CLF Research models take their styling cues from Leo Fender’s vibrant era of innovation in the 1970s and 80s. Fender Avenue styling cues of the era meet expanded technical capabilities, resulting in instruments that are as beautiful as they are versatile. Take the Doheny V12 guitar, for example, with its mini-toggle-controlled MFD humbucker coils, or the L•2500 Series 750 5-string bass with 19mm string spacing. All CLF Research models celebrate the original Fender Avenue vibe in a modern context, for a full-strength George and Leo experience that could only come from G&L.
CLF Research L•1000
The new CLF Research L•1000 brings back the best of the iconic passive G&L bass from 1980. Fans of the vintage G&L "wunkay" know.
It's that rounded, fast shape of the neck combined with the slick feel of an old gloss finish. It's the clean, modern aesthetic of the original CLF/G&L headstock.
It's the tactile delight of those beautiful CLF Research knobs shimmering from an elegant chrome control plate. And of course, there's the legendary punch of the L•1000's MFD humbucker in OMG mode.
Now take all that goodness and pack it into the slimmer mid-90s L-Series body shape for added comfort and lower weight, and you can make it through that 3 hour gig with tone and style to spare. And when you're on the road, you can count on the neck to be more stable than those beloved vintage wunkays, with a modern dual-action truss rod and twin graphite stiffening rods. Add it all up and you've got the best of the vintage CLF vibe with the best of modern G&L elements.The CLF Research L•1000: Return of an Icon
In the late 1970s, Clarence Leo Fender† was looking forward to launching his new G&L brand featuring his latest innovations including Magnetic Field Design pickups and the Saddle Lock bridge. Leo developed these technologies at his CLF™ Research company, and production of the new G&L instruments took place in the CLF Research factory on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California, where G&L production continues today. The new CLF Research L•1000 is a fully modern “wunkay” that pays homage to its roots with classic details including the early CLF/G&L headstock and neck profile, beautifully reproduced CLF knobs and control plate, and red-capped mini toggle switch. Thin urethane finish choices are:- Matcha Green over Basswood with Caribbean rosewood fingerboard, Vintage Gloss neck finish
- Old School Tobacco Sunburst over Okoume with Caribbean rosewood fingerboard, Vintage Gloss neck finish
- Natural Ash over Swamp Ash with maple fingerboard, Vintage Gloss neck finish
- Blueburst over Swamp Ash with maple fingerboard, Vintage Gloss neck finish
CLF Research L•1000 Series 750
The new L•1000 Series 750 is the latest G&L five string bass featuring 19mm string spacing at the bridge, just like Leo Fender’s four-string basses. Series 750 refers to an SAE measurement of "three-quarter-inch" string spacing: 3/4" = 0.750" = 19.03mm = nineteen millimeters.
L•1000 Series 750 is the “Widebody Wunkay” built with G&L’s “Wide 5” Saddle Lock bridge plate that houses five of the very same saddles used on G&L four-string basses. That extra space is neatly packed into a curvaceous new body drawing on classic Fender Avenue forms. A new MFD humbucker has been modified for its largest footprint ever, but special care was taken to ensure harmonic fidelity while capturing deep B-string energy.
The “Widebody Wunkay” is a fresh model yet classic Fender Avenue details are everywhere. The graceful early CLF/G&L headstock flows into a slim, rounded neck profile supported by a true dual-action truss rod and twin graphite reinforcement rods. Authentic 1980 cues continue with chunky CLF machined knobs, sweeping control plate, and three-position mini-toggle switch for coil control including the famous L•1000 “OMG” mode.
The CLF Research L•1000 Series 750 is available in:
- Graphite Metallic over Alder, Caribbean rosewood fingerboard
- Purpleburst over Swamp Ash, maple fingerboard
- Natural Gloss over Swamp Ash, maple fingerboard
CLF Research L•2000
In the late 1970s, Clarence Leo Fender† was looking forward to launching his new G&L brand featuring his latest innovations including Magnetic Field Design pickups and the Saddle Lock bridge. Leo developed these technologies at his CLF™ Research company, and production of the new G&L instruments took place in the CLF Research factory on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California, where G&L production continues today.
