G&L Legacy

It's a 2004 in 3 tone sunburst on an Adler body (I am pretty sure it's Adler). 22 frets with volume and passive treble and bass cut. Came with the Alnico V G&L pickups. I'm not sure about the tuners (they say G&L on the back), but there really good. The neck is a 12" radius, which is great. The neck is super, hand rubbed gun oil tint glossed over with ?black abalone or mother of pearl inlays. Dual fulcrum tremolo - awesome, that is why Fender copies it now. Came with a hard case-quality ok. I have a tweed fender that it doesn't fit into :(. I gave it an 8 because it's not really a trick guitar with lots of features unless you count great vintage tone and playability!!! Nothing beats an American Handmade G&L!!!

I play Blues, Rock, Funk, a little country (chicken pickin), R&B/Soul, and a little jazz. This guitar has the best sound, feel, and playability of any guitar I have ever played and it also looks the best. I have a MIM Strat with Vintage Hot Lindy Fralins that I thought was the Cat's Meow, but this G&L has 10X the sustain---seriously. I bought my brother a Tribute Legacy and it has as much or more sustain that my Strat, but thats another story.

The sound of this guitar is incendiary. It sounds like a vintage all the way. When I got this home (on my amp Hot Rod Deluxe with different tubes that stock) and played the songs I always play--I was so happy I bought it!!! I couldn't believe how much better it sounded than my Strat with the Fralins and how much it sounded like the recordings of the songs I was playing (Sultans of Swing (Knopfler), Something (Harrison), Time (Gilmore), Castles Made of Sand, Little Wing, Bell Bottom Blues (Clapton), and BB King stuff). If you are on the bubble on this one---pull the trigger!! You will be glad you did. I have a Fender HRD with a Line 6 Pod XT, thought for testing I ran it in clean!!! This thing has all the descriptive words "Chime, Sparkle, Dynamics, Response, Bite...." Get one. Get one. Get one....

This guitar was perfect all the way around. It is so tight I can't even fit a pick under the pickguard while I fingerpick!!! Wood was beautiful, neck is out of this world. It even came with my guage of strings on it, .11's, it was meant to be. The larger frets are great and make bending easy and fun.

"Flawless Victory" for sure

From what I have heard this thing is more solid than a M-1 tank, but since the warranty is only 10 yrs I'm gonna give it a 9.

No clue, but I have faith...

I have been playing serious (practicing at least 2 hrs a day) for about a 10 mo's, I have been playing pretty serious (learning songs etc) for about 4 yrs. I have a custom acoustic made McMurray Instruments in Kingsport, TN that is in the style of a HD-28 Martin (an unreal instrument) and a Mexican Strat with Lindy Fralins (a great sounding strat with a great neck---until I got this G&L, Strat is now for slide) and a 40 W tube amp Hot Rod Deluxe Fender.

If it were stolen, I would track them down! I would definetly get another Legacy, nothing for the price compares (My friend has a American Deluxe Fat Stat that is sweet, but not in the same building as my Legacy!) A fender of this quality would cost over 2 G's.

Nothing compares to this Legacy, except maybe another G&L. I am now a G&L evangelist and can't wait to get an ASAT one day.

I am reviewing my new 2004 Legacy. Mine is a 2004 with a polished gloss Blonde finish on a solid Swamp Ash body. The hard rock maple neck and fingerboard feature a polished gloss finish over a hand-rubbed gun oil tint. The chrome hardware consists of Schaller vintage-style tuners, G&L patented dual-fulcrum tremolo. The electronics package consists of three G&L Alnico V passive single coils pickups, 5-way switch, and the G&L PTB passive tone controls (volume, treble cut, bass cut). The neck dimensions are 1 5/8" wide at the nut with a moderately flat 12" radius. The frets are medium jumbo Dunlop 6100. I am rating the Legacy a "7" in this category because it is not a particularly feature-rich instrument. That is, unless you consider incredible feel and tone a feature. But more on that in a minute.

