New To Me S-500

[darwinohm]

This followed me home last night. I am not well versed on the S-500 model and I have some questions. It has the toggle expander switch and is this a standard S-500? The serial number is CLF30991 which puts it at an early to mid 2004. I have registered is as transparent blue , which is also what my L2000 is registered as, but I find it hard to believe this is a clear blue. It looks more like a Transparent Teal. This thing has some serious Birdseye in the neck. Ginny is impressed and that is the bottom line. I traded my Mahogany Bluesboy for this as I have wanted a S-500. I am surprised at the tone. I expected a bright twangy tone and it is clear and fairly mellow overall but can twang a bit. That is a plus for me and how I will use it. Thanks for any info that you can give me. -- Darwin









She looks good with her big brother. I have enjoyed the recent S-500 pickup discussion, very informative. Thanks.

[glvourot]

Nice guitar. I picked mine a couple of months ago. I just got it set up the way I want it and it really shines. Very verastile. Your going to love it.

[yowhatsshakin]

Congrats on this beautiful S-500 Darwin!! And yes, looks like a genuine S-500 to me. Craig provided this explanation of the workings of the expander switch. As far as colors go, I have several guitars with a Cherryburst finish but they are most certainly NOT identical. Guess it all depends on the thickness of the coat.

Beautiful color BTW. But it is not red

- Jos

[darwinohm]

Yow, I am now down one Red one. Ginny thinks I could get rid of a couple more of the boring Red ones. Thanks for the link.-- Darwin.

[Muleya]

That's a great looking guitar, Darwin!!

[Philby]

Great pickup Darwin! Only the best ones follow you home so she must be good. I love the birdseye neck. You can always refinish her in red if you get red withdrawal

S-500's were invented for experimenters like yourself. You probably won't find truly authentic vintage strat sounds in there but you can get darned close by rolling that bass tone control back, or even adjusting the bass pole pieces down if you want to lose more bass.

The big bonus of the S-500 is the huge array of different tones available from the MFD's, tones that you can't get from a strat. I like the S-500 pseudo-tele tone that you get from having the expander switch on and choosing the neck or bridge pickup. I often make the mistake of thinking of the S-500 as a strat because of its shape. It has definitely got its own thing happening, so I hope you will enjoy it for what it is.

[darwinohm]

Thanks guys, Philby, I am not up on the S-500 at all. I saw this one on CL 2days ago in Alexandria Mn and was making a trip there yesterday. I plugged it in at the guys house and was surprised at how mellow this guitar was. I got home late last night, did a quick check of the neck and truss rod and cleaned it up. It has a beautiful neck to play and the adjustments on the neck are sweet. Today i completed the setup and she is dialed in for me. I finally plugged it in this morning. Keep in mind that I have bought many guitars without plugging them in because if they pass the looks test, I can deal with the rest. I was surprised by the range of the tone. The tone knobs were backed way off yesterday. I does have some quack and also very sweet if needed. I am not looking for a vintage Strat sound as I have several of those. I was looking for something that has range and that I like. This is definitely a keeper. All I have owned in G&L are Asats and Legacys. I was looking for something different and this one fits that very well. I also have the F100 Return but I will not gig that. The bridge pickup level was a bit low and it just needed to be raised a bit. It does have its own thing happening and it will be gigged in two weeks. The recent S-500 pickup discussion had me interested. So it fits in very well with my other G&Ls. I like the expander switch and the birdseye neck is a bonus. Thanks Philby--- Darwin. I still migrate to Red when I am looking. It must be a tic.

[SouthpawGuy]

Nice S500, congrats. That's a dead ringer for the clear blue finish on my Legacy Special, it looks dark almost teal like in most light but in bright sunlight it is a nice shade of blue.

[SouthpawGuy]

btw there are some pics here of the Legacy Special:

http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh98 ... 20Special/

The sun came out here in Ireland last week and I got some nice shots, the last pic in the album was taken at night with flash.

[darwinohm]

Southpaw, beautiful pictures and I saw more of yours on the porn thread tonight. I am beginning to wonder if you have you own factory building knock offs better than G&L with a world inventory of left hand machinery! You have a world class collection of leftys and I like the pooch in your avatar.--Darwin

[Craig]

This followed me home last night. I am not well versed on the S-500 model and I have some questions. It has the toggle expander switch and is this a standard S-500? The serial number is CLF30991 which puts it at an early to mid 2004. I have registered is as transparent blue , which is also what my L2000 is registered as, but I find it hard to believe this is a clear blue.

Hi Darwin,

Yes, both guitars certainly look like they have the Clear Blue finish (as viewed on both my PC Samsung monitor and my MacBook Pro).

