This is a sweet guitar.

[TS808]

I don't know if anyone saw this or not, but G&L came out with a Tribute (Made in Korea) version of the Comanche. The G&L Tribute guitars get some pretty good reviews on Harmony Central and elsewhere. It's selling for about $799 in the US.

http://i38.tinypic.com/vo8wap.jpg

[aeolian]

On this board Windsdad and myself are the G&L fans. I have a Limited Edition 6 string and an L-2000 bass, both made in USA. I've been reading good press on the Tribute instruments but I don't own one (I don't often buy or sell guitars).

Due to circumstances Wingsdad is selling his USA Comanche. You can see his ad in the for sale section.

[TS808]

I'm really liking the looks of that guitar. I've wanted a regular American Comanche for some time, but the price tag was a little too steep.

[hubberjub]

It's worth it. The G&L Comanche is an outstandingly versatile guitar. I would buy it if I had the money.

[wingsdad]

The USA pickups and bridge on the G&L Tribute Series imports make them a great buy. They keep the costs down by cranking them out in limited finish options and offering only one neck option (vs. the USA's offering custom order choices). I think this 'Bengal Burst' is the only body color for the Trib Comanche, but I believe you can get rosewood or maple board. The neck radius is the same 12" as the USA #1 neck as my USA Comanche for sale that aeolian mentioned (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=8306) .

EDIT: Here's the specs of G&L's site on that pictured Trib Comanche:
Comanche in Bengal Burst
over Swamp Ash with Flame Maple Top and Pearl pickguard
Maple neck with Vintage Gloss finish

PICKUPS 3 Fullerton-made G&L Magnetic Field Design Z-coil pickups
BODY WOOD Swamp Ash with Flame Maple Top
NECK WOOD Hard Rock Maple with Rosewood or Maple fingerboard
NECK RADIUS 12" (304.8mm)
NECK WIDTH AT NUT 1 5/8" (41.3mm)
TUNING KEYS 18:1 ratio, sealed-back
BRIDGE G&L Dual Fulcrum vibrato with nickel plated die-cast saddles
CONTROLS 5-way pickup selector with mini-toggle enabling additional pickup combinations of neck+bridge or all three pickups together, volume control, PTB™ passive treble and bass tone controls which enable treble and bass frequencies to be cut separately and are effective on all pickups, unlike the traditional volume/tone/tone arrangement.
OTHER G&L Deluxe Gig Bag included in USA (Outside USA please contact your G&L distributor for availability)
FINISH Bengal Burst body with Pearl pickguard; Vintage Gloss neck

[wingsdad]

TS808-
When G&L restarted the Tribute series in 2002 or 3, they were Korean; my entry into G&L's was an '03 Tribute ASAT Special. But a 2 or so years ago, to offset the rising costs of Korean OEM contractors, G&L, like so many others, switched their manufacture to Indonesia; I could only venture a guess at which factory G&L contracts with.

Here's a link to photos of a brand new '08 with a glossed/tinted birdseye maple neck & fingerboard at Buffalo Bros. (north of San Diego, CA). Scroll down to the photos of the headstock and you'll see the serial number with that pedigree.

Tribute Comanche Birdseye Neck (http://www.buffalobrosguitars.com/images28000-28999/ngb28127-g&lcomanchebengalburst/index.html)

Besides the cheaper Indonesian labor costs and CNC processes vs. the USA factory's human-controlled gear, differences between this Tribute Comanche and my USA model that put it at far less than 1/2 the price of a new one: plastic vs. graphtech nut; 'regular' Schaller or Gotoh type tuners vs. Schaller locking; the flamed maple top is a thin bookmatched veneer vs. the bookmatched about 1/8" thick 'cap'; Oriental pots vs. CTS.

Tributes come with a G&L Gigbag (really good one, btw) vs. a stock SKB molded hardshell case (the G&G tweed harshell case on mine is the top upgrade, with a Black Tolex G&G a notch in between).

But those USA pickups and bridge/trem system are significant plus-marks.

[aeolian]

But those USA pickups and bridge/trem system are significant plus-marks.

The pickups are indeed the same as the pickups on a USA model. But the bridge, unless I'm mistaken, is a licensed reproduction of the US unit. The design is identical but the material may or may not be. I think the bridge unit is stamped "Tribute." Just because they are reproductions does not necessarily mean they are worse though.

