Looking for information on this unusual ASAT

Hello !
Following my introduction post, I'm posting here regarding this unusual ASAT I came across. Any information will be greatly appreciated

So, this is what I know and observed :
It's a 1987 ASAT, serial number : G020996.
April 1987 stamped in the neck pocket, with what seems to be a "fake" Leo Fender signature (see picture)
Lots of features are weird for that era, might option order ? or employee project ? I mean flat top, no pickguard, binding, control plate, matching headstock, INLAID headstock logo and a small abalone dot below the control plat towards the jack input.

I messaged G&L and this is what they replied :
hi Kevin.. i looked up the information on our old binders.. our records indicate this is a pink ASAT Special.. from the pictures it doesnt look pink though.. the completion date is May 15, 1987.. the neck has an ebony fretboard 1-5/8" nut width 7.5" radius.. the body wood appears to be mahogany on the back and flame maple top.. its nice looking instrument!

So, some of it seems right (date, neck wood and characteristics), some of it is wrong (it's not pink, doesn't seem to be an ASAT Special and no flame maple top)...

Here are some pictures :

Last edited by KevinC on Fri Oct 06, 2023 7:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

What's interesting about the logo is that it appears to be inlaid, rather than a decal. That partly accounts for why it looks different. As to why it's inlaid... who knows?

What's interesting about the logo is that it appears to be inlaid, rather than a decal. That partly accounts for why it looks different. As to why it's inlaid... who knows?

Yes, it's inlaid, with a transparent-ish gold material.
Some people suggested it was employee project, especially because of this logo.

Then again... Who knows ?!

Back then it would have been an "ASAT", as there weren't Classic and Deluxe at that time. It might have been some type of pink burst that has aged. Whatever it is, it's clearly authentic and very beautiful. Enjoy.

Definitely beautiful guitar. I’m thinking employee build like mentioned before.

Not so sure about the Leo Fender signature In pocket.

Thanks for your insights !

Back then it would have been an "ASAT", as there weren't Classic and Deluxe at that time. It might have been some type of pink burst that has aged. Whatever it is, it's clearly authentic and very beautiful. Enjoy.

It's weird that G&L as it listed as an ASAT Special although it seems to have been introduced in 1992 !
It does look authentic but it's very hard to pinpoint it to something specific.
I unfortunately have to put it up for sale for purely financial reasons... But it's hard to ask for the right price !

Definitely beautiful guitar. I’m thinking employee build like mentioned before.

Not so sure about the Leo Fender signature In pocket.

It is beautiful
Haha yeah, has I said it's "fake" one. Apparently it was not unusual to some guys in the workshop to imitate Leo's signature on some guitars ^^ Cheeky guitar builders

[Craig]

I sent your photos to Dave McLaren to see if he can figure out what you got.

The body does have a figured Maple top with some flame and some quiltting.
I think it might be a test body (or employee build) since it is Mahogany with a Maple top
which were not used until 1996 with the ASAT Custom and ASAT Deluxe models.
Yours is similar to the ASAT Special Deluxe model which first came out in 2001.

Here are some reference links:
Production List of G&L Instruments (USA)
List of Regular Production ASAT-style guitars (USA)
List of Special Edition & Non-Production ASAT-style guitars

Let's see what Dave has to say about this one.
Stay tuned.

Last edited by Craig on Mon Jan 22, 2024 12:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Added about the ASAT Special Deluxe model.

Pretty cool.
I'm not the G&L expert that many members are but I don't recall ever seeing those string trees on a G&L. I believe most 87s had the old style string bracket. I'm also a little surprised that the fretboard is so striped; seems like back in the 80s ebony was usually blacker.
Will be curious to hear what Dave says.

I sent your photos to Dave McLaren to see if he can figure out what you got.

The body does have a figured Maple top with some flame and some quiltting.
I think it might be a test body (or employee build) since it is Mahogany with a Maple top
which were not used until 1996 with the ASAT Custom and ASAT Deluxe models.
Yours is similar to the ASAT Special Deluxe model which first came out in 2001.

Let's see what Dave has to say about this one.
Stay tuned.

Hi Craig, thanks a lot for your insight. It's the most precise analysis I got so far
It's true it's very similar to the Special Deluxe, didn't noticed that model before. Yeah, early test body could be it, maybe then picked up by an employee who threw in that headstock logo inlay ^^
Thanks a lot for sharing with Dave McLaren, I'm excited to hear what he can say about this one

Pretty cool.
I'm not the G&L expert that many members are but I don't recall ever seeing those string trees on a G&L. I believe most 87s had the old style string bracket. I'm also a little surprised that the fretboard is so striped; seems like back in the 80s ebony was usually blacker.
Will be curious to hear what Dave says.

Yeah, I think those string trees have been added later on. I think this guitar had a lot of string buzz/rattle issue that someone tried to correct very poorly...
See how the bridge was ground down ? This was made to wrap the string around (like on a tuneomatic tailpiece) which is utterly stupid... Maybe they added the string trees too, to correct buzzing at the nut.

Here are Dave's comments:

That body seems ‘90s to me, wood binding, maple that looks like a not great piece of what we called curly maple plus wood binding. My guess is it was an employee guitar that got modded some years later, probably by the same employee, and Malcolm probably painted it. The Leo Fender signature is probably someone messing around, again here, and putting a correct date stamp was easy, just roll the date back on a stamp in Woodshop.

Here are Dave's comments:

That body seems ‘90s to me, wood binding, maple that looks like a not great piece of what we called curly maple plus wood binding. My guess is it was an employee guitar that got modded some years later, probably by the same employee, and Malcolm probably painted it. The Leo Fender signature is probably someone messing around, again here, and putting a correct date stamp was easy, just roll the date back on a stamp in Woodshop.

Again, thanks a lot Craig and thanks a lot to Dave too ! That seems to be an accurate guess to what might have happened here with this guitar.

If I could ask you for one last thing, how much do you think would be a reasonable price to sell this guitar ?
It's a hard decision I have to take, but times are hard...

Here are Dave's comments:

That body seems ‘90s to me, wood binding, maple that looks like a not great piece of what we called curly maple plus wood binding. My guess is it was an employee guitar that got modded some years later, probably by the same employee, and Malcolm probably painted it. The Leo Fender signature is probably someone messing around, again here, and putting a correct date stamp was easy, just roll the date back on a stamp in Woodshop.

Again, thanks a lot Craig and thanks a lot to Dave too ! That seems to be an accurate guess to what might have happened here with this guitar.

If I could ask you for one last thing, how much do you think would be a reasonable price to sell this guitar ?
It's a hard decision I have to take, but times are hard...

See if this post will help: Is there a good source for getting G&L instrument values?. Without documentation, one-off instruments (employee built, prototype, parts instruments) are hard to determine their valuation.

Also, please do add your guitar to our G&L Registry.