G&L Comanche Electric Guitar

G&L Comanche Electric Guitar

Features:

In Oct. of 2006 I custom ordered this one from G&L and by Feb. 2007 I received it, 3 tone sunburst with natural wood binding over top flamed maple on top of swamp ash, hard rock maple neck with the “c” shape(thicker, more sustain), finished with rubbed gun oil tint, then glossed, fret board is ebony. I personaly contacted G&L because I didn’t want the traditional 3 tone (yellow, red, black) banding. They said they would consult the painter and WOW, did they deliver! The yellow in the center is actually an amber and from there the colors fade and blend to the red then to the black. Looks like a southwestern sunset. Thanks G&L. Hardware and electronics are standard Comanche with a black pick guard. Why they get an 8 is explained below, I eventually couldn’t use the pick ups and as a big part of the features, it suffered a minor loss.

• Figured maple top
• Bird’s-eye maple neck
• Schaller locking tuners
• G&L dual-fulcrum bridge
• MFD (Magnetic Field Design) Z-coil pickups
• 25-1/2″ scale
• 1-5/8″ nut width

Sound:

I had this guitar for 6 months and I really worked with the tone knobs, pick up height, pole piece adjustment and could get some really good tones. One setting I used was one of the pickup combination with the high freq rolled completely off which gave me (I swear) an awesome parked wah) but because of the brightness of ceramic magnets and their tendency to be a little sterile and 2 dimensional, I thought my overall sound was not “stratty” enough and I missed the warmth and complexity of Alnico magnets. Z coils not bad, they are just not for me. I would like to see G&L do a hybrid of Alnico on the high 3 strings and ceramic on the bottom 3. Eventually I had to outsource some Alnico stacked single coil noiseless pick ups from Kinman in Australia (forgive me Leo) but it made all the difference.

Action, Fit, & Finish:

Even though I adjusted the hell out of the pick ups, looking for my sound and a slight string height adjustment. That is personal preference and not the fault of any set up. The set up out of the box was really professional. The guitar was flawless and beautiful and because they gave me what really amounted to a custom paint job at no extra charge, that put it over the top. I still remember opening the case for the first time, WOW. Kinda like getting the bra off your first real girlfriend, you just have to sit there and stare.
OK…I know, TMI. So they get a 10, especially for bringing back fond memories of my first set of boobies.

Reliability/Durability:

It’s been over a year a nothing bad has happened. Replaced button straps with locking ones. Strap came off during a gig (strap was at fault, not guitar) didn’t drop it though, but scared the hell out of me.