G&L F-100

It's an F-100 Series II, 1980 or 81, I forget. By now you all know the features so I'll just say the pickups and dual fulcrum bridge are a treat to behold ! I can get every sound I want with the switches and controls. I've set the action low and it's the easiest to play guitar I own. A true players extravaganza of tone and feel ! Best kept secret of any guitar because you can find 'em pretty cheap--under $500 usually.

I use it through a Blues Deville 4-12's or Legend Rock N Roll 50 2-12's and its pure nirvana. You want rich/full sound? You got it. Want bright ? Check. Awesome passive p/u's. There is nothing I don't like about this guitar. Mahogany body,nicely balanced , comfortable neck. I was so impressed after I put it together, because I bought it in mid-modification(see below)that I now own 2 Legacys and an ASAT Classic also.

I've owned it since about 1991 and I am prepping it to refinish. Don't worry, the finish was gone when I bought it and I was told it was originally Tobacco burst. Haven't decided on the new finish yet. The "arm boss" -that's what they call the hole where you stick the tremelo arm, has lost it's chrome but everything else looks almost new. Well, not the knobs but I play it all the time and it's 28 years old. I used to be 28 years old.(sigh) The fit is right on the money still. I used to be fit.(sigh,uncontrollable sobbing)The action is unbelievable ! I used to get action!(eyes beginning to tear up)

Absolutely dependable, electronics have always worked like new. No need for a back-up and I know I'll still be playing it in 28 more years if I don't have gnarled, arthritic paws. And only if I do would I ever part with it. If you can locate one , you should buy it because this is the most versatile guitar I own and I have 22 I think. This is THE all-purpose guitar if you could only have one. I sincerely mean this ! It has given me so much joy to play it and even the newer G&L stuff is probably the best value out there. So far they haven't copied the "other" Leo F. guitar company and made 97 different kinds of the same model in 17 different countries. They build a model, make it perfect, set it up by pros,and we get to own them! Even the small handmade luthiers don't make a better guitar but charge 3-4 times what G&L does. Can you tell I'm a big fan ?

I have dealt with customer service but not for this guitar and they were stellar.

I've played for 30 years (jeez, really ? Suddenly I got chest pains.) I love the endless number of sounds I can get- I wonder why on the "Reissue" which they call something besides reissue, G & L made dopey changes ! Should have left perfection alone. I bought it disassembled because some metal-head-wet-brain (no offense to all you metal-head-wet-brains) tried to putty the neck pickup cavity to make it like EVH ! Luckily he needed rent money so I was able to stop the carnage before he really messed it up ! This guitar should really be owned by someone who appreciates tone. Not for NU-metal and all the other metal offshoots in my opinion. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The GREAT Paul Meisenzahl and Eric Aceto at Ithaca Guitar Works (Ithaca,NY) knew I was a "parrot" and set me up with the F100 around 1980-81. I think I paid around $750 for it with a case brand new, but man that was the best money I've ever spent on a gig guitar. It has a maple neck with the rosewood fingerboard, fat frets, and a sunburst body. It also has the active circuitry, which is great, and I had Eric at Guitar Works add an out-of-phase switch which was quite a challenge... we had to disable the treble boost when that was in effect, but it gave me that ultra-thin 'disco' sound and also added to the Tele/Chicken-Picken' stuff for pseudo country licks.

In 80-81 I was playing in a top-40 cover bands 6 nights/week and needed to reproduce everything from Van Halen to disco to country to you-name-it. If some fool recorded it using a guitar, it was my job to present it to bars full of drunken college kids and high-society weddings. The F100 covers the sonic spectrum- treble boost, bass boost, humbuckers you can split to single coil... you name it, you can make the sound. This axe is a bar band schlub's dream come true. I always carried a spare guitar in case disaster struck...but I didn't need a pile of guitars onstage because the F100 totally covered ALL of the sonic bases.

G and L was a new company but this guitar was A1 solid workmanship through and through, enhanced by the genius luthier Eric Aceto at Ithaca Guitar Works . My only complaint - it is HEAVY. That of course helps the sound but not the back of the guitarist doing 4-5 sets nightly. I was a kid back then and didn't mind... today I need a stool if I'm going to play the F100 all night.

