G&L

[Gary]

What happened to G&L??? I haven't been on here in years but 25 years ago it was humming along with a ton of enthusiasts. It seems as though it has no standing any longer among guitar manufactureres. I'm baffled!

[tomanche]

Welcome back, Gary. I think the brand G&L is doing ok. For example, they're building some beautiful guitars that get posted here.
The G&LDP (forum) is less lively than it once was. I think that's less a reflection of the brand's popularity and more about a general decline in forum participation. In my (narrow) field of interests, it's happening at the Collings forum, The Gear Page, TPDRI, bicycle fora, etc.

[Gary]

Perhaps you're right. It just doesn't seem as if the brand gathers the enthusiam it once had.

[SUaPYG]

I agree, Gary. G&L hardly makes it into the 'top ten' best guitar lists published in the media. Sweetwater has been fairly active in the BTO and Custom Shop arena of late. Perhaps Sweetwater is growing a niche for the brand?
A better marketing campaign out of Fullerton could help. But, then again, the Fullerton factory may be close to desired capacity.

[sam]

Hi Gary!

Always good to see folks back again. Yep, not as busy, but a faithful few and some new folks joining. There is some really cool stuff coming out of Fullerton these days. As mentioned, all the BTO / Custom stuff posted makes me wish I could hit the lottery and go on a spending spree.

Over the years people got busy and I’ve heard the G&L facebook page has some activity. Maybe old GLDP members are there. I’m not on facebook so miss out on anything there.

[DanDoulogos]

Hi Gary. I use an AI to examine the popularity of G&L guitars from its inception in 1980.

Essentially the brand is growing slowly, but steadily, with a loyal fan base.

I compared AI researched "brand recognition" and generated these popularity scores:
Fender: 100%
Gibson: 95%
Ibanez: 85%
PRS: 80%
Epiphone: 75%
Suhr: 55%
G&L: 50%
Reverend: 40%
Eastwood: 35%
Keisel: 30%

G&L is considered a niche brand in the boutique or enthusiast category.
G&L is praised for:
- High build quality
- Innovative features (like MFD pickups)
- Leo Fender’s legacy

However, The G&L brand lacks the mainstream visibility of the bigger brands and is often chosen by players looking for something different or more refined.

All of which is to say that the G&L brand hasn't achieved mainstream visibility, but that doesn't mean it is less popular than it has been in former days. The reality is it is more popular now than it has ever been, but it's popularity isn't mainstream - its more boutique/niche.

Clearly this message board is less trafficked now that it was when I joined in 2016 - but I don't chalk that up to the brands falling out of favor with its fans. Rather I think Message Boards like this are no longer mainstream. Social media has steamrolled over this format to the point where those of us who still post on here are just.. old.

There is something charming about a message board. It's old fashioned. You post something and people likely won't respond for days. Older folks who've posted in forums for 30 years or more, feel comfortable on a board like this - but the folks under 30? They're used to instantaneous interaction. A board like this doesn't accommodate people who have been raised to expect immediate interaction in every aspect of their life.

So I expect a lot of the "thinning out" of this board over the years, has much more to do with this format not being "social media", than with the popularity of the G&L brand.

G&L is almost as popular as Suhr guitars - and for a lot of the same reasons - they are seen as boutique guitars.