Goodbye G&L

[GwenOnBass]

If you invert it (I've heard said), it's Leo giving the finger to someone for being forced to change the original G&L headstock.

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[73_Blazer]

I like the can opener head stock. Sire is pretty awful
Hada handful of G&L basses over the years. The USA ones were really nice

Isn't it supposed to be a bass clef note ?

 

[mouthmw]

I dig the G&L headstock, especially on a natural finish L2K. I think it's great.
I personally hate the looks of beak-like headstocks (Sire, Mike Lull, etc).

 

[pbass2]

I like the pointy headstock too. I think it's fairly tasteful, it's slim. And it looks intentional. There's high-end boutiquey basses out there with far more . . . awkward-looking headstocks out there IMO (have you seen an Olinto five string?).

 

[metron]

I like the hook. The 80s SB headstocks were the best. The paddles many like are a bit amorphous to me. Oh well.

Its too bad what happened to the company. It felt like they were on the verge of a breakthrough in popularity during Covid.

 

[Crackle]

This one is pretty up there for me too:

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This is why my Kiesel doesn't have a headstock.

 

[GrowlerBox]

I wonder how long it will be before the used market starts gouging people with the prices of G&Ls....?

It's not gouging -- if you don't want to pay the asking price, don't.

 

[Against Will]

Did anyone buy the patent for the MFD pickups? If there’s anything that would jack up the price of G&Ls, my money would be on those.

 

[pasmithy]

Ahh... I'm not saying goodbye to my G&L. The first "nice bass" I bought was a 80's SB-1. It's the only 4 string I have anymore (except for UB). And to this day, I would have to say I've had more compliments from bandmates on the sound of that guitar than all my 5 strings put together. And I have some very nice 5 strings ! I've had it a long, long time and played it a lot, and I don't believe I could identify the headstock in a line up. LOL But it sure sounds good in a band mix.

 

[mouthmw]

Did anyone buy the patent for the MFD pickups? If there’s anything that would jack up the price of G&Ls, my money would be on those.

I think those patents expired long ago and no one was interested in recreating them.

 

[Packard Goose]

Did anyone buy the patent for the MFD pickups? If there’s anything that would jack up the price of G&Ls, my money would be on those.

No one really knows. Fender bought “intellectual property” we know for sure because they’re using Leo’s image and likeness for the first time in many years, but whether they bought the rights to use instrument names and tech is only known to the private parties.

 

[fourstringbliss]

No one really knows. Fender bought “intellectual property” we know for sure because they’re using Leo’s image and likeness for the first time in many years, but whether they bought the rights to use instrument names and tech is only known to the private parties.

I think Fender would have a real winner on their hands if they started putting MFD's in J and P bodies! Don't let the electronics die - introduce them to a wider audience that never knew G&L existed!

 

[fourstringbliss]

The L2000 is basically a P with the G&L electronics. They could recreate it with a Fender headstock (of course) and hopefully a lighter body. I'll bet there would be tons of people saying, "These new basses are amazing!" while having no idea they'd been around for 30 years!

 

[Big Louzer]

For some reason, I highly doubt Fender would start putting out G&L stuff as their own. I believe Fender bought the IP so that they can kill all the stuff G&L was made of…except the name. I mean, G&L was basically enemy #1 to Fender since its inception. Why would Fender want to bring back that zombie under its own roof?

I happen to like the Hook headstock, and I feel the CLF headstock looked like an unfinished prototype….kind of like a foot with a worn out loose sock on it…
I honestly don’t see how that could be a “lawsuit” from Fender. To me, the can-opener headstock looks more Fender-like than the CLF headstock…

Regardless, I’m keeping my G&L with can opener…

 

[dabbler]

...
I happen to like the Hook headstock, and I feel the CLF headstock looked like an unfinished prototype….kind of like a foot with a worn out loose sock on it…
I honestly don’t see how that could be a “lawsuit” from Fender. To me, the can-opener headstock looks more Fender-like than the CLF headstock…

Regardless, I’m keeping my G&L with can opener…

Well, CLF actually used a Paul Bigsby design as a jumping off point, so it's actually a modification of someone else's work.

(from: The Story of Bigsby Guitars: the solidbody electric guitar's unsung hero)

 

[1SmartJosh]

I’m one of the people who bought another G&L after the bankruptcy. It’s my 3rd G&L and I got it to back up another L2000 for live situations. It was also a special run and the price was “acceptable”.

