G&L Legacy Special

Hello there. I bought my Legacy Special three years ago, in april 1995. It had been in the shop since christmas 1994, it's an October 1994 model. I think it wasn't sold because the Dutch importer (a real bastard in my opinion) sold it for 2600 guilders, that was about 1600 dollars back then. But hey, I *wanted* this guitar, I knew it when I held it the first time. It's made in the Fullerton shop in the US (of course). It has a strat-styel solid swamp ash body finished in 'blue swirl': a mix of blue and black metallic finishes in a watery swirly kinda edible way, really pretty and it looks sexy under stage lights. On it there are three passive dual rails humbucker made by the tech wizards of G&L. The bridge pickup is wound a bit more than the others for more punch. Three pots affecting all the pickups at once: volume, high and low cut (I'll explain!!). Standard 5-way selector. The trem, a G&L design, is mounted not on a knife edge but running smoothly on two screws which are set in a special metal base screwed deep into the guitar's body. on the other side of the strings there's a graphite nut, some kind of plastic string tree for the top two strings and Schaller locking tuners. 6 Of them. ;-) Under the strings we find the neck: hard rock maple, with a quite dark and dense rosewood fingerboard, 22 very fat frets. The neck is chunky, with a slight V and a fery flat medium-wide fingerboard. The satin finish on the back is amazingly smooth and comfortable to the touch - the hand just slides across it like it's supposed to. With the guitar came a very sturdy SKB-style case. This one has seen a lot of action and the only thing left to behold are scratches - but not a dent. Very, very sturdy stuff. I fitted the guitar with strap locks (of course). Also it was delivered with 009's and I immediately put 010's on it. I would have liked to see a strap in the case too. But 9 out of 10 isn't bad, it it?

I play mostly classic Hard Rock (Zeppelin, Purple, Dio, Van Halen, Rush), but I also do Jazz (Metheney), metal (Maiden, Metallica, more bands that start with 'M') and pop (Janet Jackson, EWF, -don't laugh- Bee Gees). I thought I needed five guitars: '54 strat, ES335, '68 Les Paul Special, Ibanez RG and a BC Rich Ironbird finished in purple plactic.(I'll explain!!).
But I don't need five guitars now. I need two: The Legacy Special and a Gibson ES335. That's because this baby can almost do it all. This versatility comes from the funky wood and ditto electronics. The wood gives the guitar a solid base: unplugged it sounds very loud, warm and has tons of sustain. That's a good basis to build a better electric sound on - if you don't have the raw sound, forget it altogether.
The electronics are kinda peculiar. It has these three knobs - one for level, one high and one bass. They affect all three pickups at the same time. It's not an active circuit - it's all passive making it very reliable and very, very quiet. This is also because these are the best pots I've ever seen: they're HUGE! Quietness also comes from these yummy pickups: dual blade designs which retain twang and clarity but have more body and oomph than single coils. The bridge pickup is wound more than the other two - giving it more thump, NOT more volume. I have rewired the position switch. I like the Tele Special sound so swapped the neck and middle pickup. Now I get neck and bridge combined in position 2 - giving me a full-range quack with amazing body and clarity at the same time.
The result is a brilliantl and very versatile sound. For clean sounds I use the middle pickup or the special bridge/neck option. THe sounds are very warm and full-bodied - I think this swamp ash body has seen ages and ages of water before becoming a guitar. For that crunch I can use all the positions. Want Ritchie Blackmore? He's under position 1 with the bass rolled off half. Want the Allmans? Use the neck and cut the bass with a quarter. For metal, the Legacy Special's bridge pickup really cuts it in a big way. Plug it in a shredding distortion box and you can blow out candles with your powerchords - it delivered these ultra fat snarls that we all love so much (don't we?). For lead, you don't need a sustainer. This axe has tons of it. Because of the bridge pickup's enormous clarity you can rip out Satriani Signature Harmonics very easily.
So it's all in there: for a 54 Fender you only have to roll off the bass a little and you get that Treble Spanker Quack (R). The neck and my own special rewired bridge/neck combination allow for a very fat Les Paul sound (also thanks to the nice chunky neck for that one) and in a metal environment this axe can shred just like an Ibanez.
In just won't do two things: 1. the Gibson ES335, so I'll have to buy one of those. Then again, you wouldn't expect THAT from a strat-style guitar, would you? 2. The BC Rich Ironbird finished in purple. I used this guitar (my first one ever) to whack a drunk fan off stage once. The purple plastic finish didn't show the blood and was very easy to clean. I won't do this with my G&L - no way, so I'll have to buy myself a new BC Rich Ironbird finished in purple. But I'm considering another option: I could buy myself a 2x4 - it can NEVER play or sound worse than a BC Rich Ironbird.
Soundwise, my G&L doesn't just cover all styles I want, except that hollow-bodied jazz thing. It's excellent - a lot of guitarists ask me what that clever-sounding plank is (G&L anre very little known in here in The Netherlands). Brill.

