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.

Simple but beautiful. And just like that blonde I always wanted to get next to in college, the finish is natural over lovely curves. Solid medium-heavy swamp ash body that has excellent graining. Plain white pick guard and knobs. All the features, just as you'd expect.

I've owned several Strats including a 1973 and a 1999 American Deluxe Fat Strat and this is the sound that I've been looking for. I play blues and jazz and this guitar is so dynamic it blows me away everytime I pick it up. I find no need for effects playing through a Fender tweed amp. Give it a little extra volume and it can growl. Pull back a little and she just purrs. I am amazed at how long and clear a note will sing. I have to use that word because thats what its like. Its like she singing.

I bought her used and after new strings and a pro setup she is the most playable guitar I've ever owned

We've only been together a few months. Time will tell.

What can I say I'm in love. She is the perfect compliment for my G&L F-100.

Features : 10
??? Finish (Blue, transparent)
??? Body style (Strat)
??? Bridge style (Tune-O-Matic, Floyd Rose, Wilkinson)
??? Tuners (Locking)
??? Neck/Scale (Thin, Rosewood, Gun-oil option)
??? Any included accessories? (Case, and case candy)
??? 2004 (USA)
??? G&L Z coil PUP???s

2004 Swamp Ash with birds-eye gun oil neck. Perloid pick-guard. The Comanche trem stays in tune with the Sperzels and even a soft tap make her sing like a bird. Did I mention that this guitar looks classic and to this old guy it was the next logical step in the evolution of the strat. I am so happy that Leo never stopped trying and this guitar is a fitting tribute to his legacy. As a matter of fact, I purchase 2 of them that day. One in Blue-burst and the other is Cherry Sunburst with a Maple top. I thought I would use the other one for trade but that didn???t happen.

It never gives up, it never surrenders!!! I play old rock and I have for most of my 40 years and I have had many guitars slip through my hands, and my wife would tell you that I have many that have not :o) and this guitar convinced me to retire my strats to the music room. It is Versatile for many different types of music and it will NAIL the Ventures tunes. Blues, Rock, Pop are no problem as well.. No guitar can do it all but this one (at least for me) has help me cut down on the number of guitars I need on stage. I play it through a Fender Deluxe Reverb and a 64 Vibroverb and that combination just can not be beat.

What can I say? The action fit and finish are top quality. This guitar is built in a relatively small shop compared to the big boys and you get custom shop quality at a mass production price. Don???t get me wrong, they are not inexpensive instruments when compared to the Strat for a grand or less, but the quality and sounds are worth the extra bucks, and it could even cut down on the number of guitars you need to purchase to get the sounds you are looking for

It's built right with only the very best components. I have not had a problem and I don???t expect any.

Haven't needed to talk to them.

Overall an easy 10 rating. This has the sound, the looks, the classic feel and vibe that Leo is famous for. I understand that this was the guitar he was working on when he passed on and if this is true, I would guess that he created the perfect guitar and there was nothing left for him to accomplish on Earth.

2005 Swamp ash & georgeous figured maple top. Very cool birds eye gun oil neck. Perloid pickguard. I like the dual fulcrum trem, but I've been a Kahler guy for many years. My orignal G&L Rampages have Kahlers. I like them better, primarily because it can bend slacker and up further. The Comanche trem is more subtle. The Comanche trem stays in tune with the Sperzels even when dive bombed and pulled up to the stops. I restrung with EB Slinky standard 10's and it was as breeze with locking tuners. Did I mention that this guitar looks stunning? As mentioned before neck is thick. Not a problem for me.

Lots of sounds. Versitile for many different kinds of music. Blues, Rock, Pop. Not so much for metal or speed riffing. No guitar I've ever played will do it all. This one comes close. Thats why I gave it a 9 not a 10. Sounds absolutely inspiring through my little 60's Fender Princeton Reverb. Rich and thick tone with a bell like quality when using the micro togle to activate the combination neck and bridge pick-ups together. Very versitile through Deam Markley 2 channel RMA-150 hybrid amp (tube pre solid state power section, active tone) A country lickers dream with THD bi-valve and of course it sounds incredible through Mesa Boogie Triple Rec. All my G&L's sound awesome through the MB TR. It is the bomb for high quality guitars, sucks for cheap crappy axes - too hard to control.

What can I say? The action fit and finish are top quality, and it can be easily set up for any action type you prefer.