I recently bought and sold a Stingray SLO, and a Sandberg of the same design. I’m the first to admit I like the aesthetic design of both afore mentioned basses are better than the G&L (as a person opinion). They also have better resale, and better artist recognition. I just can’t get the sounds I want out of them.

It’s specifically the scooped series with some overdrive that retains a room shaking low end. I love the Stingray sound in everybody else’s hands. But just for me, the G&L feels and sounds like I want. And because it performs so well, the headstock doesn’t even come to mind anymore.

I have played everything live, but I’m usually 50/50 Fender custom shop pj, and G&L L2000. I’m in an original band, so we are usually opening or closing with atleast one other band. Bass players always love talking to each other about our stuff because it’s rare for the average fan to know what you’re really playing on.

The only comments I ever get outside of other bass players, are sound guys, who are excited about how well the G&L performed. Nobody has ever commented on the headstock of any bass I played.

 

[metron]

I’m one of the people who bought another G&L after the bankruptcy. It’s my 3rd G&L and I got it to back up another L2000 for live situations. It was also a special run and the price was “acceptable”.

I recently bought and sold a Stingray SLO, and a Sandberg of the same design. I’m the first to admit I like the aesthetic design of both afore mentioned basses are better than the G&L (as a person opinion). They also have better resale, and better artist recognition. I just can’t get the sounds I want out of them.

It’s specifically the scooped series with some overdrive that retains a room shaking low end. I love the Stingray sound in everybody else’s hands. But just for me, the G&L feels and sounds like I want. And because it performs so well, the headstock doesn’t even come to mind anymore.

I have played everything live, but I’m usually 50/50 Fender custom shop pj, and G&L L2000. I’m in an original band, so we are usually opening or closing with atleast one other band. Bass players always love talking to each other about our stuff because it’s rare for the average fan to know what you’re really playing on.

The only comments I ever get outside of other bass players, are sound guys, who are excited about how well the G&L performed. Nobody has ever commented on the headstock of any bass I played.

Nice. Stuff that matters!

 

[JTNuney]

I think Fender would have a real winner on their hands if they started putting MFD's in J and P bodies! Don't let the electronics die - introduce them to a wider audience that never knew G&L existed!

I can see it now… Squier Paranormal “Leo Special” Series.

I’ve always thought it would be fun to replace the single-coil in my Classic Vibe 50s P with an MFD to bookend early-Leo/late-Leo… like, “What would an L-1000 have looked like in 1954?” Guessing it would sound like a BEAST.

 

[Nedmundo]

I have watched the G&L market like a hawk, daily, for at least 15 years. I have been into them, but maybe not as heavily as stalking the market daily, for 30 years. I've bought and sold hundreds.

My observations on the market post-closure are the following:

Most likely, I think we're seeing a lot of uninformed buyers, somewhat new to the brand, who don't really know the company, its historically flat market (especially used), or its manufacturing history (such as the steady cost cutting of the past 25+ years, resulting in its equivalent of the CBS Fender era or the Norlin Gibson era). They're getting the exposure/itch for G&L, and making the same mistakes that many newcomers to the brand have long made: assuming that they're worth more than they are, and overpaying. These shoppers are more willing to move quickly on them, without waiting for price drops or negotiating. They're skewing the market a bit...but not a ton. It's kind of selective what's going up, not all G&Ls across the board. And I don't think it will be permanent.

Average G&Ls from 4-bolt era (6-bolt for basses) have gone up a little, if any. Maybe $0–$200.

More special examples (e.g. flame tops, binding, semi-hollows, etc.) are going for several hundred (up to 500 in some cases) dollars more.

The only things that have gone up significantly are Comanches. Tributes, which should be $400 used guitars at the absolute max, are actually changing hands (not just "asking") at over $700, routinely – sometimes more. I have seen a few fancy U.S. made examples go in the realm of $2,000 used, which is all but unheard of till now. People are enamored with the idea of the split coil pickups (which are basically just G&L Mustang pickups), and freaking out that they'll never be made again – as well as the Comanche having relatively low production numbers compared to the Legacy.

The old stuff (Leo era) has basically remained flat in going prices. The kinds of people "freaking out" about the end of the company seem to largely be people who are into the later model stuff, and don't know or believe that it isn't the best period for G&Ls.

