30 TH Aniv ASAT Has Arrived

[darwinohm]

The anniversary models are sleepers in looks. The color is a pearl white which is not noticeable until it is viewed in direct sunlight. The headstock is painted to match and the tuners have pearl buttons and the fretboard is Ebony. The beauty is stunning after all this becomes apparent and it is an early birthday gift from Ginny. I am now down one vintage white Legacy from the twins. Here are some pics.








-- Darwin

[sickbutnottired]

That is beautiful. I wasn't wild about the 30th when I first saw them, but I have seen a bunch of picture on yhe bay and it has really grown on me. Your pictures help, too.

Amazing b-present!! Hope you had a good one!

[yowhatsshakin]

Congrats Darwin! That is certainly a looker and hopefully a player too. One of the advantages of a white finish that you can still make it look red by shining a spot of the proper color on it

- Jos

[darwinohm]

Thanks Jos, Ginny has complemented me on the recent additions. She thinks that I am finally out of the Red rut. I am not! The last two have been White.
For those of you who are interested. I just did a complete setup on it. This had not been touched by the dealer. The relief on the neck was .007, right where I want it. The intonation was dead on as was the string radius at the bridge. I did lower the action about .020 as I like it lower. The neck alignment, string to pickup alignment is dead on. I lowered the action, set the radius at the bridge and rechecked the intonation. It is a 12" radius as someone mentioned yesterday. So the bottom line is that this instrument was set up perfectly by the factory before leaving. It is also flawless in paint and finish. The case fits like a glove. Great job G&L! She does play, so all is well here in Minnesota. Another Fender goes to the rack on the floor. This is a wall hanger. My birthday is 2 weeks out. I still have time to pull this off again!-- Darwin

[astutzmann]

Congrats, what a beauty. How do you like the ebony board? Is it bright or dull sounding?

[blargfromouterspace]

You're a lucky man Darwin. Ginny must be a real gem - Vince Gill tickets the other night and a new ASAT today! If only my Kath would do things like that for me!

And nice guitar I really like the look of those 30th ann. models.

[gitman001]

Great looking guitar... as i was scrolling down i thought the second pic was an artsy B&W pic until i saw the carpet! That ebony board must give it a pretty unique feel, congrats.

Scott

[darwinohm]

Astutzmann Asked

How do you like the ebony board? Is it bright or dull sounding?

I have to be the first to admit that I could not tell you if the ebony neck has an effect on tone. I tend to plug a guitar in and dial in what sounds good to me. This ASAT has beautiful tone and I am very pleased with it. I especially like the looks of ebony. It is a very dense grain and does not show grain lines like rosewood. The pearl theme of 30Th anniversary models is an absolute work of art and it is not immediately apparent until you really look it over. The pearl markers in ebony is awesome. G&L put a lot of thought into the appointments on these models. It is a gem!!-- Darwin

[RampageFan]

Beautiful Guitar Darwin! Very, very nice!! I've read mixed reviews on the 30th Anniversary finishes, but I think they are a work of art. I've always thought they would look incredible in person. I am very seriously thinking about either a 30th Anniversary F100 or a Legacy. I'm very intrigued with the F100 pickups. I just wish there was a dealer near me that carried G&L so I could try one out first.

As far as the Ebony board, Both my G&L's and my USA Jackson has ebony boards. I myself prefer them, but that's based only on the looks. I can't hear a difference in tone.

Thanks for sharing the pics Darwin! I'm jealous
Dave

[darwinohm]

Thanks Dave, If I had a choice I would have gone for the F100 with the DF myself. AB&G only got a Legacy and the ASAT that I bought. The Legacy went right away. I traded a Legacy in on the ASAT. They are hard to find although there are a few on E-bay. -- Darwin.

[sirmyghin]

Looks good Darwin, classy geetar

[KennyE]

Beautiful guitar. As we knew it would be!

I've got a birthday coming up. Wonder if .......... hmmmm.

[Craig]

Nice score, Darwin!

I recently got a 30th Anniversary F-100 and that finish is really hard to show in a photo.



I was able to get a shot of the headstock showing the finish a little bit better.


BTW, Happy Birthday!

[darwinohm]

Holy smokes Craig, that is the one that I would have bought! I am very happy with the ASAT Classic and they are truly a work of art with the pearl theme. It is a hard color to photograph but you did a great job on the headstock. The color is stunning and is a close competitor for Red!!! -- Darwin

[CGT]

The 30th Anniversary models do indeed look spectacular and the pictures don't do them justice. I tried a 30th Anniversary Legacy about a week ago and although it was a gorgeous instrument, it was not the instrument for me. Perhaps it was the setup, or it could have been the ebony board, as a previous poster suggested, but it didn't chime the same way as my maple-board Legacy.

Up until December, I'd never owned a guitar with a maple board, but now I swear by them and my older rosewood board guitars don't sound as appealing to me.

[sirmyghin]

Craig that looks great, Had I seen photos of the one like your headstock I may have spring for the 3th anniversary model. Beauty.

[CGT]

@Craig: How does the F100 sound with an ebony board? Is it the Les Paul Killer one might imagine it to be?

@darwinohm: Your ASAT is gorgeous, hope you didn't take my earlier comment as disrespectful, but while the 30th Anniversary Legacy I played was a stunner in its looks it was underwhelming in terms of tone. I suspect it was poorly set up as the strings were low and the the tremolo was fairly loose but the guitar had no quack, or sparkle for that matter. That's why I'm curious about the ebony board.

I was looking at the 30th Anniversary Legacy because I've got mine set up (upon purchase) with a fairly stiff bridge that only bends downward, which gives me a good balance between quack and clarity. And was pondering getting a second one to set up a floating bridge with lower tension. I'm wondering how much of a difference floating the tremolo and lowering the tension would make. Would I loose a little sparkle and gain a little slinkier sound, or would the difference be much more drastic?

[darwinohm]

GCT, no one on this board is offensive and everything is in good spirit. If you have you Legacy set up for down bends only did you lower the trem post to just above the body? I have some guitars that have more springs and have a stiffer trem but I could not say if it effects the tone or sustain. I like them lighter action and always set them level and find that the DF is a very stable system. If I wanted to use a DF for drop D tuning, then I would add springs so it would have less effect on the tuning. I tend to use T types for drop D but if you don't want to do a guitar change you can sneak a drop D with a Legacy and no one will notice if you have the DF stiffer with springs. -- Darwin

[BadJaxx]

that's downright gorgeous, Darwin...
what a wonderful, beautiful wife you have...
tell her i said that....and then tell her i have a birthday coming up...

[darwinohm]

Badjax, I think the birthday thing is worn out with Ginny!!-- Darwin

[yowhatsshakin]

Badjax, I think the birthday thing is worn out with Ginny!!-- Darwin

The nice thing with birthdays is: "There is always next year!"

At least we all hope so.

- Jos