NGD: G&L S-500 Tribute

[Nubs]

Pics first:







This was more of an impulse purchase but I’ve been eyeing these up for quite a while. It arrived Friday and I’ve been playing with it for most of the weekend.

I’m not much of a burst fan, but the body looks good with the black pick guard and pickup covers/knobs. And it works well with the vintage tint gloss neck.

I tried the tremolo once and quickly removed the arm as it really knocked the strings out of tune. But the bridge is comfortable for palm muting so no complaints there. The MFD pickups have that glassy bell-like strong tone that sets it apart from a Strat. Each switch position gives off a unique tone and the first tone knob is a push-pull to expand on tonal versatility.

The neck feels good with the 12” radius but I would prefer a satin back finish over the gloss it comes with. If I feel motivated enough to sand down the back, I will. But it feels solid and comfortable. The timers are quite nice also.

Overall a superb guitar for the money. I’m very happy with it!

[Danley]

Nice - I'd investigate into the setup of the DFV a bit, it's a shame IMO to have one and not be able to use it.

(I think I'm one of the only people in the world who prefers gloss necks.)

[DanDoulogos]

(I think I'm one of the only people in the world who prefers gloss necks.)

I like me a good gloss neck too.

[Digital Larry]

I picked one of these up recently as well. DFV is not a problem. Action as received was on the high side but I lowered the saddles and all is well now. And me too I'd prefer a satin finish neck like on my Squier Strat and Jazzmaster but it's not enough to make we want to do anything about it.

This guitar verges on "too many tone possibilities" for me, but the bass cut knob is quite useful.

[Danley]

You must have a Mascis? My Vintage Modified is gloss. The Mascis has better feeling satin than most Squiers, but I might still polish it if I had one

IMO bass cut is indispensable in particular for MFDs, once you get used to it. Other than that, I always get good use out of all five "Strat" pickup combinations- but that's just me, some people prefer a single humbucker and knob after all.