The confusing part to me is: There used to be a single tier of American G&L guitars, any of which could be ordered with the company's numerous finishes, woods, neck profiles, etc. And the thing I think gets lost is: You still mostly can. But G&L seems to have also created the specific 'Fullerton' packages of options so that at retail, a dealer can advertise a single spec. 'Fullerton Deluxe' or 'Fullerton Standard' depending on the tier of options incorporated. Maybe dealers wanted more uniform guitars, and the ability to associate what previously could have been labeled on paper as simply a 'USA G&L ASAT' with different price levels or marketing strategies. Again though - this doesn't seem to have killed the ability of anyone to order a G&L 'the old way,' since the 'Option Order' category exists.
It blurries things further, that there is now a 'Custom Shop' which goes above/beyond what 'Option Order' (aka the regular 'old way of ordering a G&L) ever did - But I don't think that's made obvious in the naming. Some people may skim the surface, and assume that Custom Shop now simply means G&L gives an additional up-charge for any personalization. Then CLF gets thrown in as yet another category. I think G&L is trying to increase brand-name recognition around 'CLF,' but to most casual guitar players it's not obvious what CLF means or that it's basically a 'Classic' series; especially since even the Espada and Doheny V12 are thrown into 'CLF,' and they together have just about as little to do with '80s G&L as possible, even if they're 'in the spirit.'
...
So back to the original point made about how the Skyhawk and S500 are about the same guitar - I think most of us were really happy to see the 'old' Leo style return vs. the new 'BBE' style, in part because we think G&L should never have gone away from the original body aesthetic. But I think it's a bit too late to go back and say the market doesn't now expect a G&L to be 'as close as possible to a Fender, but with better quality and engineering enhancements.' In other words, to satisfy both markets G&L probably has to make both the 'new' S500 and the 'old' Skyhawk at the same time.
Most here seem to express more excitement for the
future of G&L and the CLF series - rather than say running out and buying a new Skyhawk. We're aficionados who appreciate G&Ls old quirks, or would like an opportunity to buy/play one of the less obtainable early G&L models (like a Cavalier, HG2 , G200 , F100 etc.) So it's difficult to look at the Skyhawk, and think they're only one or two parts away from having the guitar we
really want. I can't really comment on this right now, other than it seems that G&L has shown a great spirit lately (in re-issuing the Skyhawk and 1k/2k basses in the first place) and still introducing new concepts like the Doheny V12 and Espada. G&L is not afraid to tool up things to give the market what they think it wants, so I'm excited.
So short version - My suggestions:
-Limit confusion by going down to only three series of guitars - Fullerton, Tribute, and Custom Shop. ('Fullerton' means anything from the Fullerton factory that isn't Custom Shop - So ex-CLF models, ex-Fullerton Standard/Deluxe, and Option Order.)
-Make it clear that a buyer of a 'Fullerton' G&L can spec. a guitar how they want, and similarly make it clear that a Custom Shop offering is ultra-exclusive. (If Dealers/online retailers want guitars with certain packages of options, then give them guitars with those options - but don't make it seem like they're getting something different than if a customer orders that same guitar.)
-Continue developing new 'historic' models and pursuing innovative concepts based on heritage - but I think the CLF moniker is more confusing than anything. At least this is where I think G&L is doing a great job: Think of the awesome guitars that came out in just the last year or two, onward from the Doheny
-Last: Sort out the terrible website design. It's awkward to have to pick from one of six(!) nebulously named series of guitars, and be thrown into an alphabetical list that doesn't sort by model
