NGD- Savannah Collection ASAT Bass

[darwinohm]

I had a call yesterday that it was in. I had ordered this with some apprehension as I was concerned about the top wood. I didn't want knots or flaws in the top. My expectations were exceeded. It it actually a beautiful Korina grain with some flaming, very nice. It is always interesting to remember the first thought when you open the case for the first time. I unpackaged it so AGB didn't know what it looked like either. It turned out to be quite light for a bass at 8 lbs 13 oz, another of my expectations. It is a piece of art. The Okoume is very interesting in that it has shaded stripes. The finish is second to none, typical G&L. The neck is very well quarter sawn, almost at 90 degrees and also has a very nice figured Pau Ferro fingerboard. The build date was Aug 2. I am delighted to receive this one and will give it the first tone test next tuesday during a practice. AGB has one of the Korina Colection Asat basses in stock, very nice but I am glad I waited for this one. Here are some photos.-- Darwin

[Fumble fingers]

totally gorgeous !!

[yowhatsshakin]

Wow (the sound you heard is my jaw dropping to the ground.) Even more looking forward to tomorrow.

Congrats darwin. That is quite the bass.

- Jos

[Philby]

Gorgeous bass, Darwin. That deserves a cold one or two.

[Elwood]

Dang !!

That's some beautiful wood, Score !!

[blargfromouterspace]

Darwin, it looks better in your photos than in the promo shots. The flame in the Korina looks great, enjoy it!

[KenC]

Darwin,

Your new bass is stunning. Is the neck flamed?

I'm looking forward to the tone report!

Ken

[darwinohm]

Thanks all for your comments. I have been through the setup and it is one that I didn't have to make any changes to. It is perfect for my playing style. I did plug it in to my Vibrasonic just to make sure everything worked and it does. Very clean and beautiful tones through the JBL at low volumes.

Ken, it is not a flamed neck but a very well quarter sawn example with the grain close to 90 degrees. I have a photo showing the grain.



The one change I made is to shim the saddle lock bridge on the left side. I use a .030 brass shim to center the saddles in the bridge. It also centers the strings beautifully on pickups. I have done this with most of my saddle locks and don't understand why G&L doesn't do it as part of their factory setup. Instead they position the saddles all the way to the left side of the bridge leaving a gap where the saddle lock screw locks down. The strings are usually a bit to the left of the pickup poles also from the factory. Maybe it doesn't make a difference sonically but it sure looks better. Here is a picture of what I have done.



Yup Philby, this one is worth at least 3 cold ones. I am going to settle in and do that. I am a happy camper and I know that Tim at AGB talked to the factory about this build and it is a sweet one. G&L does listen, now if only they would shim the saddle lock!-- Darwin

[KenC]

G&L does listen, now if only they would shim the saddle lock!-- Darwin

I never thought about that, but now I'm going to check all of my basses. A second set screw on the left side would seem like a good idea if this happens a lot. That would let owners center the saddles exactly over the pole pieces.

Ken

[glvourot]

Outstanding ! I also have opened a cold one to celebrate. That thing makes my P-Bass seem so pedestrian.

[blargfromouterspace]

Forgot to ask - how much bigger than a regular ASAT body is the ASAT bass?

[jeffmarshall67]

Welcome to the Savannah!

[darwinohm]

Thanks Jeff.

Jamie, it appears to be the same size as an Asat 6 string guitar. -- Darwin

[astutzmann]

its another beauty for sure, congrats!!

[darwinohm]

Thanks Alf, I hope the LE 2s start showing up. It will be nice to finally see one.-- Darwin

[darwinohm]

Update on the Savannah Asat. We had an 8 hour practice yesterday and this gave me an opportunity to check out the Savannah along with the Pink Lady (Stingray5) and my Carvin 5 string. Having owned several brands of basses my preference has been lighter basses in recent yeas, thus the Savannah. The first thing I noticed is that the output jack didn't work. This is the second G&L bass I've purchased new and both have had defective output jacks. I got this one to work by unplugging it a bit. It is not the end on my wireless as it works in a multitude of other guitar jacks. I Replaced the output jack in my L-2500 with a Switchcraft and it solved the problem. They announced a long time ago that they were going to the football style jack but I have not seen them on an American G&L. They are open and can be adjusted to fit. I will get a new Switchcraft from the dealer and install myself. The output jacks are all enclosed so there isn't anything you can do to them.

