G&L CLF Research Espada HH Electric Guitar – Jet Black

A No-nonsense Espada, Pared Down for Peak Performance

Inspired by a long-lost Leo Fender design from the late 1960s, the G&L Espada returns with a high-octane set of high-power humbuckers! The G&L Espada HH’s curvy, contoured alder body represents a more comfortable update on one of Leo’s earlier designs, complete with a rock-solid Saddle-Lock bridge for enhanced sustain and ringing resonance. From the swooping control plate to the gorgeous Caribbean rosewood-topped hard rock maple neck, this guitar is largely a faithful re-creation of the original Espada, with one major exception — a completely re-vamped electronics section. Instead of the active Z-coil-loaded design of the previous iteration, the G&L Espada comes equipped with a pairing of a G&L AW4470Z and AS4255Z humbuckers for raw and raunchy all-out rock tones. Finish it off with versatile parallel/split/series switching and a mini-toggle kill switch, and the G&L Espada HH is a Leo Fender-inspired rock machine with truly sweeping sonic versatility.

Dual high-power G&L humbuckers

For City Music’s most exacting tone chasers, the original G&L Espada is a godsend. Innovative Z-coil pickups, active tone-shaping electronics, a micro preamp — it’s just about the perfect do-it-all axe. In comparison, the G&L Espada HH offers players the same Leo Fender-designed aesthetic of the original, only with a more traditional set of passive electronics. A combination of a bridge-position AW4470Z and neck-position AS4255Z humbuckers supplies you with everything from crisp, crunchy rhythm tones to ultra-articulate high-gain solos to mellow jazz sophistication. Plus, you also get an endlessly versatile parallel/split/series switch and an output-killing mini toggle.

The G&L Espada: Leo Fender’s lost design

After leaving his namesake guitar company in 1965, Leo Fender returned to the music business in record time with a wholehearted dedication to furthering 6-string innovation. Many of his most cutting-edge ideas became the basis for G&L’s classic models, but one particularly promising instrument never saw the light of day: the guitar we now know as the Espada. Perhaps it was too ahead of its time, but 50 years Leo Fender first dreamed it up, it’s finally time for the ultra-innovative G&L Espada to shine.

Saddle-Lock bridge

The Espada HH’s Saddle-Lock bridge reduces lateral movement of the saddle pieces by tightening an Allen screw on the side of the bridge. Additionally, the Saddle-Lock bridge has a solid protrusion on its backside that is sunk firmly into the instrument’s body wood. Together, these two features make it easier for string energy to travel into the body and translate into a rich, resonant, and sustaining sound.

G&L Espada HH Electric Guitar Features:

• Inspired by a long-lost Leo Fender design from the late 1960s
• Lightweight alder body boasts a balanced response across all six strings
• Ultra-stable hard rock maple neck
• 9.5-inch-radius Caribbean rosewood fingerboard supplies smooth and fret-out-free bends in the upper register, with effortless chording at the base of the neck
• G&L Saddle-Lock bridge for the utmost in setup stability, in addition to increased sustain and string-to-body resonance
• Rock-solid Kluson tuning machines
• G&L AW4470Z and AS4255Z humbuckers impart this Espada with a raw rock ’n’ roll feel, granting you access to everything from pristine cleans to full-bodied, liquid-like leads
• Enhanced control section including G&L PTB (passive treble and bass) knobs, parallel/split/series switch and mini-toggle kill switch offer endless tonal experimentation