As some might know, G&L is (was?) a company co-founded by Leo Fender (of Fender Guitars) and George Fullerton in 1979. Leo Fender continued to innovate and make new things at G&L. I think they make (made?) great guitars - I have a US-made G&L Comanche which I bought in 2014, and I really like it.

Recently I've been hearing news about G&L closing. There have been a lot of discussions about them in various forums online. First, I'd heard they had furloughed their employees, and they hadn't been receiving pay in a while. Most recently, I've heard G&L employees have reported that they are closing, and it sounds like G&L has been bought out.

I saw one post just now where someone said it has been confirmed that Fender bought G&L. Some people say it's possible that Fender bought (or wanted to buy) G&L in order to shut them down. I hope that's not the case.. I hope Fender or whoever bought G&L will contiue to offer what G&L was making.

Some sources:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bass/comments/1nub35d/rip_gl/

https://youtu.be/ig3EBH_-uOY?si=2kknjCzxWqMVmPg7

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bassplayerz/posts/24922699264033156/

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/g-l-out-of-business.1677465/page-25

Nightfox

I saw one post just now where someone said it has been confirmed that Fender bought G&L. Some people say it's possible that Fender bought (or wanted to buy) G&L in order to shut them down. I hope that's not the case.. I hope Fender or whoever bought G&L will contiue to offer what G&L was making.

Unfortunately, it is sometimes the case that a company will buy another out just to kill the competition. I wouldn't think it worth my while to buy a company out if I didn't at least want something material out of it...
another production facility, to add their products to my line, etc... but apparently others don't think that way.


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As some might know, G&L is (was?) a company co-founded by Leo Fender (of Fend

>Guitars) and George Fullerton in 1979. Leo Fender continued to innovate and m
> new things at G&L. I think they make (made?) great guitars - I have a US-mad
>&L Comanche which I bought in 2014, and I really like it.

Recently I've been hearing news about G&L closing.

That's unfortunate. I'm not familiar with their guitars myself but
it would be extermely difficult these days to stay in business in
the USA (or Canada or most of Europe) given the labour costs in
making something like a well built guitar.

I'm more familiar with Fender, of course, more with their electrics
back in the day, but their acoustics were pretty nice as well..

Years ago I bought a Shiro guitar, which is a Martin guitar made
in Japan. This isn't a 'Japanese Copy'.. I was told at the time
that any Martin Guitar costing less than $2000 was made by Shiro
and labelled Martin. This was back 25 or 30 years ago so $2000
was a lot more money back then. The Shiro name on it made it a
lot more affordable than a Martin.. about $1000 at the time.

It also has a 'Tree of Life'in pearl on the fretboard which, I
was told, adds about $250 to the cost. It is an exact match for
a Martin D45 other than the name Shiro on it in Mother of Pearl..

I also still have a Japanese copy of a Gibson, well made but
not as high quality materials and finishing, and I have a
Framus 12 string I've had for 55 years or so. Prior to that
one (going from Rock to Folk) I had a Hofner electric I played
in a group at school.

I originally learned to play, starting at age 9, on my father's
full sized Harmony guitar, which was bigger than I was.. B)

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Re: G&L Guitars closed
By: Rob Mccart to NIGHTFOX on Fri Oct 03 2025 09:21 am

I also still have a Japanese copy of a Gibson, well made but not as high quality materials and finishing, and I have a Framus 12 string I've had for 55 years or so. Prior to that one (going from Rock to Folk) I had a Hofner electric I played in a group at school.

I originally learned to play, starting at age 9, on my father's full sized Harmony guitar, which was bigger than I was.. B)

That's cool. :)
The oldest guitar I hvae now is a 1993 Fender Strat Plus, which I bought from my dad, as he had decided to sell his music stuff a few years ago. I remember being with him when he bought that guitar..

I started to learn guitar when I was around 13 or 14. I was using my mom's acoustic guitar and picked up a book of guitar chords she had and started learning.

Nightfox

Nightfox wrote to Rob Mccart <=-

I originally learned to play, starting at age 9, on my father's full sized Harmony guitar, which was bigger than I was.. B)

That's cool. :)
The oldest guitar I hvae now is a 1993 Fender Strat Plus, which I
bought from my dad, as he had decided to sell his music stuff a few
years ago. I remember being with him when he bought that guitar..

I started when I was 13 as well. My first guitar was an Alvarez -
still have it!

My oldest one is a 1968 or 1969 Yamaha acoustic I piced up outside
a pawn shop in Nashville... Can't nail down the exact date because,
according to Yamaha, there was a fire that destroyed some records
and my S/N and the color of the label, etc. put it either 1968
at THIS factory or 1969 at THAT factory.