My style is a mix of blues, funk, and rock. Sort of a mix between Tom Morello and Chris Duarte. My signal chain is pretty basic: Legacy > Dunlop 95Q Wah > Boss OC-3 > Maxon OD-9 > Rivera Knucklehead II (100-watt tube amp) > Avatar 2x12 speaker cabinet (Celestion Vintage 30 & G12H30). The Legacy has an extremely versatile tone that is perfect for jazz, blues, classic and contemporary rock, and even hard rock. The pickups are true single coils, and you get both the benefits and the drawbacks. The benefits are increased dynamics, chime, and clarity. Through the clean channel of my Rivera the Legacy is truly amazing. It sounds almost identical to an original 50's Strat, complete with spank, quack, and bite. It is a very full, rich, three-dimensional tone that must be experienced to appreciate. Through the overdrive channel on my Rivera the Legacy performed flawlessly. Using a low to mid gain setting I was able to achieve very convincing Hendrix or SRV-style tones. The sustain is endless thanks to the slightly weaker magnetic pull of the Alnico V. Because these pickups are so dynamic I am able to achieve higher distortion settings simply by varying my pick attack, thus creating vocal-like phrasing and passages. The pickups are very balanced so there is no difference in tone or volume between the treble and bass strings, making chords ring out true. It is worth mentioning the one obvious drawback to these pickups: The presence of 60Hz hum. While the noise is not a problem for clean and semi-overdriven tones, it can get quite excessive when used with a high gain amp and/or a distortion pedal. But this is to be expected from a guitar that was designed with vintage specifications and I do not fault G&L one bit for the hum.

According to their web site, G&L builds guitars in the same fashion as Fender back when Leo was still owner. The web site offers a tour that shows G&L even using the same exact machines that were used in the original Fender factory. Apparently there are no CNC machines doing any of the work, from cutting fret slots to drilling holes for the dot inlays; everything is still done "by hand". While I agree that this process lends itself to producing very high quality guitars - and the Legacy is no exception - I also believe that it is the reason why no two Strats sound alike. This process lends each instruments its own personality that is not realized until its completion. I love that! That being said, my particular Legacy had quite a few flaws that required my immediate attention. For example, when I first pulled the guitar out of the case I noticed a few spots on the finish, as if something had been spilled on the body. These had to be buffed out, so I used a light polishing compound and rubbed out the spots. Second, the nut slots were not cut properly so the E, B, and G strings were getting caught in the nut causing them to go out of tune on every bend. This had to be resolved by adding a light Teflon lubricant to the slots. However this is only a temporary fix - I will need to have the nut slots smoothed out by a luthier. Finally - and I don't necessarily consider this a flaw - the finish was applied to the fingerboard somewhat heavy handed, causing the finish to run down and settle behind the frets. Again this is not really a flaw, but I prefer thinner finishes and the settling of the lacquer behind each fret has an unkempt look. On the positive side, the guitar was set up immaculately and played great right out of the case. The chrome hardware gleams brightly, showing no signs of oxidation. The Swamp Ash body has a classy grain and shows nicely through the transparent Blonde. Even inside the tremolo route and pickup cavity the attention to detail is evident. But most importantly, the neck pocket is airtight! The neck and body fit together like puzzle pieces, which plays an integral part in the sustain and resonance. I have owned a half dozen Strats in my day, and I have never seen a neck and body fit like this. Great job, G&L.

I have never owned a G&L before so I can't speak on this topic personally. However I did work in a guitar repair/restoration shop for a few years, and I have been good friends with the owner/luthier for ten years. His opinion of G&L guitars is very high. After inspecting my Legacy under the microscope I can tell that down the road I will have few problems, if any at all. The Legacy - much like the Strat - is a very simple design that just works, and lasts.

Never dealt with G&L, and I probably won't have to.

I have fallen in love with the Legacy and I have become a G&L evangelist! I would recommend G&L to anyone looking for a high quality Strat-style guitar. I consider the Legacy to be in the same class as Anderson, Suhr, Grosh, etc. I know that sounds hard to believe, but if you play one you will become a believer.

This is a strat style guitar...5 way switching of 3 pickups,1 volume,2 tone controls, bolt on neck. Fairly flat fingerboard radius (12"). The neck on mine is birdseye maple with a maple fingerboard. Meaty frets. Nice vibrato tail (seems to work well and stays reasonably in tune. I bought this used and the previous owner installed Fralin pickups which they say are the best vintage style out there, but I've got a couple of other G&Ls and the pickups in those are really good too...Pretty much standard strat stuff...