The expander circuit was added to the S-500 in 1988 and continues to be a standard feature on this model since then.

Great looking guitar, congratulations!

Hope this helps.

[cmguitar]

Darwin,
Great catch!
I have been wanting a S-500 some day I have to lobby with the wife. To get another. My Legacy has a expander switch.(I have only seen 1 other Legacy set up like that) I do like it. It has its purpose.
I like those blue finishes.

Chet

[Boogie Bill]

Darwin, that's a nice one--I love the finish, and I wouldn't mind one bit if you needed to store that guitar at my house!

How is the neck on that one? All of my G&Ls are older, and I know they started to fatten up the profile around then.

Bill

[darwinohm]

Craig, Thanks for the followup. I found a guitar in the Gallery and it is definitely Trans Blue. When I mention this to Ginny, she said of course it's Transparent Blue. My eyes are apparently starting to work like everything else!

Bill, I will send it you way when I run out of room. The neck is slim and feels slimmer than most of my G&Ls. I traded the Hog Bluesboy and when the fellow tried it his first comment is that it was a chunky neck. I have measured the necks on my American models with a micrometer and they all measure within the #1 neck specs. That does not indicate a profile as such but the necks on some feel different to me even though they measure the same. I thought my mind was playing tricks but the guy thought the BB neck was chunky. So did I. I am going to measure the S-500 sometime today. Some else had mentioned that they were not expecting their S-500 to sound like a Fender. You have mentioned many times that you try to maximize the best of what you get out of a particular guitar for what it does best. That is where it is for me. If I want a Fender vintage sound I have Fenders I can use. BTW this s-500 is sweet. It this point I can't think fo anything I would change. I do have one issue and that is the trem arm is sloppy. The nylon bushing is in there, the trem collar is tight to the base plate but it has a click, click when you use it. The arm has too much clearance in the sleeve. It appears that the trem arm has no wear but the solution may be another collar. Have a great day everyone!-- Darwin

[Craig]

I do have one issue and that is the trem arm is sloppy. The nylon bushing is in there, the trem collar is tight to the base plate but it has a click, click when you use it. The arm has too much clearance in the sleeve. It appears that the trem arm has no wear but the solution may be another collar. Have a great day everyone!-- Darwin

It might be that it has the wrong size trem bar. There are two different sizes.
You need the satin finished trem bar and the one in your picture looks to be polished chrome.
See this G&L online store page.

Hope this helps.

[Craig]

I do have one issue and that is the trem arm is sloppy. The nylon bushing is in there, the trem collar is tight to the base plate but it has a click, click when you use it. The arm has too much clearance in the sleeve. It appears that the trem arm has no wear but the solution may be another collar. Have a great day everyone!-- Darwin

It might be that it has the wrong size trem bar. There are two different sizes.
You need the satin finished trem bar and the one in your picture looks to be polished chrome.
See this G&L online store page.

Hope this helps.

Darwin,

I see that you have several Legacys. So, you might try those trem bars to see if one of them fit better on your S-500.

Just a thought.

[darwinohm]

Craig, you are right on. I tried a different arm and that took care of it. The Legacy I put the S-500 arm in is fine after an adjustment. We are a happy family! Thanks for the info.-- Darwin.

[darwinohm]

I measured the neck on this S-500 and it is a 1B neck, about .800 and .910. It is slim. Here is a shot of the neck in different lighting. it is a birdseye but has a lot of flame on the back side.


And this little guy was in our back yard today. I have never seen one here in the city. Southpaw, I wish he was tame!


Darwin.

[Craig]

Craig, you are right on. I tried a different arm and that took care of it. The Legacy I put the S-500 arm in is fine after an adjustment. We are a happy family! Thanks for the info.-- Darwin.

Excellent, glad that it worked out so well.

BTW, that is an awesome neck.

Enjoy your new addition.

[Dave_P]

That is a gorgeous S-500 Darwin! Craig said it, but I'll say it again. That is an awesome neck

-Dave

[cmguitar]

Darwin,
I am going to hijack the thread for a second.
The picture of the possum.
Here in Dallas and the suburbs with all the new construction.Farmland and woodland is being turned into strip malls and subdivisions. It happens all too often here.
I live in town. I run across raccoons, possums,armadillos skunks,bobcats ect...
Last year the city had to close a park near where I live and set traps for coyotes. The city posted notices to keep all pets in your home. Coyotes were going into my neighborhood a getting small pets.
We are taking there habitats and they have nowhere else to go.

Chet

[bluvthompson]

Love the s500!! If you get a chance check out the semi-hollow version. For those of you saying you can't get a vintage strat tone out of an s500...guess what? The semi-hollow does it perfectly..

