G&L Comanche

The case is chincy but everything else is great besides the pickups-see below

Dave here again from below, I solved my pickup problem on the Commanche for anyone interested. It turns out that G&L does have a pickguard that fits the Commanche for standard stratocaster pickups (a pickgaurd made by Chandler guitars). Here's the link: http://www.glguitars.com/
Click on "Support" and the link below: "To purchase a replacement pickguards for your G&L instrument

Please visit our Chandler Guitars,maker of pickguards for G&L. They can supply custom pickguards also."
It takes a few weeks to get the custom gaurd but I put a red tortoise on the Commanche and it looks fabulous. I took a DiMarzio pre-wired pickgaurd with "Area" strat pickups, easily transferred the hardware to the new pickgaurd and dropped it in--unbelievable is all I can say!! Be sure to ask Chandler which pickgaurd (and backplate)you need for what you want to do...the G&L "strat-style" (non z-coil) pickups are bigger than Fender's and so there's two pickgaurds they offer to fit either.

The Comanche is a magnificent production guitar but as I noted before, the stock z-coils lack bite and punch.

Great

G&L website support page has everything you need for this instrument.

Subtracted a point just because of the non-standard pickups and gaurd.

I picked up a Commanche from MF a few years ago, honey finish, flamed maple, birdseye board, and the z-coils. Overall a tremendous instrument but a problem is the non-standard pickups and pickgaurd, presenting a problem if you want to change the sound.

I play through a fender twin, all tube amp and the guitar sounds ok, but like other's here I found the guitar lacks the complex bite of a hot stratocaster. Frankly the sound is boring after a while. I found the combiner-switch only combines boring sounds together. It's like a strat with a flat tire. But how do you change the pickups in this guitar? The z-coils don't match the size and shape of traditional single coils and the pickgaurd is also shaped different than a strat pickgaurd, so you can't just drop in a new setup. It's a glaring weakness of this guitar.

Perfect. No complaints at all on fit and finish. This is one beautiful machine that will feel like an old friend to any strat player.

This guitar is well-built. Again no complaints at all in this category. I've had it 2-3 years and never a problem.

No experience here but no reason to doubt service.

This is a great guitar with one big problem....Strat parts, especially the pickups and pickgaurd, don't seem to fit. What a huge oversight, compromising its versatility. If anyone can tell me how they fit their commanche with strat-style pickups or pickgaurds I'd love to hear from you, thanks.

In Oct. of 2006 I custom ordered this one from G&L and by Feb. 2007 I received it, 3 tone sunburst with natural wood binding over top flamed maple on top of swamp ash, hard rock maple neck with the "c" shape(thicker, more sustain), finished with rubbed gun oil tint, then glossed, fret board is ebony. I personaly contacted G&L because I didn't want the traditional 3 tone (yellow, red, black) banding. They said they would consult the painter and WOW, did they deliver! The yellow in the center is actually an amber and from there the colors fade and blend to the red then to the black. Looks like a southwestern sunset. Thanks G&L. Hardware and electronics are standard Comanche with a black pick guard. Why they get an 8 is explained below, I eventually couldn't use the pick ups and as a big part of the features, it suffered a minor loss.

I had this guitar for 6 months and I really worked with the tone knobs, pick up height, pole piece adjstmnt and could get some really good tones( one setting I used was one of the pickup combinations with the high freq rolled completely off which gave me (I swear) an awsome parked wah) but because of the brightness of ceramic magnets and their tendency to be a little sterile and 2 dementional, I thought my overall sound was not "stratty" enough and I missed the wamth and complexity of Alnico magnets. Z coils not bad, they are just not for me. I personaly would like to see G&L do a hybrid of Alnico on the high 3 strings and ceramic on the bottom 3. Eventually I had to outsource some Alnico stacked single coil noiseless pick ups from Kinman in Australia (forgive me Leo) but it made all the difference.

Eventhough I adjusted the hell out of the pick ups, looking for my sound and a slight string hieght adj. That is personal preference and not the fault of any set up. The set up out of the box was really professional. The guitar was flawless and beautiful and because they gave me what really amounted to a custom paint job at no extra charge, that put it over the top. I still remember opening the case for the first time, WOW. Kinda like getting the bra off your first real girlfriend, you just have to sit there and stare.
OK...I know, TMI. So they get a 10, especially for bringing back fond mamories of my first set of boobies.

It's been over a year a nothing bad has happened. Replaced button straps with locking ones. Strap came off during a gig (strap was at fault, not guitar) didn't drop it though, but scared the hell out of me.