Sounds like one of the best strats ever made...Maybe it's the Fralins, but this thing sounds better than any custom shop strat...For blues, funk, rock, even the ocassional foray into jazz, this thing can do anything a strat can do...Did I mention country? That's where this thing really shines...A real "can do" guitar....I pretty much use tube amps and play pretty clean with just some reverb and compression...It sounds HUGE and pretty...

100%...My guitar is Fullerton red with the gun oil tint neck...Perfectly finished...When I bought it the trem was blocked so I had it set up by my local guy and now it plays flawlessly...It's also beautiful in a kind of vintage way...Mint guard, creme plastic, classic...These things are well made in the usa by people who care about making a great guitar...

Built like a tank...solid as a rock...If it was a motorcycle it would be an Exile custom...

Like I said above I've got 3 G&Ls and they're all great...They each have a distinctive sound and do what they do VERY WELL...I'll probably buy more once my girlfriend gets over the last one...I also have a Heritage Les Paul, an Epiphone dot with upgraded pickups (killer), a real Tele with Bardens, a hotrodded Gibson Melodymaker, a Gretsch, etc.,etc...I know a thing or two about guitars...This thing is as good as it gets...If you scroll down far enough you'll see a review by a guy who doesn't know what he's talking about...One of my ASATs has the three bolt neck which is a killer guitar...The three bolt is a totally different design from the less desirable Fender three bolt, but that's stuff only a real geek would know about...G&L has gone to a four bolt neck anyway (mine has one) but it doesn't really make any difference...The so called "swimming pool" route is likewise a non starter...A real player knows these things are pro instruments...Ask Will Ray...When I was looking for a new strat I played lots of Fenders from Highway One to top Custom Shop guitars...The price difference between a comparable Fender and G&l was about $700 and the fretwork and feel of the Fender was no better...

My guitar is a ninties-era G&L Legacy with a blue swirl finish over an alder body with a bolt on maple neck and maple finger board. I bought the guitar used with aftermarket Fender Noiseless pickups, Sperzel tuners and straplocks installed. The guitar had its factory 2-point G&L tremolo intact.

This guitar is everything a strat is supposed to be. The aftermarket Noiseless pickups have all the classic strat tones with no annoying noise. The G&L two-point trem is smooth and handles tons of abuse.

Like every guitar with a tremolo, the Legacy is not the easiest guitar to set up. It is a time consuming process, but everything in the guitar does work properly: the saddles, the trem, the springs, etc. Fret work was well done and neck pocket fit is perfect. Finish seems to scratch or chip more easily than most.

Generally, everything is made well. My guitar has an intermitent tone knob that needs to be fixed. The finish is also suspect, as mentioned above. The guitar seems as dependable as any other strat-type guitar.

N/A

It's currently my favorite guitar, but then again it is also my newest guitar. My Legacy seems to be on par with most American-made Fenders and some boutique "uber-strats". A great value, especially used. Compares very well my other guitars, a G&L ASAT and Gibson LP.

My legacy is a 2002. Mine came upgraded with Schaller locking tuners, mint colored triply ply pickguard, and it has the gun oil tint finish on the neck and fingerboard. This combined with the Belair Green finish makes for a very stunning guitar - I constantly receive compliments on its appearance. It also has the four-bolt neck, which I think makes for a much more stable neck than the three-bolt neck. Otherwise, the features are all covered in the previous 100 listings, but I will say that it is very comparable to a Fender Custom Shop Guitar.

The guitar sounds great! It really has that great classic Strat sound. I typically end up changing the pickups on all my guitars, but these (3 G&L vintage style Alnico V single coil pickups) are so good that I have never even considered it. It is also very quiet for a single-coil type guitar.

I mainly use a Mesa/Boogie Nomad 55 amp, but I also have a refurbished Fender Champ. The guitar sounds great on both of them.

No guitar will get every sound out there, and this one is no different. However, I can get about 75% of the sounds that I want with this guitar. I also have a Les Paul Standard with Rio Grande pickups, a Paul Reed Smith with P-90s, and a made in Mexico Tele with vintage noiseless pickups for the other 25% of the time. These are all great guitars too, but none of them has the range of sound that this guitar has. In addition, I also have a G&L Comanche with the Z-coils. It has a large range too, but it doesn?t quite have that classic Strat sound, so I tend not to use it very much. Some people really like the Z-coils, but I prefer the more classic sound of the Alnico V single coil pickups.

