asat special and how to tweak it?

[dskittz]

i just got an asat special i totally love it, but the neck pickup is a little thwappy i've been adjusting them accordingly trying to get the right sound. anyone else have this problem?? would love to hear some feedback, also i run it through a jc 120.

[Miles Smiles]

What does thwappy mean and what would be the "right" sound in your opinion?

Some people say, they get the sound they want, by rolling the volume a little off.

I like it, how it is.

[suave eddie]

THWAPPY?!?!?

would love to hear some feedback

Sometimes I like to hear a little feedback also.........

(sorry I can't help)

[sirmyghin]

I am also confused, Thwappy?

[louis cyfer]

twang happy?

[dskittz]

i suppose i dont know the correct term, but the low E and A give off to much.. thwap?? haha.. umm basically the volume is too high for just those two (too much bass basically), i have ten gauges on right now maybe stepping down to nines will help? i do love the sound of the guitar but obviously want to tweak it for my sound as well as possible without destroying her sound. i do roll the volume off a little sometimes but it's not the right fix for this problem because it takes away some tone of the other strings. nobody else hears that in their special??

[Miles Smiles]

nobody else hears that in their special??

No, I'm sorry.

You could try to lower the pickup height. There's no absolute need having it in parallel with the top and you also may adjust the pole pieces string by string.

How about adjusting the tone control on your amp? Is it better when you roll off the bass control?

[dskittz]

i am lowering the pickups accordingly but i definitely need to tweak the pole pieces i think thats the def fix! what kind of tool do should i use? ive tried using a screwdriver but it doesn't fit exactly well.. thanks!

[Craig]

i am lowering the pickups accordingly but i definitely need to tweak the pole pieces i think thats the def fix! what kind of tool do should i use? ive tried using a screwdriver but it doesn't fit exactly well.. thanks!

See this post located in the G&L Knowledgebase, G&L Tech Tips sub-forum: Can you tell me which allen wrenches I need for my G&L?

[helle-man]

basically the volume is too high for just those two (too much bass basically),

Funny, but that's the whole reason to like ASAT Special PU's - they're very "high-fi" sounding compared to other brands. That's the reason people buy them!

Lower the PU height on the bass side if it bothers you, or adjust your amp controls. But honestly, why have an ASAT Special if you don't like the PU's?

Will

[dskittz]

it's amazing how catty people are on these sites, seems like people just want to argue about how these guitars ARE the best (w any forum i imagine) i dont know about you but im not satisfied w a guitar right out of the box. the guitar plays you as much as you play the guitar. trying to find that balance? sorry i got an asat spec? ? didnt realize it'd be so offensive to not like every single spec straight outa the box. i'm asking for constructive opinions and tips from other people, i need to explain why i like g&l and have two before i do that?


also i like the sound of the pick ups they are just not what im looking for w 2 out of 6 strings. that's tweakable probably lowering the pole piece is the ticket. that doesn't mean i don't like how dreamy/shimmery and resonant those pickups are the volume is just a bit too high for two strings.


also thanks for the tips i came here because i figured you guys and gals knew what you were talking about the question maybe a simple one to some but im a little new w the higher end guitar stuff (other guitar is a legacy tribute, bought when i was 16)

[NickHorne]

Dear Man,
you are overheating right out of the box; please do be a little calmer and absorb some of the advice on offer here before imagining that there is some "catty" thing going on. There isn't.
I think you have half-answered your own question when you say "too much bass"; there is nothing at all wrong with setting the bass knob on your amp anywhere that pleases you, from zero to ten. If you have another guitar that likes it set at 5, and the Special sounds best at 3, so what? That's what the knob is for, to make sounds you like.

As for the pickups, first of all I do hope you have read Craig's reply about the Allen key size that fits your year's pickup poles. PLEASE don't do any more with a screwdriver in the polepieces!! A pro-grade guitar is not a lawnmower, and won't withstand too much uninformed surgery with the family "tool" kit.

Using a WELL-FITTING screwdriver, I would suggest you lower the bass side of the neck pickup, a little at a time, while also raising the D-string's polepiece with that correct Allen key you just got, also a little at a time. You should get a good balance fairly easily as long as the bass setting on your amp is not too high.

A word about the polepieces: if the adjustable (inner) part is already level with the outer part, the polepiece is already in as far as it will go. DON'T try to force it any further in. Instead, lower that end of the pickup, and then raise any poles for strings that are now too quiet.

These necessary ways of doing things are not design faults; they are the best efforts of extremely experienced and skilled people, in this instance, Leo Fender.

If you persevere with the electric guitar for a lifetime, you are going to find that it is no more possible to get it PERFECT than it is to perfect any man-made thing. Everything about its setup inter-reacts with everything else. We all just get it as close as we can as we go along, with the benefit of experience , trying and learning. $125,000 concert grand pianos are imperfect too, everything is.

Do take advice on board to see if it works for you before getting too agitato about it.
I myself have done at least 90,000 professional music hours, and Will Ray has almost certainly done more (not that I'm suggesting he's old or anything), and we're are all only too happy to reply to you.

