Access Backstage Pass
After its shock closure last year, G&L guitars have returned to the market through Musical Instrument Reclamation Corp. (MIRC).
The Leo Fender-founded guitar makers, of whom Jerry Cantrell is their biggest endorsee, quietly met their fate last year. Soon after, Fender moved to purchase the Leo Fender trademark in order to prevent it being used elsewhere, but sadly did not take on the full G&L operation.
As one ex-employee told Guitar World, the firm’s dissolution left many questions unanswered. But when a firm pulls the shutters on its production, existing stock has to go somewhere, and that’s where MIRC comes in.
As Herin, IL store, the Zombie Guitar Company explains in a new YouTube video, “they bought everything that G&L had. Everything that is a guitar, and everything that could be a guitar.”
That includes finished pieces, as well as finished and unfinished bodies, necks, and parts, which are now shipping out from MIRC’s Franklin, TN, facility.
Having secured the entirety of G&L’s stock, MIRC has began contacting retailers, with the Zombie Guitar Company gleefully snapping up a score of electric guitars, including a maple neck Tribute Series Legacy, ASAT T-type, and an SB-2 bass.
So, while it is most definitely not a comeback – the firm really is disappearing quietly into the night – there is now a fleeting final chance for players to get their hands on the final G&L models ever made.
“G&L is back for a short time,” the store says. “They [MIRC] have a warehouse full of them.”
MIRC usually works with independent retailers to provide quality used guitars to their stores. So, don’t expect these to pop up in the big stores (though we’ve spotted a few G&L Deluxe models at Guitar Center still) – more likely, the stock will be exclusive to independent stores and used dealers.
It’s a muted end to the legacy of a brand that has powered Alice in Chains’ music from practically day one, and also counted David Gilmour, Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt, and Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard as its biggest supporters.
Cantrell says he “fell in love” with G&Ls the moment he picked one up, with his riff-slinging career with Alice in Chains fueled by his trusty “Blue Dress” G&L Rampage, which briefly went missing in 2024.