Again, the custom paint job; However, a follow up question did go unanswered. Sorry G&L, 2 point loss for no attempt at all on that one.

I've been playing for about 15 yrs. I'm in a mostly classic rock band but really, anything goes. If we all can get onboard with a tune then we do it. Right now my signal chain goes like this: Wah, tuner, Boss MT2, Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive and tremolo in the front end. In the effects loop I have Chorus, phaser, delay. All this gets fed into my Mesa/Boogie Mark IV. My kinman pick ups are wired for 9 different combinations which includes putting the bridge pu in series with the neck pu and being able to adjust the blend between them, way cool. I can actually get good Les Paul "ish" tone. I love my set up so much, I have actually no feeling of "something's missing"...I am at peace. Every guitar is unique to itself, even when you compare it to an exact replica, so I can't really compare it to other guitars, all I know is that I have found my Zen with this one. Everthing I chose to compliment this guitar (amp, pedals pick ups, strings etc) has played it's part in my overall satisfaction. Lost or stolen would be traumatic, I would have to start the whole trial and error process all over again but would seriously consider shelling out another $1700 bucks for a brand new one.

This is just a follow-up review of my blueburst Comanche, that I wrote some two years ago. This guitar is still my "holy grail", but by the time i got a little bit dissapointed w/ the stock Z-coils. While they are really clever design and they deliver all those versatile sounds, I found out that there is definitelly sth. missing in their overall sonic character, at least to me. After two years of searching, listening, recording and testing some other pickups on other instruments I found the Z-coils to be a bit "sterile" and "harsh". It might be due to a particular guitar - my Comanche itself is very heavy and bright (as opposite to my friend??s one, which is sunburst w/ rosewood board, and some 0.5 kg lighter), but I decided (with a heavy heart) to change the pickups, so the guitar should be as versatile and noiseless as before, but with some more "life" to it, especially in the 2 and 4 positions. I have contacted Bill Lawrence and discused the right choice with his wife. They recomended the L-200 neck and middle and L-298SL bridge pickups. I must admit I was afraid what such a big mod will do to the guitar??s sound and feel, but after my tech had finished the work (incl. brand new cream-pearloid pickguard - the guitar now looks much better than before) and I first plugged in, I stayed silent with my jaw dropped. The guitar now lives it??s own life, which is basically closer to the traditional strat territory than it was before. Neck plays like a 57 reissue on steroids, and bridge is now pure heaven - harshness of the neck Z-coil with the treble knob full up has simply dissapeared, being replaced with creamy full voice, which reminds me about some hotter classy tele bridge pickup. Also the added combination of neck+bridge is now completely "anti-harsh" and sweet, very usefull for rythm work. So when you are in similar trouble with your Comanche (harsh, overly bright and sterile tones), this may be the way to go for you as well. I would like to add that I would never do this mod on my friends Comanche, which simply sounds great "as it is", but with my one it sure helped to improve the sound and feel some 200 percent. Just a little tip and trick.

Clear red on swamp ash strat-style body, rosewood fingerboard. Dual fulcrum vibrato is very sturdy and can stand for fierce tremolo dives. Z-coil passive hum cancelling pickups can really sing! They are indeed hot however so be careful! Very nice to have the 6 & 7 configurations via the extra switch. Locking tuners I think are made be Schaller, definitely not the Sperzel which I have seen on some Legacy models. Gets a 9 because other than the extra pup combos there isn't anything that makes it stand out feature-wise

I play rock in general -- hate to reduce it to labels but funky, jazzy, spacey, and occasionally bluesy can all describe my style. For ten years my sole electric guitar was a Parker NiteFly and with the recent purchase of this Comanche I can't believe I didn't switch earlier! The difference is immaculate. The tonal palette on the Comanche is way larger due to the fact that the tone knobs don't diminish the sound quality when dialed in -- like a guitar should be, duh! I use a wah, QTron, and Boss GT-3 multi-effects pedal (mainly for OD and Comp but also Phase and Delay) through a'75 Twin Reverb. I'm giving serious consideration to cutting out effects pedals altogether after getting my hands on this Comanche straight through my Twin -- there are just so many ways to tweak this thing that I don't want to muddy the waters with extraneous toys. Very low noise, nothing more than I would expect. Sounds rich, full, bright, boomy, almost whatever your heart desires....love it

Got it from a dealer who set it up when he got it so I can't speak much to the setup from the factory. Action is good but I will tweak it before gigging out with it. No visible flaws. Finish is remarkable, a wonderful background for the shining chrome hardware. One regret -- the clear red, although beautiful in its own right, was the only Comanche on the rack so it was the one I ended up with. :)

Seems to be 'built like a tank' so to speak. Heavy-duty where it needs to be. Not sure about the Graphtech nut. I suppose it's made for long-life and if I have to replace it someday then no complaint, it's all too easy.

