G&L Comanche

[wingsdad]

I posted this morning elsewhere that 'The Devil Made Me Do It' and promised to give this guitar a thread of it's own.

Yesterday, I traded an '07 Fender American Vintage Series '62 Reissue Stratocaster and an '04 Epiphone Les Paul Standard for this, an '02 G&L Comanche in pristine condition that was custom ordered by its original owner from the same store I got it at, with a vintage tweed case I believe is no longer available. He traded it in to get an American Strat of some type they had, because he didn't care for the Comanche, claiming he couldn't get it to sound 'like a Strat'. What a pity. Duh. ...:






I've only gotten to play her for about an hour or so this weekend, first thru my MicroCube, and then a short spin with the Tech21 Trademark 60 that was...breathtaking.

That last pic, above, is the wiring diagram for the Comanche or S-500 model, and here's an excerpt from a Guitar Player mag review (date unknown) that's on the G&L site that describes better than I can right now what the wiring scheme does and what makes the Comanche so remarkable.:

... A revision of the Comanche model G&L offered in the ‘80s, the new version abandons the original’s shred-era lines and forest of toggle switches, but revives the earlier model’s split pickups (an idea borrowed from the old Fender Electric XII). Aside from the split design, the Comanche pickups echo those of G&L’s ASAT – wide-aperture single-coils that are louder and fatter than Strat pickups. The Z pickups’ separated-coil configuration enhances the highs and lows, and because the two coils are wound in opposite directions, each pickup is humbucking. It’s a great recipe.

Sounds. The tones live up to the craftsmanship. They are ringy and rich, with lots of top-end airiness. At the same time, they deliver a low-end impact that far exceeds a traditional Strat’s. As on an ASAT, you get the graininess and acoustic-like complexity of a vintage Fender, but with greater power and an expanded frequency range.

Wiring tricks. Ingenious wiring enhances the Comanche’s flexibility. Along with a 5-way pickup selector, there’s also a toggle switch that lets you choose all three pickups at once, or the outside two together. Even cooler are the pair of global, passive treble and bass controls. The bass knob is especially handy for nudging the hefty Z pickups toward vintage Strat tones, and the treble control is great for dialing in smoky, jazz-approved colors. The Comanche delivers a surprisingly good faux-archtop vibe. The flexible and intuitive controls make it easy to dial in just the right shading.

The Comanche is, in short, a superbly executed super-Strat. ...

It's listed at MF and looks pretty much like mine.
G&L Comanche at Musician's Fiend
Naturally, MF's description is a tad ambiguous. The finish is NOT Honeyburst, which is deeper hued and mixes in some reddish cast. Like mine, this 'Premier' finish is called 'Honey', with the back of the swamp ash body showing its grain nicely; the tiger maple cap on the top takes the same finish a shade darker, that's all. If it mattered, and it doeesn't, I'd call MF and try to find out if the guitar they show is actually the one available, because this is an upgraded custom order version. It can be had for a lot less as a 'stock' Comanche, with an alder body, opaque (standard) finish, and without the gun-oil tinted & glossed birdseye maple neck & fingerboard. But the electronics will deliver the same ungodly chills...

If y'all will 'scuse me, I'm gonna go get stupid with her...

[mrmudcat]

Oh my im actually jelous:

[M29]

Oh man that is sweet that is sweet

M29

[oldguy]

WOW!!!
Wingsdad, that is one gorgeous guitar!:
The birdseye on that neck is wonderful, and so is the grain on that body. They got it right on this one!
Congrats on one beautiful axe!

[Big K]

[sunvalleylaw]

Beautiful pics. I'd be interested in clips too if you get around to it to hear the bottom end on those pups!

[wingsdad]

Thanks, all...

I know I found a winner when mudcat's this impressed Seriously, cat. You knows yer 'Strat-o-pedia'. You even build 'em...: And y'all have some beaut's.

Steve, for clips, there's some on the G&L site. These have been there for a few years...you need Flash 4.0 minimum to play them, there's a clue.The guy plays the same riff with 5 different pup positions. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) these are all 'just' in the 'Normal' mode -- the 'normal' 5 parallel Strat combinations. So, they DO give you an idea of the guitar as a 'hot' Strat. Why they didn't do any in the 'Expanded' mode...I dunno. Those are the 'kickers' on the Comanche or S-500 that a 'normal' Strat doesn't do: bridge & neck, and ALL 3 AT ONCE! (my '81 Fender STRAT does these 2 combos, and 2 more the Comanche doesn't -- puts the b/m and m/n in Series, effectively producing a humbucker)

Go to the site, here:
G&L Guitars
On the left side menu, go to 'Audio Clips', then select 'Comanche'. (The site is in Frames, so you can't put direct hyperlinks to anything). Too bad there's no clips of the Legacy, which is G&L's version of a 'Standard Strat'; the Legacy Special is a blade/bucker juiced strat, so again, not a true comparison.

