G&L Rampage

Simple guitar. 22 frets, Kahler tremolo, locking nut, nice finish, unfinished maple neck, very nice ebony fretboard. Customized for a neck humbucker and had a tone knob added along with a toggle switch. Makes for a very versatile instrument.

I really like the Kahler because it makes it easier to set up than a Floyd Rose and string changes are a little quicker. With two pickups, a volume pot, a tone pot, and a Kahler it makes for a very versatile instrument perfect for any kind of metal to shred.

I switched out the stock pickups (Schaller pickups) and popped some Duncans in it, making the guitar much more responsive. This guitar has all the features I could ever want in a guitar and fills all of my expectations.

Perfect sound for whatever I throw at it. I can go from playing some Van Halen shit to some Al Di Meola then back over to some Paul Gilbert or some Maiden, anything really. The sound is meant for rock or metal, but can work well in any situation. I have been able to morph it into my own tone.

The guitar is perfect for what I do with it. I run it through a Morley Steve Vai Bad Horsie II into an Ibanez TS9 then into the Hi-gain input on my 5150 with some nice reverb and delay from a G-Major in my effects loop. The guitar is especially responsive when put infront of some serious tube gain. Provides anything from screaming lead tone to nice warm rhythm. The only thing I dislike is that sometimes it gets too trebly, but that is no big deal.

The guitar is everything anyone could expect it to be for a guitar that could legally buy beer if it were a person. The finish has sustained some dings, dents, and scratches, but they are from me so I like it, just adds more character and I can't ask for anything better from my guitar.

The factory setup was cool, not perfect, but it could suffice. Much better after a pro setup. I probably need a new setup for it because I have logged probably a good 10 years of straight play on this thing (I can't put it down), but it is still great nonetheless.

Simply perfect.

I would trust the life of my neighbor with this guitar. I always put a little dab of oil on the ball ends of my strings before I string up the guitar so it is lubricated to survive even the craziest dips and dives. I still break strings once in a great while, but most of the time I can pull at least a month out of a set so I know when they are going to go, so I trust the guitar.

The finish has lasted over 20 years and that is after being put through every element known to man. Plus I don't give a flying fuck about the finish, I play the guitar for sounds, not looks. The finish does a great job though.

The strap buttons are little chunks of metal big enough to hold my strap on it. All I need.

Never dealt with them too much.

I have been playing for a while and this guitar has seen me through all the fads, and that shows how versatile it is. When a guitar can play multiple styles and survive the test of time, that is when you know that you have a great instrument.

Since the day I got it I haven't gone a day without playing it, no matter what. I love this guitar and if someone stole it from me I would hunt that person down, strap them to a chair, and torture them to death in the most painful way imaginable... I would make them listen to Cher followed by Barbara Streisand in that same pattern for a week straight. If I lost it I would do the above to myself.

This guitar is a prime example of the craftsmanship that handmade American guitars are made with. I would tell anyone looking for a guitar to get a Rampage if they had the opinion.

1985/86 Super heavy black body w/matching headstock-looked like maple when the pickup was replaced, original kahler tremelo, all black hardware except for the chees-ass nut lock which is sheetmetal and looks like crap. The strat style body is not a clone of the familiar strat but has its own shape- smaller horns and a little more slender around the waist. One of the most prominant features of this guitar is the untreated bare wood neck with an eBony fingerboard and huge flat frets. The neck is medium thickness and gets a bit dirty looking but gets faster and faster the more that it's played. The neck is made out of quartersawn maple which is cut from the same piece of wood and reversed to keep the wood from warping in any one direction. It works. The action was set up right after I bought it and has not moved in 19 years...even when living in many different climates. Except for the previously maligned nutlock, the features are perfect for the focused metal guitar player. One pickup, one volume control and solid heavy wood. I installed an EMG81 they day after I bought Metalica's Ride The Lightning album and never looked back. The Kahler trem is really good though a lot softer than most FR's. I give the features a 9 for being focused and high quality-not for being plentyful. It's not a swiss army knife, It's a butcher's knife that has been made out of excellent materials.

