Serial # confusion - early 'v2' SC3

[RichardT]

Hi all, I'm very close to pulling the trigger on a well-used but very presentable and playable SC3, slab 'Strat' body, sunburst/maple, DFV. My first G&L if it happens, it would be joining a family of similarly offbeat gear of the same era - Fender Bullets & Leads, Peaveys etc. (If it doesn't, I'll be on the lookout for another SC, but they're very thin on the ground on this side of the Atlantic...)

What's puzzling me is that the serial # is stamped on the vibrato and is a very early one - G010***. Both of which would point to a 'Mustang' body first run guitar as I understand it. I know that factory floor 'parts bin' discipline was not perfect at the time, but I can't find another example of this mix of body style / serial location & (approx.) date. Otherwise seems fine, non-original knobs and (graphtech?) saddles but no sign of a rebuild, everything similarly aged etc. Alarm bells or just an unusual transitional mix of bits?

Any info/experience/random observations appreciated.

Thanks, Richard

[Craig]

Hi all, I'm very close to pulling the trigger on a well-used but very presentable and playable SC3, slab 'Strat' body, sunburst/maple, DFV. My first G&L if it happens, it would be joining a family of similarly offbeat gear of the same era - Fender Bullets & Leads, Peaveys etc. (If it doesn't, I'll be on the lookout for another SC, but they're very thin on the ground on this side of the Atlantic...)

What's puzzling me is that the serial # is stamped on the vibrato and is a very early one - G010***. Both of which would point to a 'Mustang' body first run guitar as I understand it. I know that factory floor 'parts bin' discipline was not perfect at the time, but I can't find another example of this mix of body style / serial location & (approx.) date. Otherwise seems fine, non-original knobs and (graphtech?) saddles but no sign of a rebuild, everything similarly aged etc. Alarm bells or just an unusual transitional mix of bits?

Any info/experience/random observations appreciated.

Thanks, Richard

We do have a couple of entries in the G&L Registry with serial numbers in the same range.
Here's the list of SC-3 with 2nd style bodies:
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/AUTOREG/int ... nter_fmt=1

You might contact G&L's Customer Support and ask Tech Support for the factory log details on this guitar.

Hope this helps.

[RichardT]

Thanks Craig, that's very helpful, not sure how I missed those 2 Registry entries but they do seem to suggest the existence of at least a few legitimate examples with an anachronistic component mix. I may well try to follow this up with G&L.

A Google image search also returned this old Reverb ad, apparently I'm not the first to come across this anomaly:

https://reverb.com/item/2930094-g-l-198 ... eat-player

Interesting that 3 of the 4 are sunbursts, not sure how the paint shop batch system worked but perhaps they are siblings....Thankfully the one I'm looking at hasn't been quite so enthusiastically relic'd - although the fretboard has been worked harder over the decades.....

Thanks again,

Richard