G&L Comanche

1999 Model. USA built. I wont insult it by calling it a Strat copy, it goes way beyond that, but it's a good starting point in getting a general idea. Z pick ups. Locking Sperzel machines. Thru body bridge, with G&Ls own tremsystem.
Std strat type swithching, with an extra switch enabling neck and bridge pairings, which gives a vast array of sounds.
Ash body with maple neck/rosewood board.
Beautiful sunburst finish, best I have seen and pearlescent scratchplate.
Comes with G&L case and signed certificate signed by "Leo's Missus"; a nice touch.

This guitar does everything except balls out humbucker. It's a strat +50% of everything. The tone controls are actualy treble and bass, which gives many more options than just tone. Linking the neck and bridge pick ups sounds a bit like a Tele on steroids.
The Z pickups are awesome. Totally noiseless but clear as a bell and punchy. the only downside is the looks.They are an aquired tast, but worth the effort for the sound they produce. Think of the best Strat and Tele you ever heard, and then some more!

From the factory, the action was a little high for my liking, but 15 minutes of tinkering, and it was spot on. The whole finish neck and body, is the best I have seen. I thought the Korean G&Ls were good, but this is just superb. Stunning grain on body covered by a flawless see through sunburst laquer. The hardware is top drawer, with a trem which is fairly free moving, but completely taut. no slop at all.

I would stake everything on this thing lasting for years. It is built to last, and faultless.

n/a

I have played for 30+ years, and have a collection of Gibsons, fenders, Martins, and Tokai's. This iswithout a doubt the best built, finished etc guitar I own. The only thing missing I suppose is that bit of magic that comes with history, but that really is in the mind, (but it does count). If you can ignore this(the thing that makes you put up with battered crackly old Fenders etc,) this could well be a candidate for the best built guitar around. It is superb, and yes I'd buy again.

This one is a 2003. The features were the sole selling point for this guitar.

The Z3 pickups are just plain awesome. Instead of the standard 5-way strat style electronics, you can split them in two! So you can have the top 3 strings picked up by the neck, and then the bottom 3 picked up at the bridge. I love the strat sound, and didn't want to venture too far from it when buying a new guitar, but I just needed more diversity. This was the way to do it, the most versatile guitar I've ever played.

The hardware is top-notch. It has the nice schaller locking tuners and a low-friction graphite nut. The only problem I've had so far is the dual-fulcrum floating bridge. It's impossible to use the tremolo like I want to... expressive bend-downs, pushing the whammy bar all the way to the strings. This just knocks everything out of whack. So now I keep the whammy bar off and pull the bridge up with my hand when I need a little tremolo. This is the only reason it gets a 9 here.

This guitar will suit ANY style of music. I play in a jam band (I hate that term) that's blues based, but we venture off into bluegrass (great tele sound), jazz (smooth, deep 335 sound), gangsta-rap (no comment), reggae (great chirpy rhythm stuff) and everything in between. The Commanche has it all covered, like a jimmy hat.

My setup: G&L Commanche or '83 Strat-> Korg tuner-> Budda Budwah ->Boss OC-2 Octave -> Tremolo, I forget what kind -> Maxon CP-101 compressor -> Rivera M60 4X10. I've finally arrived at a point where I can get good gear, so I had to have the best guitar ever made to start the line-up!!

It's super-quiet, and I can emulate the sound of any guitarist playing through any guitar (the M60 kinda helps). There are other guitars out there that will make lots of sounds, but there are usually a couple that they're weak on. This one does it all, well. I've been playing it for 2 months for hours every day, and I still haven't made it around to all the possibilities.

The action is a dream. Another reason I wanted to stick with a strat-style is the neck. There's just something about them (Fender lovers, you know what I mean). The neck is just lightning-fast, and smooth like butter with the gun-oil finish on maple

The fit is prefect... It feels like the edges of the neck are cut just a little sharper than a standard strat, it allows you to feel the frets better on the top and bottom.

