Turquoise Will Ray Signature Model …. finally!

[yowhatsshakin]

After collecting ASATs for over 5 years, I still never got around to getting me a WR Sig. And Patrick's Orange Sparkle WR Sig recently shown in this sub forum had once more whetted the appetite. With webmaster's Craig's help that was finally fixed by actually getting his: a nice 2007 Turquoise exemplar with all vids and slide rings included. Lot of fun watching Will's instructions and trying to play along. I'm still pretty awful at it and have a lot of practicing to do. But for now a bunch of pics:

Seems like the slide ring instruction sheet is personally signed by Will because the ink looks different. But I do not have a mass spectrometer at home to actually unequivocally prove that


That Turquoise Sparkle is an amazing finish; even my wife was more taken in by the hue than her aversion of Sparkle finishes.


The mirror pick guard is a beautiful compliment. And mine has a kind of birth mark that will make it recognizable out of thousands: a scratch in the silvering at the underside (which Craig already pointed out before the sale) seemingly emanating from the pickup selector . The overwound bridge pup (DC-impedance 7.85kΩ vs 4.83kΩ for both middle and neck pups) adds better balance and more girth. I like it a lot.


The Hipshot Will Ray 'Helle-Bender' B-Bender which makes this model so special. Notice the little sleeve used to reduce string friction when pitching up. Smart move to make the bar as well as the recepticle hexagonal in cross-section. It can be inserted in different orientations depending on whether you're sitting down, standing, and/or the length of your strap for the best comfort and functionality. Incidentally, on this guitar you have to tune 7 strings: 6 in the ordinary way and then the B-string again when activating the lever using the set screw on the device to set the correct range of movement. And it works great!


Of course the time stamps needed to be uncovered. It is not the first neck I have seen without even a pencil mark or anything. Have to admit that is always a little bit disappointing ...


These skull position markers are amazing. The headstock looks very classy and the locking (Schaller) tuners should be standard on this model.

Just an amazing guitar, both sonically and esthetically, that came in only a month after the ASAT Z-3 Semi-Hollow. And if you think that all the Z-coils that came in, stay tuned for a Lunch Report this week …

- Jos

[Fumble fingers]

that thing is beautiful !! ... congrats

[jeffmarshall67]

Congrats Jos! So cool, and another g&l comes to our area. I'd like to see statistics on what areas are good regions for g&l guitars, I bet the pacific northwest is right up there. I bet the NSA knows!

[Salmon]

Pretty and cool. I love the Turquoise and Emerald Blue finishes.

The two half-circle shapes are puzzling?

[yowhatsshakin]

Salmon,

I noticed that too. I can understand using masking tape for the UPC stickers in the cavity but where the 2 semi-circles come from is as poser. The more since it looks like the base coat, at least that's what I think the darker paint underneath is, had the 'minimum required' masking going on. Maybe some of the base coat is required to be visible as proof that it has been applied? Of course with the pick guard in place nobody will notice anyway. But then again, sometimes you find these people that want to peek under the hood …

- Jos

[yowhatsshakin]

As a corollary of all of this, the Hellecasters collection was also finally completed. Here L-to-R: 1995 John Jorgenson Signature Model, 2004 ASAT JD-5, 2007 Will Ray Signature Model:
(front)

(back)


- Jos

[Elwood]

Maybe tabs on the tape friskets to make peeling them off a streamline process?

I seem to have trouble getting Patrick's Orange Wonder out of my mind.
They definitely look great in deep blue too!
congrats

you might want to get some dark glasses if this trend continues ,

[sam]

Congrats Jos is that a solid or SH with no F hole?

One day I hope to get a WR version, love those Z coils.

[NickHorne]

That's wonderful. I think the WR is one of the all-around greatest guitars ever devised, my desert island (230 volt of course) guitar of choice.
And what a colour! Fabulous.
You're going to really enjoy all that practising you want to do, and you'll find it comes surprisingly easily; all about what you can do in which chord / scale forms on the board. Also don't forget that you can now do the best pre-bends ever, and can also bend other strings at the same time...
FUN!!! And what a sound it makes.

[yowhatsshakin]

you might want to get some dark glasses if this trend continues ,

Kinda what my wife says every time I pull one of these sparklers out: 'Disco! Disco! Disco!'

- Jos

[yowhatsshakin]

Congrats Jos is that a solid or SH with no F hole?

Sam,

This one is solid and although I do not have a scale, it does not feel overly heavy.

