp your Strat and give me the 400 bucks. And I walked out with the guitar. The tax was included in the price. From there on G&L has always been my favorite guitar.

Now, I use a LP Goldtop live for a lot of stuff. It is very light and I have had massive spine surgery. The Humbucker sound of the guitar sounds great in my Rock N' Roll band. And to be honest I am a HUGE Jimmy Page fan. But I play G&L a lot live. I also use G&L's for about 80% of our albums. I hope you guys dont hold it against me the I own a couple of Gibsons lol.

A few years back our house was robbed. They stole everything but our cloths (no joke). They even stole some groceries. Oh and they did leave our furniture. They did leave a vintage amp and a Mesa Boogie at the front door. I think they ran out of time. I did have one guitar that was found later. A 1999 G&L Legacy that I had custom ordered. I used the insurance money to replace a lot of gear. i was not able to replace everysingle thing I lost but a good deal of it.

I am a firm believer that if you are buying a new G&L to order it. Since G&L lets you change any option you want I think it should be taken advantage of. Something you cant do with other builders and another reason I love G&L.

So with the insurance money I ordered a guitar I wanted since 2002. A G&L Will Ray ASAT. Woo Hoo! I got the semi hollow, no f-hole. Emerald Green metallic paint job. Mirror Pick guard. Rosewood board (I almost did Maple), and I got the Matching paint on the head stock.


My Current Guitars:

I have a 1997 G&L Bluesboy that is semi hollow no f-hole. Just like the Will Ray. Weight is important to me and my back. THe Bluesboy has like a Honeyburst finish and a pearloid pickguard. Seth Lover in the neck and the small mfd in the bridge. The guitar weighs 4 and 1/2 pounds! I was hoping my Will Ray wouldn't be to far off from this. But it weighs a good deal more. I think the metal paint, 3 pickups is why.

I have a 1999 G&L Legacy. It is Fullerton Red, cream pickguard, I got the orange colored civil war gun stock finish on the neck. I ordered it with the classic style pickups. The non adjustable pole piece pickups. I forget what they call those kind of pickups. But I put Lace Sensors in it. I know people talk a lot of trash about these pickups. But I always get tone compliments on that guitar. The Lace Sensor sounds really sexy with the PTB system. People say "I hate Lace Sensor, but yours sound amazing". Let me translate that for you guys: "I have never owned Lace Sensors, but I read on the internet that they are cold or sterile. So I tell people that so I seem in the know".

At one point in my life I owned 8 G&L's at one time. I have owned several others over the years. I only own three G&L right now. My Bass player likes mine so much he picked up a G&L Tribute bass. He loves that so much he is going to order a USA G&L soon.

I also own a Gibson Goldtop 50's tribute with humbuckers. I have a buddy that works at Gibson so my guitar is far from stock. I have shaved the neck heel. It has the adjustble zero fret nut. THis is AMAZING! if you walk into at GC store they are not going to have that nut set up. I am a firm believe that the guitar nut is 40% of the action. Being able to adjust the nut is a huge deal. When people play that guitar they say its the easiest to play LP they ever played. THe electronics are updated with modern Gibson circuit board and pickups. I love old school electronics set ups. But the new Gibson circuit board actually sounds reall good. THe push pull stuff sounds amazing. I also have the hardware from the new standards on it. And the Pickguard that doesnt use the bracket. Looks like it floats on the top. I let the satin finish wear in real good over a few years. Those satin finish wear easy. I then did a few coats of tung oil to gloss it up and did a few coats on the headstock. I shaved the neck heel and belly cut it as well.

I have a Gibson Midtown Custom in Cherry Burst. The electronics are wires 50's style with orange drop pio caps. I also installed Dimarzio Eric Johnson Humbuckers. I can not say enough amazing things about the EJ humbuckers. That guitar oozes mojo now. They are some of the best sounding Humbuckers I have ever heard in my entire life. It instantly added vintage vibe. The guitar looks like a vintage guitar but it sounded like a modern guitar when it was stock. That guitar stock would have been perfect for Metallica. I wanted a 10 years after vibe or something.

