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G&L Tribute S-500 Electric Guitar - Irish Ale

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Nato Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard and 3 Single-coil Pickups - Irish Ale
3 Write review Item ID: S500TIA
$649.99

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G&L Tribute S-500 Electric Guitar - Irish Ale
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An Icon Lives On in This Incredible Electric from G&L

The G&L Tribute S-500 represents the enduring legacy of Leo Fender, arguably the most important figure in the development and evolution of the electric guitar. This beautifully crafted, streamlined electric touches on all the earmarks that Leo worked tirelessly to establish as a master luthier: fine materials, player-friendly design, and awesome sound. The S-500 features a lightweight, resonant nato body with a light gloss finish that lets the body color really pop for a stage-ready look. A gorgeous rosewood fingerboard offers impeccable playability and response, and a trio of Magnetic Field Design (MFD) single-coil pickups delivers classic single-coil punch and sparkle.

Related Videos: Tribute S-500 Electric Guitar - Irish Ale

Innovative bridge and tremolo

The S-500 debuted in 1982 and Leo Fender spearheaded its design and the fine-tuning that went into it. One of the highlight improvements of the S-500 is the Dual-Fulcrum vibrato, a feature Leo was especially proud of. This awesome vibrato features two pivot points instead of the six wood screws of some classic tremolos. The result is a silky smooth response when bending notes up or down. This incredible vibrato is supported by a hardened steel bridge plate that pivots on bolts set into large brass inserts anchored into the body. The result is not only a stellar vibrato action, but also rock-solid tuning.

G&L Tribute S-500 Solidbody Electric Guitar Features:

  • Beautifully designed electric from a legend in guitars
  • Lightweight, resonant nato body with a light gloss finish that lets the body color really pop
  • Indian rosewood fingerboard offers impeccable playability and response
  • Trio of Magnetic Field Design (MFD) single-coil pickups delivers classic single-coil punch and sparkle
  • Dual-Fulcrum vibrato supports stellar vibrato along with rock-solid tuning
  • 2 Tone controls, Master Volume, 5-way switch, and a push-pull expander switch for a wide array of tone-shaping options

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See how Sweetwater goes to great lengths to give you the very best online guitar buying experience. From our online Guitar Gallery that allows you to see and select the exact instrument you want to our 55-point Inspection process and our in-house guitar techs, we take the guesswork out of buying your next guitar online.

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Electric Guitar Buying Guide

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape Tribute S-500
  • Body Material Nato
  • Body Finish Gloss Polyurethane
  • Color Irish Ale
  • Neck
  • Neck Material Hard Maple
  • Neck Shape Medium C
  • Neck Joint Bolt-on
  • Radius 12"
  • Fingerboard Material Indian Rosewood
  • Fingerboard Inlay Dots
  • Number of Frets 22, Medium Jumbo Nickel
  • Scale Length 25.5"
  • Nut Material Bone
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece G&L Dual Fulcrum Vibrato
  • Tuners Cort Die-cast
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup G&L S-500 MFD Single-coil
  • Middle Pickup G&L S-500 MFD Single-coil
  • Bridge Pickup G&L S-500 MFD Single-coil
  • Controls 1 x master volume, 2 x tone
  • Switching 5-way blade pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings D'Addario, .010-.046
  • Case/Gig Bag Sold Separately
  • Manufacturer Part Number: TI-S50-131R44R46

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Customer Reviews

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I was pulled in to this after hearing that for the budget price it plays like a higher end Fender. I'm pretty picky with my guitars, been playing mainly vintage HH Gibson's my whole life. Needed a good SSS Strat replacement for an old sparkly Sebring I had though that had too many problems. Tried a handful of replacements and was never happy with any of them. For me I prefer an SSS for pop punk, post rock, and blues as they nail it a bit better than my HH's. Put myself on the waiting list for this and finally got my hands on it. The finish is absolutely divine and it plays VERY well. Fairly fast neck, and really nice hot pickups. Mainly plugging into my Orange Super Crush 100 Head and an Orange PPC412. It excels at everything I needed it for. Setup was done very well too, pretty balanced. I can't recommend enough.
by Azhar on
Music background: Multi Instrumentalist (Guitar Main 15 yr+)

Love it

can't tell it's a tribute up w my other Fullertons

5 way and Push pull lack.

don't use them much and I love it
by Steve Tygett from WARNER ROBINS, GA on
Music background: wanna be

A better Strat

After several weeks and hours of playing I can say that I absolutely love this guitar. It has a nice slightly heavy body. The neck is very easy to play. It has a nut that is slightly wider than earlier models which is great for me. The neck is a slim C profile and the fretboard is like butter. The tone of the MFD pups is superior to a strat (to my ear) it is not as shrill or as most say, "icepick in the ear". I especially like the Passive Treble Bass system which controls bass and treble on all pups (one treble knob one bass) The push-pull expander switch on the treble pot allows neck+bridge or all three pickups together. Better in my view than the two tone controls on a Fender. The poles in the MFD pups can be adjusted for whichever tone you want to bring out/decrease. Love this! . I can get a wide selection of tone variations and am able to use this to play rock/blues and it is easy to find the country Strat tone also. Very versatile. The Vibrato can be used up and down and is more sensitive than the trem on my American Pro Strat. I much prefer the dual fulcrum system on the S-500 but the shape of the arm is such that it is lower/closer to the body. The color (Irish Ale) and finish is beautiful. I have not found a flaw anywhere on this guitar. With just a small amount of overdrive it sounds warmer and grittier than a Strat and I have been able to get tones from this guitar more to my liking. (Surprisingly) It came with a good set up and perfect intonation right out of the box so I did very minor set up just a tweak or two to my own liking. The guitar is not hard to set up, the screws in the saddle are easy to access and you can also adjust the string height very easily. They did provide tools for adjusting the string/trussrod (4mm). Downside, the tuners are not the best and don't hold as well as higher end tuners. A set of $60.00 locking tuners on my other G&L, an ASAT Deluxe, solved this problem so may change them but really no big deal. Be careful if you do change the tuners - only a few aftermarket drop in tuners available for G&L Tribute. Email G&L and they will tell you which tuners are drop in. Overall, I would highly recommend G&L guitars to anyone. Especially if you are considering a MIM Fender, which are nowhere near as great as these. Also, this guitar is about an inch longer than a Fender Strat, remember when looking for a case. Sweetwater does have certified fit cases. Heed it! Leo did create a better Strat/Tele when he founded this company. The pickups are the best single coil I have ever heard.
by Bobby from Dallas, Texas on
Music background: 6 years/non professional
See also: Solid Body Guitars, G&L, G&L Solidbody Guitars
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