I bought this guitar new off eBay, and the shop that sold it told me said that they do an initial setup on all guitars that they sell. I honestly can't say whether or not this was true or if he was just pulling my leg to get a sale. However, the initial setup was pretty close other than the action was a bit too low. It took me about ten minutes to raise the action, and I was set. The intonation and pickup heights were spot on.

The one aspect of Strat type guitars that have always annoyed me was their floating bridge. Unless a quality guitar technician spent a great deal of time with them, they tended to be difficult to tune and keep in tune. That hasn't been a problem with this guitar. It is still a bit more difficult to tune than a hardtail guitar, but it stays in tune almost as well. Going through the whole tuning ritual with other floating bridge type guitars in the past was such a drag that after the initial new-gear high was over, I would rarely play them. That hasn?t been the case with this guitar. I can just pick it up and play it with only light tuning adjustments due to the stability of the bridge ? Well Done G&L!

The only fault with this guitar, and apparently all Strat type G&Ls, is that they are about a quarter inch longer than Fender Strats. The net effect is that they do not fit well into Strat type cases. It's close enough that you can do it, but the end of the headstock slightly overlaps the cutout of the case. It's not much of a problem on this guitar, but it always messes up the tuning of the high E on my G&L Comanche. And OBTW, all Strat type cases tend to use the same cutout shape, so there really isn't a Strat type case out there that G&Ls fit in perfectly including G&L cases. At the very least, G&L guitars should be able to fit in G&L cases. Otherwise, the guitar is great. Nonetheless, I'll take off two points for this, as I think this is fairly inexcusable.

My Legacy is really well built. The overall quality is about equal to Fender Custom Shop instruments. G&Ls tend to weigh a bit more than Fender guitars, but I think this is due to better, heavier woods. I have read other G&L feedbacks on Harmony Central that say G&L uses inferior quality wood or have shoddy construction. I guess it is possible that there might be a few lemons out there, but both of my G&Ls along with the other thirty or so G&Ls that I have played have all had absolutely superior wood and build quality.

I have never had a problem, so I really don't have an opinion on this.

I have been playing now for about sixteen or seventeen years. I used to have a serious guitar acquisition syndrome (GAS) problem, but I got better! Still, I am always interested in new gear. Over the years, I have had almost every major type and brand of guitar and amp out there. Today, I'm down to five electric guitars (Les Paul Standard, PRS McCarty Soapbar, Fender Tele, G&L Comanche, and this G&L Legacy), one acoustic guitar (Taylor 414), two amps, and two mandolins. IMHO, G&L gives you the most bang for the buck of any guitar manufacturer out there. If you are considering a quality American made Strat, then I highly recommend that you look into any Strat type G&L guitar in general and the Legacy in particular. I can honestly say that G&L is my favorite brand of guitar, and I absolutely believe they are better than anything from Fender and are the equal in function of any of the boutique Strat manufactures. If you are primarily interested in a high quality instrument that will not hold you back, then you just can't go wrong with a G&L. On the other hand, if you want the name that everyone knows or if you want to be a guitar snob, then you might want to look elsewhere. But you are going to be missing out on a truly outstanding guitar and certainly the best deal out there, IMHO.

Don't let the price tag fool you, this isn't a tribute series, it's a US model that ive dated to roughly october-decmber 96. I'm not too worked up about it to actually remove the neck to find out exactly when. got it in mint and i mean mint condition in 2002. 6 years it must've lay in it's case packed away somewhere cause when I laid eyes on it in the shop it still had the G&L tag hanging on the headstock and the cellotheme wrapping on the pickguard. What can I say, I just happened to ask a pretty stupid assistant who didn't know who G&L where and what they were worth how much the baby cost.

Pretty standard fare as far as strats go. 3 single g&L pickups. dual fulcrum bridge, 5 way stwitching, maple neck, 3 colour burst. I think havign lots of different stuff going on like mid boosts or coil taps etc.... make it more of a machine than an instrument and I really do prefer simpler designs. tele#s only have 2 pickups and 3 combo's Les Paul only needed the same too. I doubt there's be many guitars with 35 different pickup combos and doves on the fretboard held in the same light anytime soon.