I have the Will Ray that I ordered that I spoke about earlier in my post. I know this was a long post. But I wanted to really give you guys a idea of who I am. I am a proud G&L owner and I am happy to have joined here. I have never joined a internet guitar forum before. Thanks for your time!

[Bluezhawk]

Hey Jimmy

Welcome aboard and to a great forum. I've not posted much here but from the posts that I've read, there are a good group of folks here. Its good to be with a group where you can get questions answered and learn from the other's posts

I've never had any guitars stolen but I know that must have been more than a shock to walk in and find your house in such disarray. Our church was broken in to recently and 2 guitars - I think 1 was a PRS and the other was Flying V - plus a Marshall amp and another amp. Fortunately, the thief wasn't too smart and tried to pawn them in the next town. Living in a small town in central Kentucky has its advantages!! All was recovered without any damage.

I had a Strat copy that was made by Dean, it was one of their early models that was really well built, much better than Squier's .I finally had the money to buy a used G&L Tribute S500. Bought it from GC in Dallas for half price of new and it had one little mar in the clear coat. Previous owner had put some really light gauge strings on it and it sounded horrible. I put a set of DR Pure Blues 11's on it and it could speak in that Super Strat voice that Leo designed it to be.
Found a Legacy Tribute at online at GC in Charlotte NC. Perfect condition except needing a good cleaning and setup. Couldn't pass it up it for $199. They actually dropped the price another $20 to help me with shipping. Other than a thorough cleaning, it took me about 2 hours to get the string height, tremolo and truss rod adjusted correctly and to replace the extra light Fender Bullets with DR Pure Blues 11s and again, it came alive. Great G&L single coil tone.
I also have a USA Comanche - also from GC online - got it for a great price too but I won't go into details about this one. Its a very bright tone and takes time to get used to it. I've been having so much fun with the Legacy and the S500, I've not played played it as much.

Needless to say, since I bought the S500, I've become a die hard G&L fan

I also have 5 other electrics and 2 acoustics. My wife keeps asking why I have 'all of those guitars?!?!" She doesn't see the parallel and objects when I ask her how many pairs of shoes that she has.....

Anyway, welcome to the forum. We look forward to reading your posts

[JimmyJames]

Bluezhawk, thanks for the warm welcome. i was worried my first post was to long. I just wanted to try and let everyone know about and what I am into. You never know if someone has been wondering out EJ humbuckers or something. And yes, our house being robbed was devastating. My son died when he was 3 years old. I have only recently been able to talk about. My G&L Legacy guitar I bought because of him. His name was Dakota. The Fullerton Red paint job reminded me of Dakota red. I couldn't handle having a small urn with my son it. I just couldn't do it. So I ordered that G&L Legacy and I put some of my son's ashes in it. The guitar was basically the urn. It was the only way I could think of having his ashes without killing my heart every time I seen. I can feel the vibe when I play the guitar.
So when they robbed my house they didn't just steal a guitar. They stole my son's urn. So when I put the word out to the community I knew I had to tell the story of it. I had to make sure everyone knew this was no normal guitar at all. That a guitar could not be more special than this guitar. I told a few people and they retold the story for me to all the shops and customers. I would get choked up when I talked about it. I had never had to tell people his ashes were in the guitar before. It was like my own personal thing. The community was very responsive. Everyone was on the look out for it. I warmed my heart that so many people were looking for it.
I am pretty well known in my city musically. Not to toot my own horn. But my band is popular here. To know everyone wanted to help brought a tear to my eye. One day a guy brought a guitar to a repair shop. He wanted to show it off to the Tech there. He got a smoking deal on it and couldnt believe how nice it was and how cheap he had bought it. As soon as he opened the case the Tech told him "You have to take this guitar down the street to the guitar shop right now. This is Jimmy James's guitar and you have to return it right now!". He told him the story of the guitar. The man who had my guitar was about 65 years old. He was scared I was going to think he was the one who robbed my house. He had bought it from a guy in the parking lot of a local guitar shop.
We had a description of the 2 people who had robbed my house. A neighbor scene the two suspects leaving my house. They were early 20's. The old man with my guitar walked with a cane is well known in the music community. There is not a bad bone in his entire body.
He closed up the case. I received a phone call at the guitar shop I worked at and was told I am getting a surprise being delivered. I knew what this meant. I shed a few tears of joy and excitement. The old man brought me my guitar and was scared I was going to finger him for the crime. I thanked and hugged him. It was a very emotional moment. All the employee's and customers were gathered around when I opened the the case and reunited with my guitar urn. My boss also offered the man a giant discount good for anytime on anything he ever needed in the store.

