G&L re-issue their Mustang

Aug

Well, maybe it's just my own stuff, but they just look like they tried too hard to recapture the magic of the Fender designs.

funtoosh

one thing i don

feedbackismyfriend

The whole purpose of G&L is to perfect Leo's original designs. For example on the strat they use better whammy bars and have the mini switch that throws in the neck pup.

Cymastar

Yeah. I still think the Jaguar / Jazzmaster / Mustang / Cyclone / Duo Sonic / Bronco / Musicmaster / Custom / Swinger are the best Fender designs. I listed them all because they're all basically similar. Not the same, otherwise I'd see them as the same as Telecasters and Stratocasters. There are enough good difference between them for them all to be significant.

Aug

feedbackismyfriend said: The whole purpose of G&L is to perfect Leo's original designs. For example on the strat they use better whammy bars and have the mini switch that throws in the neck pup.

Don't misunderstand...the G&L guitars are superior...I just prefer the *looks* of the Fenders.

feedbackismyfriend

I agree and disagree at the same time. I agree G&L is technically better. However, Fender guitars have a certain character to them that makes them great. I'm not sure G&L guitars have this character (I haven't spent much time with G&L's so I really don't know, I'm just speculating). One thing I dislike about a lot of G&L's is they use p90's quite often and I prefer singlecoils but that's all personal preference.

tragictravisty

G&Ls have a ton of character. strange pickups, cooler switching, nice vibrato. most of the character lies in the pickups and finishes of the G&Ls, and as far as fender teles/strats go, G&Ls out character,look,sound, and play them by a long shot. as far as the niche fenders which we love, i prefer them over G&Ls, but a 2008 stock G&L will sound and play better than any model 2008 fender non-custom shop.

also, p-90s are single coils, and G&L rarely uses p-90s(i dont know if they ever do), but pickups somewhere inbetween a strat style pup and a p-90.

Robbmonster

Cymastar said: Yeah. I still think the Jaguar / Jazzmaster / Mustang / Cyclone / Duo Sonic / Bronco / Musicmaster / Custom / Swinger are the best Fender designs. I listed them all because they're all basically similar. Not the same, otherwise I'd see them as the same as Telecasters and Stratocasters. There are enough good difference between them for them all to be significant.

In what way is the design of a strat inferior to say, the Musicmaster or the Duo-Sonic?

Or is this one of those anti-strat things simply because they are so ubiquitous?

Aug

Cymastar said: Yeah. I still think the Jaguar / Jazzmaster / Mustang / Cyclone / Duo Sonic / Bronco / Musicmaster / Custom / Swinger are the best Fender designs. I listed them all because they're all basically similar. Not the same, otherwise I'd see them as the same as Telecasters and Stratocasters. There are enough good difference between them for them all to be significant.

LOL!

funtoosh

someone said: i dunno, looks like LEGO

a friend of mine said (about the blue SC-1):

Cymastar

Cymastar said: Yeah. I still think the Jaguar / Jazzmaster / Mustang / Cyclone / Duo Sonic / Bronco / Musicmaster / Custom / Swinger are the best Fender designs. I listed them all because they're all basically similar. Not the same, otherwise I'd see them as the same as Telecasters and Stratocasters. There are enough good difference between them for them all to be significant.

In what way is the design of a strat inferior to say, the Musicmaster or the Duo-Sonic?

Or is this one of those anti-strat things simply because they are so ubiquitous?[/quote

The Strat is inferior because I don't like the way it feels as much, it's not that I HATE the Strats and Teles, it's just that I like the others so much better 😎 . However, I have been able to get really cool sounds out of a Strat, including a hand operated wah-wah....

Aug

I've hated the Stratocaster since the mid-90's, however, with all the research I've been doing, regarding guitar designs, I've come to appreciate the fact that so many musicians love the Strat. So much so, that I've gone so far as to alter my designs to provide a more "strat-friendly" feel to them. (They look, in NO way, like a strat, btw).

Leo Fender was an absolute genius and the Stratocaster is proof. (Albeit, all his designs were "gaffed" from other people, but let's save that flame-war for another day, shall we?) Just look at the upper horn... it's exact shape and size is to provide the perfect placement of the strap, so it's more comfortable and provides a better balance. Pure genius.