The finish is Fullerton Red, which is really more like a burnt orange. It reminds me of Fender's Candy Tangerine. Pick guard is 3-ply cream, black in the middle, and the knobs are black cylinders. Very tough looking. My favorite is the black abolone inlays for the dots in the neck.

The only flub in the finish is this little orange spot in the neck. It looks like someone picked it up with stain on their hands. Barely noticable, but it's still going to bug me forever. They get an 8 for sloppiness.

I'm sure I will keep this guitar forever. It's just solid.

Haven't dealt with them yet. If you ever need any support, there's a website: www.guitarsbyleo.com That has specs and forums, FAQ's and so forth.

I've been playing for about 10 years now. I take music very seriously, which is why I got a serious guitar. It has turned out to be everything I need and more. If I ever get another one, I'll go hollow-body, probably an ASAT. But this will be my main squeeze for as long as I can see. If it were stolen or lost, I would not be too surprised, cause that shit just happens to me sometimes. If I found the bastard who stole it, I would definitely get midevil on his ass... lube-free.

This thing doesn't even compare to other guitars. It was like Leo's gift to planet Earth.

The last thing, some people have mentioned the case... It's a piece of CRAP. It appears to be too short... that's cause it is. The neck goes all the way to the end of the case. I think they just half-assed it. It also has difficulty lining up and sealing when I close it. What the hell Leo?... Shouldn't it have a nice cadillac case, like a tweed or custom molded one? This calls for a 9. Sorry, but I think they could have paid attention to a few more details if they wanted to sell it for over a grand. If you're thinking of buying one though, don't delay!


www.barneysjiveband.com

Not sure of the year but purchased new from the music store. Pretty greenburst translucent finish over ash with pearloid pickguard. Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. Jumbo frets, dual fulcrum tremolo and schaller locking tuners. Of course, it has three Z-coil pickups with seperate volume bass and treble controls. It also has a mini toggle switch for more pickup combinations above the standard 5-way strat configuration. This neck is considered to be a number 1 with 12" radius, but as I was shopping for Legacies and strats, I noticed this neck groove to be a bit deeper than the flatter C shapes of both the G&L and Fenders I was playing, which is what initially caught my attention to being seriously interested in this guitar.

I've had many guitars and this is very feature rich while being very user friendly.

Very unique in it's own right. I've read some people say it sounds like a 335 a strat and all that other stuff, but to me, it sounds like a Comanche. I was looking for either a legacy or a strat, but was captured by the looks, the feel of the neck, the appointments and most of all, the sound. While I no longer had a strat, I have other guitars that do the strat thing very well, and I was never using the strat I had prior to selling it, other than using the neck pickup on very few things. I, at first, thought I would update my strat and get a newer one with possibly a better feel and sound, but then I came across the Comanche. It might look like a strat (in body only) and it might feel similar to a strat, but that is all. I wouldn't even call this a super strat. Okay, maybe a super strat, but it's really its own thing. At first, the sound can be un-becoming as most people want to hear what they already identify with. This is where patience is a virture. Because if you stick with this guitar and get over it not sounding like a '54 stratocaster, then you will be trully pleased. In fact, I think the pickups and tonal variations on this guitar are addictive. Clean but warm, punchy and funky. Yeah, it doesn't sound like everyone else's guitar down the street, but that's part of the beauty of it. In addition, it's so much more than the guitar everyone else has and the guitar hanging up all over music stores. It's crisp and somewhat compressed and somewhat rubbery all around. These pickups seem to be more efficient than standard alnico pickups as they are more responsive to picking and string muting. And by being able to adjust the individual pole pieces on each pickup, you have an unlimited array of sounds from these pickups. Plus, the z-coils are not humbuckers in the true sense and they are not some stacked bullshit pretending to be single coils. The Z-coils are two seperate single coils reverse wound for noise cancellation. So, you get single coil vibe and clairity while doing away with the 60-cycle hum. Using the 5-way selector, you get the traditional strat layout with individual and two pickups together. Where this guitar sounds stratty is the 2 and 4 positions. Using the mini-toggle switch, the guitar now has 2 more pickup variations. You get neck and bridge together utilizing position 1 or 5 and you can get all three pickups by using the 2 or 4 positions. Regardless of location, the sound is the same when using 1 or 5 and 2 or 4. It would have been even better had this set up gone a little further and run a series and parallel instead of having too much of the same thing. Nonetheless the current configuration makes changing sounds on the fly very easy.

