Tell me about my Asat?!

Hi guys,
Well on Friday I managed to pick up an Asat - I had been after one since rediscovering my Tele and had unsuccessfully managed to buy a blacker than black Bluesboy (black wth an ebony board and matching headstock - gutted ). The guitar in question is what I think is an Asat Special - it has a pair of large rectangular soap bar sized single coil pickups, which leads me to think it's a Special. Having checked the G&L Chronology section, the serial number suggests it originates from 1987 - the headstock logo is a smallish font "G&L" with "Asat" and below that, "by Leo Fender". The colour is a take on Butterscotch blonde or TV yellow and seems to be thin enough to see a grain pattern - would this suggest it's made of Ash? The hardware is all black, 3 bolt neck plate and a sort of textured, single ply pickguard. What's left of the lacquer on the neck and headstock is a vintage-style tint and the fingerboard wood is very very very thin rosewood. Presumably to keep the overall thickness of the neck down.

Does the serial # and 3 bolt neckplate suggest the age estimation of '87 is correct? I have seen a very similar Broadcaster from 85 which had a 4 bolt neck plate but a similar style of logo.
I'd be interested to know if it is a Special or if the Special was introduced after '87. In fact - any info would be great. Pics to follow, if I get a chance before I go on holidays!

Cheers

It sounds like a fairly early ASAT that could well be from '87. The headstock logo, and what sounds like an aluminum pickguard, would indicate to me that it's somewhere between '87 and '91. If you saw a Broadcaster with a 4-bolt neck, it must have had a replacement neck, as there were no 4-bolt Broadcasters. I suspect that it also has a metal string retainer that's of an inverted "U" shape. If so, you're probably pretty close on your estimate of age.

I did remove the neck bolts on Saturday morning so I could carefully remove the neck and check the dates. The neck was still so firmly attached, probably through years of sweat (yeuchh!) that I didn't want to apply any force to it and potentially do some damage. If I can separate the neck from the body at some stage I'll check, but I don't want to do anything to cause any problems. It definitely has the U shape string retainer that covers 3 strings and it has an original case, although this is pretty much past its useful life and has been put somewhere safe and the guitar moved to something altogether more suitable.

Re the Broacaster - sorry, it was a 3 bolt neck. I had to recheck a photo of it and what I thought were two screw holes in the neck pocket were just marks! It's definitely a 3-bolt neck.

Pics when I come back off holiday now.

There was a great debate here a couple of years ago, regarding the safest way to remove a stubborn neck. If you force it, you can damage the knife edge of the neck pocket. You'll see a lot of guitars with cracks in what may or may not be just the finish, and that may well be from careless or unlucky removal. I'm in the camp of using the neck tilt adjuster to push the heel out of the lower pocket, as it guarantees a straight movement outward. Once you get that initial movement, it should slide out a little easier. If not, just keep pushing with the neck tilt screw until it does. When I do this, I try not to give it any side-to-side wiggle. You just have to be careful and deliberate and you should have a safe procedure. That said, since you have the metal string tree, serif logo headstock, and it's an ash body, my money is on it being an '87. If the neck doesn't cooperate, don't force it, and be 95% sure that it's of that year. By the way, as you're probably well aware, tight is good. Good luck.