G&L SC-3: talk to me

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JamesSGBrown
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G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by JamesSGBrown » Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:05 am

Came across a red one of these in great condition with the OG hardcase for less than a USA Strat.

I know Lockett Pundt ( :-* ) used one. Now I am not normally a Strat guy but when all guitar prices are going mental I can't help but want to at least pick up these last remaining affordable vintage pieces- if only to move on after finding they're not for me!

So... how are these things? I only played it briefly in the store... frets were quite low, but it felt very slinky. Didn't get to plug it in though!

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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by Larry Mal » Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:53 am

Something along the lines of this?

https://reverb.com/item/38722074-g-l-sc ... YiEALw_wcB

It was G&L's early answer to the Strat, and it has G&L's excellent MFD pickups and their similarly excellent two point bridge/vibrato. It will have the excellent G&L construction and will play the way that G&Ls play.

Excellent.

G&L is a great guitar maker, and if you liked the guitar, you'll love it when you get home.
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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by Embenny » Tue Jul 27, 2021 8:03 am

I had an '86 SC-3 in red just like the one Larry linked.

Early G&Ls are among the best electric guitars ever made, and it's absurd that they're as cheap as they are still.

The MFD pickups and two-point vibrato were huge design innovations, and they were handmade in Fullerton with the same care and QC as pre-CBS Fenders. Nitro finishes, too. Ebony fretboard. Just plain excellent guitars.

Plugged in, it's basically a strat on steroids (not an overwound strat). The MFDs have a bit less hum, a bunch more output, and more of....everything. More bass, with the ability to pull that back with the PTB. More midrange. At least as much treble. It's just this clear, thick, amazing tone that can be pushed by the PTB controls into just about any direction you could want to go.

The pickup positions keep it relatively strat "ish" sounding, but without some of the idiosyncrasies that make a strat a strat, like the super thin bridge position, or that scooped spanky tone. It can cover similar territory to a strat but is either superior or inferior depending on what you're hoping for it to be and do.
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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by RIORIO » Tue Jul 27, 2021 9:26 am

I've had multiple early G&L SC-3's and they're incredible guitars. Great build quality, amazing huge sounding pickups....would highly recommend :)

Also have an even rarer early G&L en route to me.... :whistle: :whistle:

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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by RIORIO » Tue Jul 27, 2021 9:27 am

mbene085 wrote:
Tue Jul 27, 2021 8:03 am
I had an '86 SC-3 in red just like the one Larry linked.

Early G&Ls are among the best electric guitars ever made, and it's absurd that they're as cheap as they are still.

The MFD pickups and two-point vibrato were huge design innovations, and they were handmade in Fullerton with the same care and QC as pre-CBS Fenders. Nitro finishes, too. Ebony fretboard. Just plain excellent guitars.

Plugged in, it's basically a strat on steroids (not an overwound strat). The MFDs have a bit less hum, a bunch more output, and more of....everything. More bass, with the ability to pull that back with the PTB. More midrange. At least as much treble. It's just this clear, thick, amazing tone that can be pushed by the PTB controls into just about any direction you could want to go.

The pickup positions keep it relatively strat "ish" sounding, but without some of the idiosyncrasies that make a strat a strat, like the super thin bridge position, or that scooped spanky tone. It can cover similar territory to a strat but is either superior or inferior depending on what you're hoping for it to be and do.
This is the overview you need 8)

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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by Maggieo » Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:04 am

Buy it.
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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by Embenny » Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:59 am

Maggieo wrote:
Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:04 am
Buy it.
The one thing I'll say is to double check the price (or maybe mention it here) because SC-3s typically aren't expensive or unobtainable at all. "Cheaper than a US strat" could mean "cheaper than a used American Special" or "cheaper than a brand new American Ultra."

I bought my SC-3 for under $1k CAD a few years ago and you can still find them in that ballpark depending on colour, condition, and included extras (OHSC, trem bar often go missing).

Also, be aware that the Skyhawk is virtually the same guitar with the same pickups and even the same metal control plate, but with a pickguard and natural-finish neck. The early S-500 is also virtually the same guitar as the Skyhawk, but with a full plastic guard instead of a guard plus black metal control plate. So the 80's SC-3 - Skyhawk - S-500 progression gives you many options for an 3-narrow-MFD-equipped, double-cutaway, dual-fulcrum vibrato guitar.

Personally, the red paint on the back of my SC-3's neck was thicker and worse-feeling than the natural finished neck on my F-100. I think it had to be thicker or a different formulation than the clear. The F-100 had that worn-in pre-CBS nitro feel (seriously, if I closed my eyes it was indistinguishable to the touch from any of my 60's Fender necks) and the SC-3 neck didn't.

So unless I had a bird in the hand of an amazing deal on an SC-3 in front of me that played perfectly, I'd probably go for an early Skyhawk or S-500 from the same era. Thr QC on these was amazing so I'd never worry about buying one online as long as it was in good and original condition.

Notably, the occasional SC-3 was made with only the matching headstock and a natural finish on the back of the neck. Those are more rare, and if that's what you've got on your hands, then it's probably the ideal SC-3 spec in my opinion.

Then again, maybe someone likes the feeling and look of the painted neck more than I do. It just doesn't wear through and disappear into the grain like the natural finish, which is like 90% of why pre-CBS Fenders are worth owning to me. Maybe if you're a vintage Gibson fanatic, it replicates that tactile experience better and appeals to you even more. Just thought I'd mention it as someone who's owned a couple of those great early G&Ls.