This guitar is for metal. Nothing else. It has a cold tone and is uninspiring for anything but metal or super hard rock. I can't remember what the original pickup sounded like but have had no desire to take out the emg81, which is only on the third battery in almost twenty years. The sound has a super strong lower midrange and well defined upper midrange with great sustain. The ultra highs are not there which makes the guitar feedback resistant. Attack is very very hard. The Kahler tremelo does not react the same way that Floyd Rose trems do. It sounds much more controlled when diving and that is not meant to be a compliment.

Factory set up was satisfactory but I like the action a little lower so I had a guy who claimed to setup all of Blackfoot's guitars do the honors. for $35 bucks the Ram came back with action extremely low and zero buzz through an amp. This setup has been unchanged for almost 20 years. I still use 009 through 044 or 046 strings. I believe that the quarter sawn neck makes a big difference.

The micro tilt neck has never given me a problem. The cast jack plug has to be changed after about ten years. Nothing else.

This was my one and only through various garage/basement beer drinking sessions. A backup is a must because you can't finish a song without changing a string. Everything else is indestructible.

Never had an issue that needed manufacturer support. I bought this new in 1985 or 1986 from Russo's back when they were in a little house on Broad St. in Trenton NJ(the cigarette smoke used to be so thick your eyeballs hurt just looking in the window). They don't seem to smoke as much now. I still buy most of my stuff from them. The new building is nice and holds a lot more stuff but I miss gazing at a new axe while my eyes water and chest gets tight. That is Character.

It is metal.

I have a 1985 Rampage Demo Model, It came out a ,little bit before the actual production models which came out in 1986.Made in America, Fuck Yeah. It features 22 perfectly broken in frets that are ideal if you want too go strait malmsteen on these bitches.There are 3 different body woods and since I'm not a wood doctor I would say 1/3 Birds eye maple, 1/3 ash/ and something else, Kahler trem, strat body style, thin neck and transparent finish. It comes equipped with a humbucker in the neck position and one volume knob . Ready to rock ass.

Man o man does this thing kick ass I got mine yesterday and was seriosly tempted to call in sick at work. I know people read these reviews when researching a guitar, maybe your thinking of picking one up right? Do it, You wont be dissapointed. Unless your a jazz guitarist or something. If your looking for a no nonsense rock axe look no further, I havent played anything close to the utter devastaion that is my Rampage.

This guitar is a fucking work of art.

Solid would be the key word. I havent dropped it or anything but i bet it could withstand it. It has a three bolt neck which was highly scrutinized when fender started doing it back in the 80's. The thing is solid.

Have not dealt with them, hopefully I wont need to.

I give this thing a 9 overall.Is this the section where everybody says if someone stole it from me I would hunt them down and kick their ass? If that ever happened I would probably start a jihad on that ass with the severity. If you want to sound huge buy this guitar.

This guitar has a very small selection of features, but that does not hamper the guitar at all. It has one volume knob and one humbucker. The Rampage that I bought was a custom '88 model with a Skull & Crossbone painted where the neck pickup would normally be. It also does not have the usual Kahler trem on it, it had a Leo Fender patented one. So this guitar does have many features even though they may seem small at a first glance.

This guitar gives a great metal/grunge/rock sound. I mean Jerry Cantrell used it so there is heavy for you. I run this guitar through a Marshall MG30FDX, and only through a wah pedal. It gives me a very nice metal tone, but once i get an EMG 81 in it, there will be no stopping this baby! Though the original pickup will work just fine. It has a very rich sound because of the Alder body and a dark Ebony fretboard. It really is the perfect guitar for the metal player, which is me.

The action was set just perfect from the guy i bought it from. It's in very good conditon, no knicks, or noticable blemishes. The finish looks good, with no noticable faltering in the Finish.

This is a very reliable guitar, though if you break a string you need to have a backup guitar at a gig because of how long it takes to change a guitar string on a trem bar guitar. But overall this is a very reliable and durable guitar, i would gig without a backup!

I haven't dealt w/ them

Overall this is a great guitar well worth the money payed for it. If it were stolen i would hunt down the person and beat them until i got it back! Buy this guitar if you can find one, since they are becoming quite rare.