On newer fender the black on the burst usually goes right over the tummy cut for the simple reason that it's to hide how many peices the body's made out of. american series included and G&L don't need to do this cos it's either 1 or possible 2 pieces max.

Fir the actual selling price, its a great guitar. for #280 plus a hard case it's an absolute steal.

Beautiful guitar. In the shop I tried it unplugged 1st just to see hwo it resonated. A guitar that sounds crap unplugged has a good change of sounding crap through an amp whereas nice resonant unplugged guitars have a tendency to sound great. This thing sustains like a dream and sounds absolutely gorgeous on it's own meaning the actual sound of the guitar itself without amps or effects is beautiful.

Fire it through an amp and it's just as impressive. Not going to get thrash metal out of it anytime soon but i don't intend to anyway. The bridge position is a little redundant as I find with all strat bridge positions but whack on the middle with it and turn up the gain and you're smoking, move closer to the neck and it just gets warmer and fatter all round. neck pickup with the volume rolled back makes an absolutely gorgeous clean.

I did a gig with this last year. not my usual bag, was a silver anniversary for a family friend and we done a 3 hour set covering everythign fromt he beatles to Pink to coldplay to tina turner to traditional scottish songs and I used this guitar all night with nothign else to aid my cept an eq, a tuner and a keeley modded blues driver. Using the volume to control the amount of gain and using the 5 pickup selections i covered an incredible amount of musical territory with one guitar so it's as versatile as they come.

when the single pups are selected you get a little hum but it's nothing more than ordinary 60 cycle and I personally plug my guitar in to play, not stand around listening to it humming away.

As i said, the only gripe i have is the bridge pup on it's own but it's the nature of the strat beast. dunno if i'd bother putting in a single sized hum cos it still sounds gr8 as it is and dont want to lose the brige/mid sound you get with this babe. Even mates in bands who don't particularly like our style and sound and generally play punky alternative stuff with their gain maxed at 10 (much to my dismay) have all commented on how good this sounds.

perfect. not one sharp fret, finish problem, burred saddle edge.... nothing.

I lowered the action a little but thats just personal taste it was low enough to begin with. I may get the bridge recut sometime int he future cos I think the G slot could be cut a little better but thats pretty anal of me and i doubt any stranger who picked up the guitar would notice or case.

had it for close to 2 years now and not had one problem yet. I gig without backups alot of the time and only ever really bother takign a backup if it's a big important gig. Not because I don';t think it;s reliable but I've had a guitar go down on me mid solo in front of a coupla hundred people and having to stand around trying to crack jokes while the singer runs backstage to beg another band to lend us a guitar for the rest of the set is pretty amateurish and those few minutes seem like years.

Murphys law was probably wrote with live music situations in mind as anyo0ne whos played and/ or promoted a gig can testify :-)

it's a nice guitar but it's also a workhorse. I take care of my gear but i don't baby it and I've still not had a problem yet. I won't be swinging it around my head anytime soon so i don't think it'll be fallign apart in the near future but either way, the guitar is an absolute rock.

emailed G&L UK a few times with enquiries about replacement pickguards and a trem arm since the guitar didn't actually come with one.

Got a prompt return within a day or 2 basically tellign me what i needed to know. Not personal service on the level of say robert keeley or other modders like him but for a multinational it does an excellent job.

I've been playing for 9-10 years and I like to think I know my gear. i'm not the best guitarist out there but i would say im easilly int he top 10% of people I've ever had the pleasure to see, meet or gig with and I'm happy where I'm at playing wise.

Chances of it getting stolen or lost are pretty slim sincei watch it like a hawk at gigs and it's usually in my room at home and I've got a pretty violent temper so I don't fuck about if i think anyones taking my stuff BUT if it did go for a walk I'd be utterly gutted cos i know i'll never find a guitar as good or as cheap like this again.

Sayign that, it would give me a good excuse to splash out more on a G&L custom or a nice ric.

Overall a 10. simply the best guitar i've ever played ever.

