My guitar collection - G&L
Except for the body shape and its much earlier introduction in 1985, the pre-BBE G&L Invader is identical to the 3rd style Interceptor on the previous page. The Schaller bridge humbucker, introduced on this model, is augmented by 2 Nighthawk/Skyhawk Magnetic Field Design (MFD). Each pickup is separately controlled by an on/off mini-toggle switch and shared master volume and tone controls. One could opt for the standard “Krome” Kahler™ 2320 flat mount fine-tuner vibrato, as seen here, or the “Black Krome” option for an additional $60. All of this is mounted on a soft maple body in Candy Apple Red (CAR) finish. A hard-rock maple (pre-BBE) #3 neck with 12” radius ebony fingerboard and 1¾” nut width, Leo Fender string lock mechanism, and G&L branded Schaller closed tuning machines on the matched headstock complete this guitar. One can read about its evolution throughout time on the “Superstrat” page, including the quite differently looking 1996-2017 BBE-era Invader series of instruments.
Invader w/Kahler
The story behind this guitar
Year:
Serial number:
Neck date:
Body date:
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When seeing this guitar online in the Guitars and Effects store on Reverb, I had hoped the color was CAR since that happened to be Leo’s favorite color. Upon receipt, I was not that sure. After some communications with my good friend and fellow G&L collector Tom Lavely, I learned that CAR finishes are recognizable by a gold undercoat, something he learned from Fernando “Fred” Villarreal aka Fred “The Finisher”. Traces of such a gold undercoat are visible in the neck pocket. Its hue is much darker than the Rampage Red and/or Red finishes. A gorgeous guitar, both visually and sonically. These switches are great to create a vast palette of sounds. Do you miss a coil split switch for the humbucker? Not in my opinion but that might be different for others. I really like the Schaller humbucker as it is (see the “Interceptor” page about its history). It is clearly intended to be a PAF copy without adding anything. Which just happens to balance really well with the MFD single-coils.
The story behind this guitar
1986
G018959
SEP 6- 1986
JUL ?? 1986 (month barely legible, paint obscures day)