The Asat bass sounds very similar to the L-2500 but I would say it is not quite as bright and has a softer complexion. It sounds like a G&L. We were sitting a lot of the day and I only used the Asat for about an hour. After that my right arm was going to sleep and getting sore because of the top body edge. A forearm cut would be great but is cannot be done on a hollow body. This may not be an issue when standing up. At this point I switched to the Pink Lady and I hadn't played this guitar for 3 years as I had only used it a couple of months before starting the restoration. It is a single H pickup and this baby growls and has the best low b response of any bass I have tried. I miss the low b on the Asat as it is only a 4 string. I used the Pink Lady for most of the day and slipped the Carvin in for about a half hour. The Carvin sounds good but its strong point is the weight, very light at 8 lbs 1 oz. The Asat is 8 lbs 13 oz, still nice and light. The down side of the Pink Lady is the weight at 10 lbs 10 oz. but it makes up for in playability and tone.

The jury is still out on the Asat as I prefer a 5 string so that is not a fault of the Asat. The build quality is second to none and I have to decide if I want to use a 4 string at times. The Asat is very nice to play, a great narrow neck and I believe the forearm/body issue will be a non issue when I am standing. I will use it at the next gig. Tone wise it is a G&L L series and they have grunt. So I'm liking it and any concerns I have are not faults of the bass but a question of whether I want a 4 string or not. If I were to compare it against the American Deluxe Fenders I have owned, the Asat clearly wins. On a side not, all 3 basses are strung with D'Addario nickel wound of the same thickness, .045 thru 100/130. -- Darwin

Edit, I did find a marking on the output jack from my L-2500 and it is a Switchcraft.

[darwinohm]

The output jack on the Savannah has been replaced. I replaced the Switchcraft with a Neutrik drop in replacement. The last two new G&L basses I have purchased had issues with my wireless plug. I believe the plug on my wireless is very sensitive to the output jacks and is part of the problem. The Neutrik has a different feel when you plug into it. I would describe it as a more positive feel. My purpose of the post is not to endorse either but just inform you that there are other choices if you need to change one. In both cases with my wireless cord, it has resolved the issue. The Asat output jack would work with some cables but did not with the wireless. I will emphasize that I don't see this as a G&L issue or QC problem. I am only explaining how I resolved the issue I was having and that the Neutrik is another possibility. I am posting a photo of both, although it is not that clear but the best I can do with my camera. The Switchcraft on the left and Neutrik on the right. They look very similar, just the knurling on the edge is a bit different. The cost for this plug was $1.88 plus tax and I now have a spare. The Neutrik number NYS2203. -- Darwin

[Elwood]

Good info, thanks Darwin !

elwood

[darwinohm]

I wanted to give you an update on the Savannah Asat Bass. This past week I had the opportunity to record with it and gig with it this weekend. I have some tone observations. It wasn't until we were recording with this bass that the tone really stood out from the rest. It is extremely dynamic and the recoeding waveform shows that. I record direct with a direct box into the Digi 002 Rack. The tone is killer. For recording it outdoes my Stingray5 and Carvin. It is very unique with the clarity and dynamics of the pickups. For recording, it could probably do all. I gigged it this weekend for a total of three sets and it is also very nice to gig with. The dynamics of the pickups are not quite as noticeable when running through my Carvin amp as with direct recording, but it really does the job. The big Humbuckers really are great pickups. This is a winner from a sound standpoint.

Now a bit about the balance and feel. It has the narrow Jazz neck and is easy to play for a 4 string. The body on this one is relatively light at 8 lbs. 13 oz. It is a bit neck heavy which is easy to solve with a good strap, which I have. I think that a solid body with the forearm cut would be the perfect setup. As many of you know, I am a 5 string player. The Asat is only available in 4 string and I think I understand why. With the body as light as this one, a 5 string neck would be very heavy for the body. I would really prefer a 5 string Asat but it would probably have to be a solid body and I would get both the forearm and tummy cuts for comfort. I had an L-2500 some time ago and it was very nice but a bit heavier than I like. I guess you can't have it all. This Asat is really a great sounding bass and I wish it were available in a 5 string version. I would love to try one. I really miss the low B string. I am going to re-record some of my bass tracks with the Asat bass just because of the tone. I will post some of the songs when the recording is complete. Some of you had asked for some input about the tone on this bass. The bottom line, it is killer. -- Darwin

[supereiv]

Thanks for the tone report Darwin, it sounds like you're having a pretty good time with your ASAT bass, makes me wanna buy one

[Lacking Talent]

One thing's for sure: with six bolts in it, that neck's not going anywhere. Wow.