I guess at the end of the day, I just *have* to love and respect anyone who challenges the status quo and tries something new or attempts to improve an existing idea. And, while I may not care for the G&L designs themselves, I can certainly appreciate all the other improvements.

tragictravisty

i dont dislike strats, they just dont jump out at me like some guitars do. the two tones with the bridge open is pure genius though, doesnt suit every guitar, but sounds great on a single coil.

Robbmonster

someone said: i dont dislike strats, they just dont jump out at me like some guitars do

I wasn't trying to start trouble, it's just - as Aug pretty much said (and I paraphrase a little) - from a pure design standpoint, the strat is pretty much perfect. They are simple, effective, they look great (even though most people seem to be quite jaded by them), and they sound wonderful. When I was first becoming interested in who plays what and on what instrument, research quickly turned up that so many of the guitar parts I enjoyed in so much music were played on a strat. So that had a big impact on me.

But one thing... You lump together a whole heap of guitars there. Personally, I dont see many similarities at all between Jags/Jazzys and Duo/Musicmaster/so on.

But in summary, trav seemed to sum up the way many people feel about the strat...

I must admit that I am starting to become more that way too. But for me, I've still never heard a guitar that SOUNDS better.

Cymastar

Jaguar / Jazzmaster / Mustang / Cyclone / Duo Sonic / Bronco / Musicmaster / Custom / Swinger

Similarities:

Scale:

Mustang

Jaguar

Duo Sonic (I believe)

Bronco

Musicmaster

Body Shape (Mustang):

Mustang

Cyclone

Duo Sonic

Musicmaster

Bronco

Body Shape (Jaguar):

Custom

Swinger

Jaguar

Jazzmaster

There are a whole lot of similarities, IMHO, but hey, whatever floats your boat 😎 .

I love that emote.

😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

Robbmonster

someone said: I love that emote

I dont mean to flog a dead horse, but if you see a huge similarity between the Jag/Jazz body shape, and the body shapes of the Custom and the Swinger, then it's whatever floats YOUR boat.

I for one would dare suggest the swinger shape is closer to the Mustang family, than Jag/Jazzy.

Also, with all those designs being able to be lumped together, doesn't that mean the strat deserves a bit more credit for being unique? Not many guitars in the Fender catalogue have bore the strat shape but not the strat name.

I still think that lumping Musicmaster and Jazzmasters in the same category is a bit... I dunno... well, finding a similarity it a bit of a stretch to me. Easier way to say it would be you prefer the lesser known Fenders to the strats and teles.

I can tell 😉

Aug

Robbmonster said: I dont mean to flog a dead horse, but I'm going to anyway.

😆

For the record, in 1969, Fender had an excess of 22.5" scale necks and Bass V bodies. Someone pondered outloud how to get rid of them, and someone made a suggestion. Needless to say, the bodies got modded, necks attached and viol

Robbmonster

someone said: I dont mean to flog a dead horse, but I'm going to anyway.

I remember a while back talking about the same thing re: Jag/Jazzy bodies, and which the Jagmaster was closer to. Someone gave me a diagram (either Tool or Smut) with the outlines laid over each other. Again, subtle, pointless differences.

I think we decided the Jagmaster shape is closer to that of the Jazzmaster. I guess it must be, otherwise the Jagmaster has nothing much in common with the Jazzmaster, making the 'master' in Jagmaster somewhat redundant.

But yeah, having such subtle differences does seem very odd for a company like Fender, concerned as they are with mass production.

lol, pretty much 😉

Aug

someone said: I dont mean to flog a dead horse, but I'm going to anyway.

It just makes no sense. When I designed the Merc II (for lack of a better name), I used the exact same body shape as the OG Merc, and altered the pups/pickguard. If these guitars were being mass produced, that would mean the tooling wouldn't be altered so much. Now, on grungefan's Jag-Stang, I had to alter the upper horn to accommodate to rhythm circuit control plate, but that makes sense. So, I dunno...

kidwaJstang

Ok, enough arguing. George Fullerton and Leo Fender of Fender AND G&L made lasting impressions on the design of solid body guitars. Some were good some were bad. Not everyone can make all perfect designs. Everyone has different tastes which is why both companies have many different models of the same makes. I, personally, love V neck strats w/ hum-cancelling SC pick-ups, while my best friend HATES them and loves Les Paul Customs. Everyone has their own personal preferences, but what can't be desputed is that both George and Leo made HUGE inovations and lasting legacies on the Solid-body guitar in general. Love 'em or hate 'em, their legacy is here to stay....

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