28 years banging around in a van, used on stage nightly, still going strong. NEVER needed anything other than routine set-up. Need I say more? The finish is shot now and the hardware is all rusty because I sweat like a pig, but it still plays great.

My only beef -the whammy.

I'm pretty sure my F-100 was made in 1980 or 81. I bought it in 1981 for $950 out the door with hard case/white piping. It has the ash body with blue translucent finish (beautiful) and white maple neck. I have the flat finger board/smooth frets. I understand there were various neck options. I'm partial to the Gibson feel. It has two humbuckers, coil tap (single, parrallel, out of phase), and pre-amp...great boost on treble pick-up/out of phase for lead. I like single coil treble pick-up for rythm. Very clean. Stock tuners, whammy bar.

The thing I like most...well, there are many things I like/love about this axe, is that it has so many sounds...from a fat jazz guitar to a cruchin' Strat or Les Paul. Mind you, it will never take the place of my LP, but there are so many ways that this guitar can present itself/you. My musical style is kind of jazz, punk, techno...if you can imagine what that is. Jazzy rythm, crunchy melodic lead, busy bass, conga, lots of synth, political lyrics. I put it through two amps, GK 112, and Fender Stage Lead...one dirty, one clean...makes for a nice blend. Effects...equalizer, very light flange (no jet), and digital delay...sometimes Midi-verb.

I had the guitar set up by Stars Guitars in San Jose. It's held its tone perfectly since...amazing...27 years. The strings are very close to the neck. No buzz anywhere. Hardly ever goes out of tune...paramount on stage. My only criticism is I'm not in love with the whammy bar.

The guitar has always been great on stage. Looks awesome with the blue finish/maple neck. I've played it in many bands. It still looks new. Of course I baby it. It is very worthy. I don't understand guitarists who beat the s*** out of their babies. Hardware is fine. I would not do a gig without a backup just as a matter of principle. Ya never know when you'll break a string...even though I've been playing for 35 years and I've only broken two strings...never on stage. One doesn't need to beat the strings to get big sound. That's what amps and a nice PA are for...all you young boys who haven't learned what not to play. LMAO

Never had the need for customer service.

Like I said before, I've been playing for most of my life. I've been very pleaseed with this axe. More pleased as time has gone on. If it were stolen or lost, I'd just accept it. I have other beauties which I have accumulated over time. The thing I like about it is that it plays like a dream...smooth yet big, and that it has so many sounds. As far as comparing it to other guitars, I really can't. It's unique in itself. It's like having half a dozen different guitars in one. George and Leo created an amazing machine.

Series I w/ passive electronics and tremolo. Heavy mahogany (I think) body with a quilted maple neck!

If anything, I'd say this thing has too many features. I've never used the phase or coil split live, but I have while recording... it's nice to have a little variety in the studio.

One 'feature' I can't decide if I like is the way the treble tone pot is bypassed when the bridge pup is selected. Wired like this, there's a bit of a treble boost. Leo seemed to like this idea (some strats are wired like this)... Although I like the idea of having less crap effecting my tone (tone pots do eat some highs), I feel like it gives the instrument a unbalanced response when switching pups. A bridge pup without this 'boost' is pretty hot and bright anyways... In any case, I modded the electronics to allow for treble tone control on the bridge. But maybe stock would work well for the right player.

Here's the secret of this guitar... it sounds like a 70s fender tele deluxe (two humbucker version). No one else seems to have noticed this. I've compared them at the local vintage guitar shop.

It sounds great. A balanced full sound. Bright and articulate. Compared acoustically to my 90s tele, there's a lot more mids, making it a lot warmer. Like a tele deluxe, it sounds to me like a mix between a strat and a tele. Brighter and more bighting (more powerful?) than a strat, but not as twangy as a tele... it can get a bit of that strat bark using both pups (center position) and approaches that wonderful strat neck pup sound, too. Doesn't sound anything like a les paul to me. Overall, a unique (in a good way) sounding guitar.

