G&L SC3 (series 3)

A very cool guitar from the awesome and under rated G&L guitar company.

So, in the last few months I have become a bit of a G&L fanatic. This is thanks to Robert Poss and his SC1 which I bought and can’t put down. The weight is really comfortable for me, the tiny body size is great for my *ahem*…’short’ stature, the neck is absolutely the best I have ever played and it sounds absolutely spot on for the music I am playing. In short, this guitar ticks all my boxes. Over the years I’ve known about G&L but never really paid them much notice. Like everyone else, I thought they were Fender knockoffs, and why play a knockoff when you could play the real thing? How wrong I was…

The attention to detail and build quality of these guitars puts most Fenders I’ve played to shame. Case in point is this beatiful little example that I found at Tym’s (where else!)…

This is a third generation G&L SC3, which is kind of like a mini Stratocaster. The SC3 was originally the 3 pickup version of the SC1 and shared it’s Mustang-like slab body with smaller versions of the MFD pickups…

The 2nd generation SC3 moved to a more Fender type outline & contours at the insistence of G&L’s sales people, as they were having trouble selling the guitars and thought this would help…

Finally, in the 3rd series they added the Stratocaster type scratchplate…

There was also a 4th generation series, which included the Strat’s input jack. This really was a mini-Strat.

The weight of this little guitar is quite surprising when compared to it’s small size. It’s quite a solid little beast, due to what I believe is it’s maple body. Wide leaf maple is a fantastic sounding body wood, with heaps of clarity and sustain. This guitar sounds even more awesome due to a little trickery with the pick ups. The original MFD bridge pickups was replaced for some reason… but it’s with a Mick Brierley hand wound single coil so that’s ok. The best thing is that the guitar has been modded so when you pop up the tone knob in the bridge position, the bridge and neck pickup both activate in series, which as all you Danelectro owners out there know is one of the best single coil sounds around.

The neck is a spot on replica of my SC1’s neck. I’ve heard that later SC3’s can be a little thicker, but this one seems the same as mine. It also sports a cool ‘by Leo Fender’ in gold under the logo, which I love. G&L had to stop doing this as Fender got a bit miffed, which I guess is kind of understandable, but c’mon.. Leo DID make these guitars. At least he could put his name on them somewhere?

The back of the neck is also painted, which gives it a little bit of a Gibson feel. I’ve seen SC3’s with maple necks as well, so this must of been an option. They’d also upgraded the tuners from the vintage looking Schaller Kluson’s that my SC1 sports to some nice modern sealed G&L branded heads.

This guitar also shares the same 3 bolt neck system that mine does… but this one still has the factory gold G&L sticker. This is me being a nerd but I wish mine had that!

In conclusion, this guitar is great. It’s a fantastic player (the neck is just gorgeous) and the pickups sound especially great with the slight mods. Strapped on it feels more a part of your body than a Strat does, due to it’s little size. If your looking for a good cheap Strat, before you buy a Squier or Japanese replica, give these older G&L’s a try. For the same money you’re buying a USA made guitar that beats most Strat’s I’ve played and honestly you won’t be disappointed.

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*update* This beautiful, unplayed SC3 just sold on eBay for US$660 which is ridiculously cheap.

For your consideration is perhaps the nicest NOS SC-3 in the world, new unsold dead stock from a long defunct Ma and Pa retail music store somewhere in California. This guitar is new except for the normal patina one would expect from a twenty year old guitar. The original hang tag states 26597 the guitar neck plate states G026597 same number which conforms to the year 1990 G&L data base. Same tag states GRE 325 then 4-27-90. Inspection tag with Leo’s picture on it states GRP (same guy) 26597 and SC-3. Original owners manual, unsigned warranty card, allen wrench set, keys to case, trem arm and get this, the original package of humidifying substance is still stapled inside the case from the factory. The pick guard still has the original plastic coat with the G&L oval sticker telling the owner to remove the plastic after purchasing the instrument. Also the original G$L sticker is still on the back plate as well, all information on it conforms to the guitar’s specs. Never played no fret wear no wear at all. Some normal fading has occurred, we speculate from hanging in the store unsold for years. Fantastic Stratocaster style instrument plays and sounds like a Strat maybe better. Sunburst finish maple neck looks like a Fender from the 1950’s to me. Any G&L enthusiast out there heads up this is a great example of a very rare guitar in the best possible condition.

As described, this is a beautiful NOS SC3, which I would’ve loved to get back I honestly don’t need another G&L. It’s one of the nicest one’s I’ve seen too, that sunburst is gorgeous.

It’s kind of cool to know there’s still old guitar stock hidden away, waiting for someone to discover it. This thing still has all it’s original stickers and case candy. Amazing.


Whoever picked this up, great score. I’m jealous as hell…