G&L Placentia Series

[sam]

After making a post on a SDOTD yesterday for a Placentia Series Bluesboy at Musicians Friend I’ve learned a little more about these guitars. The Placentia Series is different from Tributes, it appears to have no G&L parts, made in the Cort factory, sassafras wood and made in China. G&L’s Squier equivalent or lower level maybe.

Is there a Placentia CA connection?

Does anyone have one or know anything more or have opinions in general?

I’m not sure G&L needs another entry level guitar but will wait to see how final product performs, and if it spreads the G&L love there may be a positive net effect.

[Craig]

After making a post on a SDOTD yesterday for a Placentia Series Bluesboy at Musicians Friend I’ve learned a little more about these guitars. The Placentia Series is different from Tributes, it appears to have no G&L parts, made in the Cort factory, sassafras wood and made in China. G&L’s Squier equivalent or lower level maybe.

Is there a Placentia CA connection?

Does anyone have one or know anything more or have opinions in general?

I’m not sure G&L needs another entry level guitar but will wait to see how final product performs, and if it spreads the G&L love there may be a positive net effect.

The Placentia Series are special builds for Musicians Friend/Guitar Center as Limited Editions.

The models are:
G&L Placentia Series ASAT Blue Quartz
G&L Placentia Series ASAT Bluesboy Espresso
G&L Placentia Series Legacy Silverburst
G&L Placentia Series JB Vintage White

The necks are Maple with Maple fretboard.
The bodies are Poplar.
The country of origin is China.

I have asked for more info on the pickups, bridges, wiring, neck construction.
I also asked what if any significance of "Placentia" Series and if the series will be evolving to other models.

Stay tuned.

[dhgleaves]

There's been quite a bit of discussion on the Facebook G&L groups about them, and most people have seemed critical or even hostile about the decision to make a cheaper line of guitars, claiming that it will lead to people devaluing G&L guitars. To me, it's no different from what most major guitar brands have done. Fender has many more levels, ranging from the various US series, to MIJ, to the MIMs, to various Squier levels ranging from very nice ones such as Classic Vibes, down to the Affinity, Bullet, and SE series, which are much cheaper. Having all of those levels hasn't really made people hate Fenders, but they might start with an inexpensive model then move up to a US model. Similarly, Ernie Ball has Music Man, then Sterling, then [the cheaper] Sterling SUB series. Gibson has Gibson (USA) then Epiphone, and even something called Maestro by Gibson (which had Gibson's name on them but sold for around $100 - I have one). Gretsch now has so many different levels that I can't keep up with what's what. If G&L needs to do this to compete, I'm not going to fault them. Also, if these models replace the Musician's Friend special edition Tribute models, then that might make it easier to tell the difference between them and "regular" Tributes. That is, currently there are already two levels of Tributes, but it's not always easy to know which is which when you see them on the used market. This might make it clearer, if they do in fact replace the GC/MF special edition Tributes.
David

[sam]

Great assessment David. My thoughts as well on the Squier and Fender similarities. Martin has a few levels of acoustics and I don’t see any devaluation in their guitars. In all cases buyers know what they are getting with basic research. I’m not on Facebook so I’ve missed out on that discussion.

Craig, thanks for the update your findings will uncover the build ingredients, looking forward to your report.

[Katefan]

There is Placentia Ave not far from where the oringal G&L factory was located. Dale Hyatt mentions it in the 2007 NAMM interview when talking about taking Leo to lunch each workday, That would be my guess regardimg the moniker / connection.

Cheers,
KF

[Tooslowhand]

Does this mean we're gonna need another Forum section?

[BX1018]

To me this is all a double edged sword.

Does G&L need more in the entry level market? Probably. Will it devalue your current USA or Tribute G&L? Doubtful.

I think the main thing here is the reason people like the Tribute line is it doesn't lose G&L's foundation of their technology. Without a Saddle Lock bridge or Dual Fulcrum Trem, it just feels like a guitar with G&Ls name slapped on the headstock, regardless of the country of origin.

To me, Fender played it smart with Squire, but I'm sure because G&L already isn't a big company, making a "sub-brand" would probably be less than fruitful. I get that the brand itself might sell a few guitars, but to me, G&L would have to have a lower price point then even their current Placentia line at retail pricing.