- Jos

[blargfromouterspace]

Good luck with the b-bender, Jos!

Am I right thinking that your ASAT collection must be nearing completion now?

[Elwood]

Am I right thinking that your ASAT collection must be nearing completion now?

[yowhatsshakin]

Am I right thinking that your ASAT collection must be nearing completion now?

How does GGJaguar say it? "You can never have enough ASATs!"

All kidding aside, the collection is pretty close to 50 ASATs and when that number is reached, it will have at least one of every pickup combination officially released by G&L. So in that sense, it is close. Doesn't take away that my 'wish list' still counts 18 ASAT as of this moment

- Jos

[KenC]

Jos,

Congratulations! That's a very nice looking guitar.

All kidding aside, the collection is pretty close to 50 ASATs

Is that just the ASATs, or does it include the other models?

Doesn't take away that my 'wish list' still counts 18 ASAT as of this moment

That makes me feel a lot better about being down to two basses and one guitar on mine!

Ken

[yowhatsshakin]

All kidding aside, the collection is pretty close to 50 ASATs

Is that just the ASATs, or does it include the other models?

That's just the Broadcasters/ASATs, 46 in all with one more on the way. Other G&L models add up to 18 now with a pre-BBE Comanche and Cavalier still missing.

Doesn't take away that my 'wish list' still counts 18 ASAT as of this moment

That makes me feel a lot better about being down to two basses and one guitar on mine!

My pleasure Ken! May The Fourth Be With You
Some of the models on the list are ASATs of a particular year ('86 poor-mans Broadcaster, late '87 ASAT with the string tree between and G and D tuners, 88' ASAT with string tree between E and A tuners), some are pricey (Lacewood #1 and 'The Rembrandt' for instance) and may forever be out of reach, some are really hard to find and/or hardly ever pop up in a marketplace (the 1996 ASAT Custom and ASAT Classic Custom come to mind although I recall somebody here on this forum purchase one of these recently ), and some are just pretty close to OCD, as if this whole collecting thing is not OCD enough (Why look for that JJ Sig with the transparent pickguard? Because it's out there! That's why!). So you see the list is a delightful melange of realism and fantasy.

- Jos

[darwinohm]

Totally awesome Jos! I think that G&L has a secret plan to keep you buying. Only way is to get them all at once and then you will be caught up until their next one. I can see a larger home in the near future! -- Darwin

[yowhatsshakin]

I can see a larger home in the near future! -- Darwin

Nah! The house we live in is just too nice. But we need to be creative and/or think about building it out a bit though. Yesterday, my wife (Marjon) came in my music room, observed all the guitar cases there, and dead-panned she was feeling claustrophobic and that I was building myself in. As the saying goes: as long as the room is big enough to 'swing a geetar round in'

- Jos

[KenC]

My pleasure Ken! May The Fourth Be With You

Good one! Actually, I just realized I had forgotten one on the list. I won't have each Leo-era bass model without an L-5K in the mix.

and some are just pretty close to OCD, as if this whole collecting thing is not OCD enough (Why look for that JJ Sig with the transparent pickguard? Because it's out there! That's why!). So you see the list is a delightful melange of realism and fantasy.

I'm trying to avoid the temptation of going after every variant (for example, the passive versions of the L-2K and El Toro, rear-loaded L-1K and L-2K, paddle and eye-gouger headstocks...). I'm also trying to slow down on the last couple and enjoying the hunt by making the targets very specific. I don't have anything in Belair Green (my favorite G&L finish) yet, so that's what I'm looking for on the '89-'91 SB-2. The MM Sabre is going to have to be fretless.

When I'm done with the complete Leo-era bass collection, I will probably try to hunt down a couple of models with fretless necks. I'd love to try a fretless El Toro, for instance. A maple L-1K would also be interesting. Oh crap, just when I thought the list was finally winding down, a new one is taking shape!!!

Ken

[NickHorne]

The Turqoise is really great-looking.
I bottled the turq choice when I went looking for my first WR, and gladly bought a silver one (which was the only one on offer in Blighty at the time anyway).
Yours is stunning and then some!

[yowhatsshakin]

First time I've seen the WR in Turquoise. Nice looking for certain!

The Turqoise is really great-looking.

If this information is correct, Turquoise Flake was one of the original finishes (with Silver Flake and Clear Orange) selected by Will when this model was initially released in 2002. So it must have been around for quite a while. But like you Tim, mostly I have seen Silver Flake WRs as far as USA models are concerned.