[wingsdad]

... But the bridge, unless I'm mistaken, is a licensed reproduction of the US unit. ...
That was definitely the case on my Korean '03 Tribute ASAT and on other used Tribs I've seen at my local dealer, "a-o" ;) G&L went thru a number of Asian hardware makers before picking Gotoh for the tuners, and I think the repro bridges. The hardware screws and pot shafts on those Tribs are different sizes (metric) than USA parts.

I couldn't make out clearly from the BuffBro pic if the 'G&L' had anything else stamped under it on the bridge in front of the saddles.

The G&L site's current descrip says:
G&L Tribute Series sets a dramatic new standard in the popular price range by bringing unique G&L features and standardized CNC quality together in a surprisingly affordable line of guitars and basses. With genuine original equipment G&L pickups and bridges supplied by the Fender Avenue factory, Tribute Series instruments are equipped with unmistakable tone, sustain and playability that surpasses more expensive instruments.

But that doesn't neccesarily mean it's correct, since they can change specs and not update things on the site, and they've had some errors.

Personal Experience example:

When I ordered my Bluesboy in March, the site said the neck 'bucker was a G&L Alnico; Bluesboys had always had a Duncan Seth Lover SH2, one of the specs that Buffalo Bros suggested to G&L when they 'commissioned' the first ASAT Classic BB's. G&L did replace Duncans in (I think) Invaders and other HB models back in Nov. 07. But they kept the BB true to its original top-shelf design, found the error and updated the site...after I got mine in April. (I found out browsing the G&LDP). So I took mine apart to check under the hood, and sure enough, it's the Lover in there.

[GREENMACHINE]

Hey guys,
Man thats a cool guitar! But whats up with the pickups? Why are they kind of zigzagged?

Cheers,
Cav

[wingsdad]

Green,

I copied this from my USA Comanche FS post. It's the same with this Tribute model:

The G&L 'Magnetic Field Design Z-coil' pickups are Leo's adaptation of his split-coils he first designed for the P-Bass: the 2 ceramic bar magnet halves are wound in opposite directions to render them noise-cancelling. Polepieces are soft iron, allen key adjustable, while 'traditional Strats' are Alnico mag & fixed Alnico pole pieces; MFD's also yield about twice the output per wind than those Strat pups. Controls are also quite a bit different than a Strat's: Volume, Master Bass & Master Treble (not Tone controls for 2 pickups). Besides the typical Strat 5-way blade switch, the mini-toggle is to flip her into 'Expanded' mode, which adds 2 more pup combos: bridge & neck or all 3 at once.

[marnold]

Hmm, I always wondered if those singles were designed to be like p-bass pickups. Now I know!

[GREENMACHINE]

Green,

I copied this from my USA Comanche FS post. It's the same with this Tribute model:

The G&L 'Magnetic Field Design Z-coil' pickups are Leo's adaptation of his split-coils he first designed for the P-Bass: the 2 ceramic bar magnet halves are wound in opposite directions to render them noise-cancelling. Polepieces are soft iron, allen key adjustable, while 'traditional Strats' are Alnico mag & fixed Alnico pole pieces; MFD's also yield about twice the output per wind than those Strat pups. Controls are also quite a bit different than a Strat's: Volume, Master Bass & Master Treble (not Tone controls for 2 pickups). Besides the typical Strat 5-way blade switch, the mini-toggle is to flip her into 'Expanded' mode, which adds 2 more pup combos: bridge & neck or all 3 at once.

Hi wingsdad,
Thanks very much for that explaination, I had been always wondering why they are like that.

Thanks again,
GREENMACHINE

[wingsdad]

Hmm, I always wondered if those singles were designed to be like p-bass pickups. Now I know!

Leo's G&L z-coil refinement of the p-bass split coil lies in the MFD's adjustable polepieces and output strength.

The only other Fender guitar I can think of that Leo applied the split coils to was the Electric XII with its famous 'hockey stick' headstock. It was on his drawing board but didn't hit the market til after CBS bought Leo out in early '65, chasing Rickenbacker in the Beatles/Byrds mid-60's electric 12 game.

Page used one of these for the recording of Stairway To Heaven, then he got ahold of the Gibson SG1275 double neck so it could be done live.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/66FenderElectricXII.jpghttp://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/65FenderElectricXII.jpg