this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message g & l musical instruments type private industry musical instruments founded 1979 founder leo fender and george fullerton headquarters fullerton california united states of america key people chairman john c. mclaren honorary chairman phyllis fender plant manager john c. mclaren jr. leo fender products electric guitars bass guitars effects units parent bbe sound inc. website www.glguitars.com g & l is a guitar design and production company founded by leo fender george fullerton and dale hyatt in the late 1970s . 1 fender sold his eponymous company fender in 1965 . he designed and produced instruments for music man in the 1970s through his company clf research . when relations with music man soured g & l was created to continue operations outside of music man . the g & l name comes from the initials of george fullerton and leo fender . 2 g & l instruments are similar to the classic fenders but with some modern innovations . they are built at the same facility on fender avenue in fullerton california that produced the early music man instruments . g & l instruments are not widely distributed but are highly regarded by many musicians and collectors . the relatively small scale of production further allows for more custom options that are not possible on larger production lines . after the death of leo fender in 1991 fender s wife phyllis fender passed the management of g & l to john c. mclaren of bbe sound . 3 george fullerton remained a permanent consultant until his death on july 4 2009 4 and leo s wife phyllis remains as honorary chairman of g & l. in a print advertisement for g & l leo fender claimed the g & l line of instruments were the best instruments i have ever made . 5 contents 1 innovations 2 g & l guitars 2.1 electric guitars 2.2 electric basses 2.2.1 current models 2.2.2 discontinued models 2.3 tribute 2.3.1 tribute models 3 notable users 4 see also 5 notes 6 references 7 external links innovations edit dual fulcrum vibrato leo fender and george fullerton created improved designs over the years with the most advanced being featured in g & l instruments . the magnetic field design 6 mfd pickups use a ceramic bar magnet in combination with soft iron pole pieces with adjustable height instead of the traditional alnico magnet and allow a player to set the pickup output per string as opposed to the entire pickup as a whole in traditional single coil pickup designs . mfds are known for their distinctive tone which combines clarity high fidelity and power with an airy sweetness . the dual fulcrum vibrato 7 has two pivot points . the design aims to improve tuning stability and according to some has a sound that is more mellow than a traditional bridge . it allows the player to bend notes up as well as down . see also tremolo arm . the g & l saddle lock bridge 7 utilizes a small allen screw on the side of the bridge to reduce side to side movement of the individual string saddles . the design and the bridge s beefy dimensions aim to prevent loss of sustain due to this sideways motion by locking the saddles together . the tilt neck mechanism 8 designed and patented by george fullerton . this feature is no longer used and was a carryover from music man production . the bi cut neck design 9 involved cutting the neck lengthwise perpendicular to where the fretboard is later installed routing a channel for the truss rod then gluing the two neck pieces back together . as g & l moved production to cnc machines this method was phased out . g & l guitars edit g & l produces several distinct models of guitar and bass products including electric guitars edit ascari and ascari gts non standard leo fender design . rock guitar in strat design set neck with 3 tuners per side dual humbucker . designed by leo fender then put on the back burner until 2014 asat classic 10 similar design to the telecaster ; offered as a solid body instrument as well as a semi hollow body instrument . bluesboy 11 based on the asat classic but with a seth lover humbucker pickup in the neck position and a modified mfd single coil at the bridge . designed by tim page of buffalo bros. with the help of seymour w. duncan for the neck pickup and tony petrilla of g & l for wiring of the bridge pickup . first introduced as a special edition in 1999 in both solid body and semi hollow versions . became a standard model in 2001 . asat special 12 named g & l broadcaster until 1985 when it was renamed asat . sometime later the special was added . similar to the asat classic but with two large soap bar mfd pickups and a saddle lock bridge rather than the telecaster style bridge found on the classic . asat z 3 13 similar to the asat classic but with three z coil pickups additional pickup switching options and a saddle lock bridge . broadcaster the broadcaster which is the most well known and highly collectible g & l was the brainchild of dale hyatt . mr.hyatt designed and marketed this highly sought after g & l in 1985 as a marketing strategy to increase sales and distribution . mr. fender signed a dated sticker that went inside the neck pocket to prove that the guitar was authentic and built by g & l. and as mistakenly reported on many websites citation needed the g & l broadcaster