G&L Tribute series

SPECTRUM001

From what I have read and seen on Utube, these look quite good value for money (if you can snag something for £450 to £500).

US pickups and parts, reasonably well made in Indonesia...

Does anyone have any recommendations or horror stories ?

Thanks !

Roland

Moved to Guitar

munckee

I had a g&l tribute tele. Was nice to play and decent pick ups. Not as good as my subsequent road worn or is us standard teles but very good. 

I traded mine for a stupidly low price before I knew how good they were. 

TTBZ

Are they any better/worse than a MIM Fender Tele? I'm really getting the urge to try a Tele again and these look similarly priced 2nd hand.

munckee

I would say they are slightly ahead of mex standards. Maybe Baja or classic 50s level. 

HAL9000

I’ve got a Tribute ASAT Semi Hollow. It’s good but not great. Neeed a few screws and the jack tightening when I first picked it up. My own experience is that a MIM Fender is better made. It also just happens to be the fastest depreciating thing in the known universe so can be a bargain second hand. 

SPECTRUM001

That’s the impression I got, but not seen one yet..

SPECTRUM001

HAL9000 said:

I’ve got a Tribute ASAT Semi Hollow. It’s good but not great. Neeed a few screws and the jack tightening when I first picked it up. My own experience is that a MIM Fender is better made. It also just happens to be the depreciating thing in the known universe 

GuitarGuitar seem to have some good deals at present - £419 for the semi-hollow.

dazzajl

They look great don’t they. I got past the headstock but I got stuck at the idea of playing an ArSehAT 

UnclePsychosis

I've got a Tribute bass. Its excellent, great value for money. 

Sassafras

I've got a Strat type one.
I can't fault it apart from maybe it's weight. Not massively heavy but not exactly a featherweight. Even the trem is nice and I don't normally like trem equipped guitars.
Great value for money, especially 2nd hand.

DesWalker

I own two, a 2012 Legacy and a 2017 ASAT Special. They are both fine guitars.

Many Legacies have a 12 inch radius which is a selling feature IMO. Likewise the bridge, but I deck and block the trem so can’t comment on that. 

The MFD pickups in the Special sound great but the build quality feels a bit cheap. And I’m not a fan of the bridge, it does the job perfectly but it’s not perfect.

In my experience they are not as well made or finished as MIM Fenders and for anything close to the same money I would choose that route over the G&L Tributes which are often priced quite a bit lower.

But that said, my two examples are a joy to play and just have something that some of my better finished guitars don’t have. I have a really very nicely made bottom of the range 2014 PRS SE which feels much better build wise, but I always reach for the Tributes before it....

In conclusion, if you’re buying blind try to stretch to a MIM Fender. But if you see a deal or get chance give them a play, you might find they are for you.

KDS

I’d wait and save few extra £100’s and keep an eye out for a 2nd hand US G&L. Great guitars for very little £££££

gary_mac

I've had three tribute guitars, couldn't fault any of them. I've moved two on now, not because of any dissatisfaction but just decided that one guitar is enough for me. The one that I kept is a Fallout and that is a definite keeper.
 

gazrichards

I have a proper American g&l asat. It’s brilliant. If the tributes are half as good they are very good indeed. 

I’m interested in trying the doheny offset at some point!

Sesh

I have a fallout. Luckily got it for £300ish about 3 years ago before the prices went up. Plays well, was even in tune straight out if the box, and keep tune really well. Lots of life and sounds can be got out of the pickups and the bridge is solid. Much better than the floppy fender type that rely on string tension to keep them in place. The only gripes are a few pinholes in the lacquer on the back of the neck and the nut wasn't finished properly. It's ugly but functional and just needs the top sanding down so the strings don't look lost deep in it. I haven't done it yet as I'm a professional procrastinator and it's only cosmetic. 

Funkfingers

Sassafras said:

I've got a Strat type one. I can't fault it apart from maybe it's weight. Not massively heavy but not exactly a featherweight. 

I recently declined a Tribute Series S-500 for precisely this reason. (Plus, I already have a stupid number of Strat-type guitars.) I also have the remains of a Tribute Series ASAT. Even after carving it up for a middle pickup, it weighs far too much. It is almost worth giving the body a Gilmour "Workmate" Telecaster body contour to decrease its weight still further.

The US-made pickups are excellent - regardless of the magnet material. 

SPECTRUM001

Very interesting feedback - and given  that every brand or line has its pluses and minuses, I think they come out of this well.

Cranky

I've only messed with the ASAT in a music shop.  I like low-mid range guitars. I didn't find the ASAT very comfortable (I didn't plug it in, though, so no comment on the pickups). MusiciansFriend here in the US seems to blow these out once a month or so for $150-200 discounts, which makes them great entry-level guitars but the consensus also seems to be that they're not at all worth full retail.

I have an upper tier MIM Tele Deluxe that's far more comfortable to me than the ASAT.  And I have a cheaper-than-ASAT Vintage Reissue V75 that's both comfortable and sounds killer.

pluckbuddy

I also have a tribute fallout. Bought from Andertons in a January sale for under £300 I think. Well set up and no complaints really. I like it as a change to the strats and teles I've played over the years. Currently my main guitar although I have swapped the pickups (nothing wrong with the stock just I'm forever tinkering). The bridge is really comfortable and the stings seem low tension for a fender scale guitar, maybe because it's a top loader.

Kinda just wish it had a nitro finish but that's asking a bit much for this price bracket. I think the USA ones are poly too anyway. I did try another tribute in a store once that wasn't anywhere near as well set up as mine. 

thomasw88

I've had two possibly three..

They're excellent guitars very well made.  Imo better quality than a fender mexican.

You could do a lot worse than look at Levinson blades which in my experience are far better than fender USA and usually considerably cheaper