G & L Comanche?

[barrysrq]

Anyone familiar with the G&L Comanche?

I've always been a Gibson kind of guy, have two non-trem PRSi.
Never had a strat, looking for something in that line
but wonder how tone of Comanche compares to the jillion
Strat models, Strat copies, boutique Strat-done-betters etc.

In short, different sound.

Never have seen one in local store to try, was Leo's last invention
his best?

[omikl]

Anyone familiar with the G&L Comanche?

I've always been a Gibson kind of guy, have two non-trem PRSi.
Never had a strat, looking for something in that line
but wonder how tone of Comanche compares to the jillion
Strat models, Strat copies, boutique Strat-done-betters etc.

In short, different sound.

Never have seen one in local store to try, was Leo's last invention
his best?
Well, I don't own a Comanche, but I do know G&L's, having seven of them, and have played a couple of ASAT Z3's, which have the same pickup configuration. The Z-coil pickups are as advertised, noiseless and "almost" like a single coil.

Other G&L's that fit the "Strat but different" category are the Legacy Special and the S-500. The Legacy Special is my favourite in this class, as it gives you some great versatility with it's three dual blade humbuckers. The S-500 is a Strat on steroids, plain and simple.

[vangit]

Hey Barry
A couple of things to also consider.......The Comanche (and other G&L Strat-likes), have a fretboard radius of 12, where a normal Fender Strat has 9.5 (vintage having 7.25). So the G&L will be a much flatter fretboard. Not sure how the G&L's are made now, but I had an S-500 about 3 years ago and was anoyed that it and a "swimming pool" route under the pick guard. I excpected better from atheir highend model.

[barrysrq]

Thanks! I doubt the radius would throw me, surprized to hear about the 'swimming pool' tho. Unless of course it has a good deep end! :D

[devine10]

I've played alot of the G&L guitars, The dealer in my town has been doing G&L since Day one, Every one ive picked up is an excellent guitar for the money, all have played well and sounded excellent. I know if you would want a comanche with a different neck, i believe it's not a problem for them to oblige, 60% of the guitars my dealer does are custom orders, One guy had a S-500 with a stop tail piece, now that thing was wild..Check with your dealer, they should be able to handle anything you throw at them..

[Phil_B]

I have an S-500 and it is one of the best "Strats" I have ever played. The pickups are kinda wierd, but sound great. The fingerboard radius is flatter than a strat, but really plays nice. It doesn't feel flat like some of the shedder guitars from the 80's. It is easy to transition from a PRS to it.

I think that whole "swimming pool" route issue is BS. There are plenty of crappy guitars out there that don't have it. If you can really hear the difference, you must be Eric Johnson or better. <grin>

My S-500 is just a darn fine playing and sounding guitar. I wouldn't mind having a legacy.

The Comanche has those Z-coil pickups, which I think are humbucking versions of the "Magnetic Field Design" pickups. The MFD pickups in my S-500 are Ceramic magnets, but they aren't cold sounding like many ceramics. If I am not mistaken, they have a stronger than normal magnet, but use fewer windings to get a real nice clear sound. My pickups read weak on a VOM, but are not weak pickups at all. The output appears to be about that of a mildly hotter vintage single coil. However, they are much quieter. Possibly the quietest true single coils I have heard.

Also, the build quality of G&L guitars is (in my experience) excellent.

Good luck!

-Phil_B

[Buffalosix]

When I was out looking at guitars I had the opportunity to play the Comanche and compare it against their regular strat-copy. As with most G&L, the construction was good, equal to if not better than production-line USA Fender. The Comanche had some unique single-coil sounds using the Z-coils, but did not sound nearly as "Strat-like" as their regular copy models. The Comanche had a unique sound all its own. Quieter definitely, but I can't put my finger on the sound. A tad meatier? If you are looking to virtually replicate Strat with the Comanche, look elsewhere. But it will stay in the ballpark. It definitely has its own voice, and you need to play it head to head against standard Strat-style single coils to understand...