The new CLF Research L•2000 is a fully modern “2k” that pays homage to its roots with classic details including the early CLF/G&L headstock and neck profile, beautifully reproduced CLF knobs and '81 control plate housing the Tri-Tone Preamp* with color-coded mini toggle switch tips.
Finish Choices are:
- Purpleburst over Swamp Ash, maple fingerboard
CLF Research L•2500
In the late 1970s, Clarence Leo Fender† was looking forward to launching his new G&L brand featuring his latest innovations including Magnetic Field Design pickups and the Saddle Lock bridge. Leo developed these technologies at his CLF™ Research company, and production of the new G&L instruments took place in the CLF Research factory on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California, where G&L production continues today.
The new CLF Research L•2500 pays homage to its roots with classic details including the early CLF/G&L headstock and neck profile, beautifully reproduced aluminum CLF knobs, elegant-chrome control plate housing the Tri-Tone Preamp* and color-coded mini toggle switch tips.
The CLF Research L•2500 finish choices are:
- Old School Tobacco Sunburst over Swamp Ash, Caribbean rosewood fingerboard
- Purpleburst over Swamp Ash, maple fingerboard
CLF Research L•2500 Series 750
The new Wide•5 of Fender Avenue is the biggest thing since Leo's L•2000 hit back in '81. We call it the G&L L•2500 Series 750 and it's packing everything that makes the L•2000 and L•2500 icons. So what's new? The Series 750 is a fiver with a full 3/4-inch string spacing at the bridge, just like Leo's four-string basses - that's why we call it a Wide•5.
After all, it's in the name: Leo's four-strings have "three-quarter-inch" string spacing, so we've got 3/4" > 0.750" > 19.03mm. When someone says a five-string has "nineteen millimeter" string spacing, that's just a metric conversion of Leo's original four-string spec, so here on Fender Avenue it's gotta be "Seven-Fifty." The CLF Research L•2500 and other G&L fivers continue with narrower 11/16” string spacing at the bridge, as popularized on 1980s for fivers. The L•2500 Series 750 is for players who want the full three-quarter inch spacing on the most iconic of G&L designs.
Series 750 means there's a new Wide-5 Saddle Lock bridge plate housing five of the same saddles you'll find on an L•2000. This new bridge is all about maximizing string energy transfer to the body - especially that knockout B-string. The new body shape draws on classic Fender Avenue forms, melding them into a fresh hit for the ages. That's a sweet story in itself, as Series 750 arrives exactly forty years after the G&L L•2000 did. And those big pickups are more than stretched out brutes: all the harmonic detail of the best MFD humbuckers speak in a clear voice over massive B-string energy.
Sure, Series 750 is a brand new model but classic Fender Avenue details are everywhere. That graceful early CLF/G&L headstock flows into a slim, rounded neck profile that's rock solid thanks to a true dual-action truss rod and twin graphite reinforcement rods. And those big, beautiful machined CLF knobs popping against the sweeping chrome control plate that houses the Trig-Tone Preamp.* Even those little color-coded mini toggle switch tips have outsized mojo. This is retrofuturism of the very best kind.
The CLF Research L•2500 Series 750 can send you on a trip in a DeLorean or keep it fresh with these four destinations:
- Blueburst over Swamp Ash with Maple fingerboard, Vintage Gloss neck finish
- Old School Tobacco Sunburst over Okoume with Caribbean rosewood fingerboard, Vintage Gloss neck finish
- Ruby Red Metallic over Basswood with Caribbean Rosewood Fingerboard, Vintage Gloss neck finish
- Tangerine Metallic over Basswood with Maple fingerboard, Vintage Gloss neck finish