If you're the kind of person who likes to buy and sell instruments, instead of holding on to them for a long time, then I would use this opportunity to sell your hot models (Comanches or examples with rare and deluxe appointments). I would hold on to pre-BBE stuff, BBE stuff up to '97, and average, run-of-the-mill late model instruments. I think this is a bubble, which will eventually deflate. G&Ls have had 45 years to get insanely popular, and it hasn't happened yet. I don't think it ever will – especially when people finally realize that the later model stuff really isn't all it's cracked up to be (and neither are Comanches).

I'm someone who mostly holds instruments once I buy them; I rarely sell any more. So, I will be selling hardly anything during this bubble. Maybe a handful of my ultra clean, somewhat rare later model examples – if people are willing to pay me more than I believe they're worth. For example, I have one of the ultra rare JB MFD models that were released not long before the company died. I saw a set of the pickups alone sell for $700 on Reverb a few weeks ago. (It was former G&L employee Steve Araujo selling them.) So I wouldn't mind cashing in on that nonsense, for something that's basically just a Jazz Bass with hot pickups.

Very interesting about Comanches. One of my friends/former bandmates "discovered" G&L due to news of the closure, and bought a Legacy HSS and Comanche within the past month or two. He's very excited about both, especially the Comanche, and acts as though he didn't know anything about them before--even though I owned both models and he played them!

Due to its unique pickups, I think the Comanche is one of very few models Fender might revive, along with the Jerry Cantrell signature Rampage and the L-2x00 basses. Fender has had a difficult time succeeding with dual-humbucker models--though they've made some good ones like the Roscoe Beck signature--and the L-2x00 basses could fill that void with models that have a strong connection to Leo. The L series basses are more "Fender" than, for example, the Dimensions. Probably wishful thinking on my part, but I think it's possible.

A couple of weeks ago, I traded my SB-2 and Legacy HSS toward a Fender American Ultra II HSS Strat (GC exclusive edition). I didn't get any value bump from the recent closure. The SB-2 had been on consignment for over a year, and I never bonded with the Legacy, mostly because, even after attention from a tech/luthier, the G string too easily fell off the edge of the fretboard. It was playable, but annoying. The Fender is a huge step up--as it should be for the price.

So, from a high of five G&L instruments at once, I'm down to two: my 2013 M-2500 and 2010 JB. They are both fantastic, and were utterly perfect from the factory. I might sell the JB eventually because I don't play fours much, but the M-2500 is a keeper.

 

[2F/2F]

Very interesting about Comanches. One of my friends/former bandmates "discovered" G&L due to news of the closure, and bought a Legacy HSS and Comanche within the past month or two. He's very excited about both, especially the Comanche, and acts as though he didn't know anything about them before--even though I owned both models and he played them!

Due to its unique pickups, I think the Comanche is one of very few models Fender might revive, along with the Jerry Cantrell signature Rampage and the L-2x00 basses. Fender has had a difficult time succeeding with dual-humbucker models--though they've made some good ones like the Roscoe Beck signature--and the L-2x00 basses could fill that void with models that have a strong connection to Leo. The L series basses are more "Fender" than, for example, the Dimensions. Probably wishful thinking on my part, but I think it's possible.

A couple of weeks ago, I traded my SB-2 and Legacy HSS toward a Fender American Ultra II HSS Strat (GC exclusive edition). I didn't get any value bump from the recent closure. The SB-2 had been on consignment for over a year, and I never bonded with the Legacy, mostly because, even after attention from a tech/luthier, the G string too easily fell off the edge of the fretboard. It was playable, but annoying. The Fender is a huge step up--as it should be for the price.

So, from a high of five G&L instruments at once, I'm down to two: my 2013 M-2500 and 2010 JB. They are both fantastic, and were utterly perfect from the factory. I might sell the JB eventually because I don't play fours much, but the M-2500 is a keeper.

Fender did not buy the G&L or BBE companies, or as far as we know, any of their product-related patents or trademarks. BBE/G&L were legally dissolved, not sold. That means the McLarens still hold the intellectual property that they did not spin off into CLF Trademarks, L.L.C. – the company that Fender DID acquire. G&L placed the Leo Fender name and likeness into that company, which they established last summer. This allowed them to sell only the intellectual property that Fender wanted.

It's pretty good evidence that Fender had no interest in acquiring G&L product-related patents or trademarks – only Leo's name and likeness. I'm sure the McLarens WANTED Fender to buy the entire company, but Fender had close to zero interest. Thus the move to place only the stuff Fender wanted under the ownership of a separate company.

The IP still held by the McLarens will expire if not renewed or sold. It becomes public domain after a certain number of years from the last renewal. At that point, anyone can produce copies of the old G&L products.