This, my friends, is a fabulous guitar. Lake Placid Blue metallic with only a subtle bit of sparkle, gun tint oiled maple neck and fretboard, creme colored plastic pickguard and pickup covers. This was in the store I bought it from for only one day because the minute I saw it and played through it, I was sold. #1 neck, which is a 12" radius, but as these guitars are hand-made, every neck on every G&L I have is different regardless of the category it's listed in. The pickups are G&L Alnico V handwound (supposedly) with the standard strat 5-way switching. Also, the guitar cable input is located on the top side of the guitar just like a strat. Jumbo frets and kudos to G&L for shipping a new guitar with 10's instead of 9's. Also, the body is alder with the pattented dual fulcrum tremolo that does a nice job of staying in tune.

This is quite simply a beautiful, stunning, great-playing guitar with a very high attention to detail, which is very consistent with every other G&L I've owned or played. As far as a rating for features, it's hard to compare it to other guitars that have controls to allow for multiple pickup combinations, and like my Twin, the longer time goes by, the more feature laden other amps get, so I will be fair on rate this accordingly. However, as far as a strat style guitar goes, this is tops!

Just amazing. The guy at the guitar store pulled it from the case the day it came in and strumed it. I actually was sold from that point. This has an acoustic resonance over any Legacy I've ever heard. And then I plugged it in. It took approximately 10 minutes for me to have Corner Music hold this guitar for me until I could come in at the end of the week and get it. The pickups do sound absolutely great. There is an ash-bodied rosewood fingerboard Legacy that I am interested in also, but I just love the way G&L's maple necks look. The laquer on the all maple neck can take some getting used to, and G&L sometimes has sharp edges on their all maple necks, but this one is smooth and plays great. The jumbo frets make string bending very easy and the resonance, combined with the excellent pickups sound wonderful. I play through either a '65 Twin Reverb or a Gibson Goldtone amp and it sounds amazing with either. I briefly had a '59 Reissue bassman, and it sounded great through that amp too.

This guitar does have a glassy, old-style strat sound that can be bright. The bridge pickup has that Jimmie Vauhgn twang to it and the notch positions (2 & 4) are authentic without being to accentuated like some strat-style pickups can be. You do get great Buddy Guy or Robert Cray sounds in these positions. The middle pickup is very useable on its own and the neck pickup is rich and round without losing its stratty vibe. I had an Ernie Ball Albert Lee and these pickups are quite a bit more powerful without losing its musical sound. These are truly vintage style pickups that sound great with about everything I've played them through. And, as with a traditional strat or single coil guitar, you get some 60-cycle hum, except when playing in the 2 & 4 positions as the middle pickup is reverse wound for noise cancellation in those settings.

Also, there really is something about the tremolo. I am not a tremolo player, but after having a Hard-Tail Albert Lee, I am convinced, the hollowness, metal and springs create some kind of magic that makes the strat what it is. It adds a little bit of weight, but it the weight is made up for with mojo that hardtails do not posses. I didn't realize this until I had a hard-tail. Even the Albert Lee, which is a wonderful guitar, sounded different without the tremolo. This guitar also holds it's tuning very well.

For an authentic playing and sounding strat, this is a very tough guitar to beat!

Every G&L I've either owned or examined is flawless. I would figure hand-made would give way to human error, but not with these guitars. Even inside the tremolo section, the attention to detail is outstanding. I've owned a Comanche and two ASAT Classics that were the same way. While the hand-made factor plays in the form of neck feel and overall vibe, the action, fit and finish is near perfect. I sound like I work for G&L, but I don't. I am just a Fender convert and have never looked back. I still have one ASAT Classic, and have my eye on another Legacy with an ash body and rosewood fingerboard.

These are just remarkably well-made guitars for not much more money than an amercian standard Fender. Those are good guitars too, but you almost have to get Fender Custom Shop quality to match the G&Ls. For those who disagree with me, you either have never played a G&L or you got a bad one that has been damaged, because in all my years of playing, I have never experienced more consistency and quality from guitar to guitar than I have with G&L. And the best thing, as these are hand-made, each guitar, while being consistent in the quality department, is very different than the one right next to it.