Coil tapped hb's never sound quite right. This guitar is no exception. Out of phase can be useful if you want a thin bright sound for a segment in a song or something.

A tip: if there's too much output for you on the humbuckers, I suggest simply lowering them. I actually like to think of the pups as an attempt to get a single coil sound out of humbuckers. There's no mud like you can get on hot les paul humbuckers.

This is a hard one for me to rate because mine's been refinished and, I think, refretted. The guy I bought it from told me that the previous owner's wife (perhaps in a fit of jealousy?) took a screwdriver to the guitar, gouging the crap out of it. He had it professionally refinished and repaired.

That said, this is easily the best built bolt on neck guitar I've ever played. The neck joint is tight, the sustain is great (I blocked the tremolo), it stays in tune like a champ, the neck is stable, the action is low. Feels awesome.

As someone else noted, I wish the neck was a little chunkier. It's pretty thin... but it plays and feels so good, I don't really care.

Built like a tank... also weighs as much as one. It survived a screw driver!

No interaction with them

I've been playing for 15 years or so. I also currently have a 90s tele, and a gibson 'the paul'. I don't want to talk about what I don't have anymore... I play through a variety of amps including a heavily modified 60s Kalamazoo 12, a heavily modified pignose tube amp (another secret, it's easy to mod this thing to a tweed bassman circuit), an old univox monster, and a gibson/lab series SS amp from the 70s. I'm also sometimes really into effects pedals... various delays, flangers, phasers, fuzz boxes, overdrives, etc., etc. including home brews.

But back to the guitar... Although prices are climbing a bit, these are still an awesome deal. Extremely well made instrument with a bit of a 70s fender feel (heavy body wood, bullet truss rod, huge frets). I actually think the f-100 is the descendant of the tele deluxe, which became the musicman stringray and later sabre when leo worked with them. This was his first guitar at his new company way back in the 80s.

My F-100 is a 1981 hardtail series 1 which means that the neck is a 12" radius. I read somewhere that only 1 in 10 manufactured were hardtails. It has a dense and heavy swamp ash body with a clear natural finish. The neck is maple with an ebony finger board that looks great complimenting the black humbucker pickups. The electronic are pass and its equipped with the pu selector swith, the pu spilter switch, and the in and out of phase switch. Everything is in perfect working order but the pu contacts are a bit rusted, but 26 years will do that to you

I play blues and bought this guitar as a change up from my 2004 Comanche. I am not crazy about the split pu single coil sound. I find it very muddy and not strat like at all, but thats not why I bought this guitar. I LOVE the humbucker sound both in and out of phase. It is a dream getting the biting intense Les Paul sound at a fraction of the price.
If any of you have a tip on how to mprove the single coil sound in terms of tremble or bass roll off please write, my email will be included

I bought this used and had the frets dressed and a pro set up done. The action now is low and fast. The ebony finger board was a bit of an adjustment because I've always had maple, but I like it allot now. The tuners, despite their age function well and hold their tune great. Generally, its in great shape and the checking on the body only makes it more beautiful and gives it character.

After 26 years in perfect shape and completely functional. Amazing!

If any of you need the, you can get owners manuals and wiring diagrams on guitarsbyleo.com

I love this guitar. I have coveted the early Strats but knew I could never afford one, but now I have a piece of classic Fender history.

My F-100 is a Series 1 which has a 7.5" fretboard radius with 22 jumbo frets. It was manufactured in Fullerton, California in January 1981 and purchased new by me in August of 1981. The body is a single piece of mahogony finished in tobacco sunburst with water based lacquer. It has a highly figured ebony three bolt micro adjust connection neck. The body is Strat shaped with body contours similar to CBS styled Strat bodies. There are two Magnetic Field Design Humbucking pickups by Leo Fender. The controls are Volume, Treble roll off, Bass roll off. The passive electronics are a pickup switch, Brige/Both/Neck, a red tipped coil splitter microswitch and a black tipped out of phase microswitch. When the out of phase switch is engaged, it connects both pickups regardless of which pickup is selected and locks out the Treble roll off control. The bridge is a Leo Fender designed Dual Fulcrum tremelo. My F-100 has Schaller split shaft tuners, medium frets and came with a black tolex trimmed with black leather and white piping hard shell case.

