On February 4, 2010, I had a chance to visit my friends at G&L Guitars in Fullerton, California. As most of you probably know, “G&L” stands for “George and Leo”: George is George Fullerton and Leo is the legendary Leo Fender. After Leo sold Fender to CBS in the mid-‘60s, he founded Music Man and after that, G&L, which was his last company before his death in 1991.
 
I showed up to the factory, located on Fender Avenue, together with Maricela Juarez, who manages my Custom Shop, and Evan Skopp who’s my VP of Business Development. Mr. Steve Grom, who’s G&L’s Director of Manufacturing, gave us a very thorough tour of the factory. I was really impressed by the quality and craftsmanship that goes into these instruments.
 
One of the biggest highlights for me was seeing Leo Fender’s office and work bench. The folks at G&L have preserved Leo’s work space exactly how it was on his last day of work. What a lot of folks don’t know is that when I was a young boy growing up in New Jersey, I used to write letters to Fender; and some of them were answered by Bill Carson. Years later, I had a chance to meet Leo and get to know him; and when I had reached a certain point in my career, Leo and I used to chat about pickup design. Sitting there behind his desk and at his bench, I really felt his presence.
 
I want to thank Steve along with all the others at G&L for showing us a great day and making us feel at home