So will it get some new people into G&L? Maybe, but G&L has done a pretty poor job at marketing to any players in my opinion. Gone are the days of catalogs and trade shows. YouTube and other social media outlets are the way to go and they just don't seem to embrace that as a company. I like they do the band videos on YouTube, but what they need to focus on is showing off new models, features, etc. Get on YouTube and tell me exactly why G&L is a better brand than their competitors. Explain to people that G&Ls patents are based around Leo's post Fender innovation. Explain to me the benefits of Leo's saddle lock bridge, because I'd bet money that 70% or more of Guitar Center employees don't even know what differentiates G&L.

The tech and craftsmanship that G&L has shown me over the years is second to none. What they have yet to show is they can reach an untapped market of players through marketing in a digital age. Just my 2 cents.

[Craig]

Here is more on the Placentia Series:

Good morning Craig here is some additional copy regarding the Placentia Series Instruments:

“Placentia Series:
The Placentia Series is a new addition to the G&L family specifically developed to address new players wanting to get a high quality yet accessible G&L guitar or bass. Why “Placentia”? G&L Guitars is located on historic Fender Avenue which runs between Fullerton and the City of Placentia. The range itself offers iconic G&L designs, as developed by Leo Fender, but using some more traditional parts.
This new range supplements our highly successful Tribute and USA ranges.”

Feel free to share on any forum or to anybody thank you,
Steve Araujo

G&L Guitars
The Bass Hang

[Tooslowhand]

I think it's fine. I guess if they limit the line to instruments that don't require G&L specific parts like MFD pickups, DFV, and Saddle Lock Bridge, then the guitars are still "correct" with respect to their other lines. Though I saw an ad for a Placentia Legacy that appears to have some sort of DFV. The ASAT Classic Placentia was listed at $449 which isn't really all that cheap when compared to better guitars on the used market, so I'm not sure about the value proposition for them. Seems priced to compete with Squier Classic Vibe series.

Competing at the low end is pretty hard I would think, but I'm supportive of anything they can do to make money. I have a Squier Affinity Telecaster in butterscotch blonde that I bought used for $90 from Guitar Center. I bought it to play without an amp and leave at work so I didn't have to care if someone stole it. I was going to give it away at one point, but it was nicely built and finished, and played really well. Sounded horrible when played though an amp. Eventually I changed the electronics, put in some Don Mare pickups, and had it professionally set up and sharp fret ends dealt with. I love the thing and it probably didn't cost much more than retail for the ASAT Classic Placentia.

[sam]

It’s todays SDOTD at Musicians Friend, PSA coming

G&L Placentia Series ASAT Electric Guitar Blue

[Craig]

It’s todays SDOTD at Musicians Friend, PSA coming

G&L Placentia Series ASAT Electric Guitar Blue

I am surprised that MF/GC has not yet included the specs on the Placentia Series models.
Note that these will not be listed on G&L's main website because they do not list Special/Limited Editions as a matter of policy.

[mvician]

I ordered one from the SDOTD on the 25th. Looking forward to receiving it and checking it out.

[Craig]

I ordered one from the SDOTD on the 25th. Looking forward to receiving it and checking it out.

Please do post photos including the serial number so that I can add the serial number format to the G&L Registry. I am waiting
for details on the format from one of my contacts at G&L.

[dhgleaves]

I ordered one from the SDOTD on the 25th. Looking forward to receiving it and checking it out.

Please do post photos including the serial number so that I can add the serial number format to the G&L Registry. I am waiting
for details on the format from one of my contacts at G&L.

I don't own one but I did see one and noticed that the serial number format is definitely different. The first four digits were 2021, which I assume is the year of production, but that's different from Tributes where the first two digits are the year and the next two are the month. I also noticed that it had G&L branded tuners, which Tributes don't have.

David

[Gene Ell]

I got mine on the SDOTD and it came in yesterday. I'm impressed for a $269. Not sure I would have picked it up at $450, but I usually don't buy new and if I do I will usually get a demo or return.(or SDOTD) No sharp frets, pickups sound nice through my Blues Jr. It has a nice metallic finish that I did not expect from the MF pictures. I can see that the saddles do look like they are pot metal as I saw in a review somewhere, but I have a set of Graph Tech saddles I will put on it eventually. I didn't pull off the control plate to look at the controls but the volume and tone knobs seems to work pretty good and actually do what they should with no scratching. Selector switch feels sturdy, no scratching either. I'd say it's a keeper!