It's built like a brick sh&*Thouse. Everthing it tight. I gig 2-3X per month. Only had 10 days so haven't giged yet, but I'll for sure be gigging with it. I know guitars having managed a guitar store, owned 10's of dozens over the years, and worked on and set up thousands of guitars. I've no concerns about the durability whatsoever. Locking straps? I simply won't gig without them. One thing I will prbably do is to remove the neck finish on the bolt mating surface in the neck pocket. The tone is already sooo good I can only image what taking the tone damping finish off the mating surfaces will do. Yes, I tweak everything , I'm just particular. I'm sure the sound will then go to 10.

Haven't needed to talk to them.

Overall an easy 10 rating

Finish: wonderfull!! Honeyburst swamp ash body with quilted maple top, bird's eye maple neck and fretboard, white pearloid pickguard and white pick ups covers: the most beautiful guitar I ever had!
Strat style body
G.& L. Dual Fulcrum bridge: excellent!
Schaller locking tuners: excellent too!
G.& L. type 1#, 12' radius, maple, jumbo frets, Fender scale: excellent but impegnative.
Gig bag and humidifier: the original owner equipped the guitar with the security strap buttons.
Probably was made in 2005, in USA, of course!
22 frets
Solid
Volume, master high and master bass tones PTB system, 5 position switch, mini togggle for pick up expantion.
Pick ups 3 G.& L. Z single coils. with passive electronic ( I hate active electronic! )

I play guitar from about 35 years; in the past i playied professional and now I play part-time rock -blues with a band and every kind of music in a studio were we recorded computer music, commercial, pop or music for movies.
I use a Crate VC 5212 or I play straight into the computer using a program which emulate many different amps and effects; when i play live I use two overdrives, a ProCo Rat for the very distorted tones and an old Chandler tube Overdrive setted with very low drive for blues tones, an Ibanez Rotary Chorus, an Ibanez Digital Delay and a Marshall Vibratrem.
It is not noisy, probably the quietest single coils equipped guitar that I ever had.
I'm agree with all the previous comments that said that The Comanche is not "only" a very good SuperStrat; it is something very different and more! An incredible well done guitar ( but this don't surprise me because I have two ASATs too and I know how the G.& L. guys work...), with a very big range sounds and opportunities: the Comanche is expecially good for the recording studio work: it is versatile with a wide choose of sounds and both the tone knobs work very well, they are very smart and responsive and gives to the player the opportunity to find very interestings sounds.
About the live work you must learn how to use this guitar: you can set the tones in the way you like more and use only the volume and the pickups selector to avoid risks, but anyway the mini toggle gives to you other two opportunities of changing sound. When the bass tone knob is all close the volume of the instrument decrease and , of course , the tone become bright and to thin. Personally I set both the tones about at half and after I turn the bass knob a maximum open to play the solos.
It has almost every kind of tone you can have from a single coils equipped guitar: it can play bright, clean or fat and warm.It don't plays just only like a Les Paul or similar style guitars.
The sounds neck+middle and middle+bridge are the best of this kind that I ever heard!; the all three togheter is excellent.
The "like a Tele" sound is good, but a good Tele is another thing...
Each one of the Z coils used alone, sounds different from my expectations and very strange and new to me: very good but anyway different from the classic Strat pick ups.
In particular I found a couple of sounds very close to the Clapton last production and many sounds that you can ear in the Hellecasters albums. I just don't like that I still haven't found how to replicate the twang of the vintage Strat bridge and neck pick up.

I bought this guitar used and the orinal owner setted the guitar in a way that I absolutely don't like. I brougth her to the " Doctor", my liuthier Paolo, and he did an excellent job. Now with a 0,10 strings set the neck and the playability are excellent: the bird's eye maple neck and fretboard are very well done and the jumbo frets are ok. The neck adjustement system work perfectly.
My liutier, which is a Strato maniac, wants to buy a Comanche for him too!

Very relayable and stable! The Dual Fulcrum bridge rexists very well to my vibrato exibithions and only after some excessives dive bombs some string con go a little out of tune.
The neck is very stable and perfectly jointed to the body.
I never go for a gig without an other guitar with me but actually I never be in need to replace my Comanche.