When I first saw the Legacy Special in the store I was mesmerized by the looks of that thing. It was really, really beautiful to look at in this pearly blue swirly finish. I examined it - no flaws, no scratches , even the screws looked pristine. The frets were finished perfectly, completely smooth. The paintwork was so smooth and rock-hard. The fact that I couldn't see the wood of the body didn't matter, the knock-knock-what's-there test was good enough for me. The neck was visible however, and it's made of a beautiful piece of hard rock maple. Brilliant.
When I picked it up, I immediately noticed the comfort of the guitar. The neck had this really slick feel, the frets were so smooth, the action set perfectly low - but not too low.
Plugging it in I noticed that the pickups all sounded like they were exactly the same volume. The bridge, having less bottom end, was of course louder, but it SEEMED like they were all perfectly alike.
Another thing was that the guitar stayed perfectly in tune. I hadn't been tuned at all since it came from the factory (like I said the dealer's a bastard - it was dusty too!) and all strings were about one and a half note low. I tuned it up and it just stayed there! All up the neck, tuning remained spotless.
Well, it must have been pretty impressive to immediately get me to render six years savings for a piece of wood with a cord. I was - I did.

I fitted the guitar with strap locks immediately. Even then, I've dropped it a few times and it won't budge. A friend once leaned it on the side of a table. When he walked away, the guitar started to slide to the side and before I could scream "WatchWhatYou'reDoingYouMedievalPeasant" the guitar toppled and fell to the floor. It landed 'softly' on my floor controller - you know, the sturdy cast-iron things. But the finish and wood are so tough it hardly left a dent - a few scratches just remain. Oh and don't worry - that 'friend' of mine now drives a white Honda with the word 'Assh*le' scratched on both sides. Revenge is sweet.
After this amusing interlude I just want to say that this guitar is built to last. The wood is very tough, very solid and stable. I never get intonation problems or neck instability, not even when I walk from the concrete - dry - cold dressing room to the hot - humid stage. That's kinda amazing. Since I sold my BC Rich Ironbird to a travelling timber merchant I go onstage without backup. I think I will contimue to do that for a long, long time.

Emmmm... Ive never had to deal with these guys. Yet.

I've been playing since I was 14, and I've played a lot of guitars that belonged to friends. Compared to other stratlike guitars I think it kicks ass. The only two things I've played and I thought were better were a fance PRS and a vintage '61 strat.
Before the G&L I owned the much-loathed purple BC Rich Ironbird, so any step would be a step up. Hell, even if I'd have decided to start playing on a microwave oven instead of a guitar it would have sounded better than a purple BC Rich Ironbird.
But this guitar kicks ass. It has become my best friend over these years. If I'd ever have to choose between my G&L Legacy Special or my girlfriend, I'd be playing guitar in my bedroom again, alone. No offense, Christie! ;-)
I used to play it through a 1985 Peavey Bandit, soundedn quite nice. I now have a more extensive rig: Digitech GFX-1 TwinTube into Digitech DSP256XL, that into an Inkel MA420 2x100W PA power amp (gotta get a real guitar amp for that one) and I use two of those clever compact Hughes And Kettner Attax 112Pro 1x12 100W Thiele cabs.
I love it. Maybe you could tell, reading the ratings, but I think this guitar is an absolute winner, considering it should cost you no more than 1000 US dollars nowadays.

