New G&L cult member

Hi G&L community- My name is David and I've been playing since I was 16. I'm 31 now with a family and lots of spare time to waste dicking around with the guitar, and as a result my guitar playing interest and ability has increased significantly. Two years ago my wife bought me a Jackson JM-22 Dinky for our anniversary. This was my first electric in 8 years. The guitar looks and sounds fantastic, but I found myself slowly gravitating towards types of music that aren't suitable for the two-humbucker beast of tone. My interest in classic rock and psychedelic rock skyrocketed as I explored different playing styles and fuzz tones. Following classic rockers like The Kinks, Hendrix, Cream, as well as modern-day music such as King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard, Black Keys, Thee Oh Sees, I found that I just could not get a varied enough tone with the Jackson. Everything sounded very saturated- and the mid and high tones very muddy.

I began to seek out single pickup coiled guitars. I looked around for a long time before finding the HSS Fender Tele configurations. One day in a local music shop I found a G&L ASAT 'S'. I didn't know <censored word> about G&L but after looking into it became fascinated by the story and the ASAT 'S'. It had everything I wanted - a hardtail so I could explore different tunings without having to reset a Floyd Rose or other tremolo, a great look and a three pickup configuration. I've been searching Ebay and Reverb ever since for a deal- but it seems like most ASAT 'S' are a bit too far out of my budget, retailing around $1500 or more.

Today I went back to Starving Musician (in Berkeley) and the ASAT 'S' was still there. It looked neglected, with a dirty pick guard, gunk on the tuners, and the strings completely dead and flat. About the guitar:

ASAT 'S' Serial G051744 marked as "circa 1995," three-tone sunburst with upgraded pickups and sperzel locking tuners.

You can see the album on imgur here: http://imgur.com/a/KAXD8

My typical signal chain is simple - Fuzz Factory into Cathedral Reverb and I'm playing through a Dean Markley K-50 solid-state practice amp on the clean channel. I found the fuzz factory made the pickups absolutely scream- there is almost too much clarity and high end, and a lot of noise. I switched to a http://www.spruceeffects.com/effects/saltwater-fuzz/ Spruce Effects salt water fuzz- a dual germanium fuzz with a tone knob and a nice gain circuit. Through this the guitar sounded very well balanced with a tone of mid and upper range clarity. I couldn't be happier.

I do have a few questions - I'm unsure whether this is a good place to ask them or whether I should head over to the '92 to present index and start a thread. I am going to register it but I am not going to disassemble it for the neck and body dates for a bit- I want to play it and use it. So far it does need a bit of neck adjustment for anything lower than Standard E tuning, and the volume pot is noisey. But not show stoppers

Thanks for stopping by and having a look! Let me know what you think of the guitar, if there are any interesting trivia, I'd love to know more!

Hi G&L community- My name is David and I've been playing since I was 16. I'm 31 now with a family and lots of spare time to waste dicking around with the guitar, and as a result my guitar playing interest and ability has increased significantly. Two years ago my wife bought me a Jackson JM-22 Dinky for our anniversary. This was my first electric in 8 years. The guitar looks and sounds fantastic, but I found myself slowly gravitating towards types of music that aren't suitable for the two-humbucker beast of tone. My interest in classic rock and psychedelic rock skyrocketed as I explored different playing styles and fuzz tones. Following classic rockers like The Kinks, Hendrix, Cream, as well as modern-day music such as King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard, Black Keys, Thee Oh Sees, I found that I just could not get a varied enough tone with the Jackson. Everything sounded very saturated- and the mid and high tones very muddy.

I began to seek out single pickup coiled guitars. I looked around for a long time before finding the HSS Fender Tele configurations. One day in a local music shop I found a G&L ASAT 'S'. I didn't know <censored word> about G&L but after looking into it became fascinated by the story and the ASAT 'S'. It had everything I wanted - a hardtail so I could explore different tunings without having to reset a Floyd Rose or other tremolo, a great look and a three pickup configuration. I've been searching Ebay and Reverb ever since for a deal- but it seems like most ASAT 'S' are a bit too far out of my budget, retailing around $1500 or more.

Today I went back to Starving Musician (in Berkeley) and the ASAT 'S' was still there. It looked neglected, with a dirty pick guard, gunk on the tuners, and the strings completely dead and flat. About the guitar:

ASAT 'S' Serial G051744 marked as "circa 1995," three-tone sunburst with upgraded pickups and sperzel locking tuners.