This guitar sounds very, very good, and the Comanche sound should not be criticized because it doesn't sound exactly like a strat. In fact, if you are looking for a vintage strat sound, do not get this guitar! Instead get either a strat or a legacy. But, if you are looking for a very cool sounding and versatile guitar you could get away doing some strat parts with while at the same time giving you a unique sound, you should strongly consider a Comanche. Or at least you should go play one and be objective. By taking advantage of the unique tone controls and pickup pole adjustability, you can virtually make this guitar do about anything you want it to. Some folks don't like to tweak and that's fine, but the tweaking and tone shaping on this guitar is simple. Instead of a capacitor that just bleeds the off treble like on most electrics, the bass and treble act more as an eq. This should explain some of the earlier reviewers that comment on the pickups having a flat eq response. These pickups should be flat so you can dial in just the amount of bass and treble you want. Makes sense to me anyway.

First class, first class and first class. So many guitars look so nice on the outside, but when you have to take the temolo guard off the back of the guitar, or when you go to change pots or pickups, you often notice the not-so-pretty part of the guitar. You see the unfinished and non-painted parts and where sloppiness really doesn't seem to matter. Well, after owning this Comanche, I can tell you it matters to me now. Not a flaw anywhere on the guitar. the frets are great, there are no finish marks, the hardware is top-notch and installed properly and on the gray areas that I mentioned above, everything is still finished and nicely painted. This gives me a lot of confidence having paid a decent amount of money for this guitar. CNC machines are great, but attention to detail still favors the handmakers. On top of that, the human side of manufacturing is what gave me my nice neck. You get precision, but subtle variances that trully make each handmade guitar unique. I'll tell you, it will be hard to want or shop for another assembly line produced guitar again.

Overall and excellent and professional job! Very impressive.

As I am addicted to the sound plugged in, it has quickly become my favorite guitar to carry around the house with me and play unplugged. Nice resonance, but the feel and the quality construction make this an easy choice when going to pick a guitar up.

Unless this guitar was dropped from a 5 story building onto concrete, this guitar will hold up well. I'd use for an entire gig no problem. I'd always have a backup, but probably wouldn't use it.

Never had to deal with them, but they are still a custom shop. I like the folks I buy my stuff from and they usually only sell equipment and instruments from manufactures known for quality and customer service. Paul Reed Smith gives you a 2 year warranty. G&L gives you a 10 year warranty. If you've had this guitar for 10 years, chances are it's going to last. Sill, having not called them directly, I won't comment.

I've been playing for around 20 years. Besides the Comanche, I own an Ernie Ball Music Man Axis Super Sport with MM-90s, a Guild Bluesbird and a Paul Reed Smith Customm 22 Soapbar.

I guess the only thing I would ask is why did this hang in the store so long?

Lost or stolen I'd get another one.

I love everything I mentioned above, the looks, feel, sound, playability and quality of construction and hardware. I hate that the store I got it from doesn't carry many variations of this model. My favorite feature is the mini-toggle switch adding more tonal variations.

I was out looking for a legacy or a strat and chose this one. Totally out of the blue and not originally even considered I contribute to my lack of knowledge and initial reservations about the Z-Coil pickups. After a tough trial, I was leaning towards the legacy but hated to spend more money on a strat type guitar, when I'd recently just sold my strat due to lack of use. I decided to give the Comanche a try and in just a short time, did an about face and bought this guitar.