1998 American-made, 22 frets, rosewood fretboard, 2-piece ash body, 3 rail-type pickups (bridge with slighlty more punch), Strat-style body - transparent honey finish, G&L proprietary tremolo bridge, Schaller(?) locking tuners, case included.

I play orig/cover rock/roots/blues/alternative music through a Boss GX-700 effects processor into a Mesa Mark IV with a 2x12 half-back cabinet. This guitar can cover any of the styles I play and I assume even more - it's very versatile! The Legacy has a very bright and cutting sound through my rig - though not unpleasant. Compared to my '78 Strat with a Hot Rails/bridge and Vintage Rails/neck & middle, the G&L's bridge PU does not have the same punch. The G&L's middle and neck PU's however, are a bit hotter and somewhat darker sounding. No noise whatsoever from any of the G&L's pickups. The wiring scheme (master volume, master tone, master bass) is very cool! You can get a bunch more tones out of it than the typical Strat wiring allows.

The setup was very good right out of the box, though a tad higher action would be my personal choice. Generally, G&L's attention to detail is astonishing! I only have a few small gripes. The rosewood fretboard was fairly dry which made the guitar somewhat difficult to play at first. I attributed this to the fact that I've been playing a Tung oiled maple fretboard for years and the difference in feel was considerable! I treated the fretboard with lemon oil and improved the playability a bunch! The other thing is that the pieces of ashe used for the body were not "premium grade". There were several flaws or small discolorations that could be seen beneath the honey clearcoat. I think if you pay $100 more for an upgraded transparent finish, you ought to get somewhat better quality wood too!

G&L's are built like a brick shit house! They are gonna last!

10 year limited warranty - never dealt with the factory directly, though. I hear they're customer support is excellent.

I've been playing for 25 years. I bought this guitar to replace my old '78 Strat because of some long-standing intonation problems. Unfortunately, comparing them side-to-side, the Fender wins hands down in tone and playability. I'm gonna try to fix the intonation on the Strat and I'm returning the G&L. But understand that my old Fender was made back in the days before they (Fender) completely cheesed out on quality. In order to get a NEW Fender Strat that's as good as the G&L Legacy Special, you'd have to get a Custom Shop model and spend twice the cash! Had I not already owned a pretty great Strat type guitar, I'd keep the G&L in a heartbeat. I highly recommend G&L and will definitely buy another guitar from them - probably an ASAT!

1998 USA Made Strat style with two dual blade and one blade humbucker in the bridge. Two piece Ash body, Birdseye maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. The finish is excellent with a tobacco burst color. The neck is a satin finish. G&L Vibrato, Locking tuners, graphite nut. 22 medium jumbo frets. comes with hardshell case. I had the fingerboard tinted darker which added roughly $30.00. to price.

I got the guitar yesterday. I am playing through a small practice amp right now, a Peavey Audition 110. This guitar sounds great. I played all night long. I play blues, rock, some metal, and southern rock. I can get all the sounds I want from a Stratty Quack in the notch positions to a full rich Humbucker sound when in the bridge. The pickups on this guitar sound clean & crisp on a clean amp setting and distort even better on the dirty channels.

The set-up was changed from 9's to 10's so I can't comment on the factory setup. The pickups were set up perfect for my taste. Other people that have commented on this guitar say you can't see the seem in the neck or the body, but I can. But that doesn't meen anything. Even the most expensive guitars have seems, it's hard to hide especially when you have a clear finish. However, you do need to look rather closely. When I first got it I thought there was a scratch below the painted surface on the back above the cover plate. So, I showed to my friends one of which works in a quality music store and they all said it was a vein in the grain. Ugly vein. But , again you can only see it close up and it is on the back and can only be seen at certain angles. Otherwise the fit and finish was good. You have to remember that this is a hand made guitar.

Haven't had it long enough to comment. However, I did own a Legacy and had no problems with that one. I don't gig, but if I did I would always have a back-up.

Haven't needed them.

It is an all around great guitar.

1998 Strat Style with rail pickups. Ash Body. Maple Neck Rosewood Fingerboard. 22 Frets. All USA made. 1 Volume, 2 Tone, ( Bass & Treble) Locking Sperzel Tuners, Graphite Nut. Trem is a G&L design. Medium Jumbo Frets. Comes with hard shell case.

