G&L
- Thread starter Session 5
- Start date
CoyotesGator
Ambassador of Reptilian Rum Bar Affairs
I didn't watch the video.
I heard on the playground that Cobra paperwork was handed out.
I heard on the playground that Cobra paperwork was handed out.
This makes me very sad.
Seamus OReally
Well-Known Member
I heard a rumor paperwork circulated that was from FMIC. Is Fender buying the IP? Anybody know?
. I've had many American ones and still own 2.
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
Yeah, thanks. And of course, I’m very sad about the G&L situation. The USA made guitars have always been of high quality at reasonable prices. But the business decisions made decades ago to move American made products overseas to compete with the invasion of cheap poop and it’s associated labor, coupled with the recently imposed tariffs, are definitely the nail in the coffin for small mismanaged companies like G&L. I think Rhett Shull made a good argument about the possibility of Fender buying them out only to keep the Fender name in their control, and liquidating everything else including any G&L employment. Can’t help but notice some similarities to the demise of Hamer guitars after Fender took them over too. This all really sucks!
Seamus OReally
Well-Known Member
I played a couple dozen Hamers while shopping for a humbucking guitar, and not one of them “felt good.” I know that’s an amorphous description, but I just never picked one up that gave me that “aaaah” sensation. I have even less experience with G&Ls, but the ones I did play felt heavy and clunky to me. It may simply be a case of an unpopular product reaching EOL.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
This is sad to hear, but honestly not surprising to me. Background for me is I have owned a bunch of Fullerton-made G&L's over the last 30 years, both S and T bodied ones, and they were uniformly superb guitars. Their standard production line stuff is right up there with the best any company offers for a lot less money. But...none of them stuck around for very long for one reason or another (they definitely have their quirks), so I have always ended up back with Fenders, and been overall happier with them. And I suspect there are many that have had the same experience. Just a hunch, yeah, but I think a solid one.
Couple that with their terrible marketing and inability to place the guitars in physical stores for people to play and it becomes a tough sell. They have a good reputation in the deeper guitar nerd world but if the average buyer can't put hands on one to compare with other options they are likely walking out with a Fender, or ordering same on brand recognition alone.
Couple that with their terrible marketing and inability to place the guitars in physical stores for people to play and it becomes a tough sell. They have a good reputation in the deeper guitar nerd world but if the average buyer can't put hands on one to compare with other options they are likely walking out with a Fender, or ordering same on brand recognition alone.
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