10 year warranty makes me VERY comfortable. Otherwise, no comment.

Playing for 13 years and don't own much gear. As for the other G&L guitars Of the guitars my friends/colleagues own and play (PRS, Les Paul, Ibanez semi-hollows), I would put this thing head-to-head any day. And for about half the price of some higher-end PRS guitars, there's no second guessing!

I liked the honeyburst one described in the 8/17/2007 review so much I went back looking for that Legacy, and found another Comanche instead, this one a blueburst with a white pearloid pickguard, beautiful close grain quartersawn 2 piece ash body and prettier, tho less toned clear maple neck with more finish. I don't know what fret size this is, it is .109 wide, about .047 tall just as the honeyburst.

Graphtech nut and string tree, as with the honeyburst.
This is an early 2003, the honeyburst in probably early 2004.

Not sure what possessed me to write a 9 on sound on the honeyburst Comanche. I guess I needed a change of the strings before the review. These are clearly the finest sounding guitars, these two, that I have, better than either ASAT or the S-500 hardtail, better than all the others as well.

This one had new strings properly installed at the dealer. The woods all match, the fretwork is top drawer; I can't find anything objective wrong here, I must assume it was not within easy reach of customers and the dealer chose not to aggressively market these wonderful products. These are hand built guitars in very important sense of that term; the bi-cut neck halves fit beautifully and I've spend a minute fraction of the time getting these 5 G + Ls working to my liking as compared to any five other make guitars I also have.

I don't play professionally, and I have so many guitars to choose from, wear is really not a factor. This question is better asked of someone actively earning money with their G + L, of which there are quite a few.

I've ordered some pickups, pots and switches from G + L for some 'projects'; they were very helpful and the order was filled promptly. The company is actively participating at the affiliate website, and appears willing to do what ever might be necessary to help a customer with their build order. I still prefer to play a whole passel of finished guitars, + buy the ones I like with the knowledge I would still do just fine even if I were on my own (as you would undoubtedly be on your own with the big boys like "G" and FMIC). But until I was actually in a bind myself, I'd defer to others.

I love the way new compositions seem to spring to life out of this guitar. I love the way I can play one of these Comanches when I'm too weary to play another of my toys.
I don't always like having to 'keep track' of all the possible settings, even taking notes to remember which pickup and bass and treble settings to use for new sound "X". The price one pays for a truly versatile and dynamic guitar. Through a Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb-Amp, yes, indeed.

Standard configuration with blue burst finish and maple neck/fretboard. Z coils, G&L vibrato (works) and PTB tone system

Play some blues, surf and classic rock. Has enough tonal variety to cover them all pretty well. These are not Alnico pups though and it takes some experimenting to find the right sweet spot. I was not really a tone tweaker until I got this guitar (one of my other favorites is a Gretsch Hot Rod, with just a volume and pick up selector. no tone control) but I am learning how to adjust on "the fly" in live settings.
Sounds great through my Reverend Hellhound tube amp and drives it nicely, especially when I dig in. I tend to use no pedals, just straight into the amp and this is a good guitar for that because of the tonal variety.

Bought used through eBay but it looked brand new. Neck is a little narrower than my Legacy Tribute (which is my perfect shape) but I'm getting used to it although I find it a bit less comfortable to play. Finish is excellent, frets are nice and the satin finished neck is nice and smooth. I've blocked the trem so it only pushes and not pulls as I tend to break strings and don't like the fact that the guitar goes out of tune when you lose a string. With it blocked I can still get good use out of it without the risk. It stays in tune nicely and feels solid.

I always take more than one guitar to a gig but this guitar is made to be played and other than string breakage would depend on it.

One of the things I do to the selector switch on these guitars is to bend it over to 90 degrees. I can still handle it ok but it removes the frequent and accidental changes I make with my right hand.

No dealings with the company

Been playing for 30 years, Gibson SG, 355, Gretsch 6120, Telecasters, but NEVER had a "Strat" until I recently got hold of a Legacy Tribute and fell in love with it. Now I have two G&Ls and love them both. They are my main gigging guitars.
Would like a slightly wider and shallower neck but I can live with this one for what it gives me, other than that I wouldn't change a thing and would get another if this was lost...or maybe an S-500...or maybe I'll just get one of them anyway!