I never needed the customer support service

I played more than 30 years: I actually have five electric professional guitars and two good acoustic guitars ( plus other six or seven cheap guitars and three vintage italian mandolins and my grandfather's classical guitar from the 30's ). tha five electric guitars are 3 G.& L., An ASAT Classic, an ASAT Special and the Comanche and two Les Paul, a Standard and a Studio upgraded with 57 Classic pick ups.
Before to buy the Comanche I was looking for a very good Strat trying to spent not too much money. I knew the G.& L. excellent quality and when I founded this one on line at a very good price i decided to buy it: anyway I played another Comanche before to buy this one and knew the guitar, even if I played it only 30 minutes in a shop.
If they stole this guitar I should be in doubt to buy again a comanche or to try a G.& L. S 500, becouse it has the same elecronic with more traditional pick us.
I love the neck, excellent, it's quality in general, the look , I love the versatility and the quality of the tones and , finally, the playability, weight and confort.
I don't like only that it don't has, or I still not be able to find how to create, the vintage twang of the Strato's bridge and neck pick ups.
I compared it with a good Fender Strato belong to a friend of mine, with different amps ( Fender Super 112,Bassman, Vibroverb and my Crate ) and I discover that it is something different, more complex and versatile and that it sounds different.
Of course the Comanche sounds very different from my Les Paul Standard, but this is obvious. The two ASATs , expecially the Special, have a lot of twang more than the Comanche, and a louder volume, but less versatility.
But you can't have all you want in one guitar! this Comanche is whitout any doubt the most versatile guitar tha I ever had, excellent for studio sessions and for all that players that likes to go around with just one axe!

Mine was made in 2000, beautiful combination of blueburst, maple neck, white pickguard, three black Z-coil pickups and chrome hardware. Features also separate treble and bass controls, mini toggle switch for additional pickup combinations, and GL tremolo bridge. Weights a ton, but i like that. Am. Strat is a toy in comparison :-)I only wish it had the Buzz Feiten tuning system factory-installed, then it would be the winner for recording sessions. My only concern is - the neck is SO massive, that it can possibly cause problems to players with smaller hands - I know, what I'm talking about :-)

This is why I bought this guitar. I play jazz and fusion,my original intention was to buy a strat-like guitar to complement my Gibson ES 135 LE, so I could cover the "pop-territory" as well. Now my 135 is for sale. Surprised? So was I.:-) I found myself playing the Comanche not only during pop/rock recording sessions, but at the jazz jams as well. I like its ability to go damn close to the 135 sound, while on the other side you can instantly switch the pickup combination and play the hottest, tele-like cowboy riffs, and then dig in a Cry Baby and funk it out. Amazing. And it still retains its own character. I have played several american strats, and I must admit this is a completely different guitar, but the musical value is fully comparable. Futher, the Z-coils are a bit the love-hate affair.They are very trasparent sounding and a kind of unforgiving, but once you discover their huge musical potential, you will love them. I have also discovered, that this guitar is extremely amp-sensitive. Once it is an aristocrat, it will not like to play trough the solidstate Crate, but on the other side it likes tube Fenders and will sing trough them. I know you can say this about almost any guitar, but here it is twice the truth. Clean sounds are FAT, yet bright, sometimes the bass knob is a very handy thing to have - when you play clean, you will usually tend to back it off a bit. Actually, it is a kind of addiction - once you have the possibility to set the amount of the lows, you have a problem - other guitars don't have this, and first when you switch back to a non-PTB guitar, you will realize, how much you are missing it. A bit dangerous:-) Distorted territory - that's Comanche's second home. I was able to nail almost everything - from Scofield to Eric Johnson. When it comes to dirt, I have a feeling this guitar somehow loves the RAT pedal from ProCo Sound. I don't know exactly why, but this duo of Comanche hunting a RAT through Fender HRD seems to sound more musical than through the distorted channel of Mesa/Boogie Caliber 50.
I love the tremolo. I tend to bend the notes a bit, when I'm playing, and therefore I appreciate its smooth action. I play almost all the time with the tremolo arm under my palm to do very light bends, and first with this tremolo I can fully do what I want without annoying problems with height of the arm or too tough action. Of course, it's my personal taste.
Warning! The neck is HUGE and Massive, and it certainly contributes to the fat overall sound and sustain, BUT... if you have small hands, beware of this. I have them, so I can honestly say: if any 25.5 scale guitar is hard to play, then this is a torture. But on the other side, it's so beautifull sounding guitar, that I'm on my way to get used.
Many people are interested in comparison Comanche vs. Strat. My opinion is these are two completely different axes. My experience is: with the strat you can't go even close to a sound of any other guitar, which may not matter.The Comanche is far more versatile and it can imitate even such a different instrument as Gibson ES-135 surprisingly well. And, yes, if you play modern country, this is a holy grail:-)

This is all about craftmanship. And here it is simply TOP. Whether you want higher action for clearer tones or a lower setup for twangy punch, all is possible. I'm not a guitar tech, but I was told that working on this guitar is a pleasure. I think GLs are one of the best guitars in this cathegory.
Oh, and the blueburst.... love at the first sight. And second as well-no flaws:-) If only women could be like this....:-) :-)

It's six years old, still looks as new. I play it every day, and so far no problem. You can hardly find more solidly build guitar.