G&L uses the best materials and workmanship, and as a result, their guitars are extremely reliable. I've bought new and used G&Ls and the only problem I've ever encountered was a short at the input jack, but that was because a former owner had changed tone pots and did a poor soldering job, which was not the guitar's problem as much as it was the idiot who changed stuff around on it. These guitars are built to last and this one is no exception.

Never really had to deal with them, but I did order a saddle replacement and G&L style tone control for my old ASAT Classic. It took a while for my parts to get to me, and they were a bit lacking in the email response department, which I found a bit disappointing. Still, I have yet to file any kind of warranty complaint and the store I buy these from is so good, I don't think I'll ever have to deal directly with them in a warranty situation. I know some manufacturers offer limited lifetime warranties, but a 10-year warranty, such as the one G&L offers, is adequate. I would say if there is a defect in a new guitar you buy, it will show up rather quickly. The certificate of authenticity with the laser etched signature of Mrs. Fender doesn't do that much for me, but it's kind of cool to get a manilla packet with extra goodies in it.

For the warranty stuff, I have no comment, becuase these guitars are so good, I have yet to exact an any claims. For the poor ass email response and two week delivery time on my parts, I'll knock some points off. Unless Sarah from Andy Griffith is the only lady working the email and parts room, there is no reason to fall behind on answering customer questions or getting stuff out quickly.

This is the best strat-style guitar I have ever owned. The Albert Lee was lighter and sounded great, but it didn't look like a strat and was missing some kind of mojo that prompted me to sell it and get this Legacy. This guitar is a joy to play unplugged or plugged into any amp, and I am quickly finding this guitar to be the one I pick up most frequently due to it's attractive looks and playability. There really is nothing like a good strat, and this Legacy makes the best strat seem very mediocre at best. I see very expensive strat prototypes and wonder why those manufactures sell those guitars for so much more than G&L does, when, in my opinion, they don't match the vibe, feel and sonic qualities of G&L. That is to say, in the vintage Fender category. If I need something to give me 25 different sounds and also give me a ride to Pluto, I suppose something more elaborate would be necessary, but if I am going to get someting that looks like a strat, I want something that plays and sounds like one too. Also, I prefer to buy American as there is an argument of consistency and quality, but more so, it's the principal of helping the companies that employ people in the USA. I hate the Tribute series as they are well-built and I understand why G&L did it, but as soon as companies start offering cheapies, it can confuse some consumers with the real thing. G&L tapped into having more market share and making affordable models of good quality to beginners and folks on a budget, and most major guitar makers have plants overseas, but sometimes less is better, but we shall see how the Tribute series works out for G&L.

I try and keep a differnt mix of guitars for differnt moods and styles, but as I said earlier, I am seriously contemplating another Legacy with an ash body and rosewood fingerboard because even though it has the same basic configuration and pickups, it is totally differnt in feel and even sound.

I have been very happy with all the G&Ls I own or have owned, and I think you will be too. Go try one out! For the money they simply cannot be beat. This is hand-made and not machine made. And if you are familiar with Ed Roman, please do not listen or believe what he says. He tries to undermime great manufacturers if they won't distribute to them, and tries to make a case for selling HIS guitars. I have bought guitars from him before and fell into the trap of believing him word for word, until I started examining stuff on my own accord and realizing he was and is full of shit and bad at customer service and backing up his claims of warranty and all the rest. So, as I have already said, if you don't believe me, please go to a reputable G&L dealer (particularly a dealer who also sells Fenders) and play one for yourself. I think you will quickly see what all my hot air and hype is about. Also, be sure and play a strat or two when demoing a Lecacy or ASAT. You will see for yourself just how good these guitars are.

I,m reviewing a 2003 G&L Legacy Alder body - maple neck (satin finish), rosewood fingerboard, schaller (G&L) tuners, dual fulcrom vibrato arm. Volume and two tone pots bass & treble roll off. finished in a georgeous Candy Apple Red. White pickguard knobs etc.

Lets not complicate the issue, these guitars are without a doubt the finest sounding, most versatile instruments I have ever played. Great stock pickups wound on the original Fender winding machine I believe, suitable for everything from country clean, to high gain rock. I play through Cornford Class A tube amps and its all there - great middly tone without the trebly shrill of so many Fenders. The treble and bass roll off pots work superbly and the volume backs off smoothly all the way down to zero!. All the available tones for any situation are simply great!!!

