2013 Fallout - No Coil Splitting. What Gives?

[Michael_B]

I just picked up a used 2013 Fallout (USA). I was surprised and disappointed to see that it didn't feature a coil-split HB. Was coil-splitting a feature that was added later?

Also, the finish on the back is pretty poor; horizontal lines are visible through the finish. It gives it kind of a broken mirror or checkered look.

I can't imagine that Fallouts are being knocked off in China. Was I just unlucky? Or is there some other explanation?

[Craig]

I just picked up a used 2013 Fallout (USA). I was surprised and disappointed to see that it didn't feature a coil-split HB. Was coil-splitting a feature that was added later?

Also, the finish on the back is pretty poor; horizontal lines are visible through the finish. It gives it kind of a broken mirror or checkered look.

I can't imagine that Fallouts are being knocked off in China. Was I just unlucky? Or is there some other explanation?

You do know that the coil-split feature is activated from the tone pot, which is a push/pull pot? See the US Fallout Specification page on G&L main website.
Did you receive the Custom Build Specification Sheet with this used guitar? If so, you should see that coil split feature is mentioned. If it's not there,
I suspect that a previous owner replaced the pot and intentionally removed it.

Regarding the back finish: please post some photos of the back, so that we can see it. Perhaps it's just belt buckle rash from a previous owner.

Where are you seeing Fallout knock offs from China? If you are referring to the Tribute Series Fallout models, they are built for G&L in Indonesia. They are almost as
good as the US models built in Fullerton, CA.

See this post for details about our site, including a Tutorial for posting photos here.

Hope this helps.

[jdavies]

My USA fallout doesn't have a coil split either ( I don't need it) but I was informed that the early US fallouts were built this way and could be modified under warranty if desired. It is still a great guitar and is the one that gets used the most.
cheers
Jeremy

[Michael_B]

My USA fallout doesn't have a coil split either ( I don't need it) but I was informed that the early US fallouts were built this way and could be modified under warranty if desired. It is still a great guitar and is the one that gets used the most.
cheers
Jeremy

That's good to know. I was puzzled by the difference between the commonly reviewed/discussed feature and the guitar I have.

The spec sheet made no reference to it, but I thought it was a standard feature, so I was confused.

Overall, I'm happy with it's tone. While it doesn't have quite the tone range that I had hoped for, it gives me what I want, most of the time. I'll still look into that warranty upgrade.

The finish was a bit of a disappointment. This is my first G&L and I had heard a lot about the company's dedication to quality. At the risk of raising fire on a G&L forum, the finish on this particular unit was less refined than the China-made Fenders that I have been seeing, lately: the fret dressing is rough and the finish on the back has horizontal lines running along it, which makes it look as if the finish was applied in 5/8" strips. I suspect it's residual from the wood grain. It's not a glaring problem, at all- just a surprise. If I can get it to show up in a picture, I'll share it.

Anyway, thanks very much for the helpful feedback. My experience with the Fallout hasn't turned me off of G&L, at all, and I'm still going to be on the lookout for a well-priced ASAT.

[Craig]

My USA fallout doesn't have a coil split either ( I don't need it) but I was informed that the early US fallouts were built this way and could be modified under warranty if desired. It is still a great guitar and is the one that gets used the most.
cheers
Jeremy

That's good to know. I was puzzled by the difference between the commonly reviewed/discussed feature and the guitar I have.

The spec sheet made no reference to it, but I thought it was a standard feature, so I was confused.

Overall, I'm happy with it's tone. While it doesn't have quite the tone range that I had hoped for, it gives me what I want, most of the time. I'll still look into that warranty upgrade.

The finish was a bit of a disappointment. This is my first G&L and I had heard a lot about the company's dedication to quality. At the risk of raising fire on a G&L forum, the finish on this particular unit was less refined than the China-made Fenders that I have been seeing, lately: the fret dressing is rough and the finish on the back has horizontal lines running along it, which makes it look as if the finish was applied in 5/8" strips. I suspect it's residual from the wood grain. It's not a glaring problem, at all- just a surprise. If I can get it to show up in a picture, I'll share it.

Anyway, thanks very much for the helpful feedback. My experience with the Fallout hasn't turned me off of G&L, at all, and I'm still going to be on the lookout for a well-priced ASAT.

jdavies' post triggered my memory about this, so I did a quick search of the website and came up with this post, which I had forgotten about: Fallout Expander Switch Question.
If you bought it used from a G&L dealer, you might ask them if they can replace the tone pot with the current version to get the coil-split function. Normally, warranty coverage only applies to New purchased G&L's only.
IMO, it' worth checking into.

Please do post some photos of the front and back of your guitar. And, again, do add it to our G&L Registry.

[darwinohm]

I just looked at the link that Craig posted and it was one of my posts from earlier this year. I also discovered that Craig had asked me a question about the build sheet that I somehow missed in my young age! The build sheet on mine makes no reference to the expander switch. I believe that some or all of the early builds didn't have the expander switch. Sorry for not answering Craig. -- Darwin

[suave eddie]

I'm wondering -- for those that have coil splitting capabilities on their guitars -- how useful is it?

The modified SC-1 in my avatar has a coil split, push/pull switch on the volume knob. I thought this would be a good idea when I did the final mod -- Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and '59 in the neck.

I never ended up really utilizing it much. I never liked the sound of the split bridge pickup -- pretty wimpy sounding and nothing like a tele style. The neck pickup while split had a pretty good sound and the split sound of both together wasn't too bad, but the volume drop is pretty severe. For this reason, the only use I ever found for it was switching from rhythm to solo playing without having to touch my volume control.

This guitar doesn't get much play time anymore since the ASAT Classic replaced it as my main guitar but when I do take it out, the coil split is pretty useless to me.

[Fumble fingers]

I use the crap out of my Fallout and I agree the coil split with the SD is not on the list of " favorite single coils sounds " , it's not even close as it sounds weak .... I never use it

[darwinohm]

My sentiments as well and that is why I haven't converted it. I have not been particularly impressed with any of my split coil guitars in split mode. They are usually weak and if I want a single coil sound I prefer to use a single coil guitar. -- Darwin

[Michael_B]

That's good to know. My only other coil split guitar is a Kokocaster and it does sound pretty weak split- I rarely use the feature. But, I chalked that up to it being a $300 guitar.

Craig, thanks for the guidance on the warranty work expectations. I was reluctant to hassle my local G&L dealer to do some legwork on a guitar that I didn't buy from them.

I'll try to get some pics up. Unfortunately, to get the light to reflect right to show what I'm talking about, I need good light- something I don't have in my house at night. And I'll log it into the registry.

[john o]

my les paul has an old dimarzio dual sound pup at the bridge. it's basically a 70's super distortion pup with a coil splitter switch. this was very useful and sounded great, when i needed something like a fender single coil sound. for a long time it was my only guitar and i gigged extensively with it from '77 til '97 when i finally got another tele, sometimes preferring the brighter and better defined single coil sound. there seemed to be plenty of output with this.