I knew that was close enough... LOL

I started to learn guitar when I was around 13 or 14. I was using my
mom's acoustic guitar and picked up a book of guitar chords she had and started learning.

I took lessons from a lady in another nearby town. A friend was
taking lessons from her, so I started. After a few months she
broke my heart - "I can't teach you anymore." Why not, I wanted
to know - "There's nothing else I can do to help you." Man I
almost cried. I asked was I that bad?

She clarified quickly - that I had progressed to the point that
there was no reason to come back to her. I would either move
along and do it, or I wouldn't.

I'm 58 and I did it. :-)



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I originally learned to play, starting at age 9, on my father's full sized Harmony guitar, which was bigger than I was.. B)

That's cool. :)

>The oldest guitar I have now is a 1993 Fender Strat Plus, which I bought
>from my dad, as he had decided to sell his music stuff a few years ago.
>I remember being with him when he bought that guitar..

My dad was strictly into old style Country music so we didn't have
enough in common to play together. Not that I dislike Country.
I play a lot of music that would be considered Country but not so
much the stuff from the 1950's.. B)

I knew a guy with a Stratocaster back in the day. I think..
Could have been a Telecaster. My faulty memory thought one of those
was a Base guitar but, looking online, it doesn't appear so.
Both were Top of the line electrics at the time.

I started to learn guitar when I was around 13 or 14. I was using my mom's ac

>tic guitar and picked up a book of guitar chords she had and started learning

I actually took lessons for close to 3 years but, other than the added
bonus of being able to read music (which I think I've forgotten), it was
so slow and boring that I quit and got my Hofner electric and got
involved with some other guys at school in a group and probably learned
more in the next few months than with all those lessons..

Much more fun than playing Twinkle, Twinkle little star.. B)

Our group signature pieces were Wild Thing and House of the Rising Sun..

I can play House.. on the piano as well. I can pluck out a tune on the
piano but that's the only complex song I learned to play properly on it.

---
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Hello Rob!

** On Monday 06.10.25 - 09:50, Rob.Mccart wrote to NIGHTFOX:

I can play House.. on the piano as well. I can pluck out a
tune on the piano but that's the only complex song I learned
to play properly on it.

Have you ever tried playing Take Five? My left and right hand
coordination is too merged to play the piece. The 5/4 time was
a bit of challenge beyond the norm too.

I only mastered a few pieces in their entirety. But I figured
out a cool compromise by playing medlies of the beginnings of
some pieces that I could remember and just played them in
different order to make them sound like a unique performance.
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Have you ever tried playing Take Five? My left and right hand
coordination is too merged to play the piece. The 5/4 time was
a bit of challenge beyond the norm too.

That is one of the most awesome-est songs ever. ;)

Mike


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Hello OGG!

** On Monday 06.10.25 - 09:50, Rob.Mccart wrote to NIGHTFOX:

I can play House.. on the piano as well. I can pluck out a

>> tune on the piano but that's the only complex song I learned
>> to play properly on it.

Have you ever tried playing Take Five? My left and right hand

>coordination is too merged to play the piece. The 5/4 time was
>a bit of challenge beyond the norm too.

Is it the Jazz piece by Dave Brubeck you are referring to or is
there another Piece by that name? And on Piano?

Jazz in general is pretty difficult to play on Piano, probably
on most instruments when playing it alone. A lot of music
isn't going to sound good unless you are playing most of the
music from more than one instrument. On guitar you can pluck
away a tune one note at a time but it's pretty empty unless
you are adding other parts to it, as best you can.
i.e.. Bass and Lead at once..

And, as I said, I really only leaned one piece well on piano.
I've played hundreds of pieces on guitar..

I only mastered a few pieces in their entirety. But I figured

>out a cool compromise by playing medlies of the beginnings of
>some pieces that I could remember and just played them in
>different order to make them sound like a unique performance.

That can be interesting, and whatever pleases you is the main
thing unless you are playing for others, especially playing for
others for money. I did that a few times but it wasn't something
I wanted to do seriously. I never pictured myself as a rock star.. B)

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Re: Re: G&L Guitars closed
By: jimmylogan to Nightfox on Sat Oct 04 2025 05:02 pm

I took lessons from a lady in another nearby town. A friend was taking lessons from her, so I started. After a few months she broke my heart - "I can't teach you anymore." Why not, I wanted to know - "There's nothing else I can do to help you." Man I almost cried. I asked was I that bad?

She clarified quickly - that I had progressed to the point that there was no reason to come back to her. I would either move along and do it, or I wouldn't.

