Legacy® ‘Lefty’
The G&L Legacy™ blends contemporary refinements from the Leo Fender†-designed S-500™ and Comanche® models with classic Alnico V pickups. If your holy grail is faithful Alnico single-coil tone with modern refinements and superb craftsmanship, the Legacy makes for an excellent choice.
The Legacy’s vintage-spec CLF-100 Alnico V pickups have that unmistakable chime and quack reminiscent of the best examples from the late ‘50s, thanks to the work of G&L's Paul Gagon. Gagon found his inspiration reviewing original prints stored in Leo’s private laboratory at G&L, but that was just the start. In the early '80s, Gagon was an R&D engineer at another company when he was tasked with finding out what was so special about the early bolt-on guitars many players raved about. Gagon nalyzed many examples of what were considered holy grail guitars, spending time out on the shop floor talking to builders still working in the pickup department since the ‘50s, all on a quest to discover where the real mojo was – and wasn’t. What he learned from the builders matched his own engineering analysis. You see, back in the day, the actual spec of pickups coming down that old production line varied considerably. That meant coming up with the right specs for the Legacy pickups was more challenging than simply following the prints. Gagon’s persistence paid off as the Legacy garnered rave reviews from both players and magazines like Guitar Player and Guitar World.
This axe is no slave to the past, however, starting with Leo’s PTB™ (Passive Treble and Bass) system which functions on all three pickups for dramatically more variety than the vintage setup. What’s more, the Legacy features a Leo Fender-designed Dual-Fulcrum vibrato, a work of engineering art which allows bending up or down with unsurpassed stability, while offering a silky feel through its beefy aluminum vibrato arm.
The Legacy is all about honest, classic Alnico tone complemented by Leo’s own modern refinements. And now, it’s available at a price within reach of every working musician. Once you play a G&L Tribute Series, you’ll never look back.
Available in:
- 3-Tone Sunburst over Swamp Ash, 3-ply Black pickguard, tinted gloss neck finish, Brazilian Cherry fingerboard
Legacy® HSS
The G&L Legacy HSS fattens things up with a G&L AW4370B Alnico bridge humbucker to complement the vintage alnico G&L CLF-100 single coils in the neck and middle positions. Masterminded by G&L VP Engineering Paul Gagon, the Legacy HSS has that ideal balance that’ll let it play well in a variety of settings, and its splittable bridge humbucker will does a convincing job as a single coil with rich, ringing harmonics.
The Legacy HSS brings all of the Legacy features, starting with Leo’s PTB™ (Passive Treble and Bass) system which functions on all three pickups for dramatically more variety than the vintage setup, while the treble pot has a push/pull coil-split for the bridge humbucker. What’s more, the Legacy HSS features a Leo Fender-designed Dual-Fulcrum vibrato, a work of engineering art which allows bending up or down with unsurpassed stability, while offering a silky feel through its beefy aluminum vibrato arm.
If you’re looking for that extra power to properly rock the house but you don’t want your classic Elvis to leave the building, then you owe it to yourself to check out the Legacy HSS. Once you play a G&L Tribute Series, you’ll never look back.
Available in:
- 3-Tone Sunburst over Swamp Ash, 3-ply black pickguard, tinted gloss neck finish, Maple fingerboard
S-500®
The G&L S-500™ debuted in 1982 as Leo’s own evolution of the traditional double-cutaway bolt-on axe, delivering innovations including the Dual-Fulcrum™ vibrato and Magnetic Field Design™ single-coil pickups, each designed by Leo Fender† himself. These MFD™ pickups deliver a bright and sparkly top end and robust bottom end, all without losing midrange focus.
You’ll find plenty of punch in the MFD pickups, but what’s surprising is how glassy and detailed they become as you roll back the volume and bass controls, the latter a part of the S-500’s PTB™ (Passive Treble and Bass) system which functions on all three pickups. What’s more, the G&L Tribute® Series S-500 includes a push-pull expander switch on the treble pot to allow neck+bridge or all three pickups together. In a pinch, the neck+bridge combo does a convincing faux ASAT™ Special. Talk about versatile!
The new G&L Tribute Series S-500 features one of Leo’s favorite pairings: the power of MFD pickups mellowed by the high porosity of a nato body. Making the most of this delicious combo is Leo’s Dual-Fulcrum vibrato, a work of engineering art which allows bending up or down with unsurpassed stability, while offering a silky feel through its beefy aluminum vibrato arm.
Leo’s forward-looking spirit is clearly reflected in the S-500, a guitar he designed for players who share that spirit. And now, it’s available at a price within reach of every working musician. Once you play a G&L Tribute Series, you’ll never look back.
Available in:
- Irish Ale over Nato body, Tortoise pickguard, tinted gloss neck finish, Brazilian Cherry fingerboard
- Sonic Blue over Nato body, 3-ply White pickguard, tinted gloss neck finish, Brazilian Cherry fingerboard
- Vintage White over Nato, 3-ply White pickguard, tinted gloss neck finish, Maple fingerboard
S_500® ‘Lefty’
The G&L S-500™ debuted in 1982 as Leo’s own evolution of the traditional double-cutaway bolt-on axe, delivering innovations including the Dual-Fulcrum™ vibrato and Magnetic Field Design™ single-coil pickups, each designed by Leo Fender† himself. These MFD™ pickups deliver a bright and sparkly top end and robust bottom end, all without losing midrange focus.
You’ll find plenty of punch in the MFD pickups, but what’s surprising is how glassy and detailed they become as you roll back the volume and bass controls, the latter a part of the S-500’s PTB™ (Passive Treble and Bass) system which functions on all three pickups. What’s more, the G&L Tribute® Series S-500 includes a push-pull expander switch on the treble pot to allow neck+bridge or all three pickups together. In a pinch, the neck+bridge combo does a convincing faux ASAT™ Special. Talk about versatile!
The new G&L Tribute Series S-500 features one of Leo’s favorite pairings: the power of MFD pickups mellowed by the high porosity of a nato body. Making the most of this delicious combo is Leo’s Dual-Fulcrum vibrato, a work of engineering art which allows bending up or down with unsurpassed stability, while offering a silky feel through its beefy aluminum vibrato arm.
Leo’s forward-looking spirit is clearly reflected in the S-500, a guitar he designed for players who share that spirit. And now, it’s available at a price within reach of every working musician. Once you play a G&L Tribute Series, you’ll never look back.
Available in:
- LEFT-HAND in Tobacco Sunburst over nato, 3-ply black pickguard, maple fingerboard, vintage gloss neck finish