was highly successful not because of leo fender signing each guitar in the neck pocket but rather because of the pure quality of the guitar itself . citation needed the name broadcaster was changed to asat after a production run of one year and 869 guitars . the change was due to a conflict over the use of the broadcaster name . citation needed comanche 14 similar design to the fender stratocaster but utilizes mfd z coil pickups a dual fulcrum vibrato bridge and additional pickup switch options super switch . f 100 15 the first guitar produced by g & l. two small switches controlled a coil splitter and a phase switch reversed the phase of one humbucker allowing additional tone creation abilities . g 200 16 designed by george fullerton this is the only g & l guitar to feature a 24 3 4 scale neck as on most of gibson s guitars . features include two mfd humbuckers a saddle lock fixed bridge a unique wiring switching design by leo fender an ebony fingerboard and a mahogany body . approximately 209 of these were made . george fullerton signature model 17 based on the legacy . the main differences are the vintage style neck with a late 50 s soft v shape rear contour and a treble roll off for the neck and bridge pickup that mr. fullerton had on his 54 stratocaster . invader 18 a super strat style design ; the invader typically has a humbucker in bridge position ; the 2010 model features two dual blade pickups one at neck and the other in the middle position ; there is also a split coil function . some use a kahler bridge locking vibrato system with a locking nut ; floyd rose also with locking nut system and the g & l dual fulcrum are also options . the invader xl has two humbuckers . legacy 19 similar design to the stratocaster with design considerations derived from older stratocaster models from the 1950s and 1960s but also newer features such as the g & l dual fulcrum vibrato . legacy special 19 based on the legacy but with blade humbucker pickups . legacy deluxe a stratocaster licensed body with bolt on neck . rear mounted controls and no pickguard . standard pickup configuration is a seymour duncan tb 4 an sh4 with different dimensions and 2 alnico v single coils . rampage 20 similar in design to the stratocaster but with a more narrow waist and a more dramatic tummy relief . rampages utilize a single humbucker designed by g & l and built by schaller . the necks are maple with an ebony finger board . most rampages use kahler tremolo systems . production colors include white black yellow and rampage red . played by jerry cantrell of alice in chains who now has his own signature rampage . s 500 21 similar design to the stratocaster and legacy but with mfd pickups and additional pickup switch options . a mini toggle switch ties together the bridge and neck pickups so that you can have combinations of the neck and bridge pickup and all three pickups at once . also includes g & l dual fulcrum vibrato . offered with optional seymour duncan jb jr humbucker in bridge position . will ray signature model based on the asat z 3 with changes to suit will ray s style including overwound pickups a b bender a different neck profile and skull shaped fingerboard position marker inlays designed by ray . g & l legacy 1993 electric basses edit g & l l 2000 usa 1997 all g & l basses feature bolt on necks and 34 inch scale lengths . current models edit asat bass relatively small bass guitar with a telecaster style body shape . available in both solid body and semi hollow versions . same electronics as the l 2000 . earlier models have slab bodies . jb similar to fender s original jazz bass design featuring traditional pickguard alnico j pickups metal control plate and black bakelite knobs . jb 5 same as the jb but a 5 string with a 4 1 headstock . l 1505 5 string adaptation of the l 1500 . introduced after g & l was sold to current owners bbe . l 2000 dual large mfd humbuckers 4 string bass . both active and passive electronics selected by a switch along with pickup switching for a wide range of tones . l 2500 5 string adaptation of the l 2000 . earlier versions have a 4 1 headstock configuration . most are 3 2 . lb 100 similar to fender s precision bass design with an alnico p pickup . m 2000 dual large mfd humbuckers 4 string bass . active electronics only and has a standard 3 band preamp with blend control . m 2500 5 string adaptation of the m 2000 with 3 2 headstock . mj 4 modern g & l style body similar to l series and jb2 with single coil j pickups and a 3 band preamp . mj 5 same as the mj 4 but with 5 strings on a 3 2 headstock . sb 1 second style similar to the precision bass in form . the mfd split pickup has the same footprint as split precision bass pickups . sb 2 second style essentially a second style sb 1 with an added mfd single coil pickup at the bridge and a second volume knob in place of the tone knob . discontinued models edit climax bass active passive bass with sculpted neck heel area . single large mfd humbucker in bridge position . introduced after g & l was sold to current owners bbe . el toro bass 22 two small mfd humbuckers . interceptor bass 23 same as the el toro but with a different body and headstock design . l 1000 15 passive bass with one large mfd humbucker in front position . discontinued