2025 G&L Custom Shop Espada (Z-2)

The Last Espada

While the Espada model hit production at G&L in ~2019, this example was the very last* Espada to come out of G&L before they permanently closed their doors in September 2025. Yet it was built and sent with features unlike any Espada before it!

How It Found Me

Similar to the backstory of both the ASAT and Goldie (the S-500), I grabbed this Espada soon after G&L closed their doors! Having come to treasure the Leo Fender / G&L story and yearning to get my hands on some Z-coils (true single coil sounds without any hum… through simple engineering? Could it be?), this particular example was the confluence of many streams!

I bought this Espada from Eddie’s Guitars in November 2025. Having purchased Goldie from them only a few weeks prior, I once again worked with the excellent team to hammer out some details and make a deal. Unlike Goldie (though it was in practice), this guitar was a brand new build from the G&L Custom Shop ✨. Eddie’s is a fantastic guitar shop. Nonetheless, the Espada soon showed up at its new home in Ohio! And with it, some novel discoveries that I truly don’t think G&L ever realized. Hold that thought ~

What Makes This One Different

Obviously being the last Espada alone is neat, but this particular Espada is quite a bit different than any other Espada examples G&L made. Most particularly because of the pickups and electronics. The original CLF Espada had “split-coil” pickups, but those are not Z-coils. Similar in concept, very different in execution. The split coils of the CLF Espada had lower output and a worse signal-to-noise ratio — they lacked the oomph and punch that true Z-coils have.

On the other hand, Z-coils, while being two coils per pickup, were always hard-wired from the G&L factory such that the two coils were/are in series. Every Comanche, Z-3, Will Ray, etc. was made that way. I’m not sure why this was the case — if Leo made that decision, or if maybe it was a concern around output levels… we may never know!

What I will tell you is that while proper Z-coils sound fantastic on their own in their standard in-series configuration, this Espada retains the original CLF Espada’s wiring setup for switching the pickup coils into parallel… but now using Z-coils instead of the original split-coils. And the result is stunning. Running them in normal / series mode, you get the fat punch of a Z-coil. Switching them to parallel mode (and rolling the treble back about halfway) yields a true single-coil tone. Bright, airy, beautiful… with no hum. I’ve A/B’d it against the S-500 pickups and a few different alnico single-coils on other guitars: a parallel Z-coil fulfills the “single coil sound, no hum” promise. It’s remarkable. It doesn’t seem like G&L ever realized this. Beyond that, here are some of my highlights:

• It‘s not heavy. James deliberately carved out more of the under-the-pickguard wood to bring down the final weird of this guitar. Even with all the layers of metal flake and poly clear coats, it’s still just over 8lbs!
• 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!
• It’s ultra flexible. Run the pickups in internal-series or internal-parallel, roll of the treble or bass as needed via PTB, kick in the onboard / internal boost, throw it in the in-between position for quack… this single guitar can reach tones from strat, to tele, to searing humbucker bridge solos.
• It’s a bound, ebony fretboard. I don’t prefer maple boards — I like darker woods! The white binding around it only adds to the high-end feel.
• Its headstock matches. I know matching headstocks can be a polarizing feature, but I love it on this one just as much as I do on Goldie. Both are siblings in the ‘bright metal flake’ / sparkly-guitar spectrum. And just like Goldie, if you’re going to play a bright sparkly guitar, own it! Put it everywhere! I also love the no-model, simple, G&L logo on this one too. Actually, the throw-back retro tuning keys are also a sweet touch here.
• Its gold hardware contrasts just right. The hardware was custom gold-plated through the Custom Shop and feels like the perfect contrast to the Champagne Sparkle color. The gold helps to pull some gold out of the metal flake reflections and generally just fits that pinkish-purple palette extremely well.

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. Check out the flame on that maple neck:

But, like Goldie before it (and because of that earlier connection!), I was able to chat quite extensively with James Gay about this guitar — James having been the head of the G&L Custom Shop until they closed their doors. He explained to me the details of the split coil pickups vs. the Z-coils, the history of this build, its heavier sibling, and some of the dynamics around G&L and how this one came to be. It’s neat to know the person whose hands actually made the instrument you’re playing.

The build, on paper

Since G&L sent their builds out with beautiful spec sheets, I’ll simply show that:

What It Does Best

There’s only one type of tone I haven’t been able to get from this guitar is the ‘strat position-4’ style of quack. The middle position between its two Z-coils can get the ‘strat position-2’ / slightly more trebly quack thing, but the more neck-sounding position-4 eludes it! All of that to say, this is entirely a compliment to this guitar: I can get every other sound in the gamut of electric guitar out of the various pickup combinations and switches. This thing rocks. Jumping from single-coil-mode (parallel + treble at half) into series-mode (series, treble full) is like having a mid-boost any time you want it. The onboard boost is also a nice utility!

Where It’s Been With Me

To many churches and events! As is the story with most of my guitars. My time owning this particular example is still short, but 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. This one checks that box 😆.

On the more practical side, this is also the Espada in my G&L guitar case guide. I like keeping the original Custom Shop case in storage, and eventually landed on the SKB-6 as its working case. The fit is great and there’s plenty of room for accessories.

*Footnote: I believe this to be the last Espada built by G&L before the Fullerton factory closed in September 2025. While no surviving factory production ledger has surfaced that definitively establishes the final Espada by completion date, the provenance is fairly clear. The guitar is Custom Shop serial number CS2507005, commissioned by Eddie’s Guitars after the dealer acquired an earlier, nearly identical 2024 Champagne Flake Espada and liked it enough to order another. Eddie’s original listing for this guitar documents CS2507005 and its specifications. More significantly, James Gay, former head of the G&L Custom Shop until their closing, has described the history of both Champagne Espadas in detail, including construction changes he made specifically to this second example. He stated that after Eddie’s received the earlier instruments, the dealer placed an order for six more and that “They got my final builds” subsequently confirming that Eddie’s had specifically reordered the Champagne Espada (this instrument) as part of that order. He also identified the two Champagne Z-2 Espadas as the only Espadas G&L ever wired in this particular Z-coil/series-parallel configuration. G&L ceased operations shortly thereafter. I have been unable to locate evidence of any Espada built later than CS2507005, including G&L’s Facebook posts where they documented nearly all custom-orders and build-to-orders. Accordingly, I describe it as the last Espada. See: Eddie’s original listing via Reverb; Extensive discussion with James; Fullerton Observer on G&L’s closure.