G&L Tribute Legacy in Fullerton Red

G&L is the final legacy of legendary guitar builder Leo Fender. Creator of so many iconic instruments, Leo continued to re-work these designs when he founded G&L in 1979. 

The Legacy is an evolution of the classic S-type guitar that Leo originated bringing modern refinements to the guitar whilst staying true to the vintage look and sound of the original. 

Body and Neck

The Basswood body on this guitar keeps it nice and light making it comfortable to play, especially for long periods and while standing; additionally, some say Basswood lends a balanced yet warm tone to guitars.

The Legacy has a comfortable “Medium C” neck profile which is easy to play and has a 12” fingerboard radius. This radius is more modern than traditional S-type guitars and is comfortable to fret chords on and is far more suited to playing leads and bends than the more curved, vintage radius fingerboards. The maple fingerboard also makes for a very smooth playing experience and it has been said that maple adds a snap and brightness to the tone.

Electronics and Hardware

This guitar comes loaded with three G&L CLF-100 Alnico V single-coil pickups for a bright yet versatile setup. These pickups were inspired by original prints found in Leo Fender’s G&L lab and are the result of studying the pickups and sound of vintage guitars, as well as talking to pickup wirers from the 50s. All that hard work has paid off as the Fullerton Deluxe Legacy has emulated that legendary vintage tone in a more affordable package.

The Leo Fender-designed Passive Treble Bass system adds greater functionality and flexibility to the tone controls allowing you to shape the bass and treble with more precision.

One of the significant innovations on this guitar is the Leo Fender-designed Dual-Fulcrum vibrato bridge which allows you to bend up or down with ease and greater tuning stability than its vintage counterparts.

Here's What G&L Say About the Tribute Legacy

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 analyzed 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.

Specifications

• Construction: Bolt-on
• Scale: 25 1/2"
• Pickups: G&L CLF-100 Alnico V single-coils made in Fullerton, California
• Body Wood: Basswood
• Neck Wood: Hard-Rock Maple w/ Maple fingerboard
• Neck Width At Nut: 1 5/8"
• Neck Radius: 12"
• Neck Profile: Medium C
• Frets: 22 medium jumbo, nickel
• Tuning Keys: 18:1 ratio, sealed-back
• Bridge: Leo Fender-designed G&L Dual-Fulcrum vibrato
• Controls: 5-position pickup selector, volume, treble, bass (PTB system)