I'm 58 and I did it. :-)

:) I've thought of taking guitar lessons, though now I'm not sure I'd feel like committing to practicing for guitar lessons.. :)

Nightfox

Re: G&L Guitars closed
By: Rob Mccart to NIGHTFOX on Mon Oct 06 2025 08:50 am

Our group signature pieces were Wild Thing and House of the Rising Sun..

I can play House.. on the piano as well. I can pluck out a tune on the piano but that's the only complex song I learned to play properly on it.

That's cool. I still have never played music in a band. I've always thought that could be fun though. And one song I can basically play but want to learn to play it better/properly is Sultans Of Swing by Dire Straits.

Nightfox

Have you ever tried playing Take Five? My left and right hand

>coordination is too merged to play the piece. The 5/4 time was
>a bit of challenge beyond the norm too.

Is it the Jazz piece by Dave Brubeck you are referring to or is
there another Piece by that name? And on Piano?

While I cannot speak for what Ogg meant, the Brubeck piece is the one I am familiar with, and it is in 5/4 time.

There is a piano part that, IIRC, plays throughout most of the piece, as
there is on most of the songs from that album. To the casual listener,
Take Five on piano would be difficult but also probably a lot of fun if you have those skills.

And, as I said, I really only leaned one piece well on piano.
I've played hundreds of pieces on guitar..

I tried my hand at both over time... was never very good at either! :D

Mike


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Rob,

Is it the Jazz piece by Dave Brubeck you are referring to or is
there another Piece by that name? And on Piano?

That's the one that came to my mind.

* SLMR Rob * !!!!! TAGLINE FOR THE HARD OF HEARING !!!!!

Taken under advisement for future use.

Daryl

... Better give me a 6 slice pizza...I don't think I can eat 8.
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Mike,

Unfortunately, it is sometimes the case that a company will buy
another out just to kill the competition. I wouldn't think it
worth my while to buy a company out if I didn't at least want
something material out of it... another production facility, to
add their products to my line, etc... but apparently others
don't think that way.

There was this ham radio vendor, who said at a ham radio gathering
(hamfest) that "he was going to be the Wal-Mart of ham radio". He
would go around at a hamfest, see what the other dealers were charging
for items, then he'd undercut them price wise. His goal was apparently
to put the other vendors out of business, then you would have to buy
from him, or you'd do without.

* Why does pizza get to your house faster than the police?

I'll have to try that <G>. Seriously, NOT!!

I ordered 2 sausage and cheese pizzas with crazy bread a few days
ago, for a change of pace, food wise...and it shot the glucose up
to 134. It went back down to 97 the next day.

Daryl

... A dachshund is a small crocodile with fur.
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* Why does pizza get to your house faster than the police?

I ordered 2 sausage and cheese pizzas with crazy bread a few days
ago, for a change of pace, food wise...and it shot the glucose up
to 134. It went back down to 97 the next day.

I guess it is all the bread, and maybe the sugars in the sauce, that causes that?

Mike

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I took lessons from a lady in another nearby town. A friend was taking lessons from her, so I started. After a few months she broke my heart - "I can't teach you anymore." Why not, I wanted to know - "There's nothing
else I can do to help you." Man I almost cried. I asked was I that bad?

She clarified quickly - that I had progressed to the point that there was no reason to come back to her. I would either move along and do it, or I wouldn't.

:) I've thought of taking guitar lessons, though now I'm not sure I'd feel li

>committing to practicing for guitar lessons.. :)

The lessons can be boring but maybe they teach adults differently than
they do younger people. The best way to keep new players interested
is to teach them music that they like and can play with minimal
training, then improve their style as they get better at playing
the basics of it.

There's the old joke about being able to play country music if
you know 3 chords. That's not so far off the truth in some cases,
and as you get good at changing between chords and such, you get
better at changing the way you hit each one to sound even better..

A good example of a country song that is maybe not so terrible
is Knocking on Heaven's Door..
Not a bad sounding piece and a simplified version of it can be
played using only 3 chords.. G, D and C..

I'd show someone the 6 or 8 most commonly used chords and run
the scales through all 6 strings so they know which frets are
mostly used on each string.. and then get them into some simple
songs so they feel they have something to show off or be proud of.

BUT.. that said, the way I would teach someone, they wouldn't
come out able to read music. I've sorted out dozens of songs by
ear but that takes a lot of practice.

---
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Our group signature pieces were Wild Thing and House of the Rising Sun..
I can play House.. on the piano as well.

That's cool. I still have never played music in a band. I've always thought

>at could be fun though. And one song I can basically play but want to learn
>play it better/properly is Sultans Of Swing by Dire Straits.

