87 Interceptor - 2nd body style?

[bigjohn]

HI,
I asked this question about 10 years ago but, well, it was 10 years ago.

Before I submit my Interceptor to the registry I want to be sure I have the facts straight. I'm interested to see if it is indeed a rare 2nd body style. I don't remember the particulars much but when I bought the guitar, my buddy's dad drove us somewhere answering an ad in The Recycler. I didn't know much from G&L but I knew Fender and my buddy's dad had visited G&L a few times and so forth. They liked them, so he drove me and my buddy somewhere so I could buy one too. $300 and the lady said "it's from the custom shop". I remember her saying those words to this day, unfortunately that's all I remember. Buried amongst the piles of history I believe she scribbled up a bill of sale - that would be gold right now, I'll add that info if I ever get it.

Any feedback is appreciated. I'm not looking to sell this guitar unless it's worth over 100k

John


1987 G&L Interceptor
Serial Number: G022045
Interceptor
Neck Date: ?
Body Date: ?
Color: Black
Fretboard: Rosewood
Body: ?
Bridge: Kahler CAM Flat Mount U.S.A. PAT 4457201 DS

Link To Full Gallery: http://imgur.com/gallery/9y24m

[Elwood]

Hi John,
Welcome back

Yeah, that's a 2nd style interceptor.
I figure you saw this page.
Not bad for 300 bones, you can get a few K for her now.
A very rarebird for sure.

cheers,
Elwood

[Fumble fingers]

Oh my , what a beauty ..... my favorite headstock of all G&L's ...... wish they would do a limited run of some of these special Leo Era instruments ....... that thing gotta be worth a .... 100 million dollars (Dr. Evil voice) lol

[yowhatsshakin]

Great one John! Here's a link to my 2nd style X-body Interceptor with lots of pics.

Great you can add another one of these rarities to the Registry!

- Jos

[Craig]

Oh my , what a beauty ..... my favorite headstock of all G&L's ...... wish they would do a limited run of some of these special Leo Era instruments ....... that thing gotta be worth a .... 100 million dollars (Dr. Evil voice) lol

I am kinda surprised that only Eric and I noticed the headstock. This one seems to have a later neck (used on the 3rd body style).
Since all (8-12) 2nd style body Interceptors are considered prototypes and all the ones I have seen up till now have this headstock:


... I wonder how many others have the newer headstock?

Hopefully, G&L historian HLG, will see this thread and will be able to find the listing for this serial number in Dale's Sales log and provide some details.

bigjohn, if you are comfortable and willing to remove the neck, it would be interesting to see what build dates are on the neck and body (if they are still there).

[yowhatsshakin]

I am kinda surprised that only Eric and I noticed the headstock.

Craig, some of us like to teach people how to fish instead of feeding them fish ...

Super

- Jos

[bigjohn]

bigjohn, if you are comfortable and willing to remove the neck, it would be interesting to see what build dates are on the neck and body (if they are still there).

i've been away from the hobby for a long time, looked up neck removal and it's out of my league. i looked up luthiers in my area (Pasadena, CA) and found a place that sells G&L
called The Fretted Frog. Not sure if anyone can specifically recommend them, I'm going to send them an email as they seem to be on vacation until early August.

[Fumble fingers]

just loosen the strings a few turns , install capo on 1st fret then remove the 3 screws that hold the neck on the body and remove ..... it's easy and you won't mess up anything

[yowhatsshakin]

just loosen the strings a few turns , install capo on 1st fret then remove the 3 screws that hold the neck on the body and remove ..... it's easy and you won't mess up anything

Since you have a Kahler trem, there is a little more to it if you do not want to put new strings on. I have made myself a contraption using the cardboard spool of a toilet roll, wide elastic band, and a bag tie:



Here are the steps:

