Red Strats

It’s been nearly four months since my last post, so I felt like I needed to freshen the place up. Searching for a topic, I thought I’d mention my latest acquisition, a new guitar by G&L.

Some background: After Leo Fender sold his eponymous company to CBS in 1965, he spent some time designing and producing guitars for Music Man and then with partners George Fullerton and Dale Hyatt, founded G&L Musical Instruments. The name stands for George and Leo (not sure what happened to Dale). So, in the truest sense, a G&L guitar is a Fender!

I’ve read many good reviews of G&L guitars but never had the inclination to buy one. There are no shops near my home where I can go try one, so they have always remained in the periphery of my guitar world.

Until recently. Musician’s Friend, one of the online stores I visit, has a “Stupid Deal of the Day” offering, and I’ve purchased a few items that way. One day, they were offering this G&L Tribute Legacy in a color called “Irish Ale” at a price that was too low to resist. So, thanks to a tax refund, I pulled the trigger.

G&L Tribute Legacy

In “Irish Ale” with a tortoiseshell pickguard, a G&L Tribute Legacy

What intrigued me about this guitar besides the color, were the specs. The body is made of Nyato(h) a wood according to the wood database, is common to “India through Southeast Asia to the Philippines, New Guinea, and the Western Pacific Islands.” The neck is maple, but the fingerboard is Brazilian Cherry (not rosewood, which is now on the CITES endangered list). I’ve preferred maple fingerboards, but I thought I’d see how this compares.

Now, let’s be fair. My “other” red guitar is a Fender Custom Shop Robin Trower Signature Stratocaster that costs ten times as much. At this point, the Fender plays better, but I have to admit, the G&L sounds sweet, and I am sure I’ll really enjoy playing it after it gets some proper set up,

My Red Guitars

2006 Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster and 2018 G&L Tribute Legacy