G&L Guitars CLF Research Doheny V12 Guitar, Old School Tobacco Burst, Rosewood Fretboard

Player's Perspective

Here's a unique one for you - check out this totally rad CLF Research Doheny V12 guitar from G&L in a beautiful Old-School Tobacco Sunburst! We think Leo would be really proud of this one in particular.

Here's a guitar that obviously follows Fender's bolt-on lineage of guitars, but the feature set, offset shape, and specs make it a unique machine all its own. The construction is excellent, and the finishing touches, done by hand, makes this feel like a boutique instrument that you could very easily expect to pay quite a bit more for in today's boutique guitar market. The fantastic fretwork in particular also helps to be able to get super low action without worrying about fret buzzing. Right out of the box, from G&L, the action is nice and low and still allowed for really dynamic playing from aggressive to mellow while keeping things pretty effortless for the fretting hand.

The MFD pickups pack some serious punch, especially in series mode. With the pickup coils in series, the bass response is emphasized and you get this big, warm, round sound that is going to hit your pedals and the front end of your amp hard. In parallel mode, you get some P90-like clarity and the bass response tightens up. Split the pickups for a bell-like single-coil sound that shimmers on the top end. The two mini-toggle switches are really convenient and allow you to mix and match different sounds. For example, having the neck pickup split and the bridge pickup in parallel mode is a really cool sound that you can't traditionally get out of typical offset guitars or even a standard G&L Doheny. And we haven't even begun talking about the "passive bass and treble" (PBT) system. The passive bass and treble system allows you to further tweak your sound by allowing you to cut bass or treble frequencies as needed.

This has got to be one of the most versatile guitars we've ever come across, using good ol' traditional wiring in a way that doesn't require batteries or space-age technology. This is just a simple culmination of years of tinkering from Leo Fender and the realization of one of his final dream guitars that he had begun to conceptualize before his passing. Highly recommend checking one out if you want something you don't see everyday!

Item Specifics

When the G&L Doheny was launched in 2017, its application of Leo’s modern features was expected. The breathtaking versatility of its MFD™ single coil pickups, however, was a revelation, a guitar capable of delivering delicate, airy jangle all the way to thick, grindy single coil tones. Those pickups were painstakingly created by Johnny McLaren in the spirit of Leo’s later work at CLF Research.

The CLF Research Doheny V12 digs even deeper into the rapid pace of technical development that was the hallmark of Leo’s CLFR years, with particular focus on his late ’70s to early ’80s development of MFD guitar humbuckers. With the benefit of decades of hindsight and unlimited access to Leo’s technical work, brothers Dave and Johnny McLaren challenged themselves to create the most musical MFD guitar humbuckers ever to come from Fender Avenue. But they set their sights even higher: fulfill a vision Leo had for “end-to-end” humbuckers that would sound beautiful in series-humbucking, parallel-humbucking, and single coil modes. Pickups that would sit well in a variety of musical contexts, never short of either power or articulation. Pickups that would put a smile on Leo’s face.

Leo believed musicians could understand and benefit from more control over their instruments, and in his later years, Leo was particularly interested in fundamental coil control. The reward can be a surprisingly versatile instrument, and that’s why each of the Doheny V12’s MFD humbuckers is individually controlled by a 3-way mini toggle with classic CLF color-coded switch tip, white for neck pickup and red for bridge pickup.

The period styling continues with original CLF black wrinkle powdercoating on a one-piece aluminum control plate/pickguard, a perfect backdrop for the exquisitely machined and chrome plated CLF knobs for volume, treble and bass. The Dual Fulcrum Vibrato features a CLF 3/16″ machined stainless steel vibrato arm for a period look while benefiting from today’s forged brass saddles and block. Put it all together, and the Doheny V12’s gorgeous looks and bold, pioneering spirit make it an offset for the ages.