Telecaster g&l tribute or Fender Vintera ? Some help please.....

I have two G&L Tribute ASAT Classics...I really like them and bought them for home use, but also because I didn't want to take my single Fender out of the house (should the opportunity arise). I recommend them.

 

Here in Europe many stores still have new Baja Teles. I would try to get one. They're amazibg

 

I highly recommend the G&L ASAT Classic Tribute as well. I own two of them and am very satisfied with them. The workmanship, sound and quality went way above my expectations for a guitar priced far under a thousand dollars.

 

Yes, I'm on the fence about getting a G&L S type as well...probably will if they ever go SDoD again.

I recently acquired a Vintage Reissued Series V6 S type...also a very nice guitar and a little slicker than the G&L, but at a bit higher price point. I had previously played a Vintage Reissued T type at a music store when trying out an amp I was picking up...it was a good one, so I kind of knew what I was getting.

In any case, I think your friend would be pleased with a G&L...you can't beat the value IMO.

 

I used a Tribute ASAT Classic as my main guitar for about 1 year - it was one of the older (Korean??) models with the larger "Tribute" branding on the headstock. I loved it! Excellent build quality, very comfortable neck (quite slim), and the pickups were very versatile. It was a bit heavy, but not enough to be a problem.

I temporarily had a 50s Modified Vintera for a few weeks, which I think is the most comparable one to the Baja. Also fantastic - really nicely finished, great pickups. The neck didn't suit me as well though - quite chunky and I'm not keen on glossed fingerboards, but that's just personal taste.

From my experience, the G&L was of a similar quality, but just a less "traditional" tele. Terrible resale value though if that matters!

 

I have a white G&L ASAT Classic and at least 5 other fender teles I love the g&l I take it to gigs back when we had gigs, I had a pro setup done to it but it just sounds and plays great so my $299.00 dollar guitar kills it............

 

The Contractor guitars made in Indonesia, for G + L and bearing the Tribute imaging, are not G + Ls but replicas of them. They're fairly sound guitars, but then so are all the other Squiers and etc. I own that were made side by side with them at the Cortek Mega-plant in Surabaya, at a manufacturer's cost of almost nothing. G + L tells us they paid about half as much, per unit, as they used to pay for the replicas done in Korea before that. Personally I prefer the typical Indonesian one to a whole slew of the Korean ones I went through when a small shop went bust in western South Carolina, that I could have had for less than dealer cost. I think these have gotten better, over time, but I would still suggest that the gulf between the USA original product and the overseas replica is large indeed.

To me, it makes much more sense to cross-shop the Tribute against something like a Squier Classic Vibe. The MIM guitars are genuine Fender products, not contractor guitars and they have an obvious shared DNA with the instruments coming from the Fender Custom Shop.

Full disclosure: I have five of the USA built, "true" G + L guitars and have become very accustomed to them and the way they perform. If I got into financial difficulty and had to sell off these USA G + Ls, once I got back on my feet I would look for used examples of G + L USA guitars. Their resale value is not as pathetic as it used to be, but here, the USA model, used, is the sweet spot in the G + L ownership experience. I saw one fellow grab a used USA G + L for $ 450 while some unfortunate other guy bought a Tribute S-500 for almost $ 600. No disrespect intended, but this is lunacy.

FMIC is amazing, the way they have a different model of bass or guitar for virtually every price point. G + L is a much smaller outfit and they can't swing this - so what they ended up with is a super premium USA product and an import contractor product that's a faint resemblance of the real thing. Whatever one does, don't buy a Tribute and then accept an opportunity to play the Fullerton made product. The remorse, over what you don't have in your own guitar, will be intense.

 

i have a Tribute ASAT Classic Bluesboy (the non-thinline one with the neck 'bucker). Nice guitar but you have to like jumbo frets.
I highly recommend the Cort/Manson Classic TC for a slightly different take on a Tele which, in my opinion, gets closer to 'classic' Tele tones in a really superbly built instrument (same Cortek factory as the Tributes). It also has a compound radius fretboard and the best fret job I've seen in years.

It's getting more playing time than my Fender AO50s Tele right now. It really is that good-and the price is about what you'll pay for the G&L.
Disclaimer: I know the designer, Hugh Manson, personally but have no other connection with either Cortek or Manson Guitars.

 

Do you need a 50s or a 60s Baja. Which colour do you prefer? IMHO you can't go wrong with a Baja. Their resale value of them is also pretty good and perhaps better than the G&L. A friend of mine needed over six month to resell his G&L he lost a lot of money.
You can also look for a B-Stock Vintera Tele and safe some money

 

https://www.schlaile.de/Instrumente/Details.php/2888611

 

Opinions vary on anything obviously, but I don't see the disparate difference you do. I've owned probably 5 or 6 American G&Ls years ago, and a couple Tributes as well. I thought the Tributes were just fine. I honestly don't get all the hoopla about G&Ls. Used to belong to an enthusiast website, and was really into them for a couple years. In the end, I found I actually prefer Mexican Fenders over them, particularly the Classic series. I'm not a fan of MFD pickups, especially the classic Tele style if they still make those--very microphonic and shrill in my experience. The bigger P90 looking ones are better, but I prefer P90s in general.

 

Must be one of the few left, in my experience most Baja's on the continent are long gone. I scoured the internet for them half a year ago and came up nearly dry, all I could find were some FSR shell pink models.

Just a slight clarification, the current production model Baja is the 50s Vintera modified, not the regular 50s. I own that the modified and am extremely happy with it, it's become my favorite guitar. I've never played a G&L so I can't compare, but if he gets the chance to demo the Vintera mod and doesn't mind paying the higher price, I think your friend would be very happy.

 

As @nicknklv says, the Vintera you'll want is the 50s modified.

I love G&Ls, but I would go for the Vintera. If it's anything like the 50s Baja it's too good to miss out on.

 

I'm listening.

I must admit, I like the USA G + Ls from the first half of the 2000s, than I like the ones they make now. I did get a chance to cherry pick all 5 of mine, from a considerably larger number of new and NOS guitars. Also the fretwork on my five of them have seen a whole lot of TLC. The gulf is bound to be closing.