2015 G&L Telecaster
- Jay EuDaly
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
G&L ASAT Classic - Tribute Series
The main selling point for me on this guitar was price-point. At the time, new ones were under $1000. I bought this one new from the store where I was teaching at the time, so I got it for cost-plus-shipping which was a little over 50% of retail. Pretty sweet deal.
My motivation for the purchase was to have a guitar with which I was comfortable and could leave in my teaching studio so I wouldn’t have to schlep a guitar from home everyday. One that would be no great loss if stolen.
Turns out this guitar was higher quality than I expected. I’ve used it on gigs here and there; it’s definitely gig-worthy!
For those who don’t know, the “L” in “G&L” refers to Leo Fender. G&L Guitars is the company founded by Leo Fender along with George Fullerton after Leo Fender sold his original company, and then after parting ways with Music Man. G&L instruments are similar to the classic Fenders, but with some Leo Fender modern innovations.
For one thing, this Telecaster has Gibson-type jumbo frets. I’ve always preferred Gibsons over Fenders so that’s a big deal to me. So much so that when I purchased a 1972 Telecaster from my good friend Jerry Chambers (of Morningstar fame) I had the original frets replaced with jumbos.
Here are the specs from the G&L website:
CONSTRUCTION: bolt-on
SCALE: 25 1/2"
PICKUPS: Leo Fender†-designed G&L MFD single coils
BODY WOOD: Poplar and Swamp Ash top on Poplar
NECK WOOD: Hard-Rock Maple with Maple fingerboard
NECK WIDTH AT NUT: 1 5/8"
NECK RADIUS: 9-1/2"
NECK PROFILE: medium C
FRETS: 22 medium jumbo, nickel
TUNING KEYS: 18:1 ratio, sealed-back
BRIDGE: traditional boxed-steel bridge with individual brass saddles
CONTROLS: 3-position pickup selector, volume, tone
A word about the pickups: “MFD” stands for, “Magnetic Field Design.”
Again, from the G&L website:
Magnetic Field Design yield about twice the output per wind, making the pickup quieter while allowing a greater overall output. The sound of Magnetic Field pickups is slightly warmer with a broader frequency response.
Another reason I’ve always preferred Gibsons over Fenders is the double-coil humbucker pickups found on Gibsons. Higher output, little to zero hum and a darker, rounder tone.
That explains why I like the MFD pickups on this G&L way better than typical single-coils found on most Fenders. They are indeed higher output, quieter and warmer.
Having said that, I still like double-coil humbuckers better. Why?
Well, humbuckers are still warmer, quieter and have more output.
Furthermore, it seems to me that this Telecaster, when turned up all the way, has some kind of compression that happens to the sound; picking a note harder doesn’t increase the volume - at least to my ear.
The result is I’m not able to get the dynamic range with just my hands that I can get with double-coil pickups. It’s a subtle thing and most listeners probably couldn’t tell the difference, but I can.
Another (admittedly minor) thing; I prefer a rosewood fretboard over a maple fretboard. I think it might just be a visual thing, I don’t think it affects my playing.
Also, the Swamp Ash/Poplar body is heavier than I like. I have some chronic back issues that all stem from hunching over a guitar for almost 60 years and as I’ve gotten older the weight of the guitar is a more and more significant issue.
My ‘72 Telecaster has a pine body and is extremely light; almost as light as my PRS McCarty Hollowbody. It’s too bad the G&L is so heavy.
Maybe I should swap the G&L pickups into the ‘72 Telecaster.
When the Covid Shutdown happened in 2020 and the store that contained my teaching studio closed for good, I moved all my teaching to my home studio where it has remained ever since.
So I now have this guitar that was purchased solely to keep in my teaching studio, hanging on the wall at home. I figured I’d just sell it at a profit and that would be that.
Haven’t been able to pull the trigger and do it.
In spite of my whining about the little things I don’t like about it, it really is a fine, well-made guitar. Even at full retail, it’s a great bang-for-the-buck.
And I got it brand-new for half that.
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