Finish: Blonde semi-transparent over swamp ash body.
Body Style: Strat.
Bridge Style: G&L patented dual-action tremolo.
Tuners: Sperzel Locking.
Neck/Scale: Modern "C", hand-rolled edges, maple, rosewood fretboard.
Accessories: fitted impact plastic (SKB style), tremolo arm
Year made: 2007
Frets: 22?
Controls: PTB system (Volume, Treble, Bass, phase switch)
Pickups: 3 Z-coil pickups.
Electronics: Passive
Body & Neck woods: Swamp Ash body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard.

This is a great-sounding instrument! I play a wide range of styles, Indie, Roots Rock, Fusion, etc. No metal. Play this guitar through a Genz-Benz Black Pearl Class A Tube amp (similar to Bogner Metropolis in design and sound). Only slight noise is detectable (when the TV is on and I'm facing it). Otherwise, no noise. The Comanche has a great deal of headroom in the Treble and Bass departments. A lot of thick low-end punch. Treble can be as sweet or as harsh as you dial-in. A lot of people are paranoid about Z-coil pickups & PTB system. Don't be unless you're good-sound-challenged. A good setting is Bass maxed-out, and Treble at HALF! This rolls off the harshest highs for my set-up. Don't dial in tone like a Gibson, PRS, or Fender. These controls are very different! The guitar produces a wide variety of sounds. I prefer positions 2,4,5 in phase and 1-5 in out of phase (humbucker-ish). A word about Z-coils: These pickups are very hot. I set mine 1/4 inch above the pickguard and get just the right amount of drive from my Soldano Supercharger GTO (1/3 drive). I cannot think of anything I do not like about this guitar. I like the idea of having a unique experimental guitar, kind of like being a test pilot for the X-1 jet.

From the dealer, the guitar action was set too high. I play with size 10's and like a lower action. Pickups were set a little too high, which gave me too much pickup and too little resonance. In pristine form, the guitar is flawless. It feels like a million bucks--just the right amount of weight and balance. The body contours are perfect and comfortable.

The Comanche IS very well-built--some say like a tank. I just bought it, so I don't know if I could gig it without a back-up. (Not a good idea in any circumstances). However, I think it's rock-solid.

Haven't used them yet.

Playing for 25 years, since 10-years-old. I own and have owned some fine and crappy gear through the years: Fender Strats, Les Pauls, PRS, Yamaha, Soldano, Michael Kelly, Mesa-Boogie, Schecter, Carvin, Boss, Electro-harmonix, Ibanez, etc. There's nothing I feel I needed to ask before buying this guitar. I bought it from Oklahoma Vintage Guitar (great guys to work with--trustworthy) sight unseen. I would replace the guitar ASAP if stolen--I'll never lose it! Though not technically a Stratocaster, I love the wide range of single-coil noiseless sounds I can get from this fine quality american-made instrument. The guitar itself is my favorite feature. It gives me warm fuzzies just thinking about playing it. Throughout my life I have been fortunate enough to spend lots of dough trying out guitars. For my money, the best Korean made guitars I own are Michael Kelly. The best American-made guitar I own is the G&L Comanche!

Strat shaped two piece honey burst ash (looks like one piece), aged white pickguard and pup covers, lightly coated toned maple neck, large but not as big as a MIM Baja Tele neck, C-shaped, bass cut, treble cut knobs, enough switches to select any combination of pickups, 3 passive z-coil noise canceling pickups, dual action vibrato, best in industry, 22 wider than usual medium jumbo frets, chromed locking tuners, comes with fitted extruded plastic case, trem bar, certificate of authenticity signed by Phyllis (Mrs. Leo) Fender.
This guitar serial number implies a late 2003, early 2004 completion date, haven't checked the guts to confirm this.

Quietest guitar I own, tho the S-500 is close. I recommend tube amps with these z-coils, I use a Fender Vibrolux Reverb 2x10 and a Peavey Classic 50 2x12 with it. This is the most versatile guitar I possess, the limitations are all mine. The Fender Strat is a niche guitar with specific application; this is the opposite, so its strengths could be a weakness as you need to get familiar with the product to know what going to come out the speaker. Except for out of phase sounds there's very little that can't be found and brought forth, very inspiring to play.
But I can see I've got lot of ground to make up as well.
I hate giving tens to anything so for laughs say a.