You can see the album on imgur here: http://imgur.com/a/KAXD8

My typical signal chain is simple - Fuzz Factory into Cathedral Reverb and I'm playing through a Dean Markley K-50 solid-state practice amp on the clean channel. I found the fuzz factory made the pickups absolutely scream- there is almost too much clarity and high end, and a lot of noise. I switched to a http://www.spruceeffects.com/effects/saltwater-fuzz/ Spruce Effects salt water fuzz- a dual germanium fuzz with a tone knob and a nice gain circuit. Through this the guitar sounded very well balanced with a tone of mid and upper range clarity. I couldn't be happier.

I do have a few questions - I'm unsure whether this is a good place to ask them or whether I should head over to the '92 to present index and start a thread. I am going to register it but I am not going to disassemble it for the neck and body dates for a bit- I want to play it and use it. So far it does need a bit of neck adjustment for anything lower than Standard E tuning, and the volume pot is noisey. But not show stoppers

Thanks for stopping by and having a look! Let me know what you think of the guitar, if there are any interesting trivia, I'd love to know more!

Welcome to our site!

Here is an in-line photo of your guitar (click on image to see full size):



You guitar might have been built in 1996 or 1997 and the model name is "ASAT". See this page from the 1996-97 G&L Catalog: http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/main.php?g2_itemId=7051.
Note that the ASAT Special and ASAT pictures or labels were swapped by accident. This ASAT was a transitional configuration of the ASAT with Sperzel chrome tuners instead of black tuners. Your guitar
has Sperzel locking tuners which were either optional from the factory or the previous owner replaced them. The original factory pickups are G&L MFD Jumbo single coil pickups. A previous owner replaced
the pickguard and pickups on your guitar. There is no ASAT 'S' model which G&L built. There was/is the ASAT Classic 'S' which first came out as a Custom Creations Special Build (2004-2007) and then
became a standard production model in 2008, see: Production List of G&L Instruments (USA) and List of Regular Production ASAT-style guitars (USA).

Please post a photo of the neck plate which will have the serial number. I will then be able to check with a contact at the factory to get the build information.

The original factory pickups are G&L MFD Jumbo single coil pickups. A previous owner replaced the pickguard and pickups on your guitar. There is no ASAT 'S' model which G&L built. There was/is the ASAT Classic 'S' which first came out as a Custom Creations Special Build (2004-2007) and then
became a standard production model in 2008, see: Production List of G&L Instruments (USA) and List of Regular Production ASAT-style guitars (USA).

Wow, that's really interesting. I was very confused at the pickup configuration, considering their information page showing when the ASAT 'S' went into production. To this end, it seems that the tone knob has a push/pull configuration. Looks like I'll have to pull it apart and take pictures of the wiring when I get a chance . I will also include neck plate later today. Thank you so much for the expertise!

I definitely bought this to be a workhorse; I'm non-plussed to hear that the wiring and pickups are a custom job. I bought this guitar to be a workhorse. As I'm still a novice player I wanted to find something like this to work on and to play a lot.

What do modifications like this do to the resale value of the guitar? What would explain the difference in price between a mid-90's ASAT Classic and a mid-00's ASAT 'S'? Are all G&L Guitars made in the '90s from the Fullerton plant?


UPDATE

Here's the neck http://imgur.com/IaYa1D1.jpg (link because image is greater than 1024x1024. sigh) I guess the neck says it right there- ASAT. This is probably a modified Classic version. Interesting that they wired it to essentially be an 'S' configuration down to the push-pull tone knob. Excluding the pickups, of course.

Last edited by througheacheye on Tue Dec 27, 2016 6:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

This does look odd. Is it just a modified ASAT III from '97 - '98 like the one below?

This does look odd. Is it just a modified ASAT III from '97 - '98 like the one below?

Yo dude! I don't think so as this has a 3 bolt neck with serial # G051744 and all models '97 or later seem to have 4 bolt necks with CL or CLF serial #s. http://i.imgur.com/IaYa1D1.jpgThat is a beaut of a guitar and a lot of things look very similar, just not the serial.

I've been inspecting it a little more closely since it's heritage is somewhat murky, and the neck/ head stock appear in great shape. I haven't adjusted the neck at all but at the very least the truss isn't stripped. That's something! The only suspect thing I've seen thus far is the tuning locks - the first two (low e and A) and last string lock in a clockwise direction, the rest in a counter clockwise direction. Heh.

Yo dude! I don't think so as this has a 3 bolt neck with serial # G051744 and all models '97 or later seem to have 4 bolt necks with CL or CLF serial #s. http://i.imgur.com/IaYa1D1.jpgThat is a beaut of a guitar and a lot of things look very similar, just not the serial.

I've been inspecting it a little more closely since it's heritage is somewhat murky, and the neck/ head stock appear in great shape. I haven't adjusted the neck at all but at the very least the truss isn't stripped. That's something! The only suspect thing I've seen thus far is the tuning locks - the first two (low e and A) and last string lock in a clockwise direction, the rest in a counter clockwise direction. Heh.