I am intrigued at a Comanche I saw online with the ASAT special style top-mount bridge. I don't use a tremolo and for that, wish this guitar could have saved some wood in the back and came with the ASAT special bridge. Plus those bridge designs really make a guitar sustain well.

I'd just like to suggest you strongly consider playing a Comanche. If that's not your thing, then you should check out other G&L products. They are very fine instruments. After owning an ASAT Classic and now this Comanche, I am now hooked and convinced G&L is a superior product for a reasonable amount of money. High quality and the prices aren't cheap, but they are not outrageous either. Most good players know about G&L, so resale will be about on par with a Fender of similar contruction. On ebay there are about 50,000 strats for sale, while in the G&L section, there are a handful of legacy guitars on auction. The quality of these guitars is as good if not better than more expensive strat and tele prototype guitars and for good reason. I mean, you can't really get better than the original founder of the most popular guitars in the world. Only Leo knew the secret behind the Strat, and only he could be the one to make it better.

Mine's a 2002, burst finish with a maple neck/fretboard, and the standard z-coil pickups. The rest is described in the other reviews.

The sound is very good, and I can actually get close to the sound of my strat, LP and archtop - close. This would be a huge benefit for someone that didn't have these other guitars, but I'm finding that since I have a strat, LP and hollowbody, I reach for the real deal when it's crunch time, not for the Comanche. Don't get me wrong, this is a very versitile axe with tons of tone, but I prefer my other guitars at this moment.

The z-coils can get harsh if they're set too close to the strings. I had to back mine off a bit to soften it up.

Factory set-up was horrible, and the dealer didn't do any better. Nothing was close to being right. I took it to my guitar tech, and he got things in order, and the guitar felt great. As mentioned earlier, I had to back off the pickups to reduce the harshness of the z-coils. I haven't noticed any finish flaws - it's a great looking guitar.

Here's where I have a problem. The guitar is very solid - great hardware, but the problem is the dual fulcrum tailpiece. I change strings about every 7 to 14 days. When I change strings, I clean the fretboard, so all the strings come off. Big problem with this tailpiece.

The dual fulcrum vibrato takes a ton of work to get it settled into position so it will stay in tune after a string change. A huge pain in the neck! The vibrato feels smooth, sounds smooth, and I absolutely hate it.

The G&L discussion page suggests shoving a toothbrush between the tailpiece and the body to help with the tuning problem. Quite frankly, I don't have to do this with my USA strat, and I'm not going to go out of my way to do it here - I'll just sell or trade it and use my strat. I do like the sound of G&L pickups, so I am considering buying a used/beat up Comanche and Legacy, and swap the pickups with a couple strats.

I know all you G&L purists out there will think I'm nuts, but the tone doesn't justify all the screwing around for me. Maybe I'll just block the tailpiece if I can't get decent money for it. Sorry Leo, you know I think you're a genius despite all this!

Never dealt with them, but their website wants to send you to the G&L discussion forum for advice/problems. The forum is not an official G&L webpage - just enthusiasts. Nice people, but I wonder about the reliability of some info. I don't have an ounce of faith in any information that comes from an unknown teenager. I've got teenagers - I know how they are - it's a global conspiracy! The problem is, you don't know who's providing information - are they really an expert??? How do they know the answer? What makes them qualified? The answers may be right, but you just don't know for sure.

As mentioned before, this is a very well built guitar with a huge pallette of tones, and from a tone standpoint, it just might be the perfect choice if you could only have one axe. If you can get past the toothbrush string changing thing, it would be a good choice, but I'm having a problem with it.

If it were lost or stolen, I wouldn't get another one, but I'd definitely consider a G&L ASAT (Tele). G&L's are fine instruments - right up there, or better than Fender Custom Shop product. I originally planned to buy a G&L Legacy, but the one I tried had a tuning problem (now I know why) and I fell for the Comanche as soon as I played it. Have I praised them enough as I gripe about the trem?

One more thing, I'm not crazy about the case. Seems too short for the guitar. A minor thing, but how rediculous - build a great guitar and shove it into some ill-fitting stock case.

