My New G&L S500 Strat ...

[roger bayliss]

Had to get a G&L after much reading and looking at them. Thought I would be buying a Legacy but decided on the S500 in the end and yes it does a great Shadows sound !
Here are the pictures

The tone controls are better than a normal strat and the trem unit is great.


https://app.box.com/s/tffdlnrmpbyiskbzswvd

[Strummer]

Had to get a G&L after much reading and looking at them. Thought I would be buying a Legacy but decided on the S500 in the end and yes it does a great Shadows sound !
Here are the pictures

The tone controls are better than a normal strat and the trem unit is great.


https://app.box.com/s/tffdlnrmpbyiskbzswvd

Hi Roger, that's a nice axe. Very "Burn's-ish" isn't it? The whiteness and the tortoise shell scratch plates etc.Is it comfortable and easy to play, it looks as though it is?

Nice one, enjoy!

Strummer

[roger bayliss]

Hi Roger, that's a nice axe. Very "Burn's-ish" isn't it? The whiteness and the tortoise shell scratch plates etc.Is it comfortable and easy to play, it looks as though it is?

Nice one, enjoy!

Strummer

I THINK THE NECK PROFILE OF 12 INCHES WITH THE MED JUMBO FRETS MAKE IT EASY TO PLAY AND THE TREMELO MOVES GREAT TOO. YES A NICE GUITAR ALL ROUND AND VERY HAPPY WITH IT TOO THANKS.

[alanbakewell]

Roger, what a splendid looking guitar. Even from just the photos.

I look forward to hearing, and seeing it. How does the tremolo differ from a Strat?
I've never tried one so have no first hand experience.

Is the neck / nut width different or the same as a Strat?

I think the best tremolo system I've ever experienced was on a Music Man "Luke".

So smooth and very responsive. Sadly, at the time, even the used model I tried
was out of my price bracket.

Plus the fact that Mrs. B. was with me.

Of course, she has no influence whatsoever in my financial decisions.

Cheers, Alan.

[roger bayliss]

Alan .... come to the club on Tuesday and see it in action and I will let you hold it for a while !

The tremolo is great really smooth and the metal block is shiny steel not rubbish zinc alloy. In short it is a great guitar and the price was good for the spec I thought.

The neck is flatter at 12inch radius and med jumbo frets are fatter than the vintage strat frets. The neck is a modern C shape and has a satin finish that is as smooth as a babys...

It is nicer in the flesh so to speak

Mrs B has not noticed it sitting on the stand yet !

[roger bayliss]

Played it at the club last night and 3 other players used it. We were all in agreement that this was a great strat very flexible and we had all the familiar Shadows sounds out of it. Very happy with the sounds and the tone controls work in a way you can tweak your sound without walking over to your amp to adjust the bass or treble. I like it so much I might buy a USA model.

[neil2726]

Very nice - but do they do it in fiesta red?

[dave robinson]

Sorry Roger I have to laugh. So effectively G & L (Leo Fender & George) have copied Leo's original Strat design but had to change the shape of the headstock for patent reasons, as well as a few more things, then the Chinese have produced a copy of that and you bought it ? That said you like it so are now considering a USA made one ? why not just buy a real Fender Strat - it's what it was and is.

If the tone and volume controls don't suit you on a normally wired Strat, do what I did and spend no more than a few pence on fitting a treble bleed kit and wire in the bridge pickup to the tone control - it does the same thing as you're describing for pennies.

[roger bayliss]

Sorry Roger I have to laugh. So effectively G & L (Leo Fender & George) have copied Leo's original Strat design but had to change the shape of the headstock for patent reasons, as well as a few more things, then the Chinese have produced a copy of that and you bought it ? That said you like it so are now considering a USA made one ? why not just buy a real Fender Strat - it's what it was and is.

If the tone and volume controls don't suit you on a normally wired Strat, do what I did and spend no more than a few pence on fitting a treble bleed kit and wire in the bridge pickup to the tone control - it does the same thing as you're describing for pennies.

Leo no longer had rights re the original Fender Strat as he sold the company in the 60s so the headstock design had to be different. The Indonesian ones use the same hardware and PUs as the USA built G&Ls and it is not a 'Chinese Copy' but a lower cost G&L authorised by G&L.

The guitar tone circuit is completely different to a strat. With a standard strat you can only turn down the high end and then you can only use a little bit of that before it starts to muddy up the tone. On the G&L the tone circuit acts as a separate bass cut and tone cut on all PUs. Thus you can roll off the low end muddiness and right up into the low mids if needed and then adjust the trebles separately by rolling off with the treble cut control. These work in a similar way to a Low/high pass filter EQ .

The tremolo design in my view is better than the original strat and the neck is flatter and better too. In short Leo Fender re visited his timeless design and put in some modern tweaks and made a better strat.

You will have to come and try it out as that would probably give you the chance to see and hear. I have Strats too and yes the tone controls could be put into a strat to improve it which I am considering doing. But you will need to hear it Dave it does a great job.

No Fiesta Red guys

[neil2726]

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