I haven't plugged it in yet. Just got it. Acoustic sound is very resonant.

I had the guitar set up with 10's from the place of purchase. I also had the neck tinted darker. It looks great. The only flaw would be a scratch below the paint surface on the back above the plate. You can only notice it from an angle. This doesn't really bother me since this guitar is a player.

I have owned a G&L before. These are the best made strat style guitar for under 1,000.00. They are also better than any Fender Strat custom shop or not. The guitar is very solid. Don't gig so don't need a backup. But if I did, I would by another G&L for a backup.

Haven't had to deal with them.

I have been playing on and off for roughly 10 years. These are great guitars built by the comapny that started it all in the 50's. If you don't know what I am talking about, go to www.glguitars.com

My Legacy Special is a Strat-type instrument with a swamp ash body, birdseye maple neck, rosewood slab fingerboard (medium frets). The pickups are G&L, double blade humbuckers in single coil size. It has a graphite nut, Sperzel locking tuners and a G&L tremolo bridge. I don't know the neck radius but it feels a lot like the neck of a 66 Strat I once owned. A little heftier. A little better, actually.

I play this instrument daily -- usually unplugged. Once a week I get together with my buddies and plug in to 65 Deluxe Reverb. We play roots rock, hard country, blues, pop...anything but jazz.
Unplugged -- Acoustically, this guitar is loud and has excellent sustain. The ash is heavy if you're used to alder or (God forbid) basswood, but if you haven't played a solid ash Strat you should give it a try -- it delivers a punchier and more direct sonic wallop than alder and sustains very well. 10's are highly recommended. 11's if you can hang.
Plugged -- When I bought this guitar I thought I was gonna pull the G&L pickups and install Lindy Fralins. I haven't been able to bring myself to do that just yet, because these G&L ralils sound pretty good. At lower levels they deliver a pretty convincing classic sound -- glassy enough for all but the most dedicated vintage purist with a good Strat quack in positions 2 and 4. Push them a little harder and my old Deluxe just falls in love with this guitar. The extra beef in the mids makes the tubes glow with a sense of satisfaction. Dynamics are very nice, overdrive at higher settings is absolutely delicious. Of course you can get most of this with true single coils, but it just isn't as smooth and easy. And though they sound like single coils, they're not, of course. I can't say I miss th noise.
The tone controls are among the most useful I've found in a passive system. The volume pot delivers full tone at very low setting and rises smoothly and slowly to the top.
One complaint -- the bridge pickup is a bit bright alone. It sounds great in position 2 though.

This is a pretty heavily figured swamp ash body with a honey sunburst finish. I assume it's two piece, but I haven't been able to find the joint. I've looked for flaws and can't fine them. You can't get a piece of notebook paper between the neck and the body. The satin finish on the neck feels great to me, though gloss would show off the birdseye maple better. The action was a bit low for my tastes, but needed to be adjusted for my upgrade to 10's anyway, so.... If you long for custom-shop quality but don't have the bucks, here it is.

I've only owned this G&L for a few months so I can't comment definitively. It appears to be built like a truck, however, and this is my second G&L. I've abused my ASAT III for years without problems.

This Legacy Special is pretty new, but I've owned an ASAT III for years and I've never needed to call G&L.

I've been playing for 30 years. I've owned vintage Gibsons, Fenders and Ricks. I now own a Taylor and Takamine acoustic and 4 electrics -- 2 G&Ls, a Hamer and a Yamaha.
If I lost this guitar, I'd replace it immediately. It's my #1 electric. I love the tone and playability, the overally quality. I'm not crazy about the weight, but it's worth it.
It would be nice if this instrument -- with the graphite nut and the locking tuners -- were available in a variety of pickup choices. It would also be nice if the G&L vibrato fit a standard Strat rout -- they could give Wilkinson a run for their money.
This is a remarkable instrument for the money -- if you pay much more than 60% of retail for a G&L you haven't done your homework, and at that kind of discount it's like getting a custom shop guitar at Japanese prices. If you can live without your hero's guitar's logo on the headstock, G&L is a great choice.