In 2016, G&L developed their own nitrocellulose lacquer finishing process and is applying it to limited runs of guitars. A true glossy finished, not relic'd or aged, with a lovely understated lacquer sheen. Now you can have G&L quality with a high-end lacquer finish, and at a price that is very reasonable in the realm of nitro finish guitars.This USA-made G&L Legacy Sonic Blue features:Nitrocellulose Sonic Blue on alder, 7.3 poundsG&L Modern Classic neck, 9.5" radius, 1-11/16th nutVintage tint nitro gloss maple neck finishRosewood fretboardBone nutG&L split and drilled tunersOne-ply white pickguardDF Vibrato bridge(3) G&L Alnico single coil pickups5-way switch,G&L passive volume, treble and bass controlsG&L non-compression dual action truss rodPlek® laser guided fret finishingTolex hardshell caseList price: $2285So what's the deal on nitro? Nitrocellulose lacquer is the chemistry used on most early electric guitars, acoustics, as well as violins and other classical instruments. Essentially is was the available process at that time, and it requires several very thin coats and is more time and labor intensive than today's polyurethane finishes. It's also highly flammable and requires special handling.Thin nitro finishes without a lot of extra grain fillers are felt to be more resonate and acoustically superior to the thicker poly finishes (remember the ghastly Fender "thick skin" finishes of the 70's?). A bad finish on a violin or acoustic guitar can ruin the tone, and many feel that it matters even on a solid body.G&L's glossy nitro Sonic Blue has the characteristics of a well-applied nitro finish. Typical of any G&L, it's totally smooth and defect-free, and the gloss has a lower, less "plastic" sheen than a poly finish. And while the grain does not show through this essentially solid finish, if you look hard enough you can just see it. You can also see that the finish is really hugging the wood grain, a positive sign that they did not excessively fill the grain prior to finishing. Some boutique builders recoil at the use of epoxy grain fillers, and feel they just deaden the tone. The tinted nitro neck also looks marvelous, and the color and gloss level is just perfect.Once you get past the finish, you have G&L's typical high-quality hardware, in-house Alnico pickups wound in the low 6K range, their Dual Fulcrum vibrato, and a nice dark streaky rosewood fretboard. The neck is G&L's new Modern Classic, which combines a 1-11/16" nut, 9.5" radius and a reasonably slim taper neck that goes from .820 to .870 first to twelfth fret. The Modern Classic addresses the issue of occasional string fall-off experienced on their 1-5/8" Classic C, and provides a more Fender-like neck taper. The 9.5" neck is still flat enough for bending, but the slightly tighter radius and thinner profile makes it so you don't feel the extra width. If a neck could be all things to all people, this is probably it.While no two guitars are exactly the same, this Nitro Legacy has unusually rich chime with a glistening top end. Even the sometimes stuffy sounding nick+middle position revealed a lot of complex detail in the upper register. Low notes produced the nice metallic bounce characteristic of this classic design, and being able to roll off the bass with G&L's passive bass control helps to tame the neck pickup response at higher volumes. Overall the tone was exceptionally clean and detailed with a great sense of note separation. We also tried the Nitro Legacy with our Mercury Transformer-equipped Reissue Tweed Bassman. This is a great amp to reveal the true tone of any guitar. We found ourselves using the tone controls a lot with this guitar, and each pickup had its own sweet spot. In most cases, we found a little volume roll-off at the guitar and higher amp volume settings yielded the roundest and most satisfying tone. But we feel that way about a lot of pickups, and this Legacy rewards experimentation. Frankly, we did not get into fooling around with many pedals, as we were just very into its open and spacious clean tones. With a slight amount of reverb and Vibrato from the Vibrolux, it's downright ethereal.If you want to get closer to the way guitars were built "back then" then a lacquer finish is an important component. But while the finish chemistry is old, Plek'd frets, and modern manufacturing techniques create an interesting combination of old-world materials and new-world consistency. The Nitro Legacy is a great addition to the G&L Legacy line and adds a level of finish and exclusivity to an already great guitar. We are an authorized G&L Premier dealer located in Bellingham, Massachusetts, and this is a new guitar with all tags, tools, paperwork and certificates. We have over 40 G&L’s in stock at all times, and please feel free to browse our other listings, or contact us for information on a custom order. We are an authorized G&L dealer and this is a brand new guitar with full warranty, tools, tags and certificate of authenticity. We have over 40 G&L guitars in stock at all times, and are also happy to custom order any G&L.
Orders received by 12:00EST will be shipped the next day. All guitars are set up and tested prior to shipment
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