Description
The Espada HH Active revives a shape that sat dormant in CLF Research’s archives for decades, now built around a pair of G&L alnico humbuckers. The neck pickup stays clean and articulate while the bridge unit brings a bit more bite, mirroring the voicing found across other G&L HH models.
Controls live on a wide Espada plate: volume, treble, and bass, each topped with a chrome CLF Research knob. Two mini-toggles handle coil-splitting duties for both pickups, and where the standard Espada HH uses a kill-switch, the Active version swaps it for a 3-way toggle that steps through passive, active, and active-bright preamp modes courtesy of the built-in G&L Micro-Preamp.
Run it passive and the guitar behaves exactly as expected. Flip on the preamp and the pickups reveal more harmonic detail and complexity – a trick Leo Fender achieved with an onboard buffer that keeps cable capacitance from dulling the signal. The payoff shows up everywhere on the pickup selector, from bright single-coil-like split tones to humbucker crunch that stays tight and defined under gain.
Anchoring it all is the G&L Saddle Lock hardtail bridge, a design dating back to 1979 known for locking in sustain while staying comfortable under the palm.
Espada HH Active is offered in these finish combinations:
- Jet Black / Alder body / Caribbean Rosewood fretboard / 3-ply Black pickguard / Vintage Tint Gloss neck
- Vintage White / Alder body / Caribbean Rosewood fretboard / 3-ply Black pickguard / Vintage Tint Gloss neck
- Honeyburst / Ash body / Caribbean Rosewood fretboard / 3-ply Parchment pickguard / Vintage Tint Gloss neck
- Cherryburst / Ash body / Caribbean Rosewood fretboard / 3-ply Parchment pickguard / Vintage Tint Gloss neck
G&L is not associated with Fender Musical Instruments Corporation; use of the Leo Fender name is licensed through G&L Musical Instruments / BBE Sound, Inc.
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