Never tried.

I play guitar 17 years, and except Comanche I own Gibson ES-135, which is now for sale. Honestly, I never went familiar with this guitar, I don't know why. Maybe it doesn't like me. :-) With Comanche I have far better relationship.
Loves: Ultimate versatility, musical sound, overall vibe. This guitar doesn't only want you to play guitar, it makes you wanting to create MUSIC.
Hates: Too thick neck for my small hands, I hope I'll get used.
One suggestion to potential Comanche buyers: this is very unusual instrument, and when you test it, be objective. This is not a strat, and the more time you spend with it in the store, the more you'll find this is an absolutely unique instrument with tons of possibilities and unmatched tone.
I have tested several Comanches, and first I didn't like them, because they didn't sound like the industry standard strat tone, which everyone has in his head, and so was it with me. After third or fourth return to the store I was definitely floored. This is THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. Give it a try, and maybe you won't regret:-)

My Comanche is a 2005, honeyburst over bookmatched flame maple top, gun-oil tint over outrageously intricage birdseye maple neck/fingerboard, white pickup covers and eye-popping mother-of-toilet-seat pickguard, and gleaming chrome hardware all the way around. Gorgeous! In every other way, it is identical in features to all of the Comanches reviewed below. So I won't bother repeating it all. Suffice to say it has all of the features that I need in an electric guitar, except for that "Les Paul sound" (and I have a Les Paul for that).

You'll read a lot of reviews below that talk about this guitar "almost getting that Strat sound." I think it's important to note that when Leo Fender founded G&L with George Fullerton, his goal was not to make Strats with a different headstock. He recognized the limitations of the Strat and Tele, but he knew the tradition of those instruments was so strong that he couldn't really tear them down to bare bones and build them up again into something better, at least not under the Fender banner. So he started G&L. The first model there was the ASAT, which is an acronym for "After Strat After Tele." The message here was clear and remains so: Leo Fender wanted to build a different and BETTER guitar than the Fender corporation was producing.

In terms of sound, I believe he succeeded. The Comanche has a "Strat-ish" quality, but that could arguably be said of any guitar with single coil pickups. Where it differs markedly from a Strat is in fullness, punch, and versatility. As others have noted in their reviews, the output is blistering, and pushes an amp much harder than a Strat can do. The result, especially if you're running a tube preamp, is that joyful sound of the amp actually WORKING to handle the input. This guitar almost gets as much natural amp compression as my Les Paul with Burstbuckers... but with infinitely more clarity, and glassy, chiming treble tones that shame the best Telecaster.

As many have observed already, the pickup switching is very clever, and combined with the separate bass and treble controls (separate roll-off for each, no boost as this is a passive guitar), allows you to achieve a huge variety of tones. The coolest thing about the mini-toggle is that it allows you to jump from a hollow, ringing, out-of-phase tone using the neck and middle pickups, to a full-bore blowout using all three pickups, with a single flip of the switch.

I must say that I have not found the pickups to be totally hum-eliminating, but this is very much dependent on the environment. In an old building with dirty power and substandard grounding, it will still pick up hum from dimmers, ceiling fans, ice machines and the like. But it is far more hum-resistant than any guitar equipped with standard Fender-style single coils.

I own a Gibson Custom Shop LP, and an F-Bass BN5 handmade by George Furlanetto. The workmanship on the Comanche is better. In fact, it is flawless. I don't really know what else to say.

I ordered this guitar from GuitarSale.com sight unseen (ask for Barry, he's a great guy and he described the guitar over the phone perfectly). When I opened the case, I nearly wept. My girlfriend actually felt the need to leave the apartment so the Comanche and I could be alone. The finish is so deep, clear as glass. The color is extraordinary - it looks like a big glob of wet caramel, and with the golden color of the gun-oil tinted neck, it simply glows. Everything is straight and tight and precise. It was a wonderful feeling just to lift it out of the case.