1. Mount contraption as shown above.
2. Put capo at the first fret.
3. Losen both string locks at the nut.
4. Losen all strings; I usually do 3 half-turns for the low-E, 4 for the A, etc. ending with 8 half-turn for the high-E. That just seemed to work well.
5. Take out the bottom screw first, followed by the 2 at the top.
6. Carefully work neck out of pocket. I have experienced binding due to a very snug fit but also due to the presence of some paint or other residue. If you do things attentively there is nothing to worry about and the neck should come out nice and clean.
7. Turn neck around so now you can inspect the pocket and heel. Frequently there is also a number on the butt of the heel indicating the neck type.
8. MAKE PICTURES (using macro setting if available)!!
9. Check if these pictures are of good quality so the dates are legible. You don't want to put everything together only to be left with a bunch of blurry pictures.
10. Carefully put neck back into pocket.
11. Fasten 2 top screws. It helps to first go counter clockwise until the screw seats in the existing hole. This avoids cross-threading.
12. Verify the neck is seated well, no gaps between body and neck.
13. Fasten the 3rd screw. Especially with this one do not over tighten it (that is the beauty of this 3-bolt system)
14. Put tension on the strings again.
15. Losen screws ever so slightly so the tension can pull the neck in place.
16. Using the E-string as a gauge, make sure the neck is not in at an angle.
17. Tighten all screws again.
18. Remove capo.
19. Put strings slightly below pitch before fastening the string locks. Use fine-tuners for final pitch.
20. Done!

Hope this helps,

- Jos

[Fumble fingers]

good call Jos .... I wasn't even thinking about it having a Kahler

[yowhatsshakin]

good call Jos .... I wasn't even thinking about it having a Kahler

Eric, I had the same problem when I pulled of the neck of my first guitar with Kahler!

- Jos

[Elwood]

- Jos

...me too...

[yowhatsshakin]

Hi John,

I have some more information from a very reliable source. There are 2 parts to the story:

1. When was this guitar built?
2. When and how was it up for sale?

So let's start with part a). Here is a copy of the sales log:

It was entered at the end of 1987 on November 12, so it is a bona fide G&L built specimen. G&L did not have a "Custom Shop", but then again every G&L was "custom" built given all the options available even in those days. It was already noted that the headstock is slightly different from earlier 2nd style X-body Interceptors in that is devoid of the teat. That is not unexpected since the sickle headstock went through this transition around that time. This new shape was much better received than the old one and hence you find it on (non-Signature) Comaches (V and VI), Skyhawks, Invaders, and Interceptors.

Even though there is an invoice # associated with it, it clearly never ended up at a store. More likely it was kept in Dale's office to be shown to agents, reps, and visitors and stayed there until Dale retired from G&L in November 1991 and BBE took over guardianship. Shortly after that transition some instruments were put up in what elsewhere has been referenced as a "fire sale". Some of them must have been listed in the "Recycler", one of these bus stop periodicals with lots of ads and classifieds, a '90s craigslist so to speak. The reasons for this "fire sale" are very interesting but otherwise not very relevant to this story. This is how you found this gem: a true G&L mid-'80s Interceptor with Kahler 2320 vibrato and pre-BBE #4 neck (25" rosewood board, 1¾" nut) sold some 3 years later for a mere $300. You got quite a nice investment here because current value is in the $2K-$3K range, especially when you have the original hard-shell case. And I know at least one very interested person other than me!

Hope this helps,

- Jos

[bigjohn]

I just saw one of my buddies who was with me at the time of purchase. He remembered that the lady selling it was a "secretary or something" at G&L. I'm fairly certain I had it before I graduated high school (June 1991), taking lessons and whatnot. My friends Dad was a frequent visitor to the shop, knew Dale, bought many G&L guitars for his sons, etc.

I won't be removing the neck myself. I'm not a handy person and whenever I take something apart and reassemble it there are parts leftover, that sort of thing. When I take it to the luthier I'll show him the posts from everyone and hopefully we can get a date without much deconstruction. I got skittish when I read "drill a hole".

If it's ok, I'll add the sales image to the imgur site I have linked and I'll add more images to that site as I find them and report any additional details here along the way.

Thanks everyone for your efforts, this is a great little community!

John

[Craig]

If it's ok, I'll add the sales image to the imgur site I have linked and I'll add more images to that site as I find them and report any additional details here along the way.

Thanks everyone for your efforts, this is a great little community!

John

Yes, please do add the sales receipt and any other details.

We do have some members with access to the behind the scenes stuff and it's great to see them brought to light.