Here's my new baby (I can't stop posting her pic...I'm smitten)

[bluvthompson]

Oh yeah - also the vintage volume and tone knobs add a world of difference IMO. I tries a couple with the metal knobs and it just didn't seem right. Especially w/ an s500 where you really need the numbers to dial in specific settings that you like.

Just my 2 cents

[darwinohm]

Bluv, that is a fine guitar. I was looking at one exactly like it last March and the F-100 return that I was also looking at won the trip home. This S-500 is my first and she is sweet. They do have wide range of tone! Thanks for the pic.

Chet, the Opossum was here for a couple of days. A few days before it was -15 F here and I have never seen a live Opossum in Minnesota before. This week it has been in the 40s so I'm sure that he is happier. They are usually in the middle to southern part of the US. I have several good photos. Here is one more.-- Darwin

[cmguitar]

Darwin,
They are all over here. We are having a problem of animals coming into the cities. I am kinda of a conservationist so its sorta sad to me.
Even 20 years ago when I lived in Kansas City I would see them there. It did get as cold as -25, but the summers are a lot warmer in Missouri than Minnesota. I can see them migrating north Armadillos are.
It could have been someones pet who got out too. If it was letting you get close to it that might be the case. I knew some one who had a possum as a pet.
My wife rescued a domesticated rat like that. She didn't catch it it came up to her wanting to be saved. That's another story. But surprisingly made a good pet.

Chet

[Ribsspare]

Good stuff. I hope to get an S 500 model sometime in 2012. I'd like to order one from a G&L distributer so I can pick my color.

[Ribsspare]

Good stuff. I hope to get an S 500 model sometime in 2012. I'd like to order one from a G&L distributer so I can pick my color.

Well I couldn't wait so I ordered my USA S 500 last Friday and received an e-mail from the music store that it will arrive within 6-8 weeks. I chose the upgraded bridge as one of the options. Can't wait till it arrives. It feels like Christmas but better!

[darwinohm]

Glad you were able to do that. You will love it. Let us know how the new bridge block works. I hope that you have something to A/b with-- Darwin

[jwebsmall]

Besides the DFS what other options did you order? Neck #? Fingerboard? etc.

Darwin can you get ASAT sounds out of your new S-500?
What about Legacy sounds?

Thanks!

John

[darwinohm]

John, I bought mine used and I believe it is mid 2000 vintage. It has a quartersawn Birds Eye neck , maple fretboard, most likely a number 1 but I am not sure. I expected to get a very bright sound from it, more so that a Legacy but it turns out that it is quite mellow and covers most of the Legacy tones faily well. I would describe it a bit thinner than the Legacy. Others on this board may have a better idea. I like the coil switching option on the s-500.-- Darwin

[Ribsspare]

Besides the DFS what other options did you order? Neck #? Fingerboard? etc.



Thanks!

John

I ordered the #1 neck and rosewood fingerboard and alder body. I also ordered the locking tuners. Everything else was standard.

[BPM_WALDOCASTER]

I have an S500 story! I just traded for a brand new custom model at Grapevine Guitarworks in Grapevine Texas. It's my Avator pic, in fact.
Funny thing is this: it is the VERY guitar that was used in the G&L photoshoot that appeared in Premier Guitar Magazine this summer. Even funnier: the ad heading read "UNIQUELY YOURS". Creepy, eh?! Sounds and plays, AND looks great. This is my first G&L guitar, and I couldn't be happier. BUT...why doesn't my avator show up in my post? I'm new to this forum!

[Craig]

BUT...why doesn't my avator show up in my post? I'm new to this forum!

How did you add your Avatar? Are you trying to link to one on a server, or did you upload the file to our server?
I checked your user profile and don't see any of the Avatar info filled out. Make sure to click the Submit button
after filing out the Avatar information.

Hope this helps.

[BPM_WALDOCASTER]

Hi, I cannot get a pic that is less than 200 pixels ! I must be missing something, but even a tiny jpeg is too big. It rejects the avatar everytime I try. Any suggestions? Plus, how do I embed an image from my computer?

[Craig]

Hi, I cannot get a pic that is less than 200 pixels ! I must be missing something, but even a tiny jpeg is too big. It rejects the avatar everytime I try. Any suggestions? Plus, how do I embed an image from my computer?

Try this link to shrink your image: http://www.shrinkpictures.com/create-avatar/

Hope this helps.

[BPM_WALDOCASTER]

GREAT help. Thanks! And, check out the avatar! This is the G&L custom S500 I mentioned in the post above. The very guitar that was shot for the accompanying ad page. UNIQUELY YOURS, indeed. Or should I say, MINE!