Also, the strong red and teal colours they came in, with no pickguard and continuing all the way up the neck, kind of look like old timey onesie pajamas to me. My SC-3 was a great guitar but not a great-looking guitar, at least to me.
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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by Larry Mal » Tue Jul 27, 2021 11:10 am

One really doesn't go wrong with G&L guitars, honestly. I've owned a few- one guitar and four basses- and all are excellent. Well, I still own them, except for one L-2000 that had a twisted neck. They don't get sold and I'll add to the list I bet. I think G&L make the best basses in the world.

G&L doesn't mess around.

You could do the SC-3 and get a great vintage guitar, you can get the Skyhawk or the S-500, you could also get the Legacy with the Alnico pickups (what I have), and they will all be amazing Strat equivalents.

G&L has a more handmade quality to them in the earlier years, they used to consider the neck to have been mated to a body back in the day, so the two were made to fit each other rather than being assembled from parts bins.

It's a difference you can feel. They also happen to have always been geniuses at making the guitars wonderful to play, and it's not just that they had a great model or anything. I have had several different sort of necks on my basses, from the 1.75" wide nut on my L-1000 (the best bass ever) with the 7.5" radius, to their version of a Jazz bass. All great.

If you are looking for a Strat type guitar, want handmade American craftsmanship as well as some design and technological improvements, that's G&L right there.
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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by RIORIO » Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:02 pm

Larry Mal wrote:
Tue Jul 27, 2021 11:10 am
One really doesn't go wrong with G&L guitars, honestly. I've owned a few- one guitar and four basses- and all are excellent. Well, I still own them, except for one L-2000 that had a twisted neck. They don't get sold and I'll add to the list I bet. I think G&L make the best basses in the world.

G&L doesn't mess around.

You could do the SC-3 and get a great vintage guitar, you can get the Skyhawk or the S-500, you could also get the Legacy with the Alnico pickups (what I have), and they will all be amazing Strat equivalents.

G&L has a more handmade quality to them in the earlier years, they used to consider the neck to have been mated to a body back in the day, so the two were made to fit each other rather than being assembled from parts bins.

It's a difference you can feel. They also happen to have always been geniuses at making the guitars wonderful to play, and it's not just that they had a great model or anything. I have had several different sort of necks on my basses, from the 1.75" wide nut on my L-1000 (the best bass ever) with the 7.5" radius, to their version of a Jazz bass. All great.

If you are looking for a Strat type guitar, want handmade American craftsmanship as well as some design and technological improvements, that's G&L right there.
PREACH

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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by Dok » Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:37 pm

I used to have one. It kicked the shit out of every strat I ever played, soundwise, but the neck was a little too thin for me. Just a lovely guitar, though. Get it.
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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by JamesSGBrown » Wed Jul 28, 2021 12:56 am

You guys are gonna push me over the edge...

It's £800. I'd grab it in a heartbeat but I'm not sure what the second hand market is like- I definitely wouldn't wanna lose money on it if it came to selling...

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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by vistavision » Wed Jul 28, 2021 1:43 am

I've had this for 33 years. It survived my 20's and is still my number one. Riffs and songs fall out of it and it always feels right. Also, the MFDs have a lot of sonic business going on. G&Ls are kind of like secret weapons.
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I'm sure some Fender dealer in '64 looked at the new Duo-Sonic II and thought, "That's not a Duo-Sonic. That's a Mustang".

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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by JamesSGBrown » Wed Jul 28, 2021 1:47 am

vistavision wrote:
Wed Jul 28, 2021 1:43 am
I've had this for 33 years. It survived my 20's and is still my number one. Riffs and songs fall out of it and it always feels right. Also, the MFDs have a lot of sonic business going on. G&Ls are kind of like secret weapons.
Image
How does it compare to a JM, sound-wise?

I may grab it but something will have to go I think. I just love the old USA G&Ls so much and I feel I'll regret not at least giving it a go!

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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by Professor Bill » Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:09 am

I've had a few early 80s SCs (2 and 3 pickup) with and without the trem, and with the smaller (SC3) and wider (SC2) MFD pickups. (I also had a thinline ASAT with the Z-coils for a bit.) They were all great guitars. One thing to watch for is weight, if that's a concern for you. The best of the bunch I've had was a 1981-ish SC-2 with the trem. It sounded and played amazing, but was a little heavy for my taste (and my back). The lighter one (no trem) I had didn't have quite the chime. I think the maple bodies can sound great, but can be heavy. The trem design is also fantastic, but adds to the weight.

I've been watching this one, as I have a thing for Band of Susans: https://reverb.com/item/41934536-g-l-sc-1-1982-white

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Re: G&L SC-3: talk to me

Post by Strango » Wed Jul 28, 2021 10:12 am

I love my G&L ('93 Legacy, so post-Leo but still handmade when they still had a 3 bolt neck). It's my favorite guitar that I've ever owned. I think some of the aesthetics are not as good -- the trem/bridge works great but visually looks clunky, the headstock isn't as clean, the logo is not my absolute favorite ever, but as far as a well made affordable USA guitar, it's been great. The biggest ding I could say is, they are somewhat hard to move vs. a Fender or a Gibson if it's not going to be your forever guitar. This one is always gonna be on my rack, so I'm more than happy with it.

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