I have a 1986 G&L Rampage that is Red with a matching Red headstock. The setup is stock with the Kahler Trem, single Humbucker, and one Volume control. Made in the U.S.A. Pure heavy rock guitar. It has a beefy neck with an alder body. I was looking to get the Jerry Cantrell vibe from it. It's a cool looking guitar, unlike Jerry's with all the naked women on it, I put Spongebob and Patrick on it.

This guitar rocks!! I use it through a fender hot rod Deluxe and also a 66 fender bandmaster. I run it through a ProCo Vintage Rat distortion, MXR Phase 90, Boss Dm3 delay & CH-2 Chorus, and a 535q wah. This guitar has the alice and chains vibe and is great for creating your own sound too. Jerry Cantrell is my biggest influence, so in order to achieve his sound I felt that I needed this guitar.

I bought this on Ebay, but the guy took great care of it and it was set up perfect when I got it. I did have a problem with it breaking the high E string, but I just sanded out the spur and put some silicone gel on it. Problem solved!

This guitar was built to rock and should stand the test of time with no problem.

Never had to deal with them, so I really don't know.

I've been playing for over 6 years now and own 9 other guitars. This is definately in my top 4 along with my 52 tele, 71 les paul Deluxe, and Guild S100. This is a great guitar and if you like to play AIC, this is a must.

This is an original Rampage circa 1986. It has 22 frets. One humbucker(stock) one volume knob. Alder body i believe with a rosewood fretboard. An awesome kahler trem (floyd rose is CRAP!) fine tuners on trem & G&L tuners. I give it a 10 because granted it doesnt come with billions of features and is a straight to the point rock guitar. just what i need.

A 9 rating because no guitar sounds "perfect" I play metal and hard rock, mainly Alice In Chains with this guitar since jerry obviously uses this model. my rig consists of: G&L--crybaby--chorus--marhsall VS100H----jcm900 1960 cab. no unwanted feedback from pickups. excellent mid range tone. will replace pickup with SD SH-4 JB since thats what jerry has, but IT IS NOT NECESSARY to replace the PU it sounds killer.

action a little high, but my friend is fixing it tomorrow. PU height is the usual. the guitar has a nick in the paint in 2 spots but i bought it used so who cares its in next to mint condition.

this guitar is a work horse. it can withstand hard playing. this guitar was built to last and its been around since 86 and is still in excellent condition. i use this guitar when my band plays AIC and i have another guitar for our own stuff.

no warranty, no support, dont need it.

if you are into alice in chains or just want a straight up solid rock guitar this is for you. this guitar is the perfect balance of all worlds. get one if you find one. THEY ARE RARE.

Stock guitar with Khaler and Schaler pickup,alder body, maple neck, ebony fretboard, USA made.

This is a tone monster for metal. The original pickup is quiet and dark, just right for gain heads. My band cannot belive it sounds better than my Les Paul custom but it does! Really!If you see one, get it!

The fit and finish are very good for a 16 year old guitar. The frets were loose and flat when I bought it. $80 for a good re-seat and crown&polish made the guitar amazing. The action is very low with little buzz and the feel of the neck is fantastic, very comfortable and fast. The Kahler works well but the nut dosnt keep it in tune, the reissue has a floyd nut, this one does not. Without the bar it stays in tune great!

After doing the fret work I cant imagine this guitar needing anything in the immediate future. It was in good shape when I got it so it must be well made.

I have been playing for 15 years and I've owned over 90 guitars. This is the cheapest USA guitar I have ever bought and the best! It sounds great and is simple. A better tremelo and a neck pickup would only add to this great guitar!If you find an old one, be sure to have the fret work done by a pro and you will not be sorry! I paid 182 for it and 80 for the fret work for a total of 262! It was well worth it!

This white G&L Rampage Reissue was made in 1999. There are only 70 made. The guitar is almost white, features an ebony fretboard, a Kahler Pro bridge, one single Seymour Duncan TB-4 (Trembucker), an Alder body and a Maple neck. It was made in Fullerton, California. It has 22 frets. Oh yes, it also features Schaller tuners. The guitar came in a *really* nice gig bag made by Chevy.
Since it only has ONE single pickup, a SD Trembucker, the sound options are limited, of course. There is even only 1 control - for the volume. Yet for me that's not that big of a problem cos I really like the guitar's (one) sound. Still I can't give it more than a 3 for its features.

