2025 G&L Custom Shop Comanche RMC

The Comanche

Another one-of-a-kind build from James Gay’s final days at the G&L Custom Shop… a true take on what the Strat might’ve become if it continued to progress in technology and form!

How It Found Me

I first saw this absolute stunner on Reverb months before swinging a deal to make it happen! By far one of the neatest looking G&L Custom Shop’s I’ve ever seen, this one totally hits that “I just love the look of wood” gene, but does it with a non-traditional burl wood and throws in blue epoxy! This build is like a crossover between modern furniture woodworking and boutique guitar-building.

Luckily the timing and circumstances between myself and the sellers lined up just right and we were able to make a great deal. I bought this Comanche RMC from Fret Nation in September 2026. Subsequently, the guitar built with Buckeye wood made its way to the Buckeye state 😉.

Somehow, just like Goldie, this was another G&L Custom Shop that someone bought, essentially didn’t touch for a year, then moved on from. Inspecting this guitar very closely under bright lights, there was not a single mark of having been played. This was a real score! To make things even better, just like Goldie and the Espada, this one was made by my now-friend James Gay, head of the G&L Custom Shop until G&L closed:

I did that whole thing… It rips. I loved that build. — James Gay

He also took a bunch of photos along the way, which I think is super cool. See below!

What Makes This One Different

The Comanche itself is quite a ‘different’ model of guitar from G&L as compared to most guitars in the world. This one even more-so… in exactly the ways I prefer my guitars!

• It‘s super light. I haven’t actually put it on the scale yet but this guitar must be at or below 7lbs even. It just feels great to pick up and put on.
• Its neck is ultra smooth. I’ve long been a fan of solid rosewood necks (ever since getting my Modern Eagle) because most luthiers opt to leave them nearly unfinished and the wood is just extremely smooth/fast. None of the tacky / sticky feel of a finished neck! This guitar’s neck is the first time I’ve ever felt a non-solid-rosewood neck that does the same thing. The build sheet notes that the roasted maple has a “Satin Clear” finish, but James likely used the same ultra-thin single-coat of satin he mentioned using on the body. It feels like plain wood. I didn’t think it was possible on maple necks!
• Its neck joint feels great. Another nod toward modernized strat shapes, this guitar’s bolt-on neck-join is shaved away so my palm shapes right into place at the upper frets. It’s smooth, comfortable, and just awesome.
• It’s a hardtail. I’ve never been much of a tremolo user. I prefer hardtails for their tuning stability and lack of futz! But Strats traditionally have tremolos. Nice!
• Its bridge pickup rips. This particular Comanche specs the Will Ray overwound Z-coil in the bridge, and it brings some brilliant heat! Almost like having a not-quite-clean boost on tap!
• Its matching fretboard inlays. It’s one thing to build a Buckeye burl + epoxy body… but G&L took it even further and hand-made matching block inlays go go all the way up the fretboard! Beautiful touches of detail.
• Its black hardware locks it all in. Everything matte, this guitar shines through its wood grains and epoxy colors, not through shine or flash. Matte black hardware (with matching locking tuners) and Rear-Mounted-Controls (RMC) all work to keep the wood grain as the center of attention!

Like most G&L Custom Shop models, G&L posted about this one on Facebook back when it was originally built, on their standard photo background — Leo’s old papers and designs on his own desk in Fullerton. Gotta love that one-piece ash body / back:

The build, on paper

Far beyond a build sheet alone, James sent me some of the pictures he took along the way of building this guitar — true behind the scenes photos from the builder himself! All of these photos are shot by/courtesy of James Gay:

What It Does Best

Comes out with guns blazing ready to play massive chords or searing leads!

Okay, it does do that, but at the same time it can be tamed and play great clean lines too 😆 Z-coils just tend to be a little hotter than standard single-coils, so most of my single-coil patches are a little more overdriven than usual! Nonetheless, the 3-coil configuration lends itself to traditional strat tonalities — neck, neck+middle quack, etc. — and throwing it back in the bridge just brings some extra heat thanks to the over-winding.

As I mentioned with Goldie, I play all of my swells by pinky, and the Comanche retains that great volume knob placement and low-friction potentiometer underneath. This thing is awesome!

Where It’s Been With Me

At home! Because I’ve only had it a few weeks 😆. But it’ll get out soon! I’m excited to keep it for many years to come and use it to bring glory to God. While I only wear black t-shirts, I love playing bright and fun guitars. The wild Buckeye burl and epoxy definitely checks that box!