I had told friends and family that GOD would return that guitar to me. I knew without doubt it was going to come back to me safe and sound. I just knew it. It had been 2 months when it was returned. I thought it might take 2 years. It is the only G&L in the entire state that looks the way this one does. It could not be confused with any other guitar. I cried for a couple days after getting it back. Tears of joy.

I had never even thought of the guitar ever being stolen. The thought had just never crossed my mind. It felt like my heart had been cut out. I use to gig with the guitar a lot. Now you will hardly ever see it live. I wish they wouldn't have taken that away from me. By that I mean the stress of taking it out of the house and having to worry it could get stolen.

We now have security doors that also key lock from the inside. You can not get out of our house threw a door if you don't have the key. The frames are mounted into the house with giant metal bolts that cant be removed. We have the top of the line bars on our windows that would have to be torched off or chained to a giant truck and ripped off. We have video camera security as well.

Down the road, on top of all of that. I am looking at gun safes that are big enough for guitars. I don't think anyone can ever rob our house again without waking the dead. The doors and window bars are far beyond the standard ones.

I will try and post some pictures soon of my guitars in this thread. And I will post a picture of the guitar urn. That is if we are allowed to post pictures and I can figure it out.

[john o]

Welcome to G&LDP, Jimmy. Wow, that's quite a story and a happy ending with the return of your very special guitar.
Post some pics when you get a chance. Same for you, bluezhawk!

[Craig]

Welcome!

To post photos, see: Welcome! Read This First.
And, don't forget to add your G&Ls to our G&L Registry.

Looking forward to seeing your guitars.

[JimmyJames]

thanks guys! I will have my wife help me take some pictures this weekend. I am looking foreword to sharing my guitars with other G&L lovers. It is so great to be chatting with other G&L fanboys like myself. One thing I have noticed with G&L is this. You either LOVE them or you don't. And G&L owners LOVE their G&L guitars!

If I had to be stranded on a island with only one guitar. It would be a G&L ASAT. Or if I had to make a album using only one guitar. It would be a ASAT.

[JimmyJames]

I thought I would share a little of my music with you guys. i play in a band called "Double Plow". The lead singer and rhythm guitar is my older Brother. I do no singing and play the lead guitar. I have the my Will Ray guitar in most of the videos. This is our video for a song called "Backslider". It is about our grandpa and how he use to be wild and travel the usa. Footloose and Free as my Dad would say.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLSwklolE8w[/video]


This is a song called "Election Day". I am using my Gibson in this video. I had just had spine surgery about 3 weeks before we shot this. So my brother propped me up in a chair to shoot the video. it was the first video we had ever made. My brother does all the video and editing. This video was nominated for the "New Mexico Music Awards" for video of the year. And yes my brother really made moonshine in this video. I had to add that because people ask me if that part was real or not.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlKykKACfuo[/video]

Last video I will post. This is called "Can't See The Smoke". It was nominated for Rock song of the Year. But we lost that to the guitar player from Tesla. Yes, the Tesla band that was on MTV. He has a solo band and he recorded it in New Mexico. By the rules he can enter. It seemed a bit unfair to me but whatcha gonna do? That album received a total of 5 nominations that year. It was nice just to be nominated. We were the most nominated band that year. It was the first time we had entered a album for the New Mexico music awards. "Can't See The Smoke":

