G&L Music Instruments , the Fullerton guitar-making shop launched by the legendary Leo Fender , has gone silent after 45 years.

News of the company’s closure hasn’t been confirmed by anyone at G&L . But on Friday, Oct. 31, the evidence started piling up. While the closure was first broached on G&L fan pages, a museum curator with a permanent collection of Leo Fender artifacts and a contractor who worked for G&L for decades appeared to confirm early conjecture.

Neither David nor John McLaren, the brothers who owned BBE Sound and G&L Musical Instruments, could be reached for comment on Friday. But according to the California Secretary of State’s online business search tool, BBE, which was the parent company of G&L, terminated its corporate status with the state on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

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