It could have started out as an ASAT or ASAT III. Both models were in production when the neck plates and serial number formats changed in 1997. The serial number is from just before the format change, so it also points toward '96 or ;97. The bridge pickup on your guitar appears to be at about the same position and angle as the ASAT's, and the black body hardware would have been consistent with an ASAT but not an ASAT III. I think the neck decal is correct for a mid-'90s ASAT, but it's been a long time since I've owned one from that time frame. Based on all of this, my guess is that it's a '96 or '97 ASAT with modified electronics. If you remove the pickguard, you should be able to tell immediately from the routes.

Ken

This does look odd. Is it just a modified ASAT III from '97 - '98 like the one below?

Yo dude! I don't think so as this has a 3 bolt neck with serial # G051744 and all models '97 or later seem to have 4 bolt necks with CL or CLF serial #s. http://i.imgur.com/IaYa1D1.jpgThat is a beaut of a guitar and a lot of things look very similar, just not the serial.

I've been inspecting it a little more closely since it's heritage is somewhat murky, and the neck/ head stock appear in great shape. I haven't adjusted the neck at all but at the very least the truss isn't stripped. That's something! The only suspect thing I've seen thus far is the tuning locks - the first two (low e and A) and last string lock in a clockwise direction, the rest in a counter clockwise direction. Heh.

No big deal but the guitar I posted the photo of is a 3-bolt with the mysterious "B" serial number that used mis-stamped guitar neck plates so as to not waste money. If you ignore the B it's only a few hundred guitars away from yours. So my guess is still a modified ASAT III from '97 or so.



Tom

No big deal but the guitar I posted the photo of is a 3-bolt with the mysterious "B" serial number that used mis-stamped guitar neck plates so as to not waste money. If you ignore the B it's only a few hundred guitars away from yours. So my guess is still a modified ASAT III from '97 or so.



Tom

That's awesome! I read that they used 'B' serial neck plates for guitars when they ran out of the 'G' neck plates. So it may or may not be close in actual build as the G would signify a different serial entirely.

How do you like your ASAT III? Have you modified it in any way?

I am still awaiting to see if Craig can talk to G&L and get any specifics from the serial number. And for me to wear out the current strings (shouldn't be long!) so I can also remove the pick guard and get a date from the body. It does look like the same hardware from his link above- where the ASAT Special and regular have been swapped. It has a black bridge and a black controls cover with black knobs. It almost looks like the black comes from the hardware being wrapped in vinyl or plastic-wrapped or something. I posted a close up picture of the bridge and you should be able to see the texture.

I am not sure that they ran out of the G plates. It's just that they had some mistakenly stamped B prefix plates and just used them when they pulled a neck plate out of the box to use.

You mention the black coating and it's referred to as crinkle coat. It was standard on some and an option on other guitars but typically you would have matching hardware on the guitar with the exception of the tuners. I don't recall any crinkle coat tuners but they do make black ones. It's like powder coat.

One thing that is odd and I would like to hear from others, Are all the B prefix neck plates black crinkle coat? It seems that where the bridge and control plate are shiny chrome, the neck plate, and in most cases the spring cover match. However, my ASAT III is chrome everywhere but the neck plate.

Anyone have a chrome B plate? Maybe I will start a new thread...good luck with your guitar...buy more!!

Tom

I am not sure that they ran out of the G plates. It's just that they had some mistakenly stamped B prefix plates and just used them when they pulled a neck plate out of the box to use.

You mention the black coating and it's referred to as crinkle coat. It was standard on some and an option on other guitars but typically you would have matching hardware on the guitar with the exception of the tuners. I don't recall any crinkle coat tuners but they do make black ones. It's like powder coat.

One thing that is odd and I would like to hear from others, Are all the B prefix neck plates black crinkle coat? It seems that where the bridge and control plate are shiny chrome, the neck plate, and in most cases the spring cover match. However, my ASAT III is chrome everywhere but the neck plate.

Anyone have a chrome B plate? Maybe I will start a new thread...good luck with your guitar...buy more!!

Tom

Hey Tom - I am just looking at the FAQ on glguitars.com which states "From the early 1980s to early 1997, serial numbers were typically stamped into a neck plate. The serial numbers for guitars began with "G0" (G zero) and basses began with "B0" (B zero). However, in rare instances there are guitars which began with "B0" and basses which began with "G0" on neck plates as the factory may have run out of the appropriate plates."
faq is here http://glguitars.com/faq/index2.asp

That's awesome! I read that they used 'B' serial neck plates for guitars when they ran out of the 'G' neck plates. So it may or may not be close in actual build as the G would signify a different serial entirely.