[john o]

nice looking guitar!
looks similar to the bridge plate they are putting on some tele's more recently.
those saddles look good to me.
?alnico pickups?

[mvician]

Serial Number 20210125

Unlike Gene, I'm not impressed for the price.

This is a typical Chinese build using low end parts.
I feel that I paid for the name and headstock shape.
I'm sorry, but that's how I feel about this guitar. Not impressed at all.

Had to dress the fret ends as they were sharp, not razor sharp, but not smooth.
Opened the control cavity, small pots, cheap switch, cheap wiring.
Haven't torn it down to see what the pickups look like.

Here it is next to my Indio Classic, except for the fretboard wood, headstock shape, and the logo on the G&L tuners they are identical.
The Indio I bought last year, this years model they have change the fret size and bridge, and done away with the string through body.
If I remember right, I paid like 105 dollars. This year you can get them on sale for less than 100.
I wouldn't doubt that these both came out of the same factory.

[john o]

Bottom line, how does it play, how does it sound?

[mvician]

Bottom line, how does it play, how does it sound?

Plays, sounds, and feels like a 100 dollar Chinese guitar.

[John C]

Aren't these just applying a new name to the limited run guitars that MF/GC have been ordering for years now? Also I don't think that many people buy them outside of when they are on SDOTD.

[Craig]

Aren't these just applying a new name to the limited run guitars that MF/GC have been ordering for years now? Also I don't think that many people buy them outside of when they are on SDOTD.

No, see this post: 2015-present MF/GC Exclusive Tribute & Placentia Series ....
Some of the Made in Indonesia LE models have unique features which are not available in the Fullerton made models.
The Placentia Series is limited to ASAT Classic Alnico models, a Legacy model and a JB Bass model.
All pickups, hardware and components are sourced by the factory in China (I think it is a Cort factory) geared for the beginner market and
sold exlusively by MF/GC.

[Gene Ell]

mvician: Maybe yours plays like your $100 Chinese guitar which is your experience and I would never try to take away from that. It did get me looking at the indio and thinking about doing a comparison myself.

But my experience is that mine plays better than the Squier Tele Bullet I wished I didn't buy. It plays way better than the Johnson Tele I sold that made me think I hated Tele style guitars. Mine plays better than the 2 Kramer Baretta Specials I tried to like. To me it is better than the cheapies, but definitely not top end. It does not hold a candle to my EVH Wolfgang or any of my Gibsons or Fenders or PRS guitars I have, but I think it was worth the $269. I would recommend going to GC and trying one before buying, except I would never pay the retail of $449.

[mvician]

mvician: Maybe yours plays like your $100 Chinese guitar which is your experience and I would never try to take away from that. It did get me looking at the indio and thinking about doing a comparison myself.

But my experience is that mine plays better than the Squier Tele Bullet I wished I didn't buy. It plays way better than the Johnson Tele I sold that made me think I hated Tele style guitars. Mine plays better than the 2 Kramer Baretta Specials I tried to like. To me it is better than the cheapies, but definitely not top end. It does not hold a candle to my EVH Wolfgang or any of my Gibsons or Fenders or PRS guitars I have, but I think it was worth the $269. I would recommend going to GC and trying one before buying, except I would never pay the retail of $449.

If I didn't already have other Chinese made guitars, I would think the Placentia was worth the price. But since I do have others, and ones that look identical to it and cost less than 100 bux, it makes me scratch my head. Chinese guitars have come a long way from what they used to be.

Indio has changed the current lineup, it's now a top load only with a different style bridge. But the rest of it has stayed the same. Currently they are on sale for 90 bux. I have the Red one which is last years version that has the string through bridge which is the same as on the Placentia. I also have 2 of the newer ones with a 3rd one being delivered on Monday. If you were to hand someone each of them with the headstocks covered, they would think they are the same "brand" guitar.

[mvician]

Well so much for that little "upgrade" I was going to do.
Bought a G&L neck plate. Wouldn't you know it, the China neck plate is smaller, holes don't even match.