The guitar perfectly suits my style. I mainly play hardrock and I really dig the sound of the rampage. it's really crisp, also, the pickup has a lot of output. sometimes it's sounding even too brilliant - it's starts to sound a little 'shrilling' - in combination with my marshall JCM 800 halfstack. still i like the sound, it's very straightforward and agressive.

I think the guys from G&L did a superb job on this guitar. It doesn't only look absolutely beautiful, it also feels terrific. The neck is extremely 'playable'.
Also, it hardly ever gets out of tune because of that schaller bridge system. therefore, I use the whammy bar all the time. I'll give it a 9 cos nothing's perfect - but this is very close.

I only bought this guitar about 2 months ago but I'm absolutely sure that it will withstand a lot. It's built very well. Of course you can't use it on a gig without backup since it takes quite some time to change strings (because of the floyd rose locking nut). I'll give it an 8 cos I don't have it really long enough to give it anything higher but so far it was perfect.

I never had to deal witht G&L.

I've been playin for about 2 1/2 years and this is my second electric. i also still own my first guitar which is a yamaha pacifica 604W. although i still like the yamaha, it's amazing how much better the G&L sounds and especially how much better is FEELS. I spent quite some time to compare the two of them. My main amp is a Marshall JCM 800 2204 and the combination sounds good to me. when cranking the JCM 800 and not playin with the EQ, the sound gets a little too agressive and shrill to my ears sometimes. That's because of the seymour duncan trembucker i guess. people told me to reduce the volume on the guitar a little to solve that problem but I think not cranking the volume control on the guitar is not good for your overall sound. it makes the sound quite tame. i'm gonna check out some extra equalizer pedals to see if that helps.
if it was stolen or lost, i would *try* to get another one, which is gonna be hard since there are only 70 made.
This is a great guitar!!!

Made In USA, date on neck Nov 16 84, Black finish w/ matching headstock, black hardware, ebony fingerboard, maple neck, and ash body. Different from the ones Jerry Cantrell plays in that its a heavy ash body instead of alder. Single humbucker, Kahler trem, G&L stamped Schaller tuners, three bolt micro tilt neck attachment, one volume knob. The neck plate and control cover are a cool crinkle-black metal, which I think is a nice touch. It has a copper sheilding plate in the cavity, held up by the volume pot, which is also a nice touch - even though I'm going to have to get some sheilding paint for the cavity. The Surely going to see duty as my 'dummy' guitar, i.e. those days when you don't need any options distracting you: no five or seven pickup combinations, no bank of knobs, just great sound. I'm giving it a '6' because this probably wouldn't do for anyone's sole guitar, but it's greatest features - it's construction, playability and sound - deserve to be mentioned.

I play hard rock, classic and new metal that comes from a variety of influences, from Black Sabbath and Aerosmith to Alice In Chains and System of a Down. I use it with a 1990 Marshall JCM900 2500 head and generic 4x12 with Peavy Scorpion speakers. Since the guitar was sent to me pretty fucked up - the fingerboard had waterspots and fret corrosion (taken care of with Old English oil and Nevr-Dul metal polish, still visible after a week), and the pickup in it - a no-name Duncan Trembucker copy - was seriously misaligned in relation of the magnets to the strings, so I had some work to do. After cleaning the fretboad, I put a Duncan Custom in it, a great pickup - I intend to do a review on it as well. It's sound is very nice, ballsy and chunky, and due in no small part to the body woods, bright sounding in a nice way. Much different from my Ibanez RG550, which is much thicker and fatter sounding, just comparing with the bridge Tone Zone and nothing else. The combination of this great guitar and excellent pickup is very, very nice and rich. Since the guitar has but the one pickup, the sounds don't range very far - distorted or not, loud or soft, but all high quality. The brighter sound, while not as fat as other guitars, is by no means thin - instead, it adds great definition to whatever you're playing - which will be a definate plus when recording, for doubling and speedy riffs and runs that might be less-defined with a fatter sounding guitar.