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7-1FyyYCwM[/video]

[Bluezhawk]

Thanks for the posts. Very sorry to hear about your son but what a great turn of events to get that guitar back. My nephew died 5 years ago at the age of 35 and my brother has never been the same. I know its hard, there are no words from others that can take that hurt away

I don't have the experience that you do. I was injured in a car wreck in '08 and medical problems turned up 3 yrs later. Had to leave the workplace at age 57 - yeah, older guy here. Basically, to fill my time, I'm able to spend more time with my guitar. I had been playing some while I was raising family and pursuing career but didn't have nearly as much time to devote to it that I do now.

I had a Gibson Blueshawk, thus my forum name Bluezhawk, loved that guitar and played it quite a bit. That is until I bought my first G&L. It started to spend more and more time in the case and after 17 years, I sold it earlier this year. Since I've sold the Gibson, I've changed my online name to GnLguy.
There is just something about the quality of a G&L, even the Tribute models, that you know that you a great instrument in your hands. I probably irritate some Fender owners when I've posted on a forum - 'Why play a Fender when you can play Leo's best??? G&L!'. I could see people not caring for that. LOL.
I've been asked why I like G&L better than Fender and my response is that I'm much more impressed with the man named Fender rather than the corporation that bears his name. I read that Leo & George Fullerton's intention when they founded G&L, that they were going to perfect Leo's earlier desigsn. Are you kidding me??? Perfect the Strat & Tele after all of those years that many in rock'n'roll swore by the Strat and country pickers the Tele? But when you play a Legacy or an ASAT, you know that Leo & George succeeded.

Thru some trading, I came up with more of an amp than I need but I love the sound of it and have very little $$$ in it. Peavey Classic 50/410 - I found my tone when I played a Classic 30 and traded the 30 even for a 50. Gained a Master Volume with the 50 which is a nice feature
My 50 is an early 90s model and has the scars to prove its paid its dues. Fender amps are great but the Classic line just struck me right when I played it. Thinking about stripping the original Tolex off of it and redo the amp in grey python. The material pretty reasonable and would make a good project for me this winter.
Speaking of Fender, I would love to have a Princeton Reverb or a Deluxe Reverb but with the price that they bring on the used market, I'll keep playing my Peavey. I also have a Blackstar ID Core 20 for general practice. Its a stereo amp and surprisingly sounds really good for a small amp. I like it much better than the Fender Mustang amp that I used to own

[JimmyJames]

Thank you Bluezhawk. I am just happy that God and the Universe returned the guitar to me. Out of all the stuff that was stolen that was the one thing that came back. And in my heart I knew it would be returned to me. Having to tell the story behind the guitar people helped me in a way. It made it easier to talk about over time.

I am going to get some pictures of my guitars up very soon. My wife is going to try and help me. I am excited to show off my guitars.

[sam]

Hey Jimm,

Welcome and I dig yer sound. I'm a Will Ray guitar fan too. Jump in more often, post pics and more videos as well.

[JimmyJames]

Thanks bro. I will do just that. My wife is working on a art project right now. After that she is going to help me take pictures of my gear. I can wait for you guys to see my stuff.

My Will Ray, at every single gig I have at least one person come up and tell me how cool it is. Guitar player or non player. In fact I have more non players come up and compliment it and ask to look at it closer. I dreamed about owning one for so many years and it is great to finally have one.

[JimmyJames]

Hey Jimm,

Welcome and I dig yer sound. I'm a Will Ray guitar fan too. Jump in more often, post pics and more videos as well.

is that a picture of you? The picture box under your name on the left of the screen. WIth the cowboy boot and geetar

[john o]

looks like jerry garcia in slimmer days.
sam's just as cool...

[JimmyJames]

Ah right on man. Funny thing, I thought this guy kinda looks like Jerry in a strange way. I have never seen that picture of him before. I got to see The Dead in Indiana a few days before Jerry died. Damn great show!