Wow.. start at the top and work your way down.. B)

I love that song but there's a bit of a problem with it.
It's not played on a connventional guitar, it's played using
a bar and multiple finger picks, like playing a Steel guitar
but they use one that looks more like a 'normal' guitar.
I don't know how close one could come to playing that well on
a conventional guitar.

There is Some conventional guitar in it but the really fancy
sounding stuff is as above.. But one could pluck out the main
tune on a standard guitar..

As for playing in a band.. Lots of fun and the girls are usually
impressed.. until that time when you're playing live and lose your
place and mess it up... (Been there..) B(

Never a good thing when you are the lead guitar..

I should have practiced more.. What seems simple when practicing
at home gets a little trickier under the bright lights.. B)

---
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Have you ever tried playing Take Five? My left and right hand

>coordination is too merged to play the piece. The 5/4 time was
>a bit of challenge beyond the norm too.

Is it the Jazz piece by Dave Brubeck you are referring to or is

>> there another Piece by that name? And on Piano?

While I cannot speak for what Ogg meant, the Brubeck piece is the one I am

>familiar with, and it is in 5/4 time.

That was the only one I found quickly. I listened to it and it's a good
jazz piece, probably older than most people know though. (1959)

There is a piano part that, IIRC, plays throughout most of the piece, as

>there is on most of the songs from that album. To the casual listener,
>Take Five on piano would be difficult but also probably a lot of fun if you
>have those skills.

What's the saying, if you're good it IS easy.. B)

And, as I said, I really only leaned one piece well on piano.

>> I've played hundreds of pieces on guitar..

I tried my hand at both over time... was never very good at either! :D

At least you are consistent... B)

I'm not as adventuristic as I was in the past. I have a sinus thing
these days which makes it almost impossible to sing anything that
requires any voice range so I tend to just pluck away at tunes while
watching TV in the evenings..

---
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There was this ham radio vendor, who said at a ham radio gathering

>(hamfest) that "he was going to be the Wal-Mart of ham radio". He
>would go around at a hamfest, see what the other dealers were charging
>for items, then he'd undercut them price wise. His goal was apparently
>to put the other vendors out of business, then you would have to buy
>from him, or you'd do without.

Sounds like he learned his marketing skills in China..

They play a long game and will undercut prices on items in other
countries, often for 10 years or more, selling them at a loss
until they put everyone else out of business and then they have
total control of the market.

---
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Mike,

I guess it is all the bread, and maybe the sugars in the sauce,
that causes that?

Whatever it was, it jacked it up. At least the heart rate stayed
decent.

Daryl

... I watch what I eat...from the plate to the mouth.
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Hello Rob!

** On Wednesday 08.10.25 - 12:13, Rob.Mccart wrote to OGG:

Is it the Jazz piece by Dave Brubeck you are referring to or is
there another Piece by that name? And on Piano?

The one by Brubeck Quartet, yes.

Jazz in general is pretty difficult to play on Piano, probably
on most instruments when playing it alone.

I have the music sheets for piano. The left hand maintains the
singature 5/4 part, and the right had attempts the rest of the
melody. I could play the left hand and right hand parts
separately, but not together! :(
--
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Jazz in general is pretty difficult to play on Piano, probably
on most instruments when playing it alone.

I have the music sheets for piano. The left hand maintains the
singature 5/4 part, and the right had attempts the rest of the
melody. I could play the left hand and right hand parts
separately, but not together! :(

Maybe it is a piece that'd be a good one to have someone else playing the
other part?


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Jazz in general is pretty difficult to play on Piano, probably

>> on most instruments when playing it alone.

I have the music sheets for piano. The left hand maintains the

>singature 5/4 part, and the right had attempts the rest of the
>melody. I could play the left hand and right hand parts
>separately, but not together! :(

It does sound tricky. You are one up on me since you can read the
music. I tend to work things out by ear and limit myself to songs
that I like and can do a decent job playing.. as in, there's a
LOT pf music I might like but I wouldn't insult the original
performer's by doing a poor job of it. B)

Again though, I'm talking guitar and there are a lot of ways
to play a guitar, with a bar and multiple finger picks, or using
your left hand to for the chords and using a single or several
finger picks, and by playing bar chords up and down the neck
rather than using proper fingering to form what chords you
need mostly in the first 3 or 4 frets..

I am generally jusing a single pick (or finger) with an occasional
extra note thrown in. I think learning using bar chords is easier
but I never got into it. It may be easier but there's a certain
talent in getting clean sound with them as well.

---
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