Factory setup seems fine; this guitar was bought NOS and was restrung incorrectly at the dealer, extra winds 'round the post on locking tuners. The guitar itself is just my cup of tea, the fit and finish superb, but none of that unnecessary birdseye or yellow tint on the neck, just enough finish to get you to that first refret job. The NOS neck has plenty of natural tone now. Impeccable assembly and finish, and, my apologies to a younger Leo Fender, but this Dual Fulcrum Vibrato exposes the strat trem as a feeble joke. In the end the man got it right. Shocked this guitar did not sell promptly and had to be discounted to an extent.

You know professional musicians love these things for their durability, but I will abstain as I haven't had it long enough.

I have great respect for these luthiers, but as nothing has gone wrong and as I've bought all 4 G + Ls I have out of stock, I am not qualified to say just now.

I began playing in the 60's; I currently own over 40 guitars, though everything besides the G + Ls are Fenders and other similar less expensive guitars which can be modified and messed around with. I just wish I'd bought the available NOS Legacy alongside it as well.
I have the usual love/hate thing about a little known manufacturer's product and having to explain to ignorant Gibson and PRS players what it is, even Fender guys; I think they want to play it but you can't score a play by insulting my guitar, go to the store if ya wanna try one.

Honey Burst quilt top with gun oil tinted curly maple neck, fretboard and headstock and white pearl pick guard. I expected a flame top based on the picture online but this is definitely a quilt top. Beautiful depth of finish. Impeccable attention to detail. This looks like a hand built guitar (pretty good since they are). The Comanche is the Strat that Leo Fender always wanted to make. He finally got around to it and you could say it's like a Strat on steriods. The neck has a slim taper with a 12" radius. Nice solid vibrato bridge which has a very soft feel on the bar. Stays in tune just fine. Locking tuners, 22 medium jumbo frets. The 3 Z-Coil pickups are amazingly quiet and powerful. Body is swamp ash with quilt maple top and nitrocellulous laquer on body and satin gun oiled neck. An extremely beautiful instrument. Musiciansfriend's pics don't do it justice. Also, this guitar has a mini-toggle switch that flips the pickups into two addition combinations beyond the standard 5 a Strat would have. The Tone controls actually cut or boost the treble or bass frequencies. Not your usual tone controls. They are very sensitive and versatile for quick tone shaping. The action and setup was very good from the factory but I just tweaked it a little to suit my hands.

I play easy listening, blues and modern and classic rock. This guitar can do any of those styles depending on your amp. I have a Genz-Benz Black Pearl 30 with MI distortion boxes and a few other effects(Tremelo, chorus, delay). The guitar sings on its own without pedals. It has a beautiful full crisp sound. This guitar is somewhere between a Strat and Les Paul in sound. There are elements of both although the guitar really has it's own sound...kicks the crap out of either of the above guitars. The pickups are very powerful and beefy for single coils AND they are quiet. There is really no sound this guitar makes that I don't like. It is now my go-to guitar and I have several other nice ones. The only thing I don't like about this guitar is that I'm constantly worried I'm going to ding it....it is so beautiful!

Beautiful factory setup. Put my own set of strings on it and did some minor adjustments and it's perfect for me. Fit and finish is impeccable. No visible flaws. Neck pocket nice and tight and well aligned neck. I can't say anything bad about this guitar.

I have no doubt this is a lifetime type guitar. It's built every bit as well as my 74 LP Custom and that guitar plays good as new. All the Comanche's hardware seems well plated and heavy and solid. I always replace standard strap buttons with straplocks. I've only had the guitar for a few months but I'm sure it'll be seeing a lot of action. None the less, I always have at least three guitars for gigs in case something weird happens.

Been playing for over 40 years. I've had up to 13 guitars and 4 amps at a time. Right now I've settled on the Genz-Benz Class A Black Pearl and some standard pedals. I'm down to 6 guitars and one amp. The Genz-Benz is a wonderful amp. If insurance didn't cover the theft of this guitar, I really couldn't afford to replace it. Otherwise, I'd want another one immediately. This is one of very few guitars I've played that actually sings. There really is no other way to describe this guitar. It's very sensitive to all sorts of cool picking techniques and harmonics. I love it! I compared this guitar with the G&L ASAT Z-3 (very close second) as well as some of the artist model Strats like Eric Johnson's and Eric Clapton's. I can honestly say that the Comanche kicks the crap out of most guitars out there. It's true custom shop quality at a reasonable price.