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@neverbeaten

I didn’t need a new guitar - already had three great axes, one of them a G&L Doheny. But grief is a powerful thing and the urge to buy something new and create something with it was like a fist in my back, a hoped for release from the intensity, responsibility and demands of my life, especially at this time. I wanted something entirely on my terms. So it was time for a Strat style guitar with classic voiced Alnico pickups and a sturdy vibrato. 2/

#GearSquad I also wanted a different tone wood than the swamp ash or alder, so I chose western sugar pine, which is what my Doheny is made of and is nicely lightweight. So why not stick with the Doheny? Again, the fist in my back. I wanted the cutting tone of a Strat bridge pickup, and the balanced sound of the middle, and the round sound of the neck pickup. I could have bought a Fender American Pro II with a roasted pine body and been done with it but I’m a G&L guy - they really call to me. /3

So I made my order in late July, paid my deposit and moved on to sorting through my father’s worldly items with my mom and sister, deciding what to keep and what to donate. Months later in late October I checked with Gordon at UpFront and as he hadn’t heard from G&L he contacted them for an update. This is where it gets interesting. I had ordered a sugar pine body but the factory was struggling with a good source for that wood, so they raided their custom shop for a roasted pine body instead. /4

Gordon said it would cost extra for the roasted pine body, which was only available in the custom shop, and did I want that or Okoume? Huh, that was interesting. I chose the Okoume - why not? It’s a different wood than usual and looked great with a vintage natural finish. Maybe pine wasn’t to be. So Gordon said OK and contacted G&L for the change. But we didn’t know that the factory decided to use the roasted pine body anyway and started building the guitar. /5

So about few weeks after the “which body will they use?” drama G&L finished the roasted pine Legacy and shipped it to UpFront. Gordon contacted me with an email and photo of the roasted pine Legacy. What the? I thought it was Okoume. But one look at the photo and I knew that This Was THE GUITAR. It was beautiful. Someone at the factory decided fuck it, just use the roasted pine and this customer is getting a gem. I actually think the custom shop built the whole damn guitar. /6

This was a happy accident, the kind of thing that happens in the world and I recognize and honor those events and just let them be. This guitar was going to be amazing. I just knew it, even from the photo. UpFront set up the guitar with 9s and shipped it to me. I live in Oregon so they shipped it back to the west coast, which I found amusing. Fullerton, CA to MA to OR. The guitar arrived in mid-December and the first photo in this thread was when I first opened the gig bag. /7

The guitar is better than any I’ve played in my life. Weight, balance, neck feel, tone, resonance - it’s The One for me. It’s Billy Gibbon’s Pearly Gates, David Gilmour’s black Strat, Andy Summer’s sunburst Telecaster, Jimi’s Olympic White Strat, Rory Gallagher’s buckle rash road worn Strat, Jimmy Page’s ‘59 sunburst Les Paul. I am every guitarist who has found the instrument that inspires and pushes them to reach new skills and creative expression. It’s fucking glorious. I am so grateful. /End

@elsemusic Thank you so much for reading my story and giving kind wishes. I am so happy each time I play it.

@harriolkn Awright, glad to hear of another G&L family member. I hope you get the Fullerton Deluxe of your dreams soon

@neverbeaten Thank you for reading and commenting. With G&L - when you know, you know.

@neverbeaten Also gonna steal “feelings machine”. That is gold

@Meat_Bucket Thanks, mate. I appreciate you reading my story and commenting. May every musician find their Ideal Instrument in this life.

@optilude @neverbeaten Thank you. I appreciate you reading my story and commenting.

@eyesquash It’s very similar electrically to a Strat. All three pickups are G&L’s own Alnico winds, quiet but not noiseless. The middle pickup is RWRP. The tone pots are different, though. G&L has a passive treble and bass system for their guitars, which is a tone cut for high and low. It’s a useful system for removing frequencies, depending upon the type of pickup. Thanks for asking and commenting.

@NigelTufnel That tone setup might be a good mod to do for my strat some day.
I'm also thinking of adding a switch to the tele to cut out the tone circuit entirely. I've heard that uncoupling the neck pickup from the tone circuit brings it out.

@eyesquash Thank you, Scott. I appreciate that. We were making the ‘Tea’ and ‘Breathe’ covers last summer when lots of this was going on. Music was one way to help and you were part of that healing.