Description
The G&L S-500 has long stood apart for its bold, sophisticated sound, built on MFD pickups, a Passive Treble-Bass tone circuit, and an expander switch that unlock tonal combinations most guitars in this class can’t touch. The CLF Research S-500 takes that platform back to its roots, imagining what a late-1970s Fender Avenue creation might have looked like just before the first G&L guitars rolled out in 1980.
Behind this design is John R. McLaren, who reworked the pickups from the standard production S-500 spec—altering the coil bobbin aperture, pole piece length, and wire turns—to coax out a softer, sparklier character without sacrificing the smoothness and power players expect from this model. The instrument grew out of Dave McLaren’s #Project1979s500 prototype, developed openly with the CLF Research community on Instagram and Facebook, whose feedback shaped period-correct touches like the 3-ply black pickguard, machined CLF knobs, and a modified headstock fitted with Kluson tuners and a ’70s-style “go faster” logo.
Leo Fender’s late-’70s Magnetic Field Design pickup concept and Dual Fulcrum vibrato system come together here in a package that feels like a lost link in G&L history.
Available configurations:
- Cherryburst over Alder body, 3-ply black pickguard, maple fingerboard
- Honeyburst over Swamp Ash body, 3-ply parchment pickguard, Caribbean rosewood fingerboard
The P.T.B. circuit gives independent passive cuts to treble and bass via two tone knobs, offering far more shaping power than a standard single tone control. The expander switch (a mini toggle here) adds two extra pickup combinations beyond the standard five-position switch: bridge-plus-middle or neck-plus-middle, giving access to all three pickups at once from either extreme switch position.
Built at the historic G&L facility on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California—the Birthplace of Bolt-on—this is a guitar made where Leo Fender considered his finest work was done.
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