How do you like your ASAT III? Have you modified it in any way?

I am still awaiting to see if Craig can talk to G&L and get any specifics from the serial number. And for me to wear out the current strings (shouldn't be long!) so I can also remove the pick guard and get a date from the body. It does look like the same hardware from his link above- where the ASAT Special and regular have been swapped. It has a black bridge and a black controls cover with black knobs. It almost looks like the black comes from the hardware being wrapped in vinyl or plastic-wrapped or something. I posted a close up picture of the bridge and you should be able to see the texture.

Here's the info from the factory:

Hi Craig,

I found G051744 in the computer system. It shows as ASAT Sunburst Rosewood, shipped on 12/4/96 to Cascio Music in San Francisco.

Thanks a lot, Craig!

Dave

So, it came out of the factory as an ASAT with 2 MFD Jumbo single coil pickups.

Hope this helps.

Welcome David, even though the guitar has been modified, I'd say it is still a "workhorse." I agree with others that this started as either an ASAT Special or an ASAT III. I doubt it was an ASAT Classic, it is not a simple change going from box bridge of a classic to the Saddle Lock that the special and III have. The guitar would have been built in Fullerton, CA. There were Japanese Tribute models in the 90's, there isn't a lot information on them. All the pictures I've seen of Japanese Tributes had Gotoh hardware and the headstock Decals were different.

If you like the tone there is no reason to change anyrhing. But if you want, the MFD pickups are avialble on the G&L online store.

Once again, welcome to the cult... I mean club!

Cheers, Dan

Jumbo MFDs rule!

Here's the info from the factory:

Hi Craig,

I found G051744 in the computer system. It shows as ASAT Sunburst Rosewood, shipped on 12/4/96 to Cascio Music in San Francisco.

Thanks a lot, Craig!

Dave

So, it came out of the factory as an ASAT with 2 MFD Jumbo single coil pickups.

Hope this helps.

This is amazing. I am grateful to have such detailed information of the guitar's history! Thank you so much. I am happy to see what a great community this is.

Welcome David, even though the guitar has been modified, I'd say it is still a "workhorse." I agree with others that this started as either an ASAT Special or an ASAT III. I doubt it was an ASAT Classic, it is not a simple change going from box bridge of a classic to the Saddle Lock that the special and III have. The guitar would have been built in Fullerton, CA. There were Japanese Tribute models in the 90's, there isn't a lot information on them. All the pictures I've seen of Japanese Tributes had Gotoh hardware and the headstock Decals were different.

If you like the tone there is no reason to change anyrhing. But if you want, the MFD pickups are avialble on the G&L online store.

Once again, welcome to the cult... I mean club!

Cheers, Dan

Thanks so much for chiming in and welcoming me. I'm so excited to see the devotion of the community to these guitars, I feel I've found something very special, both with the guitar and the community. I promise to take it apart ASAP and give all the dirty details of the middle pickup routing and the overall wiring. I assume to change it from the original schematic that the 5 way switch isn't original, the push/pull tone knob is not original, pick guard isn't original and the body must've been modified to make space for the middle pickup. Pretty cool though, the hardware has been in place a long time as it looks really well done, and shows quite a bit of patina and feels solid and part of the essence of the guitar.

As far as MFPs, I've never played on them or anything similar. Are they similar to a P90s? I will check out the forum to see if I can't find some discussion on what tones they have, but I doubt I'll be changing this back anytime soon. I wanted a SSS configuration which is what drove me to buy this guitar. I may change out the pickups so they at least match in color since they are bothersome now. But so far I am very happy with the tone and versatility.

The large soap bar MFDs don't sound like P90's in my opinion. I've heard them described as fuller more powerful Jazzmaster tone. To my ear they are very full, clear, and dynamic. They really respond to your string attack. Like all MFDs the tone and volume knobs are very useful. I think most people that are disappointed with them are running them with the tone a volume maxed like they do on "Fender" type guitars. I typically have the tone and volume in the 60-80% range.

Nick Jaffe masics some great demos. This demo is shows the difference between the large MFDs and more traditional style Alinco V T-type pickups. Besides great A vs B compairson, lots of good information about what makes them different.

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Another demo from Nick focussing specifically on the Tribute ASAT Special.

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Samuel C Lees as does really great demos. While this demo is more for the amp, he is using an ASAT Special.

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I hope these are helpful for you.

Cheers, Dan

Great to see you are getting the low down on the guitar. Like has been said, if it sounds and plays like you want and enjoy then just sit back and play, no need to change anything. so many things effect the tone and sound you may well not like it if you change it back to original configuration...ya never know.

Welcome again and buy more G&Ls!!

Tom