My guitar collection - G&L
What would an ‘entry level’ SC-3 have looked like if G&L had opted for the same pickups as on the SC-1/SC-2? Like this! The same Mustang-shaped, slab soft maple body, here in Black, Dual-Fulcrum Vibrato (DFV), and simple wiring harness consisting of a 5-position pickup selector, volume control, and tone control. But look! This guitar has three (3) Jumbo Magnetic Field Design (MFD) single-coil pickups. Its hard-rock maple neck has a 7½” radius maple fingerboard with large position markers, 1⅝“, and (different looking) G&L branded Schaller tuning machine with tab.
SC-2 (1st style) ‘III’
The story behind this guitar
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For years I have been wondering if an instrument like this even existed. Why did G&L use S-500/Skyhawk pickups on the SC-3? Look at the group photo on the top row of the gallery on the ‘entry level’ page: 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... what? Imagine my surprise when at the start of summer 2020, in the middle of the CoViD-19 mayhem, Bentley Guitar Stores in Parkville, MO had this guitar on consignment. So I asked Mark Bentley some questions. Q: Does is have a 5-position switch? A: Yes. Q: The tuning machines look a bit odd? A: The previous owner had bought this guitar at a show years ago and those tuners came with it. One of them has been replaced. Q: Hold the phone! S/N G010579 is already listed in the Registry of the Guitars by Leo (GbL) website as a nondescript White S-500 w/DFV. What about it? A: Well, check out the picture in the listing which clearly shows that exact S/N on the bridge of this guitar. Q: Is the 3rd pickup original? A: Not exactly sure, but the body does not show any signs is was added later. Or it was professionally done. Q: Can I look under the hood?A: Sure! Here is a picture of its wiring harness (showing proper pots and caps for a 1983/1984 1st style SC-2). Well OK then Mark. Thank you for all the info and lets hash out a deal. Memo Romero at the G&L factory settled the issue on the (potential) duplicate serial number. Their pre-BBE sales log copy states S/N G010679 belongs to a Black SC-2 w/DFV with an entry date of 2-3-84. GbL web master Craig Dewey removed the S-500 entry which was subsequently replaced by this guitar. Memo’s sleuthing also settled in the negative whether the 3td pickup is original. Still, I am super excited finding a triple Jumbo MFD “SC-3” in the wild. G&L researcher Gabe Dellevigne warned positions 2 and 4 might not be hum cancelling, as typically encountered on 3 pickup guitars, in case the middle pickup had been added without flipping the magnet. However, that seems to have been done here. There is not an overabundance of quack in the in-between positions but hum cancelling is taking place. In the single-pickup positions, the bridge and neck sound as expected on an SC-2. Although it will be familiar to owners of an ASAT S-3 and/or Trinity, the middle pickup adds something new sensing a different segment of the vibrating string. A common criticism heard in connection to the aforementioned 3 Jumbo MFD ASAT models, especially by pickers, is the space taken up by the middle pickup. This is even more noticeable on the smaller Mustang-body found here. So use a pick ...
The story behind this guitar
1984
G010579
FEB 2 1984
none