[kerc]

That is a beauty, and a great find! Wow! Congratulations!

[Bloozcat]

Man, that's one beautiful guitar....:

[Brian Krashpad]

Congrats!

I have zero experience with G&L.

[oldguy]

Wingsdad,
I know it's only been a couple of days....... are 'ya still lovin' that G&L?
'Ya gotta be.
FWIW, I checked that MF link you posted. I'd guess they picked the best one they could find for the photos....and the top still isn't nearly as nice or well matched as yours.
I might have missed it in your post, but is the neck a 12" radius? That seemed to be the standard from what I could dig up.
In any event...... beautiful guitar, and congrats again! Big score!:

[wingsdad]

Hey, OG-
Thanks, again, man I got lucky, really lucky...but I have a great, long, relationship with my local indy store/dealer. It makes for really bad (or good) GAS attacks.

G&L makes a great guitar. To me, they are Fender. Leo's Mojo thing.

The custom-orders seem to have a special dash of extra hand-delivered TLC and attention, too. And I take crappy photos, bad light & all...but yeah, the ash is gorgeous and the tiger maple cap...OMG!

Yes, it's a 12" radius, what G&L calls the '#1' neck. Kinda 'chunky' U-shape, in a good way...like a mid-late 60's Strat, and almost an identical match in feel to my '81 STRAT.

I haven't had a lot of chance to play with her yet...I work long days.

BTW, my other G&L, ASAT Semi-Hollow, a Tele thinline on 'roids, also custom-ordered from my local dealer the same year ('02) as the Comanche, has the '#2' neck, 7 1/2" radius, soft-C, very narrow, thin & fast.

[oldguy]

The custom-orders seem to have a special dash of extra hand-delivered TLC and attention, too. And I take crappy photos, bad light & all...but yeah, the ash is gorgeous and the tiger maple cap.

BTW, my other G&L, ASAT Semi-Hollow, a Tele thinline on 'roids, also custom-ordered from my local dealer the same year ('02) as the Comanche, has the '#2' neck, 7 1/2" radius, soft-C, very narrow, thin & fast.

Well, when you get a little time, you could always practice your photography skills......

We'd all love to see some more pics of both the Comanche and the ASAT....
least I know I would.....

[wingsdad]

Well, OG, I think I need to read my camera's manual or soemthin'...until then, here's a tighter shot of that top:

and of the back; notice the Schaller locking tuners:

Funny thing...G&L's 2002 Catalog chose her, or one close to her, for the cover; my scan turned this one a bit 'brown; but I like my top's match up better:

[wingsdad]

OG...as for the ASAT Semi-Hollow...G&L picked this one for the '02 catalog's model, and it's on their website as same:

Same gun-oil tint glossed birdseye maple neck & board...but gold hardware...

I got lucky a couple of years ago, same place...and I got the 'poster child':



I guess that's why I kinda freaked when I sighted 'the cover girl' to go with her...

[oldguy]

BE-AUT-I-FUL!!
Thanks a bunch for posting, those, man, you have tasty axes there.......
it's a wonder you ever have time to visit here......

[wingsdad]

Well, I work long, pressure-packed days, and I find it relaxin' to hang some time here and wind down, it's a mellow place after all that crapola.

Thanks about my gits; I don't play 'em as much as I'd like to anymore. But when I do, I've got one for any mood, any sound in my head I wanna extract. Each is unique. I kinda have the whole palette covered. It took me a long time to get the brushes together again...they got scattered when I 'hung up my spikes' over 20 years ago....

[guitarman19853]

You have good tastes... I wonder how many of these there are

[wingsdad]

You have good tastes... I wonder how many of these there are...

Thanks.

I presume the one you show is yours? This appears to be your first post, and you didn't actually say so.

I dunno how many were built just like it.
You could check the registry at the G&L Discussion Page, here:
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/

The one I had & showed here in this thread (over a year ago) and elsewhere now belongs to another forum member (cb) since December 08. By the time I sold it, I had installed an alternate white multi-ply G&L (by Chandler) pickguard.

The Comanche, original topic/subject of this thread, now belongs to yet another forum member (Rocket) since September 08. He recently posted (not sure where here) that he's intending to sell it.