I own a LP Studio, two Strats, a Guild, an Ibanez, and a Martin A/E, and play through Fender and Mesa tube amps.

2001 G&L Comanche. Ash, 2-tone sunburst with ebony board. Hardtail. Ingenius passive tone controls (separate knobs for T and B). Expander switch allowing all 3 pups on at once or neck/bridge combo. See below for the rest of the specs. Controls give you LOTS more options than traditional Strat.

I must admit that although I liked the Comanche the first time I played one, I had trouble bonding with it. A buddy of mine has had one for a couple months and I recently house-sat for him for a week. I had permission to use his gear (except for the 1944 Gibson!) while there. After spending several hours with his Comanche and amps, I changed my mind. And by the end of the week, I wanted a Comanche BADLY! I got one.

This guitar is simply awesome. It is remarkably versatile and can cop a lot of tones, but after spending some quality time with it, you really start to appreciate it for its own sounds. It is truly unique. Some people below have said it lacks "mojo" or character. Rubbish! True, the pickups do not color the tone much and have a very neutral response, but it sure is pretty to me, both clean and dirty. Very stark and beautiful tones. More single coil than humbucker for sure, but with major output. Single coil tone with more output and ZERO noise. Great rock and blues tones...or jazz...or country...etc etc.

The nut wasn't perfect and the action was a little too low, but otherwise nicely set up. High quality hardware. These pickups need to be lower, a lot lower, than a real single coil. I've found the best tones with the neck pup almost 1/4" below the strings.

The finish is the best I've seen from ANY manufacturuer. Just gorgeous. It weighs about 7 lbs.

N/A. Too soon to tell, but its seems to be built like a brick house.

No clue. And no G&L dealers anywhere near.

This is the best guitar I've ever owned or played in 22 years. For those of you who are having trouble finding its voice, don't give up too soon and you will probably be rewarded. Keep tweaking, (lower the pickups!) and find the right amps. If I had spent just 20 minutes with it in a music store, I would have passed on it, but after a few hours I was hooked.

The ultimate Strat-style guitar. Leo Fender left his old company way behind with this one!

Bought my Comanche in 2001. Great looking "cherry-burst" with binding all around...Pearloid pickguard finishes it off nicely. Really one of the most handsome guitars I've ever seen. Standard Z-Coil pick ups, etc. I bought this from a E-Bay dude who had gotten himself a G&L Dealership and was struggling. I was told that this one has all the upgrades... Whatever that means. Locking Tuners, Floating Bridge, great feeling neck and a nice G&L case all came in the deal. Also has a phase switch for changing z-coil config.

I have in the past been critical of people who say... nice out of the box without getting a pro set-up. SO, I am going to eat my words here and tell you, aside from a minor adjustement to the bridge, the Comanche played great from the start. FAST. This neck and fingerboard feel down right fast to me. Very smooth. Great looking guitar, everything was perfect as far as fit and finish goes.

Have not played this one a lot. I've got fifteen guitars so they get rotated. Basically, I love the way the Comanche looks, I am trying to keep it as "mint" as possible. However, that doesn't mean it's a virgin. So far, so good.

Haven't had to call.... which is good, right?

It's a cool vibe. Not for everybody, but for most. Play one and see for yourself.

Blueburst finish, rosewood fingerboard, 5-way switch w/mini toggle for bridge/neck pickup combinations. Floating vibrato bridge. Z-coil pickups.

This guitar produces many useful sounds including a classic Strat but you also get a great Tele vibe in the deal. The tone controls are nothing like a Strat. There are seperate, global bass/treble controls. Rolling the bass tone control completely off and adjusting the treble to taste provides a completely different palet of tones compared to the "full-on" tone settings. Very cool.

I didn't care for the round chrome metal knobs on the tone controls so I removed them and installed a pair of chicken head knobs in their place. I left the metal knob on the volume but the chicken head knobs on the tone controls look's quite attractive to my eyes and it's much easier to see where I have those set while playing.