I play blues and classic rock and of all of the guitars I own, this one has the capability of playing those two genres and anything else thrown at it. This guitar has tone combinations that have yet to be discovered. It is capable of sounding very Strat quack-like in single coil mode, and has a mean mid range harmonics laden growl with the humbuckers. I can't emphasize how original sounding this guitar is. It has its own voice and is capable of a wide variety of tones. I like them all and cannot imagine changing these pickups for anything else.

From the factory the guitar was not well setup, ready to play. That was in 1981 though. After a pro setup, the guitar has played wonderfully, with a medium action. It is not super low like a modern guitar, but more vintage "Fender-like". It feels like a vintage Strat. The body and neck finishes were perfect. My F-100 weighs in at 9.2 lbs. and feels rock solid.

The F-100 electronics for all their complexity have performed flawlessly for 25 years. I can't imagine that they will fail even with 25 more years of use. None of the chrome finished pieces have corroded. The Schaller tuners are still tight and tune with no problems. Sting changing is a challenge as the trem assembly is a bit sensitive. But if you follow the directions of replacing one string at a time, you will minimize the pain of tuning the guitar. The strap buttons were solid, but are the only pieces that I've replaced with strap locks. This is a very solid, dependable guitar that is built like a tank. I wouldn't gig without a backup, but the F-100 is the one instrument you could walk the tightrope with if you had to.

and have aged very well with little or no checking. After 25 years there are only a couple of dents and dings from use and abuse.

I've never had any need to contact G&L. I can't remember how long the warranty was, but nothing has ever required fixing!

I've been playing guitar for 32 years. I also own a 1960 Fender Stratocaster, a 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom, a modified 1996 MIM Telecaster, I gutted and replaced the control panel with Callaham CTS pots, Callaham Switchcraft three position switch and input jack, Callaham vintage wire, Callaham switchplate and knobs, and wired it like a late 50's early 60's tele, replaced pup's with GFS Vintage Pickups and Graph Tech bridge saddles.

I bought this guitar because I thought it would be cheaper than getting a Les Paul. Boy, I had no idea that this guitar would be such a versitile ax. If this guitar were lost or stolen, I would hightail to ebay and search for another one. I believe that the F-100 is one of the least known and most under-rated guitar ever made. It was manufactured for eleven years, from 1980 to 1991, yet I don't think I've ever seen another one. Of all the guitars I have, this is the most original sounding. It has its own unique voice and feel compared to any Strat or LP. The only thing I dislike about the guitar is its weight. This thing is heavy like a LP, probably due to the mahogony body.

I would recommend to try this guitar out to anyone.

1980 G&L F-100 Series II (which has a thinner, faster neck than a Series I). It has a maple neck, rosewood fretboard, and low, flat frets. Strat-style mahogany body, vintage-looking sunburst finish. Hardtail (non-tremolo) bridge. Schaller tuning machines. Two passive phase- and coil-tapped humbuckers, three-way switch and two mini toggles (for phase and coil tap features). I added Schaller strap lock buttons.

I play guitar/slide guitar/harp/vox in a Texas Roadhouse band called the SCREAMIN' ARMADILLOS. This axe works great for my style (blues+rock+outlaw country=Texas Roadhouse). I use several effects judiciously (1970's MXR Phase 90, Ibanez TS-9, Jim Dunlop Crybaby, Jim Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Classic Fuzz, Danelectro Daddy-O, Rocktron Hush Noise Reducer) and this G&L responds to each of them very well. My main amp is a '63RI Fender Vibroverb (you can have it when you pry my cold, dead hands off of it). I used to have a silverface master volume Bassman Ten that was dang near perfect with this guitar--even without effects (this amp was a victim of the mortgage payment blues). The guitar has a very warm, rich tone--even on the coil-tapped bridge pickup setting. It can get a bit dark on the neck pickup, but that is possibly my picking style (all fingers, no pick), or choice of amps and effects, because the other guitarist in my band occasionally uses it and he never sounds too bassy. Very quiet pickups (especially compared to my Stratocaster and Esquire). I have used this guitar for every style I play (alternate tunings, slide, fingerpicking, 440 tuning, rhythm and lead lines) and it never disappoints. I use it extensively while recording for both quietness and tone.

