Just took delivery of a 1987 ASAT and immediately registered

Greetings from Birmingham, Alabama. Today my newly acquired 1987 ASAT arrived in the mail. I could not be more excited to finally own a G&L guitar after many years of having this on my to-do list. I really wanted an ASAT, then I decided I really wanted one from the Leo Fender/pre-BBE days, just because. Since I have a birthday coming up, I started scouring gbase, e-bay and various other websites for a 1980's ASAT until I found what I was looking for. After opening it (at work), I left for lunch and took it to my regular guitar tech for new strings and a good setup (intonation was way off and the bridge pickup was set so high it almost touched the strings). I asked him to take the neck off and jot down the neck and body date, but the serial number on the plate marks it as a 1987. I'll post pics when I get it back. Until then, looking forward to being active on the board. This was a great resource in my quest for just the right G&L for me.

Welcome and Congrats,

Look forward to pics ,
beware...those 80's ASATs are addictive.


Elwood

Welcome! Great guitar!-- Darwin

Welcome! Those mid-80s ASATs are some of the best instruments you'll ever find.

Ken

Just got my ASAT back from my guitar tech. A couple of questions. The neck has two date stamps--September 17, 1987 and September 24, 1987. No date on the body. Any explanation for the double stamp? Also, there is still a fairly significant amount of buzzing in the higher frets, even after spending a good bit of time adjusting action, neck, etc. It does not appear that the neck has been refretted and the neck and frets appear to be in good shape (i.e., no obvious signs of why this would be the case). Not really noticeable when plugged in, but definitely noticeable fooling around unplugged. Any thoughts or wisdom as to remedies or is this just a fact of life with these necks? By the way, my tech is very experienced, older guy, loved the guitar, just wanted to point out to me that he did everything he could to resolve the buzzing in the upper frets but couldn't get rid of it. I'm not much of an upper register guy so it doesn't bother me that much, but any thoughts would be appreciated. Many thanks!

congrats on the guitar, sounds like a winner.

adjusting the neck relief does not effect the higher frets, the truss rod has no effect there. of course if there is a lot of relief, by the time the action is at the right height for the main playing area, it will be low at the higher frets and will buzz more. the info you provided is not quite enough to identify the issue positively, would need the exact frets, the action height and the relief to know a little more, but i don't think your tech is that good, otherwise he would have told you the obvious. you need to level and dress the frets. that should be done routinely with a newly acquired guitar anyway. as the very last few frets 20/21/22 are usually used a lot less, over time the frets behind them get lower from use and start buzzing. of course when you go farther away from the high frets, the angle of the string will allow it to clear and the lower frets won't buzz. i tech with a straight edge should have been able to identify the high and or low frets in a few minutes and do a partial or full level as required by the situation. time for a new tech my friend. just because someone is old and has been doing it for a long time doesn't mean they are competent.

congrats on the guitar, sounds like a winner.

adjusting the neck relief does not effect the higher frets, the truss rod has no effect there. of course if there is a lot of relief, by the time the action is at the right height for the main playing area, it will be low at the higher frets and will buzz more. the info you provided is not quite enough to identify the issue positively, would need the exact frets, the action height and the relief to know a little more, but i don't think your tech is that good, otherwise he would have told you the obvious. you need to level and dress the frets. that should be done routinely with a newly acquired guitar anyway. as the very last few frets 20/21/22 are usually used a lot less, over time the frets behind them get lower from use and start buzzing. of course when you go farther away from the high frets, the angle of the string will allow it to clear and the lower frets won't buzz. i tech with a straight edge should have been able to identify the high and or low frets in a few minutes and do a partial or full level as required by the situation. time for a new tech my friend. just because someone is old and has been doing it for a long time doesn't mean they are competent.

Thanks for the insight. Makes sense that a truss rod adjustment would have no effect on higher frets. To be clear (and defend my man Harold a little), all I asked for was a $30 setup. If it ends up bothering me more than I think it will, I'll take it back to him and get him to dress and level the frets. Unfortunately my options in Birmingham are limited as far as a tech. I'm not taking it to Guitar Center. At any rate, really appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Summer humidity has just struck Maryland, and every one of my instruments have developed buzzes within the past couple of days. That could come into play down your way, if you are taking the instrument in and out of air conditioning or running the AC on some days but not others. It doesn't take much of a change in the weather to affect a guitar, especially if it is set for very low action. Otherwise, +1 to Louis's suggestions.

Ken

i wouldn't take it to guitar center, anything is better than that. give it a couple of weeks, see how it does with the weather and go from there.

Congratulations on acquiring a Leo-era ASAT. They are spectacular guitars. I have an '86, and it is a wonderful instrument.

http://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k156/edandiz/1986%20ASAT/?albumview=slideshow

Sorry that you are having some slight buzzing issues. I am no expert, but you may considering having the offending fret(s) filed down slightly to eliminate the issue if the more traditional adjustment options do not bring you satisfaction.

Regardless, welcome! -ed

Congratulations on acquiring a Leo-era ASAT. They are spectacular guitars. I have an '86, and it is a wonderful instrument.

http://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k156/edandiz/1986%20ASAT/?albumview=slideshow

Sorry that you are having some slight buzzing issues. I am no expert, but you may considering having the offending fret(s) filed down slightly to eliminate the issue if the more traditional adjustment options do not bring you satisfaction.

Regardless, welcome! -ed

ed, you don't want to file down the frets that are buzzing. that will make it worse.