Early ASAT - Input Favoured….

Picked this up bout a year ago. Very early model with G01XXXX serial number. Nicely figured ash body in an interesting tobacco sunburst. Looks like it may have been refin'd years ago…

Been re-fretted with taller frets and the nearly all the original finish is off the neck. Sounds great tho and yields some Fantastic tele tones. Interested to get ya'll
's take on the finish… I"ll post the S/N tomorrow. HLG - can you check the date log?
















Cheers,
KF

I like it !! ..... when I had my maple board Bcaster refretted Mark was real careful to match the original finish .... at the time I didn't realize the maple board was that much more difficult to re-fret than the rosewood boards I sent out previously , I was wrong ,..... I do like the big frets though , you don't have to press down very hard with them and your fingers never really touch the wood so it feels different

[quote="Katefan"]Picked this up bout a year ago. Very early model with G01XXXX serial number. Nicely figured ash body in an interesting tobacco sunburst. Looks like it may have been refin'd years ago…

Been re-fretted with taller frets and the nearly all the original finish is off the neck. Sounds great tho and yields some Fantastic tele tones. Interested to get ya'll
's take on the finish… I"ll post the S/N tomorrow. HLG - can you check the date log?
















Cheers,

If it"s Pre BBE I can and will
If not I will also let you know
Regards
HLG

I love the look, but I'm guessing it was originally black and was refinished very early on. The dark grain looks just like my rescue L-1000, which had a factory black finish sanded off by a previous owner:







Ken

KF I love that one, you scored big in my book. The grain and the color are way cool!

Some serious coolness there, what a great looking guitar. Those old ASAT 's are really becoming my favorites.

Cool ! No question someone loved that guitar in it's first lifetime,
It looks more like a 50's tele than a guitar from the superstrat era.

I think Ken is right about it's finish. Someone wanted a burst .

Was this one in New Zealand or did you import her?

Is Char jealous ?

KF,

Again you find the coolest players I have ever seen. Actually many folks here have nice G&L 's but you have some very interesting one's.

Yes the guitar was once black. In my business we call the grain on the front that still is black the "soft grain". It soaks up everything like a sponge and would need a bunch of sanding to clean it up.

Thank goodness the refinishers skills were limited because that is what gives this guitar real mojo. This is a beauty!

I hope the same guy did not do the frets. How does it play?

Y2kc

Hey FF - Yeah, not much room for cosmetic error on maple necks…. I hear ya, I like taller wire but not the wide as stuff BBE started using in the 90's.

Hey HLG - Thanks, much appreciated. The S/N is G018867.

Cheers Ken. Cool Wunkay - dig that ebony board… Good point - thought you may be right til I removed the control plate last night and took a look under the hood…Oly white finish on the side near the jack! And the unmistakeable aroma of nitro : ) Inside smells just like my SC-1… forgot to mention that… that guitar really reeks but in a nice way Does any of yours have that signature smell?

Cheers Sam - Yeah, was easy to pull the trigger on it. The wide grain pattern indicated a nice light body which is what I was after and yeah the colour is Rad.

Hey glvourot - Cheers. Yeah, they're hard to beat in my book… Can't really understand why they aren't more sought after… probably they're still flying under the radar like a low flying anti satellite weapon Regardless, I'm eternally grateful for Mr. Hyatt's brilliance.

Hey Elwood - Word! I know right One of the best things about the '80's - eh?
Yes, definitely…. must have seen the grain pattern showing through the blonde finish…
Nah, eBay purchase & import. I've only seen one Leo era here (SC-3) in NZ. Heaps of Tributes and a couple 90's Legacys but nothing else… sure there's at least a few here but most likely are in collectors' hands.
Nah, Char's cool. She's got a new look tho. White metal guard and a 'new' neck… finally retired her old one as the action was getting out of hand. Will post a pic at some point.

Cheers Casey - yeah, stems from having owed a few cool vintage Fenders over the years… but that all came to an end once I snagged a Rampage that smoked em…. natural evolution from there…. IMO the played ones usually were played (a lot) for a reason…
You may be right about it being black at some point tho that might just be from the black from the tobacco burst finish… the control plate cavity doesn't reveal any black/dark paint - just the ply white on one side and a bit of the brown paint/finish running down from the bridge side…
Yeah, they did a pretty cool job of it but I'm curious how long ago it occurred b/c the wear seems to me to be real…

Not sure but I noticed they didn't' shim the nut to compensate for the higher frets so that results in somewhat lower action but think that contributes to more its tele like tones… the maple neck can't hurt either… Waylon apparently had his action as low as possible on his teles…

Plays Fab. Great comfy neck profile... not too slim and not too chunky… makes for a real solid and sweet as natural feel.

Cheers Ya'll,

KF

It looks like a Broadcaster, in all but name. Here we have the proof, that a well loved work horse, can be sexier than any mint safe queen.

If you ever decide you have one too many Asats in the stable...

Cheers - I hear you tho one can never have too many Asats…

Hey HLG,

Any luck with the date log?

Here's the Serial # - G018867

KF

That is one of the coolest ASAT's I have ever seen and it resonates w/ me deeply.

Cheers - its definitely in my top 5.

I rec'd this via PM from HLG -

G018867 is dated 10-10-86 Invoice # 3759 Says its a Blond Asat with a #2 maple neck.

So its 'official' now.

Cheers,

KF

Lovely!