I bought it used, later had it set up a little more to my liking. It holds its action perfectly and does not go out of tune. It is one of the best-built guitars I have ever owned (which is too many to mention), and I would put it up against almost any guitar made. Every person who has played it has said similar things about it. Only criticism it has ever received--the neck profile is too thin--is a "feel" matter which varies from person to person. I like a thicker neck, too, but this thing is so buttery and smooth, I can't help but like it. It only had one "ding" when I bought it and I have added a couple more over the last 15 years, but it is still beautiful.

I've used this live, in the studio, for practice, for jams, everything. It is built like a tank and I would use it without backup without reservation.

I didn't have a warranty issue or anything, but when I called just for general information (date instrument made, electronics schematic, etc.) they were VERY nice and helpful. They enthusiastically talked to me about my guitar, its history, etc. They even sent me a soft cover "history of G&L" book and schematics pertaining to the F-100.

This was my first electric guitar--I bought it in 1989. I have a US made 1962RI Fender Stratocaster and an hecho-en-Mexico Telecaster that I converted to an Esquire. If I lost my G&L, I would probably try to replace it. But I found out there were very few (less than 20) hardtail F-100s made in all of history, so I may have a hard time finding one.

I bought this used in 1984....It is a 1983 model. Strat like body style, but with two humbuckers with their own special size. Nice transparent blue finish. I believe it is an acrylic based finish. I went into the music store to purchase a Fender Strat, came out with a G@L. I felt that this was a much better made guitar than the strats were at the time. I still do. I have a '90's strat plus that is on par or better made than this one, but the early '80s strats I fell weren't as good.

Original pups long gone. They were very thin sounding with low output. May view things different now,I was into harder rock then, more bluesy now. I give the original a 5 rating, at least as my memory goes.

This was a used guitar when purchased but was setup fine. Very well made hardware, one misaligned string at the nut.

I have had it 20yrs. Durable, a couple finish knicks, finish cracks. Still looks great! I understand they had some problems early with the type of finish they used. A guitar repairman I know said they had to refinish quite a few under warranty. Don't know that for sure other than his comment. With that in mind, my guitar has held up very well. Everything on the guitar is original except the pups and the complicated switches that they were wired to.

Never had to deal with them.

I have had many guitars including fenders, gibsons, many others. This is a very well made guitar, don't know if I would replace it if it were stolen. I need to reduce my inventory by a couple. These are not too easy to find, maybe ebay would turn up some. I would recommend this guitar to someone if the price was right. I have changed the pups a few times giving me a ' new guitar ' sound.

Early eighties G&L F100 II. 22 Fret solid body guitar. Three way selector switch 2 volume controls and what appears to be a in-phase and out of phase swtich as well as switch that appears to switch the pickups to single coil. Tone controls appear to be treble and bass. Two large humbucker pickups.

A lot of treble bite to the guitar. I play straight ahead rock, and this guitar is OK for this purpose. I had to lower the pikups to reduce the overly treble sound. It is pretty noisy for a humbucker. The guitar is very heavy and somehwat difficult to keep in tune.

I bought it second hand a few years ago and it has its share of dents and dings. I had it professionally set up, and a new nut installed; helped a lot. The big issue for me was lowering the pickups to cut the treble.

This is a heavy guitar that appears to be built like a tank. I could cause some damage, but probably could not kill it with abuse and by dropping it. I would not use this or any guitar at a gig without a backup.

Who knows; I bought it second hand.

I have been playing for 10+ years off and on. I own five other electrics (Guild Bluesbird P90; Fender American Double Fat Strat; Fender American Strat with Seymour Duncan humbuckers; G&L ASAT; Epiphone Les Paul with Seymour Duncans). I play through a Peavey Class 50 4x10 with a Marshall 2x12 extension cabinet. I use a Banzai Fireball II and a Home Brew Power Screamer. I wish I would have checked out more reviews of the guitar prior to purchasing; at the time I was infatuated with G&Ls and that has passed. If it were stolen I would not replace it; I have enough options already. This is a decent guitar for the right style, just not my cup of tea at this time.