Having the Silver Flake JJ Sig already, I didn't want more of the same. Even contemplated to custom order a Gold Flake WR Sig. But I think the Turquoise goes nicely with the Silver Flake of the JJ Sig while the Burst of the JD-5 keeps the trio 'grounded'.

- Jos

[helle-man]

She's a Beaut, Jos!

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!

WR

[zapcosongs]

She's a Beaut, Jos!

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!

WR

Great to see you post, Will.

Are these collectors sick or what - G-d bless 'em!? - ed (satisfied with my '86 and double-bound Bluesboy, lol!)

[yowhatsshakin]

She's a Beaut, Jos!

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!

WR

Thanks Will. All I can do on my end is compliment you on a job well done!

- Jos

[yowhatsshakin]

Are these collectors sick or what - G-d bless 'em!? - ed (satisfied with my '86 and double-bound Bluesboy, lol!)

Ed,

Everything is relative, right? You wouldn't look normal without kooks like us

- Jos

[fianoman]

Those WR's are super cool looking and I have to say that turquoise is just a great color!

[GGJaguar]

Jos, you can add an early WR Sig to your list. These have the Legacy style headstocks (like the Tribute version). The quest is never-ending.

GG

[yowhatsshakin]

Jos, you can add an early WR Sig to your list. These have the Legacy style headstocks (like the Tribute version). The quest is never-ending.

GG

Oh darn!

[NickHorne]

I have one of them, the more usual silver flake, and the only thing I've wished was any different about it (apart from a wider nut for my ageing mitts, but that's another story) is the headstock; I've always wished it had an Asat - shaped one like yours. I thing that's prettier, more of a stealth-tele vibe, and more Leo F.
They are a great guitar, and yours looks amazing as well.

[yowhatsshakin]

Only now I noticed that Will has one of these Legacy headstock WR Sigs in his avatar. Ok, now I have to find me a old Silver Flake too ...

- Jos

[yowhatsshakin]

Jos, you can add an early WR Sig to your list. These have the Legacy style headstocks (like the Tribute version). The quest is never-ending.

GG

At first hand, judging from this eBay listing, it appears some new ones have the Legacy headstock too. Notwithstanding the absence of 'Guitars by Leo' decal under the G&L logo, the presence of the skull inlays and the form-fit tolex case clearly point to this one being made in USA.

I was really confused, until I scrolled down and finally came across this sentence: "Note: The photos are not of the actual item. Feel free to call us for an in hand description.". Rather tricky I would say.



- Jos

[Craig]

First time I've seen the WR in Turquoise. Nice looking for certain!

The Turqoise is really great-looking.

If this information is correct, Turquoise Flake was one of the original finishes (with Silver Flake and Clear Orange) selected by Will when this model was initially released in 2002. So it must have been around for quite a while. But like you Tim, mostly I have seen Silver Flake WRs as far as USA models are concerned.

Having the Silver Flake JJ Sig already, I didn't want more of the same. Even contemplated to custom order a Gold Flake WR Sig. But I think the Turquoise goes nicely with the Silver Flake of the JJ Sig while the Burst of the JD-5 keeps the trio 'grounded'.

- Jos

Here's the Announcement post (from the Internet Archives):

http://web.archive.org/web/200803130315 ... /index.asp

Also note that by the time I added the WR Signature model to that list, the specifications had changed to only the bridge pickup being the custom WR Z-coil. I don't know how
many of the early production versions actually have the middle and bridge WR Z-coil. Another spec change was made later to allow ordering any of standard and premium finishes.

[fianoman]

I was really confused, until I scrolled down and finally came across this sentence: "Note: The photos are not of the actual item. Feel free to call us for an in hand description.". Rather tricky I would say.



- Jos

Agreed! At that price point, I want pictures of the actual product I am buying. You can describe it all day and still not tell me what the grain looks like. I want to see it for myself.

The Tribute ASAT I bought is a lot less money (duh) and I passed on several that I didn't care for the grain of and several that were not photos of the actual guitar. The one I ended up with was selected because of the photos. On a guitar with a solid finish, it might not be as big an issue but even then I am not sure I would buy based on a description alone.

"but she has a great personality.... "

[JagInTheBag]

Glad I could inspire you to buy another guitar! She is a beauty. Turquoise was on my short list for color.

[cuzwilly]

great guitar i really like it