G&L Fullerton Deluxe Comanche Review
Our Verdict and Review Summary
The Fullerton Deluxe Comanche has a very crisp tone and a lot of flexibility with the onboard switching (PTB system). We found the different pickup selections very distinct and "sweet," especially for clean tones. The Z style single coils were completely quiet. No noise at all. Great guitar with a lot of helpful G&L tweaks.
The Fullerton Comanche is a surprisingly versatile guitar. I'm thinking the Z-style single coils give you an edge that isn't there with normal single coil pickups, though I'm admittedly less familiar with single coils than humbuckers.
So the Comanche is a little bit outside of my wheelhouse - a deviation from my comfort zone, if you will.
But through the testing process, it gave me a lot of familiar humbucker tones. It almost sounded like the Fishman Fluence pickups on the clean side, though that might be because the Fluence design incorporates qualities of single coils, but without the noise.
And that's another strength of this guitar - no noise issues whatsoever, even on the higher gain settings I tested.
Here are some of the dominant characteristics
- Very crisp, satisfying clean tones
- No noise/hum issues
- Capable of handling a wide range of gain levels
- Surprisingly aggressive
- Tons of onboard flexibility
- Lots of distinction between different pickup selections
Take my word for it, or the review details are below if you need me to explain myself.
Comparison Table
You can compare the Fullerton Deluxe Comanche to some similar electric guitars below. This covers the basic specs and live pricing. If you want additional info, checkout the product pages on Sweetwater.
Guitar | Model | Rate | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| G&L Fullerton Deluxe Comanche | 93.3 | |
 | D'Angelico Premier MINI DC XT | 90.8 | |
 | PRS SE Hollowbody II | n/a | |
 | Fender Player Stratocaster | n/a |
Compare More Electric Guitars
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Something about the Z single coils ups the punch (this is also due to the bass roll-off which we get into below). I've never used them before, but after testing the Comanche, I'm definitely a fan of that pickup design. Probably one of the most notable aspects of this guitar.
Review Card
IDEAL FOR: Clean and brisk tones, versatility when you need some aggression, lead, rhythm, church, blues, rock.
TONE
95
CONTROL
95
VERSATILITY
95
PRICE/VALUE
88
- Lots of tone to explore on the guitar itself
- Pickup position selection actually makes a difference
- MFD Z-Coil pickups are completely noiseless, even at higher gain levels
- One of the most aggressive SSS guitars I've played
- Had a little bit of trouble keeping it in tune. I suspect that's more of a string-winding issue. I usually replace strings on new guitars with Elixirs, but didn't with this one.
G&L Fullerton Deluxe Comanche Price Guide
Prices updated Mon, September 25th, 2023.
Sweetwater Pricing
Price Alert
Price History
Price History for G&L Fullerton Deluxe Comanche Electric Guitar - Andromeda
Statistics
| Current Price | $1,955.00 | September 22, 2023 |
| Highest Price | $1,955.00 | August 11, 2023 |
| Lowest Price | $1,955.00 | August 11, 2023 |
Last price changes
| $1,955.00 | August 11, 2023 |
Tone, Style, and Flexibility
I'll reiterate some of what I've already covered in the top paragraph.
Regardless of gain levels, the Comanche always responds with some "pluck" and nice pick scraping emphasis. It gives you some nuance to work with and definitely brings out your right hand dynamics.
This type of guitar is why a lot of people say that tone is "in your hands" primarily. I don't necessarily agree with that in every case, but it's at least partly true with the Comanche.
The Z-Coils, G&L branded pickups, do a great job of keeping this guitar noise-free, even with gain cranked.
Its wheelhouse is cleans and blues with light gain, as you would expect.
But this guitar handled really well on the heavier side too, as I mentioned earlier.
The demo I did is basically just a recording of the testing process. I did a little bit of editing but it's mostly just raw. If nothing else, it gives you a pretty clear idea of the tone range and vibe of this guitar. You can hear me changing the selectors quite a bit which gives you an idea of this instrument's versatility.
It's great for the "tone curious" player. You can move through a lot of sounds before you ever get to pedals or amps.
Playing feel, hardware, and control
I had a little trouble keeping it tune, which I'm assuming is just a consequence of the strings and how they're wound out of the box. Most new guitars are wound a lot less than I would wind them. This one maybe had four (ish) complete turns. When I get a new guitar I typically change the strings immediately and put Elixirs on, at which point I wind them as much as humanly possible, juts because that helps with tuning.
But I didn't do that with the Comanche, so I think that's the only reason I had tuning issues.
The bridge hardware is an in-house G&L brand and not stock. I'm not sure if that's the case with the tuners. But they're closed-gear machines that felt really tight and turned smoothly.
I'm not worried about the tuning as long as you change the strings. Some guitars also just take a little time to break in.
Controls and the PTB system
For controls you have the five-way selector switch and a mini-switch that lets you select the neck and the bridge at the same time or all three pickups. And I didn't count all the possible combinations, but it's a lot. These controls alone will keep you pretty busy.
This is actually a unique G&L design called the Passive Treble Bass system, or PTB for short. Here's how Sweetwater describes it:
The PTB tone system essentially includes one traditional tone knob to roll off high frequencies, and another tone knob to roll off low frequencies. The bass roll-off is especially useful in high gain applications like fuzz pedals, tightening up low-end punch and keeping your tone from getting too muddy. It's also a great way to add guitar overdubs to a mix without adding too much low-mid frequency content. ~ Sweetwater
That bass roll-off knob is what makes this guitar handle so well at high gain levels. With features like this, G&L has done a great job of putting some unique spins on their instruments, and it really shows in the Fullerton Deluxe Comanche.
Between the mini-switch and five-way pickup selector there's a lot of ground to cover. You won't be bored.
Neck feel
The neck is a Modern C design. To be honest, I didn't really notice it one way or the other. I wouldn't say it felt "fast" like an Ibanez Wizard neck, but it didn't feel like a wider PRS fretboard either.
It was pretty middle-of-the-road as far as playing feel.
I didn't really notice the neck feel one way or the other. Not fast, not slow. Maybe I was just distracted by the PTB system.
Price and Value
The Comanche is a glowing reminder that you get what you pay for.
I suppose that's almost always the case with guitars, especially from a company like G&L. They're kind of like a boutique brand that has made it mainstream and then stuck to their roots.
The G&L brand pickups and bridge/vibrato are bringing the price up, but it's worth it.
So the price is what it is (check the price guide above for updated numbers), but I don't think it's asking too much, especially because they make most of their own parts and not from third-party stock.
The G&L brand pickups and bridge/vibrato are bringing the price up, but it's worth it.
We'd certainly recommend the Comanche to committed players who are in the high intermediate to pro skill level bracket.
That, or maybe you just have money burning a hole in your pocket.
Wrap Up and Questions
As always, my reviews are not meant to be the definitive answer.
All of this has to be brought into your own context. While the Comanche is a great guitar, it's not going to be universally awesome for everybody.
Don't buy into reviews that just say "this is a great guitar for any guitar player."
That kind of stuff is filler and - to be blunt - complete nonsense.
Even great guitars are not great for every guitar player. So do your research and bring the findings, perhaps the findings in this review, into your context. If it's a fit, pull the trigger.
If you have questions, pull the trigger in the comments section below.
I'll help as much as I can.
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Written by Bobby Kittleberger on Electrics & Roundups
Written by Bobby Kittleberger on Electrics & Reviews
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