The action was perfect right out of the box. It was even in tune! The guitar shipped with .010's though, and I prefer .011's, so I switched them straight away, and made a pre-emptive tweak of the truss rod (just a quarter of a turn). The next morning, I had to back out that truss rod adjustment! This is a mighty, mighty neck, that feels perfect in your hands. This is the most solid feeling guitar I have ever played. It's a rock (but not as heavy as a rock, or a LP).

As a said above, this is the most solid feeling guitar I've ever owned... and after 30+ years of playing, I have owned quite a few. I have no reservations about the durability of this instrument. But I never gig without a backup! What if I accidentally dropped it off the edge of the stage onto the dancefloor and broke something critical? That, of course, would be my fault, not G&L's!

Have not had to deal with them.

I've been playing for over 30 years, all styles. Yes, I've owned just about everything in those years, except for some insanely exotic and expensive one-off custom (I do have a couple of basses like that, though). Interesting how many reviewers of G&L guitars are guys like me, who have played everything and finally settled on a product from Leo Fender's last and best company.

I was looking for a Fender-ish guitar, not only to complement my Les Paul, but also specifically for a recording/gigging project that just begged for that sound. So I compared to Fenders, naturally, and I went all the way up to the big-ticket Strats like the Clapton and Eric Johnson models. I played a bunch of other stuff too, from Parker to Valley Arts. What I found was that the top-of-the-line Strats to one thing very, very well, at least in terms of tone. The best of the customs based on the Strat design do that same thing very well, only cosmetically they are superior to the Fender products (which they ought to be, at twice the price). Other guitars (Parker Fly) got a greater variety of tones, but didn't nail the Strat/Tele vibe closely enough. Among this group, the Comanche was a revelation. It gave me a very close approximation of the signature Fender sound. But it also gives so much more tonally. It's just a bigger, tougher, meatier sound. The workmanship leaves anything I've ever seen from the Fender factory in the dust, including the custom shop. Seriously, when you hold a G&L guitar for the first time, you'll think the price on the tag is a typo. I don't know how they build guitars to this level of quality, with these kinds of materials, in the USA for the prices they charge.

What I love: the tone, the quality, the tone, the finish, the tone, the neck, the tone, the pickup switching and EQ options, the tone, and the tone.

What I hate: that I didn't buy one a long time ago.

Yes, I'd replace it if it were lost or stolen, no question.

If you are considering shelling out top dollar for one of the nicer Strats (Cray, Clapton, Beck, Custom Classic), go out and play as many of them as you can. Then go play a G&L Comanche or Legacy. I figure if you're looking at the Fender Relics/Time Machines/Closet Classics, you're in love with the idea of having a simulated vintage Fender and money is no object. But if you are just looking for a great guitar, and you can get over the fact that with a G&L, you're not getting a Fender, but rather the guitar Leo Fender designed to overcome the limitations of Strats and Teles, then you must check these out. These guitars are Leo's legacy. They burn. They are exquisitely made. And really, the cache of owning one is not diluted by some Mexican-made look-alike. Seriously, most people would not know the difference between a $2000 Mark Knopfler and a $200 Squier from 20 feet away. G&L has the Tribute line, but these are outstanding guitars at their price point in their own right (unlike the low end of the Fender line, which is simply junk).

So, if you're ready to get out of the "I must have a Strat or Tele" mindset, go play G&L. You will be very pleasantly surprised.

Made in 2005...USA. 22 frets, with a flame maple top and swamp ash body. The finish is honeyburst, the neck is birdseye maple with gun oil tint. G & L dual fulcrum tremelo, works fine as far as I can tell, but i'm not really into using it when i play. It doesn't make the guitar go out of tune or anything. The tuners are sperzel locking, no problems there. The pickup system was kind of intimidating with the extra toggle switch. But there are a lot of good sounds. The cable input is on the front, and it looks normal. It really looks like a sweet guitar and it has all sorts of features to make you happy.

I play mostly rock and roll and jam stuff, nothing overly intense. The guys i play with cover some black crowes, rolling stones, steve miller band, pearl jam, the chili's...whatever. This sounds really good doing that, i can't say about other kinds of music like real jazz or heavy metal...i'm kind of a one trick pony as far as my playing goes. It could probably cover a lot of territory and do it well, i'm just not the guy to ask.

At first i didn't know what the z-coils would be like. I enjoy them now, and they give off a strat vibe without question. There is no hum, which is why the pickups look the way that they do.