Anyhow, welcome to the wicked ways of our electric mistress who cannot be completely tamed. Enjoy the ride (and it's better when you relax).

[Miles Smiles]

Well done, NickHorne!

[dskittz]

when i say too much bass im talking about the volume being overwhelmed by the low e and a so its not the amp (or that mysterious bass knob i've never even thought about), when i was talking about a screwdriver i was talking about one the size you use for eye glasses. i understand they are iron based (i think?) and malleable. i just never said i didn't like the pickups, trying to learn how to adjust them correctly. i think i did take that the wrong way sorry about that. the whole reason i'm here is to try to gain some insight and knowledge from people w much more experience then i have. i appreciate and respect that. but when you tell me "that's what the bass knob is for, to make sounds you like" sounds a bit condescending ahh whatever <censored word> it i heard what i needed to hear, just keep doing what im doing playing w the pickups and pole-pieces with a WELL FITTED "screwdriver"?? i commend you for being able to relax while patronizing!

[NickHorne]

Just to clarify, the bass control adjusts the volume of low frequencies. This can, and does, affect the volume of the lower-tuned strings; simple as that. It's a very common source of confusion, especially in recording situations. Warming up a sound is seldom as simple as just "turning the bass up", and vice versa.
Lowering the bass end of a pickup and then raising the amp's bass setting will give a different result compared to having the bass end of the pup higher and turning the amp's bass control down.
Just experiment.
I was serious about a well-fitting screwdriver (for the pickup height screws, and obviously not the polepieces). It really has to fit the head of the screw reasonably snugly, else it will chew up the head of the screw. If only chewed slightly, this will be uncomfortable if your thumb / finger / hand meets the head of the screw when you play; if it gets more seriously damaged, the screw can become difficult or impossible to turn. This is not a design fault, nor a sign of substandard screws. A few sizes of good screwdrivers with tips in good condition will be long-term friends in all kinds of tool-using situations, and not just with delicate things like guitars.
After all this, I do hope you really enjoy that very nice guitar that you have! And I'm sorry that you felt I was patronising; I only mean to tell you what my own experience has taught me.
Best wishes,
Nick

[Craig]

i am lowering the pickups accordingly but i definitely need to tweak the pole pieces i think thats the def fix! what kind of tool do should i use? ive tried using a screwdriver but it doesn't fit exactly well.. thanks!

See this post located in the G&L Knowledgebase, G&L Tech Tips sub-forum: Can you tell me which allen wrenches I need for my G&L?

BTW, there should have been a set of allen wrenches included in the case, unless you bought it used and the previous owner did not include them.

Hopefully you will be able to get the pickups set up to your liking. Let us know what adjustments you ended up using.

[dskittz]

i definitely will, i have adjusted the pick ups quite a bit but im still playing with them because i only have a couple days a week for the chance to play loud enough to really tune it in. i have been playing for seven years i know in comparison to a lot of you dudes that's not that long but it isn't my first time around the block. but i am new to the mfd's and the whole adjustable pole piece idea which is why i started this thread. and i got an asat special because i liked the idea that they ARE so customizable w pick up/pole piece height and on the other end of the spectrum i'm more of a strat/legacy guy so i thought this was a great chance to push my style into newer territory! I honestly think it'll take me at least six months to feel like i'm really comfortable with this guitar but so far i absolutely really am in love. just tryin to dial her in

[Miles Smiles]

Maybe you should give a try, take your ASAT to the next music store and try some other amps, just to see if the problem is located there?

A thwappy guitar on a thwappy amp is probably thwappy² and too much.

[meursault]

i have 2 question that may sound stupid...

do you have that "issue" unplugged ?

did you have that feeling in different rooms ?

[louis cyfer]

dskittz, this site is very different from most guitar sites, people don't jump on others, and they don't patronize newcomers. they genuinely try to help. if something seems patronizing or catty to you, please give the benefit of doubt and clarify maybe what they said. we don't know your skill and experience level, so some of the advice maybe rudimentary, but it is given with good intention. also, english is not everyone's first language. btw, helle-man is one of the most respected and most skilled guitar players in the world, he has his own model of g&l, i am pointing this out to show the caliber of people that hang around here.

posting a recording of the sound you are talking about would give us a better idea, so we could help more effectively.

[dskittz]

Yea I don't think it's the room since its in every room, I took it into a guitar shop and tried different amps when I first got it a month ago heard similar things but when I do saturate it with distortion that does get rid of it, I do think the jazz chorus does exasperate the problem though, I have a boss ds 2 because I liked the sound of over saturated kinda crappy distortion especially w playing noise rock/post punk whatever. But I just ordered a fat sandwich hoping a higher quality pedal will allow the ASAt to shine through better, any thoughts on that pedal? (Side note) I think I need to get that correct Allen wrench and dial it in I don't have the sound "problem" from the bridge but I love the tone of that neck pickup

[GeorgeB]

If lowering the two poles on E and A together with rising the others doesn't do it, you could also try remove those two pole pieces completely, once you have the correct Allen wrench.