The factory set-up of all my G&L's (I now own nine!) has been excellent although I haven't bought a guitar yet in over 25 years of playing that I haven't tweaked a little to suit. These guitars are handmade - the old way - and they feel really solid compared to a regular Amerian Series Fender. Neck pocket and fit is really tight. Satin neck is silky smooth, fretting is perfect - nut altough plastic is fine. Overall I get the impression G&L really have their attention to detail sorted - this is a perfect players instrument clearly produced by craftsman who really do care!

As solid as it gets!

Never had to use them

I am lucky to own over twenty guitars - Gibson, Fender, etc all of which are great but my G&L's have something thats hard to put into words. I dont make a habit of writing reviews but I felt compelled to after reading some of the other reviews here, these instruments are class, if you come across one in your local music store - pick it up - I'm fairly sure you won't want to put it down.

This is my first review here. I'm not sure of the year of mine, but I bought it new in '99. US made. It has a 3 bolt maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, Alder body, Sperzel non-locking tuners and a honeyburst finish All the other features are covered elsewhere.

This guitar suits my needs perfectly. I play blues/rock Britpop, anything that comes into my head really, except ultra heavy stuff. I was using it with a Marshall VS265R but found I rarely used that amp. I now use a Roland Cube 30. I don't gig, just jam and practice.

I found that the range of sounds just available with guitar controls are amazing and after a search of over a year playing Strats and other G&Ls this was the 'one' for me. I found the Fenders ridiculously overpriced and underwhelming compared to this guitar.

I was experiencing a small amount of 60 cycle hum, so after 3 yrs of ownership I replaced the std p/ups with a set of Kinman AVN Blues. These are totally noiseless and every bit as versatile as the original p/ups (I still have them also). I just love rolling off the bass control on postion two and giving it some serious 'quack strumming'. I find all positions great and the volume control is great to just roll off for rythym and let fly for a solo. Very controlable.

I'm not sure what the factory set up was loke as my dealer gave it a full tweak when he new I was coming back for a second look. But everything plays fine and the tuning stability is awesome even with massive tremelo use.

There are no flaws that I can see, and have had no complaints on anything in the 5 years I've owned it. The only thing I did was have my dealer fit the chrome knurled ASAT type knobs because I like to roll the controls mid song, and I wanted it to look different to a Fender. I have the original knobs but have never used them.

Saddles are very smooth, I am a bend freak and I've never broken a string on this guitar,,ever!

It's rock solid, doesn't show any signs of wear (save for the fingerboard) and have never had any type of problem. I get the intonation done once in a while and that's it.

Would gig without a backup no problems, but me being me, I'd probably like the mental safety net of a back up.

Never dealt with them, never needed to.

Been playing 15 years, I just wanted one (electric) guitar that would do everything I needed, looked stylish, is easy to grow old with and that I would not regret buying.

I find the quality amazing especially for the price I paid. Saw a second hand one recently for a grand more than I paid new! Everytime I pick it up I thank God that for once I was in the right place at the right time. What a guitar, and what a price. I love my G&L and the longer I have it, the more I love it. Makes me feel very smug when I see ppl paying huge money for guitars that they later trade in.Take your time and make the right decisions.

Check out a G&L, I'm sure you wont regret it

I think the Legacy offers the best pickup configuration of any other guitar. The multifunction tone system is a wonderful feature and creates a wide range of tones . Great job Guys!

To me the Legacy is the very best of old and new and the sound reflects exactly that. My pickups hum a little bit however that at least to me adds a bit of old strat likeness . My g&l was made before G&L made thier own pickups so what i have is probably the old seymore duncans single coils. Great pickups!

My legacy is the very best guitar fit and finish that i have ever seen the body honey burst swamp ash is perfect . The weight and balance again is perfect. Maple neck perfect. Trem system never goes out . Im a blues player and use the trem all night long and have had no problems with it going out of tune. I love the saddles i have very very few string breaks mostly the G string still better than my strat by leaps and bounds!

I would definity gig without a backup and regularly do . My G&L is the most reliable guitar i have ever played.I love the fulcrom floating bridge system SUPER!

I have never had any problems in 4 years of playing the guiar and playing it hard.!

Perfect guitar for the descrimanating player