Questions regarding a recent guitar purchase - Is it a G&L?

[luwiluwi]

I'm a guitar and amp tech and this is my first time on here, trying to work my way around the site. I bought a guitar that had been put together by a total amature but it had some interesting features that I liked. My question is about the body which resembles a Classic III with a white or offwhite stain so you can see the wood grain below. It has a nice binding on the front and the back is cut away like the Legacy. The neck pocket has a date of june 10, 1999 and the number 56085 stamped in red. The neck P/U pocket is cut for a HB and has a bar code sticker with the number 0056085-999. The middle pocket is cut for a sinble coil and it has a round blue sticker with the number 9T23 on it. The bridge pocket is cut for a tele style P/U.
The guitar came with a tele MIM neck and a P/U cover that had been altered to accomodate the mid P/U. The bridge plate looks like a Fender american series, not the ash pan style.
There are grounding screws in 3 of the cavities; bridge, mid and control.
Just wondering what I have here; looks like a G&L but not sure.
Thanks,
Louis

[Craig]

I'm a guitar and amp tech and this is my first time on here, trying to work my way around the site. I bought a guitar that had been put together by a total amature but it had some interesting features that I liked. My question is about the body which resembles a Classic III with a white or offwhite stain so you can see the wood grain below. It has a nice binding on the front and the back is cut away like the Legacy. The neck pocket has a date of june 10, 1999 and the number 56085 stamped in red. The neck P/U pocket is cut for a HB and has a bar code sticker with the number 0056085-999. The middle pocket is cut for a sinble coil and it has a round blue sticker with the number 9T23 on it. The bridge pocket is cut for a tele style P/U.
The guitar came with a tele MIM neck and a P/U cover that had been altered to accomodate the mid P/U. The bridge plate looks like a Fender american series, not the ash pan style.
There are grounding screws in 3 of the cavities; bridge, mid and control.
Just wondering what I have here; looks like a G&L but not sure.
Thanks,
Louis

Hi Louis,

One thing might help here is to post some pictures of this guitar. The fact that the neck was replaced with a tele MIM neck is telling me that it is not a G&L body. Fender and G&L necks are quite different and definitely not interchangable.

[luwiluwi]

Hi Craig,
I couldn't figure out how to post pics until I noticed the IMG above, I'll try to post some now. I don't know how different the necks and neck pockets are but did I mention that it was a very amateur installation?

[ASATNoah]

Other people here can help more, but a few off-the-cuff thoughts. Wouldn't a G&L 3-pickup guitar have a bathtub route? And a hum/single/single 3-pickup ASAT would definitely be a special order, not to mention the belly contour, right? Or at least part of some kind of short run. Also, a stock Fender neck wouldn't fit into an ASAT body without chiselwork, so unless you see some of that, it's probably not an ASAT body. Because the body and cavities are painted the same and the labels/stickers (which don't sound familiar, either) are intact, I'm guessing that the guitar hasn't been modified to accept new pickups. So I'm guessing that it's not in any way a G&L.

All the more reason why I'm probably wrong!

Question to the OP: what makes you think it's a G&L? Thanks for an interesting post, for sure. I love a mystery.

[luwiluwi]

I'm trying to learn if it is a G&L. It's like a cross between a Classic III and an ASAT S-3, but I can't find a model with these two characteristics. The serial number, if that's what it is crosses to the Japanese numbering system.
The quality is superb. The thing about the neck not fitting - pleasae tell me why. What makes the G&L neck or neck pocket so much different?

[Marty]

I think all U.S.A. G&Ls have birthmarks, from where the alignment pins were during the build.
It looks like a small knot was filled just off center on the back, tail area of the body, since this is a translucent body you should be able to spot it if it is indeed a G&L...
Anyone have a picture to post of one?

[guitar_ed]

I might be wrong, but at some point in the past I believe that G&L and Fender bodies & necks were interchangeable. I remember reading an Ed Roman rant to that effect, and that G&Ls could not be the same scale length as Fenders because the neck pockets & heels were now different sizes.

Of course, I could be completely full of stinky cow waste.

edg

[jazzrat]

I believe what you have there is an American Deluxe Tele. Nowadays they have two pickups but the first generation AmDlx's from the late 90's. had three.
First year was 1998. The bound body is a givaway. The body should also have a contoured back. The stock control panel should have a mini-switch in between the vol and tone controls.
The bridge plate should be AmStd but chrome instead of brushed.
The neck is definitely not stock, an AmDlx should have abalone dots rather than black.
Here's a new two pup version i sold last year. Nice guitars.

[luwiluwi]

I think that you are absolutely right, Jazzrat. It's a Teleplus 2 Custom Deluxe, I posted pictures on my Facebook page and offered a set of strings to whoever correctly identified it. A 14 year old rocker from my church ID' it and I confirmed it last night.
I think this must have been something that was parted out on Ebay and was assembled with similarly auctioned parts. It did come with an original bridge and it has the noiseless pups. The P/G was routed for the mid pup and the control plate does not have the mini switch, nor a place for it.
I'm happy though - I'll put this back together right and welcome it to my collection. Wish I had the original neck though.

Thanks to all of you that contributed.
Peace

I believe what you have there is an American Deluxe Tele. Nowadays they have two pickups but the first generation AmDlx's from the late 90's. had three.
First year was 1998. The bound body is a givaway. The body should also have a contoured back. The stock control panel should have a mini-switch in between the vol and tone controls.
The bridge plate should be AmStd but chrome instead of brushed.
The neck is definitely not stock, an AmDlx should have abalone dots rather than black.
Here's a new two pup version i sold last year. Nice guitars.