I play it through a cry baby and some voodoo lab pedal and then a fender deville 4x10. I like my set-up and think that the comanche and the amp complement each other well. It all depends what you are looking to do, but the rock and roll, jam and alternative scenes are taken care of for me. It has a bright tone that cuts through the mix well, but you can adjust it to sounds how you want with all of the controls on board. soooo lots of variety...sounds really good, don't be worried about the pickups they are cool.

The action and all that is good. I'm not very picky, but you can always change it if you don't like it. There were no cosmetic or funtional issues. It is a very high quality instrument, and it looks awesome. They do a great job with the birdseye maple neck and the gun oil tint. My other guitar has a rosewood fingerboard, so this one is different.

It's relatively new, so i've just been practicing and jamming with it. No problems though.

I wanted a guitar that didn't have the humbucker sound, but the noise of single coil's wierded me out. This one takes care of both my issues. Looks, sounds, plays like and expensive guitar should. I would buy one if i were you (or if this one disappears)

Recent vintage Comanche in blueburst with a rosewood neck, stock Sperzels, G&L's PTB control set up, and three Z-3 hum cancelling single coil pickups. Also a mini toggle to add a pair of extra pickup combinations, either all on or neck and bridge activated together. A strat styled body, of course, with a Fender scale neck that's incredibly fat. Floating dual fulcrum tremelo that I don't plan on using. I got this used with an original G&L case and whammy bar.

The Comanche is a pretty unique instrument. It can be adequately described as a "super-strat"... The Z-3s are noise free and have output levels more akin to P-90s than strat type pickups. The PTB system is a little perplexing, although once you get a handle on it you'll have a hard time using anything else. Massive sound, very full, clucky as a strat on steroids when needed, big as a Les Paul Jr at other times. You can also make this sound like a banjo being horsewhipped if you aren't careful.

I'm using it with an '88 Mesa Mark II or a 2000 Budda Superdrive 30 and a fair battery of effects that have included things like Analog Man's MBC, the Barber Direct Drive SS, Jauernig's DGTM, some of Mike Farrow's boosters, Xotic's AC Boost, and so on.

PTB is tricky. You'll initially want to constantly tweak and turn the master tone knobs, but I've found that for me, setting the middle knob (treble) and then dialing bass in or out as needed seems to work best. Otherwise I'm all over the map, making "Cat Scratch Fever" sound like a cat yodelling in a rainstorm. Once you settle on an approach and work within it, it's much more consistant.

This can do the Clapton "Let It Rain"/"After Midnight" strat reediness like nothing I've ever heard. It shines on things like "Mississippi Queen" as well. You have to pick it up and experiment, but it have a very unique set of tones available.

Because of redundant setting in the mini toggle positions (1 and 5 are both all on; 2 and 4 are both neck and bridge; 3 remains middle pickup only) you can use the mini toggle for radical eq changes in mid song, setting up a razor lead tone on your rear pickup and then flipping the toggle up for a meaty clean rhythm part, for instance. Very cool, but you DO HAVE TO THINK with this guitar. Not as much of a "set and forget" axe as others I've had. This is a ultimately a good thing, although it is initially a little aggravating.

Got it used, so I can't speak to a factory set up. Came with .10s, I loaded up some .009s, and will probably need to have a new nut cut for it because of string buzz. Used instruments commonly have issues like these. The pickups are pretty much at factory settings; many people back these down because the output is SO overwhelming. Top and bridge are perfect, a few chips from the previous regime, but I like instruments with some character to them.No complaints. This is a VERY solid instrument... It makes my American Standard strat feel like a toy in comparison. The neck, as I said, is BIG... 12 inch radius, and massive. Adds a lot to the instrument's sustain I imagine. Small hands may want to watch out for this.

I've played it live now half a dozen times... No problems whatsover. The question is when will I ever put it down? Hardware is fine, finish is as brawny as the rest of the guitar. Strap buttons are now Dunlop Straploks (the only mod I've made so far), but the original buttons were terrific. I'd definitely depend on it, but I always carry a backup in case of broken strings or ear fatigue.

I've been playing for 30+ years now. After owning Gibsons, Fenders, PRSs, Reverends, Parkers, and several other brands I've culled my "collection" own to this, a Hamer Artist, and an American Standard strat. I have to say that this guitar is the first instrument I've ever played that's made everything before it seem like a toy. Not even my first pro instrument, a '69 SG Special, was this solid and satisfying. I think the PTB system, although daunting at first, is terrific.