Great tones for any song I need to play and it's QUIET under any condition. Gotta love that!

I bought used but it was setup well with 10's. I bumped that up to 11's for a while, dropped back to 9's and then finally settled back on the 10's. During that process, I got very familiar with the floating vibrato bridge adjustments.

This is the best vibrato bridge I've ever used. Stays in tune when it's released and if you get the fulcrum point adjusted properly you can do pedal steel bends and still maintain reasonable tuning on the strings that aren't being bent. Very nice.

Overall the guitar maintains whatever setup I want.

If you break a string, you will be down a while although it's not as nasty as a locking nut arrangement. It's simply the nature of a floating vibrato bridge that tuning will be greatly affected by a string breaking or tuning change.

Truss rod, bridge, fit & finish are all top notch. Don't need to worry about anything falling apart.

I have no idea if they would be helpful/friendly or not?

25+ years - I've owned enough gear to outfit a medium size music store. I'm into tube guitar amps and I have a Matchless DC-30, '52 Deluxe and recently a couple of handmade amps of my own doing based on surplus Matchless trannies.

I mostly use real amps but I'm also a fan of the Yamaha DG Stomp. I use it direct (When I have to, argh!) into a console or as a pedal in front of my amp. It offers many effects and decent OD's in one package but that's a review for another category.

I was originally in the market for Z-coil pickups and I was seriously looking into the ASAT Z3 model but I decided to give the Comanche vibrato bridge a chance and I'm glad I did. I get most of the ASAT vibe in addition to the buttery smooth and accurate vibrato arm. I couldn't be happier!

This 1998 Comanche is an American made strat derived guitar, which sports many quality features including Sperzel locking tuners, Z-Coil pickups, and a smooth G&L tremelo. The finish looks great, being that it is a honeyburst finish over a highly figured Swamp Ash body. The neck and fretboard are maple, and the neck is thicker than both American Stratocasters and G&L Legacys.

The pickup switching system is similar to that of a strat, except for that it has an additional switch which allows the player to choose 2 extra pickup combinations. With the switch engaged, the neck and bridge pickups can be used to produce a tele sound, and all three pickups at once for an out of phase, hollowed-out sound.

The guitar has the shape and dimensions of a strat, and we all know what those sound like. The difference in sound lies in the Magnetic Field Design Z-coil pickups. The pickups have a far more powerful output than standard single coils, yet somehow manage to retain their sparkling high end. These pickups suit me very well, as I spend much of my time playing jazz.

Z-coils tend to produce a bigger sound than normal single coils, and they allow me to use various positions for jazz and other styles (some say they have an output more in line with that of P-90s). Let me add that the Z-coils are full bodied pickups that don't lose their high end like other high output pickups do. The sound of the neck pickup wonderfully rich, and the bridge pickup is twangy and biting without being thin or brittle. Overall,I am very happy with these pickups.

The expander switch allows for the neck and bridge pickups to be engaged at the same time, which is great for making the Comanche sound like a Telecaster or a hollowbody. I have an ES-135 which I don't play nearly as much as I used to because I can closely approximate its sound using the Comanche.

I did not recieve my instrument from the factory, so I cannot comment on its action set at the factory. I can, however, say that I have never had build quality issues with any of my G&Ls, or any G&L I have played.

The frets are well dressed, and do not stick out at all.

The wood and finish are as good as I've seen.

Build quality on this guitar seems to be very high, and I do not forsee any problems. However, I have only owned this guitar for 6 months, and I cannot accurately vouch for the durability of this instrument.

Have not had to deal with them yet, which may be a testament to the instument's quality and durability!

I've been playing for 15 years, and I have never played a better strat-style guitar. Every aspect of this guitar has impressed me, from the feel to the sound and finish.

