Fred Finisher
Music Man Proto
Date: 01/01/80
One of the first CLF guitars with passive pickups and adjustable pole pieces
G&L protos 002
Date: 01/01/80
This guitar was first designed to be a lower cost passive pickup Sabre. The pickup design later became the G&L F-100 design
G&L-protos 004
Second proto from sale of Leo's office instruments
Date: 01/01/80
This guitar has three single coil pickups but the e strings are fixed poles. I was told at the time it was going to be called the T-400 but Peavey already had the rights to that name, but I'm not sure of the accuracy of that statement.
G&L protos 007
Proto three from Leo's sales
Date: 01/01/80
The pickups in this SC model were the first of the slimline humbuckers. You can see the original holes in the center. The guitar had the normal sealer coat only when I bought it, but I thought I would experiment with a "generic" finish. Dale Hyatt saw it when I did it and said he would have liked to have taken it to the NAMM show.
G&L protos 008
Date: 01/01/80
The weight was a wild guess at the time, it is actually closer to seven pounds. This guitar was done at the time when supermarkets began to introduce generic products and the labels looked just like this, at least in So.Cal.
G&L protos 032s
Leo signed this for me. Unfortunately I gave him a pen that did not write very darkly so it looks like it faded over time. The signature was written before the last coats so it is permanent.
Date: 07/26/12
Leo signed this for me. Unfortunately I gave him a pen that did not write very darkly so it looks like it faded over time. The signature was written before the last coats so it is permanent.
El Toro body shot
This is one of two El Toro proto basses that were made prior to production. The parts were hand cut and made by George. This is currently on display in Fullerton at the Fender Museum bass exhibit
Date: 03/27/12
This is one of two El Toro proto basses that were made prior to production. The parts were hand cut and made by George. This is currently on display in Fullerton at the Fender Museum bass exhibit
Sabre Bass Proto Body
This was destined for destruction after the Sabre proto bass was disassembled. It was found during the clean out of all the Music Man inventory during the CLF / G&L change over.
Date: 03/27/12
This was destined for destruction after the Sabre proto bass was disassembled. It was found during the clean out of all the Music Man inventory during the CLF / G&L change over.
Sabre Bass Proto neck cavity
Neck Cavity of the Sabre Bass proto. The initials are from John Quarterman who was the finish department supervisor at the time.
Date: 03/27/12
Neck Cavity of the Sabre Bass proto. The initials are from John Quarterman who was the finish department supervisor at the time.
Bam Mag. and Leo's Card
Bam magazine ( Bay Area Music ) did an article on G&L soon after we began production. They brought by several copies for us, and I had Leo sign one. The business card in the corner was Leo's CLF Research card.
Date: 03/27/12
Bam magazine ( Bay Area Music ) did an article on G&L soon after we began production. They brought by several copies for us, and I had Leo sign one. The business card in the corner was Leo's CLF Research card.