Words of caution: although I've mentioned a few benchmark tones here, the Comanche is really a different kind of guitar. It's bigger, more intense, and feels different from anything else that I've ever played. A lot of people just don't quite know what to make of them, so take your time and get comfortable before giving up. I hope to get another soon. For tone, workmanship, and general vibe this may be the best non-custom American made instrument out there.

The features are well-known by now -- examine the reviews below. I will add that the pickup and wiring scheme is brilliant...the PTB (passive treble and bass roll-off + expander switch) allows for a ton of tonal options...no other guitar I've owned in over 20 years offers as much tonal variety. Absolutely first rate concept and execution.

A full spectrum of useable and excellent sounds.
Regardless of what style you play, you can do it justice with this guitar...rock, blues, country, jazz, folk, fusion...personally, I'm into the experimental and avant/post rock thing and I really like this guitar.

Hum with single coils is gone with these pups.

Amazing!

This baby has better action, fit, and finish than any Strat I've owned. The 12" radius is so much better than the vintage 7.5 and contemporary 9 that you get from Fender... I've owned several Strats and other Fender guitars and G&L really has them beat with the Comanche. Mine is blonde over swamp ash with gold hardware...just stunning. The gun oil tint to the maple neck is lush.

The woods are top notch.

Neck pocket is razor sharp, everything is rock solid...You could do better, perhaps, but you'd have to spend 2 to 3 times more from Grosh, Anderson, Suhr, et al to get there.

Tuning stability is fantastic...it was shipped by UPS half way across the country and it arrived *perfectly* in tune.

The only way to improve this guitar would to put stainless steel frets on it...but it was made before SS was the au courant feature among builders. My NiteFly can beat it on action ("nothing plays like a Parker" ain't just a slogan, it's the truth) but the G&L feels more organic (especially due to the rosewood fretboard) than my Parker. When it's time for a refret I'll see if can't get Chris Shaffer to do the fretwork for me -- he did a custom 19TET acoustic for me and the the fretwork was astonishingly good (you can find Chris at www.kronosonic.com).

built like a tank -- combined with the tonal variety of this guitar you could easily play this guitar for decades and be perfectly happy.

I don't know

playing for 24 years...I own and have owned more than my fair share of guitars from all the major manufacturers. My first guitar back in 1981 was a G&L SC1 and it was a dog. The radius was vintage and the frets were low and wide...just a bad formula unless you just wanted to strum cowboy chords...so I was hesitant to consider G&L again...however the Comanche fit all my current requirements so I took a chance -- man, I was overjoyed with what I got. It plays like butter, is built to last, sounds fantastic, and is beautiful.

I wish it had come with strap locks and a better case that actually fits the guitar.

The guitar has a longer headstock than a Strat meaning that it does not fit just right in the factory case...weird. The only consequence for this is that the 1st string tuner can get turned while in the case. Curious but not a problem.

If I lost this guitar I would definately get another just like it. It's a no-brainer.

Why buy a Fender product when you can get the real deal from G&L with a much better price to performance ratio? The last Fender I owned was an "American Standard" from 1988. I dropped it and to my horror discovered that it was made not just from plywood but what appeared to be wood sausage. The thing just exploded into little chunks. I vowed to never waste my money on a Fender again...in fact, after that, I sold anything that had "Fender" on it. Fender is just a huge corporation, ruled by bean counters, cranking out mediocre stuff as fast as they can.

If you want a "real" Neumann microphone then you buy a Gefell with the M7 capsule and if you want a "real" Fender guitar then get a G&L. It's pretty simple.

This is an american-made Stratocaster-style guitar, made by the company set up by Leo Fender and George Fullerton, after the Fender company was sold by the former, who, of course, was the founder.

Mine is a post-2003 (probably 2004) Comanche in ?Honeyburst?. Dating G&Ls: one can either refer to the G&L enthusiasts? site www.guitarsbyleo.com and hope that others? data is there, against which you can compare your own serial number, or for a definitive dating you can take the neck off, and apparently find a date stamp on the neck, and one in the body pocket. As I am loathe to remove the neck from what is a superbly-set up guitar, all I can find out from the serial number is that mine is post November 2003.

First, some words about the build quality: stunning; amazing; fantastic; awesome; gobsmacking? do you get the picture? I never thought I?d live to see such build quality in a guitar that cost me 620 quid! Everything is tight, no rattles, nor blemishes.. the hardware is great and the overall finish is stunning.

