G&L Classic Tribute ASAT - string spacing
Sat Jun 09, 2012 9:05 pm
Hi All,
I bought this Korean made G&L guitar on ebay, shipped to Australia, only to discover that the 'good ol' USA' hardware had gone AWOL, replaced (by persons unknown) with good ol' ACME brand, apologies to Wile e Coyote. My fault technically for not looking real close at the photos with the advertisement - but then I had never see a G&L 'in the flesh', and it was advertised as a G&L. We move on.
The original PUs and the bridge are enjoying life somewhere else.
Anyway.... I replaced the PUs with something much better, and was going to leave the bridge alone....except I notice as I play the guitar more, that the 1st E string tends to slip off the side of the neck when I play solos strongly up above the 10 fret.
The neck looks original, as does the nut, so I am wondering if the ACME tele-style bridge imposter has not quite the right spacing between saddles.
Can anyone shed any light on what the original bridge spacings were, saddle to saddle string grooves, and overall from 1st to 6th saddle string grooves? I have sent this query to G&L via their website a good while back, but no response.
I guess a simpler question might be, does G&L us the same spacings at the bridge as a Fender Telecaster, as the fitted aftermarket job, was probably for a Telecaster'?
Thanks , Don
I bought this Korean made G&L guitar on ebay, shipped to Australia, only to discover that the 'good ol' USA' hardware had gone AWOL, replaced (by persons unknown) with good ol' ACME brand, apologies to Wile e Coyote. My fault technically for not looking real close at the photos with the advertisement - but then I had never see a G&L 'in the flesh', and it was advertised as a G&L. We move on.
The original PUs and the bridge are enjoying life somewhere else.
Anyway.... I replaced the PUs with something much better, and was going to leave the bridge alone....except I notice as I play the guitar more, that the 1st E string tends to slip off the side of the neck when I play solos strongly up above the 10 fret.
The neck looks original, as does the nut, so I am wondering if the ACME tele-style bridge imposter has not quite the right spacing between saddles.
Can anyone shed any light on what the original bridge spacings were, saddle to saddle string grooves, and overall from 1st to 6th saddle string grooves? I have sent this query to G&L via their website a good while back, but no response.
I guess a simpler question might be, does G&L us the same spacings at the bridge as a Fender Telecaster, as the fitted aftermarket job, was probably for a Telecaster'?
Thanks , Don
Re: G&L Classic Tribute ASAT - string spacing
Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:41 pm
Hi donnyb,
The pickups are definitely F-spaced, i.e. they have the same spacing as Fender guitars. From your description I conclude we are talking about an ASAT Classic here. If not, then submit some pics so we all know what we are dealing with (not a bad idea anyway
)
Several reasons are possible for the string to slip off. The bridge placement as a unit may be off, or the high-E saddle may have a poorly places notch, or the neck is not seated properly and is ever so slightly 'leaning' to the treble side. Each of them is possible. Considering that this might have been one of these infamous guitars both offered as a whole as well as parted out, I would start looking at the neck because more likely than not that has been disconnected from the body by the previous owner. Look carefully how well the strings run over the pole pieces. If it is the neck they would tend to miss the pole pieces running to the treble side of center. A simple remedy would be to leave the strings under tension and loosen the neck bolt maybe a half of a turn. In most case, the tension of the strings will pull the neck properly into place. Otherwise you would have to slacken the strings, loosen up the bolt even more and use gentle force at the headstock to pull the neck to the bass side ever so slightly. Use the pole pieces for guidance again.
If it is not the neck, replacing the bridge and/or a saddle might be sufficient. Make sure the height screws are both firmly in contact with the plate and that the saddle is not moving left-right when doing string pulls.
Hope this helps,
- Jos
The pickups are definitely F-spaced, i.e. they have the same spacing as Fender guitars. From your description I conclude we are talking about an ASAT Classic here. If not, then submit some pics so we all know what we are dealing with (not a bad idea anyway
) Several reasons are possible for the string to slip off. The bridge placement as a unit may be off, or the high-E saddle may have a poorly places notch, or the neck is not seated properly and is ever so slightly 'leaning' to the treble side. Each of them is possible. Considering that this might have been one of these infamous guitars both offered as a whole as well as parted out, I would start looking at the neck because more likely than not that has been disconnected from the body by the previous owner. Look carefully how well the strings run over the pole pieces. If it is the neck they would tend to miss the pole pieces running to the treble side of center. A simple remedy would be to leave the strings under tension and loosen the neck bolt maybe a half of a turn. In most case, the tension of the strings will pull the neck properly into place. Otherwise you would have to slacken the strings, loosen up the bolt even more and use gentle force at the headstock to pull the neck to the bass side ever so slightly. Use the pole pieces for guidance again.
If it is not the neck, replacing the bridge and/or a saddle might be sufficient. Make sure the height screws are both firmly in contact with the plate and that the saddle is not moving left-right when doing string pulls.
Hope this helps,
- Jos
Re: G&L Classic Tribute ASAT - string spacing
Sun Jun 10, 2012 2:45 pm
Thanks Jos. Yes, it is a G&L Tribute ASAT Classic - or at least the neck is, lol !! As the (transplanted) bridge appears to be one of those Hong Kong cheapies from ebay, it should be replaced anyway. Anyone got an original G&L bridge and 2 x original PUs for sale ?
I have tried the neck screws loosening under tension method, but only a small amount and then gave the headstock a few sharp but careful taps in the correcting direction (a method recommended by G&L on this site). It made no difference, but I will try your suggestion of half a turn, as I see the sense in that.
Unfortunately, not having the original PUs makes using the pole pieces of the transplanted PUs not reliable, as whoever fitted the PUs even milled the neck PU cavity to shoehorn in an unbranded replacement. Also, and I havent bothered to figure out why, the pickguard was replaced with a Telecaster PG, ensuring 2 new screw holes were made in the sunburst finish ! If a G&L PG is fitted, these would be visible.
Thing is, I am liking the feel of the guitar more and more, so it is worth persevering with, as long as I dont try to restore it to original as it costs a bundle to get the G&L new parts in/or to Australia. Plus Id need to re-finish the body. Thanks again Jos as I needed first to know about the string spacing as a starting point.
I have tried the neck screws loosening under tension method, but only a small amount and then gave the headstock a few sharp but careful taps in the correcting direction (a method recommended by G&L on this site). It made no difference, but I will try your suggestion of half a turn, as I see the sense in that.
Unfortunately, not having the original PUs makes using the pole pieces of the transplanted PUs not reliable, as whoever fitted the PUs even milled the neck PU cavity to shoehorn in an unbranded replacement. Also, and I havent bothered to figure out why, the pickguard was replaced with a Telecaster PG, ensuring 2 new screw holes were made in the sunburst finish ! If a G&L PG is fitted, these would be visible.
Thing is, I am liking the feel of the guitar more and more, so it is worth persevering with, as long as I dont try to restore it to original as it costs a bundle to get the G&L new parts in/or to Australia. Plus Id need to re-finish the body. Thanks again Jos as I needed first to know about the string spacing as a starting point.