Since the guitar is almost sixteen years old, I can't say for the factory setup. However, this guitar was extremely well built - the woods are great, the neck pocket is nice and tight, unlike those shitty 70's strats everyone compares the three-bolt neck design on these guitars to. If you're thinking about buying a G&L, but are scared off by the three bolt design, think again - you're comparing a masterfully built handcrafted guitar to a mass produced pos. Think about it - the flaw with most Epiphones isn't the design, which is similiar to a Gibson, but exectution - the Epi's aren't well built and thus they don't play or sound nearly as good as a Gibson. It's the same thing with Fender vs G&L. Not that Fender can't do great work, it just can't for under a grand, which is rediculous. The neck joint is tight, and it stays in tune great. The neck itself has just the greatest feel, what was a hand-finished neck 16 years ago is now worn in - in all the right places. I still have to adjust the saddle heights and just a small tweak on the neck angle, but it plays great as-is. It plays at least as good if not better than my 89 RG550, and I love that guitar, so that's a pretty huge compliment. All in all, a great playing guitar. The only thing I wish it had was a better locking nut - I think I'm going to have to convert it to a Floyd R-Type nut.

This guitar would definately last, and judging by the scars that it carries and the well-worn neck, it already has seen its share off onstage battles. The hardware is great, I can't wait until the nut gets changed so I can compare the Kahler to the Floyd on my RG. The strap buttons will soon be replaced with straplocks, which I do to all of my guitars, but the stock buttons are nice and big - no real worries here. I would definately depend on it, but due to the floating trem design, I would definately not use it without a backup - break a string and the show grinds to a halt while you unlock the nut and change the string. That's the only reason for giving it an 8.

I haven't dealt with the company yet, and don't anticipate having to. However, a great place to get in touch with those in-the-know is www.guitarsbyleo.com, as mentioned by the other guy who did a review on this guitar. I've heard that they're nice though.

If stolen or lost, I'd hunt down another ash-bodied Rampage, get a Duncan Custom, put the latter in the former and be done with it. I love the sound of it, the solid feel, and my fave feature is the neck - I used to spend a lot of time in guitar stores when I first started playing, and I've played a lot of guitars, so believe me when I tell you, this is one great neck. I was attracted to the guitar, firstly, because of Jerry Cantrell, and secondly, because G&L happens to be a great company. Now that I've had it for a week, it feels like it was always there, like my Ibanez RG550. I'd recommend the guitar to anyone. I've been enthralled with the idea of a good single humbucker solidbody for awhile, since I use my neck pickup a lot. It's great for those days when I just want to play, and not think about whether I'm using the neck or bridge pickup, or whether I forgot to turn the tone knob all the way back up. G&L makes fine guitars, and they can be found used for very reasonable prices. I'm very satisfied with the guitar, definately a keeper - much better than the Epi Flying V I traded for it. I changed the pickups, electronics, nut, tuners, all of that shit, and I still wasn't satisfied. A good lesson there - if you've done everything you can think of to the guitar and it still won't play as good as you want (even though it did sound pretty good), it's time for the two of you to part ways. If you can uptrade, of course, that's even better :). All in all, if you play rock and can deal with a simple, single pickup configuration, I'd try and pick up one of these - it's a great slab of wood.

22frets, Alder body,Mapleneck w/Ebony fretboard. 1 Schaller Golden50's HB pu stock came with this guitar. Single Humbucker config. I think the tuners where Scahller's made for G&L, had a G&L Guitar tech nut but was replaced with a Floydrose type unit. 1 volume knob (500k),G&L Vibrato trem w/fine tuners. Nice feature is the 3-bolt neck w/ Microtilt adujustment. You can adjust the action with having to loosen the strings. Also came equipped w/ Kahler bridge too.

Nice Uppermid tone. This guitar is simple and to the point. Great metal tone.

Standard black, Slight discolored bridge since it was made in 87. Action is Low w/11's.

Has withstood live playing jumping around and all that rockstar stuff. I would use this without a backup.

I called G&L for more info about this guitar and talked to Terry out there. Learned alot of stuff about this guitar too. Very,very friendly. Also found the G&L tribute page and those guy's helped alot too. www.guitarsbyleo.com

If you want a straight workhorse with no frills and great sound try an find one of these guitars.