The features: stunningly-figured bolt-on (4 bolts) birdseye maple one-piece neck, tinted with gun oil, and finished to a brilliant high gloss. Apparently, 4 different necks are available for this guitar, and mine definitely has a ?C? profile, with a nut width of 1 and 5/8th inches, but I?m unable to say what the radius is. (Lack of carpentry knowledge)! 22 frets which are medium jumbo on my model, and very nice black abalone dot inlay markers. Graphite nut, locking (Sperzel?) tuners, bullet truss rod (one eighth of an inch AF), and a black plastic string tree for the top two strings.

The body is ash, with a beautiful bookmatched ?flame? maple top.

The pickguard is 3-ply white pearloid.

The pickups are white G&L Z3s, with 5-way selector switch Strat-style with a white cylindrical tip, with separate volume, treble, and bass rotary controls which are in chrome (known as the PTB system), and there is also a small two-way selector switch enabling more pickup configurations than the normal Strat-style: for example, you can have the upper half of the neck pickup with the lower half of the bridge pickup, or all three pickups together, but without the benefit of a manual, I?m unable to say which setting is which! I just have to rely on my ears.

The bridge is G&L?s own fulcrum-style, with separate adjustable saddles for each string, and a pop-in steel tremelo arm that has an allen bolt fixing, if you want to have a tight tremelo arm fitting. (Nice touch). I very much like the visual design of the bridge too: it?s chunkier than the stock Strat fulcrum, with rounded front corners as well. Looks very nice.

The lead socket is a usual Strat-style, recessed front-of-body.

The hard case is G&L?s own, plain-looking and uninspiring, but functional nonetheless, and I personally do not find it too small for the guitar. No complaints from me.

Now the sounds and playability: my rig is a GK 250ML Series 2 with a 2x10 Celestion stereo extension cab.

Although it looks to all intents and purposes like a super custom Strat, it?s much much more than that, as a previous reviewer wrote. I did get approximations of the stock Strat sounds, but not exactly, which pleased me no end, because the array of sounds goes beyond any Strat I?ve ever played, both clean sounds and overdriven. Absolutely gorgeous. It?s a separate guitar in its own right, not any sort of a Strat clone, at least sound-wise. I like the PTB system: separate bass and treble controls, enabling more shaping of sounds than the norm.. it sounds great with the GK?s inbuilt compressor too, which doesn?t happen with many guitars, in my experience. Overdriven in either of the parallel positions, with the treble cut out, it screams.

..and the playability? What can I say? It arrived with by far the best setup I?ve ever had in a purchased guitar. Only one thing have I had to adjust since receipt, which is quite stunning in itself: I just raised the 1st string a tad, to accommodate my bending style. The trem setup is floating, super-smooth, soft yet no sloppiness whatsoever, and the action is quite wonderful. With the high-gloss maple neck, it is low, slick and fast, with no buzz whatsoever. The neck is probably the best thing about this guitar, in my opinion. Superb.

Time will tell, but I've every confidence this superb build quality is built to last.

Never had to use them.

So what?s wrong with it? Nothing, really. All opinions are subjective, but nevertheless, being a confirmed ?V-necker?, I would prefer a V neck, and this option is available for this guitar. When I first got it, I thought that I?d prefer a fixed bridge too.. but this guitar has swayed me: I love the trem, but..

In my opinion, a Hipshot tremsetter might not go amiss. The bridge is so supersensitive, that any tuning automatically affects the sympathetic tuning of the other strings, which can be a bugger in the middle of a song. That?s not to say that this guitar has tuning problems, because it stays in tune very well? it?s just that on those rare occasions when one string does slip, it?s tricky to retune.
I?m not too sure about the graphite nut/string tree, either. It?s probably down to my sticky fingers, but it starts to catch on the second string after a decent play..

..but these are just minor considerations, when held up against all the positives this great guitar has. Would I buy another one? You betcha I would! It?s absolutely friggin? gorgeous! You can probably guess that I?m completely taken by this guitar, and the whole G&L thing.

I?ve been playing for 36-odd years, and also own a Fender Strat Plus, a Fender Strat Ultra, an Indie ILP5, and a Fender Classic. I would recommend the Comanche unequivocally, and am nothing but amazed that there isn?t a lot more interest in G&Ls in the secondhand market. More fool the public, that?s what I say. It?s a player?s dream of a guitar, IMO.

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!