F-100

Introduced in 1980, the F-100 was G&L's first guitar model, brimming with new thinking and the optimism of Leo Fender. The F-100 featured two humbuckeing pickups, the very first guitar pickups employing Leo's new proprietary Magnetic Field Design technology. It also featured a complex active/passive electronics system, in step with the late 1970s and early '80s trend of pushing the limits of tonal versatility. While many enthusiasts of vintage G&Ls are fond of the original F-100s as the were, many others felt that the electronics held back the guitar's potential. That may well have been the case, because the F-100 was only produced in considerable quantites through 1983.

G&L Custom Creations recreated the tooling for F-100 pickup components in 2005. After lengthy experimentation with specification and positioning on the body, the MFD guitar humbuckers returned in the G&L 25th Anniversary Model. Even then, it was certain that these modern day MFD humbuckers would not have been done justice if they were only to make such a brief appearance: the F-100 had to make a comeback. Just as in the 25th Anniversary Model, the plan called for these MFD humbuckers to be free to sing with a minimum of electronics, save for the addition of push/pull coil split enabling the outer coils to be used for truly honest single coil MFD tones.

And so the F-100 re-emerged from the hallowed halls of Fender Avenue once again. The body shape and dimensions are faithful to the original, while the headstock adds G&L's trademark hook design introduced in the mid '80s. In the spirit of Leo Fender, the modern F-100 is respectful of the successes of the past yet unbound by them. This is not a reissue, though it does capture the essence of the original. As Leo might expect, we kept what worked and let go what didn't. And as Leo would have demanded, today's F-100 is built even better.

Founded by Leo Fender in 1980, G&L USA instruments continue to be made in the historic G&L facility on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California, the Birthplace of Bolt-on™.