[JimmyJames]

Ok Fella's I think I have this sorted. I will post a few guitar pics here. If it works, (I am new to using a forum) I will post all the guitar picks the the picture section. Here goes nothing. And thanks again for the warm welcome.


My G&L Bluesboy:



My G&L WR


Ok, it seems it appears to work. I will get all my pics in the picture section. I hope you guys check my babies out.

[yowhatsshakin]

Mr JimmyJames, these are some beauties!! Especially like the WR Sig and its color but given the color of my own WR Sig I am definitely biased in that

The Bluesboy has a beautiful book-matched top to boot.

Congrats!

- Jos

[sam]

Howdy Jimmy,

Beauties ya posted, my WR is the silver sparkle variety. Is the Bluesboy double bound?

Yep, the good Dr is correct, Jerry in his younger skinner days. I found that picture years ago and seemed to fit me and general feel so it was saved ASAP. My hair is a shorter these days and no beard / mustache. Been a Jerry and Dead fan for a long strange time. Was at the last shows they played in Chicago before Jerry died, our paths may have crossed then.

[JimmyJames]

Mr JimmyJames, these are some beauties!! Especially like the WR Sig and its color but given the color of my own WR Sig I am definitely biased in that

The Bluesboy has a beautiful book-matched top to boot.

Congrats!

- Jos

Thanks man. Glad to see other WR owners. I feel like we are in a secret club where only us and Will Ray know how bad ass this guitar is. So I was a little confused from your post. Is your WR green as well? I would love to see it.

The first G&L WR they sent me was Blue Sparkle. I was so bummed. I waited 9 months and they sent the wrong color. Everything else was right. The blue looked so dang good in person I almost kept it. But, I had always dreamed of the green one. I figure dropping that much money I should get exactly what I wanted. So we sent it back. The dealer contacted them. Four months later my guitar showed up. Man I was happy I got what I wanted. But now I have to own a blue sparkle G&L at some point. That Blue Sparkle paint job just looks to good. I am thinking a Comanche Blue Sparkle, with black pickguard.

Yes the Bluesboy top is great. The picture doesn't do it justice. I have seen other Bluesboys in person. I feel I got real lucky with the top on this one. I added more pics to the picture section on the forum if you want to see the rest.

[JimmyJames]

Howdy Jimmy,

Beauties ya posted, my WR is the silver sparkle variety. Is the Bluesboy double bound?

Yep, the good Dr is correct, Jerry in his younger skinner days. I found that picture years ago and seemed to fit me and general feel so it was saved ASAP. My hair is a shorter these days and no beard / mustache. Been a Jerry and Dead fan for a long strange time. Was at the last shows they played in Chicago before Jerry died, our paths may have crossed then.

It is only bound on the front. So happy to see another WR owner. Man silver sparkle is a great paintjob. I bet that looks sharp. What color is the pick guard? I would love to see a picture of it.

I posted more pics of all my guitar in the "Guitar Porn" section.

Both you guys feel free to post your WR's in my thread so I can see them. That wouldn't bother me at all. You guys can post them where ever you want if you have pics. I just wanna see them!

[yowhatsshakin]

Thanks man. Glad to see other WR owners. I feel like we are in a secret club where only us and Will Ray know how bad ass this guitar is. So I was a little confused from your post. Is your WR green as well? I would love to see it.

Nah, mine is Turquoise. But they'd have to tell me being color deaf; I do not see the difference between the 2 colors

Here's my WR Sig.

- Jos

[JimmyJames]

Wow that is great! I love the blue finish. Thats what they sent me first on accident. THey did the wrong color on the first. So you color blind? We the good news is the finishes on your guitars are so good people will never know. You should be a very proud owner!

[sam]

Jimmy,

Here's my Will Ray

[JimmyJames]

Aw man that is a sexy guitar. I really love that finish. It is really hard to not get the mirror pick guard with the sparkle finish aint it? I thought about going with a creme or black. I just could not do it. You should be a proud owner of that guitar. And I am sure you are