1987 ASAT vs CLF Centennial

Hey guys,

I'm looking at either a 1987 ASAT in excellent condition or a C.L.F. Centennial ASAT in blonde. The '87 ASAT has a rosewood fretboard, and of course the Centennial has a maple fretboard. I see a lot of the appointments to the Centennial are very similar to the '87. The Centennial has medium/jumbo frets where the vintage ASAT's usually had thinner wire. Zinc bridge and hardware appears to be the same. Also, I've read that vintage MFD's have less winds than the newer MFD's which will change the tone and output to an extent.

Question is - what else will be different between the two? I've read that older ASAT's could have maple bodies vs the swamp ash on the Centennial. Price wise, the Centennial is about $150 more than the '87 ASAT.

Any other opinions on which to go with?

Thanks,

Mav

Last edited by maverick927 on Thu Dec 10, 2015 9:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hey guys,

I'm looking at either a 1986 ASAT in excellent condition or a C.L.F. Centennial ASAT in blonde. The '86 ASAT has a rosewood fretboard, and of course the Centennial has a maple fretboard. I see a lot of the appointments to the Centennial are very similar to the '86. The Centennial has medium/jumbo frets where the vintage ASAT's usually had thinner wire. Zinc bridge and hardware appears to be the same.

Question is - what else will be different between the two? I've read that older ASAT's could have maple bodies vs the swamp ash on the Centennial. Price wise, the Centennial is about $150 more than the '86 ASAT.

Any other opinions on which to go with?

Thanks,

Mav

No question, go for the '86 ASAT, it would have a Maple body.

See: List of Regular Production ASAT-style guitars (USA) and List of Special Edition & Non-Production ASAT-style guitars.

Hey guys,

I'm looking at either a 1986 ASAT in excellent condition or a C.L.F. Centennial ASAT in blonde. The '86 ASAT has a rosewood fretboard, and of course the Centennial has a maple fretboard. I see a lot of the appointments to the Centennial are very similar to the '86. The Centennial has medium/jumbo frets where the vintage ASAT's usually had thinner wire. Zinc bridge and hardware appears to be the same.

Question is - what else will be different between the two? I've read that older ASAT's could have maple bodies vs the swamp ash on the Centennial. Price wise, the Centennial is about $150 more than the '86 ASAT.

Any other opinions on which to go with?

Thanks,

Mav

No question, go for the '86 ASAT, it would have a Maple body.

See: List of Regular Production ASAT-style guitars (USA) and List of Special Edition & Non-Production ASAT-style guitars.

Thanks Craig. I was leaning that direction. Wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything else on the Centennial.

Mav

Correction - it is an '87 ASAT, not '86. Don't think this makes a difference in materials used.

An '86 or '87 ASAT won't necessarily have a maple body. I've owned both years, in maple and ash. Although I am definitely a fan of maple bodies on '80s G&Ls, none of my ash versions (ASAT, ASAT III and ASAT Classic) are lacking in the tone department.

I am not an expert on fret wire, and I don't play a lot of guitars that aren't older G&Ls, but I would not call the fret wire on any of the 1980s G&Ls I've owned "thin".

An '87 ASAT is a wonderful instrument. I haven't played a Centennial, but as I understand it was basically a limited edition copy of an early ASAT. Might as well go with the original, unless the Centennial's cosmetics are more to your liking. Keep in mind that Blonde was always over ash, even in the mid-'80s. Solid White finishes from those days tend to be about the same shade as a Blonde now, and could be over ash or maple.

I've never priced Centennials, but the couple I've stumbled across recently were all north of $1,000. It's not too hard to find an '86 or '87 ASAT in very nice condition in the $800-$900 range. A $150 difference between the two guitars you're looking at might indicate that the '87 is priced a bit high, or the Centennial a bit low.

Ken

An '86 or '87 ASAT won't necessarily have a maple body. I've owned both years, in maple and ash.

Right, here's an obviously Ash '86

Mav,

I would get the 87 over the Centennial. But having said that, I would play the 87 and make sure it is good to go. If it is not to your liking, there are many more out there. Take your time and find a keeper.

y2kc