Made in 2001...bought in '02.
LOOKS LIKE A STRAT, SOUNDS LIKE A TELE, ES-330, and STRAT.
Lots of features: mini toggle to activate all three or two of the unique "Z" pickups. Locking Schaller tuners. Volume, bass, treble controls are tastefully done, just need some numbers to read the settings.
Beautiful honeyburst with highly figured ash, tortoise-shell pickguard, wood binding, rosewood board on a satin finish maple neck.
Bridge is made of solid brass, chrome finish, floating tremolo...a real work of art! NO, I DONT WORK FOR G&L, but I would not rule out a reasonable offer.
Case is a bit cheesy, but you can upgrade from the standard hardshell case.

Like I said: "Looks like a Strat, sounds like a Tele, ES, and Strat" rolled into one heavy weight guitar. My guess its weight is in the electronics and dense wood...great sustain and sound whilst unplugged.
As other owners have pointed out; this is the ideal "desert island" guitar...provided there is electricity.
The amp makes a big difference. I am partial to the Carr Rambler. The Comanche really shines thu one of these...especially the Tele tones!
Does lack a bit of the single coil 'charactar', but these 'Z' coil pups are dead quiet. Have to agree with a fellow rater: "Not quite as good as Fender Vintage Noiseless pups."
You can get Mark Knophler tones from this axe. Real mellow and clear to real bite on the treble settings.

Fantastic fit in the neck pocket, beautiful workmanship. Wood grain is the most highly figured I have seen. Called "Premium" finish, but G&L does not charge 'Custom Shop' prices.
Some cant get past the headstock design, I must admit, I had a time adjusting to the asthetics. But you dont play the headstock and the necks, playability, and sound you can get from these kicks the hell out of 95% of the Fenders.

Heard of some problems with the input jack. I own three G&L's and never had a major problem with them. I believe they make a quality product for a reasonable price.
The finish is among the best I have ever seen in my 40 years as a player and student of the guitar.

10 year warranty, non transferable...never had to use it. Folks on the G&L Appreaciation Page, are fairly supportive, with G&L experts contributing on a daily basis. There is a way to register your G&L, too.
Hand made by 'deciples' of LEO FENDER... the King of solid bods!
Employees seem dedicated to perpetuating Leo Fender's mission statement of "making a great guitar the best guitar" or words to that effect.

Far as I am concerned, G&L is the 'real' Fender. Yes... I like the Comanche, plenty, especially with the right amp!
Can understand why it lacks that 'magic mojo' for some, but its a very good alternative to lugging around three guitars. This one can sound like many different type of guitars, but 'tone' is in the fingers of the artist. Heard some play these to perfection, an it leaves you wanting to play on, and inspire. Its own sweet sound? For sure!

I bought a 2001 Commanche off Ebay, Seller said it was a 9.9, and it was, not a scratch, a thing of beauty. Gunmetal oil polished maple fretboard is one if not the nicest neck I have ever played on. It has the Z style pickups with a switch, but because I got no manual, I don't know yet all the different configs for pickups but I believe their are 8. Tremelo is nice with locking tuners. It has an Ash body, w/ trans tobacco sunburst finish.

Like I said 8 possible pickup configs, very similar to a Strat's sound, but with not as much "vibe" (that inexplicable sound that makes guitars sound cool. It does what it is suppose to do very well. The pickups I rate above Tex-Mex, but below the new Noiseless. Definetly has that single pickup sound.

Unbelievable finish, and workmanship. This is where the guitar really shines. It definetly has store appeal. Action is great, neck is the best, knobs, trees, details are outstanding. If you were to walk into a guitar store full of Strats, you would pick this guitar out as the best playing, and well made on the floor. Really takes its advantage here.

I have an older G&L Legacy. It is like a tank. The Commanche looks and will probably be the same.

Never dealt with G&L. Guitar did come w/ a neat Certificate signed by Mrs. Fender, w/ a nostalgic touch describing where it was made (Fender Ave.), Case and candy included.

Overall, very impressive. Would do the job anywhere anytime. It simply lacks that magic mojo (at least for me).