Early '80's, not sure what year it is, but it's pretty old. 22 frets. mahogany body with a clear finish. It's a series 2, which means it's got a 12" radius, which i like. maple neck/ebony fretboard. dual fulcrum trem. the crazy electronics scheme, complete with knobs and stuff. not too bad, once you get used to it; it won't trip you up.

The music i play is my own original stuff, mainly influenced by The Jesus and Mary chain, my bloody valentine, sonic youth, guided by voices, shudder to think etc. i like drones and noises, as well as more technical traditional playing. I'd hate to think that i'd have to rely on a specific piece of gear in order to make my sound, but this one does, i thnk. when the bass is on and the pickups are in parallel position, and your amp gain is up, the sound is BIG. it's not at all death metal sounding, or like a vintage anything. it has a lot of clarity in this mode, even with a lot of gain and when you're hitting it in a dropped d tuning. with a lot of guitars, i feel that some guitars in the lead pickup position are either too muddy or too brash. this sound has a good inbetween sound. it's heavy enough to rock a marshall, but can do clean just fine. in other words, rocks hard with equal amounts of definition. like a hi-fi les paul. some of the single coil sounds aren't anything to write home about, but there are some really weird sounds that can trick people into thinking you use pedals. like if you shut the bass switch off, then turn the treble and bass down, then go into the neck pickup in humbucking mode(i think) then you get this weird out of phase sound, like a wah-wah type of thing. perfect for weird intros of weird drop-ins and overdubs. i almost never keep this thing in standard tuning either. i use a lot of simple tnings that rely on drones, like tuning all of the strings to the same note is one thing i like to do. it works with droning strings well. you can also get heavy, muddy sounds when you mess with the two switches and toggle switch. a very fun guitar to experiment with. especially if you're into feedback and noise jams. bottm line is, it doesnt mimic other guitars the way a parker can, but it does it's own thing, and does it real well.

it was used and kinda beat up when i got it. now its beat up even more, but it still rules. it gives it character, and this thing is a workhorse anyway. the action was fine, hardware has stood the test of about 23 years.

It's built like a rock. The hardware has lasted for this long and still looks like it will last a long time. the finish was ugly anyway, like a coffee table, so i sprayed it silver initially(i'm sure much to the chagrin of many f-100 enthusiasts) and it wore off. now it's a collage of a bunch of random crap, like old vintage pulp art and ticket stubs, etc. the buttons are dunlop locking ones, so im not too worried about that. the body can take a hell of a beating, and it shows. i'm not gigging right now, but i literally have taken it out on the road for road trips with my mini battery powered marshall. it has sat in my car for weeks at a time, through very cold temperatrues and still played and sounded the same. i don't plan on doing that anytime soon though. gig without a backup, yeah sure i would, but i use a standard tuned les paul and i like to record and jam with other guitars for different sounds. alternate tunings are no longer an issue for me, as i have learned to change them quickly between, and sometimes in the middle of songs. built like a tank.

wouldnt really know i guess

i have other guitars, but this is the most fun to play. it feels like a vintage fender and sounds like anything but one(which i also like). it feels like your first guitar, but sounds like a hig-quality instrument for recording or live playing. if it were stolen, id go buy another one, but if you saw the condition of this one, you wouldnt want to steal it anyway. i love the fact that it has so much tonal variety and doesn't sound like other guitars; it sounds like itself. also, none of my guitar playing friends know what it is. they think it's just a piece of junk guitar that sounds good for some reason. hey, their loss. i always find it ironic that i buy other way more expensive guitars, only to keep those tucked away in their cases and use this one. i might sell a few of those other ones and buy a bogner uberschall. then i'd be a a god. hell of a guitar for the money, search one out if you want a versatile guitar that feels good, has lots of character, and can take a beating. fantastic value for sure. cheers.