Need help with Asat special build

[stheri88]

Hi everybody,

I am about to order my 3rd Asat special. Sadly, I sold the first two mainly because of the string slippage of the neck on the high e. However, the second one I ordered also suffered from being to darn have for my taste at roughly 9 pounds. Here is what I am trying to find out:

1) I see the empress wood generally seems to be a lighter body option than all other woods. Which wood does empress come closest to sounding like?
2) between the ols depth body and the rear and front contours, which typically reduces weight more?
3) for those of you that have Asat specials have you preferred them with alder or swamp,ash bodies? These pickups I think may be a bit more picky than others regarding tone woods. Also, have you had better luck with a rosewood or maple,neck for them?
4) for those of you with the limited run nitro finishes, how happy have you,been with them vs. the non nitro finishes?
5) interested in the modern c neck profile and how it corrects the string slip issue. Anyone have experience with this neck? The overall profile seems to,be very thin compared to the other necks g&l offered in the past. Is this similar to a fender tele neck on maybe a Mexican tele or American tele which is pretty small by comparison?

Sorry for,all these questions, but I would greatly appreciate all help from you. I am planning to make this my last Asat special purchase and want it to be the best one.

Thanks,
Steve

[Craig]

Hi everybody,

I am about to order my 3rd Asat special. Sadly, I sold the first two mainly because of the string slippage of the neck on the high e. However, the second one I ordered also suffered from being to darn have for my taste at roughly 9 pounds. Here is what I am trying to find out:

1) I see the empress wood generally seems to be a lighter body option than all other woods. Which wood does empress come closest to sounding like?
2) between the ols depth body and the rear and front contours, which typically reduces weight more?
3) for those of you that have Asat specials have you preferred them with alder or swamp,ash bodies? These pickups I think may be a bit more picky than others regarding tone woods. Also, have you had better luck with a rosewood or maple,neck for them?
4) for those of you with the limited run nitro finishes, how happy have you,been with them vs. the non nitro finishes?
5) interested in the modern c neck profile and how it corrects the string slip issue. Anyone have experience with this neck? The overall profile seems to,be very thin compared to the other necks g&l offered in the past. Is this similar to a fender tele neck on maybe a Mexican tele or American tele which is pretty small by comparison?

Sorry for,all these questions, but I would greatly appreciate all help from you. I am planning to make this my last Asat special purchase and want it to be the best one.

Thanks,
Steve

See this post to help answer some of your questions.
To see what the current Monday Inventory list made available to G&L Dealers, see: G&L USA Factory Inventory.
You might also consider the ASAT Special Semi-Hollow model, which has a Swamp Ash body, see: March 1, 2016-present G&L U.S. Specifications and Options.

Hope this helps.

[stheri88]

Thanks for the info. So, it sounds like empress is no longer an option. I have seen Asat specials in mahogany and other woods also - is anything other than ash or alder even available right now?

Is there any more info regarding the ols body and essentially what percentage smaller it is vs. standard Asat bodies? Semi hollow is certainly the safest option, but in my experience it significantly impacts the cost of the build.

Regarding the neck profiles, was the modern c specifically designed to address the string slippage? If so, that is likely the route I will go. Still, I would like to hear from folks that have ordered this to get some feedback on it as it seems much smaller than previous offerings and has a different radius too.

Lastly, not sure if nitro finish is in the cards for me, but would also like to hear from folks regarding this. Very happy g&l is offering them.

Thanks
Steve

[Craig]

Thanks for the info. So, it sounds like empress is no longer an option. I have seen Asat specials in mahogany and other woods also - is anything other than ash or alder even available right now?

Is there any more info regarding the ols body and essentially what percentage smaller it is vs. standard Asat bodies? Semi hollow is certainly the safest option, but in my experience it significantly impacts the cost of the build.

Regarding the neck profiles, was the modern c specifically designed to address the string slippage? If so, that is likely the route I will go. Still, I would like to hear from folks that have ordered this to get some feedback on it as it seems much smaller than previous offerings and has a different radius too.

Lastly, not sure if nitro finish is in the cards for me, but would also like to hear from folks regarding this. Very happy g&l is offering them.

Thanks
Steve

Only Alder and Swamp Ash are optional body woods on standard production builds. The ASAT Deluxe models have Mahogany body wood.
Like the Empress wood, G&L has done some special runs with other exotic wood types. See: Some recent G&L instruments built with exotic body wood ...

OLS details on G&L's main web site: https://www.glguitars.com/news/Original ... -Depth.asp.

Modern Classic details from post in our G&L Knowledgebase (March 1, 2016-present G&L U.S. Specifications and Options):

Modern Classic - 1 11/16” nut width with 1 5/8” string spacing allows a generous edge roll for superb comfort without string fall-off.
Fairly slim with mild taper from 0.820” at 1st fret to 0.870” at the 12th fret.

The current Nitro finishes are for special production runs only.
Back in March when the special production runs started showing up, I contacted Dave McLaren to get the scoop about them.
Here's what he said:

Hi Craig,

This is a very limited thing for us so I don’t expect we’ll put anything on the G&L site about it. It’s kind of like Monkeypod or Empress: if it is not supported as an option, we don’t take special orders for it.
We build it and let dealers buy it, so I guess the best way to answer the question about what colors or models are available is this: whatever shows up at a dealer is what’s available.
There will be some going to other countries.

For our first little batch we decided to make some instruments in Sonic Blue and Butterscotch, and once they were getting close to being completed we let some dealers order them.
UpFront is typically hip to picking up cool stuff, so they’re the kind of guys on the short list to call. We’re certainly not pushing this.

The quality we’re going for is better than Leo did in the ‘50s and ’60s (the G&L way as you know), though with authentic nitrocellulose lacquer the natural aging will begin pretty much from day one.

Thanks, Craig.

Dave

[stheri88]

Thanks again. So, how do I find out if a special run is currently available for an Asat special? I am sure the dealers don't want everyone calling them randomly about this.

Steve

[Challenger]

Several dealers have been posting their in stock nitro guitars on EBay and Reverb. There are 23 on EBay right now. You might check out this beauty: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-G-L-ASAT-Sp ... SwVyRXTnXc

[stheri88]

Thanks for the reply. Forgot to mention, I am the ever so rare, but all too cursed - left handed player.

Dealers never stock them.

Stephen

[Challenger]

G&L has been posting their nitro guitars on Facebook as they go out to dealers. I'm not sure that I've seen any left handed ones yet. I think your best bet is to get in touch with a dealer and explain what you want. Maybe G&L is just waiting for a left handed request before making one? It doesn't hurt to ask.

[Craig]

Thanks for the reply. Forgot to mention, I am the ever so rare, but all too cursed - left handed player.

Dealers never stock them.

Stephen

G&L does build a lot of Left-Handed instruments, see: Current G&L Lefty USA standard production Models.
Check out this post as it shows many of the Left-Handed instruments they made and where they went to: Some 2016 Factory Photos of Left-Handed instruments.

Where are you located? It would be great if you could post an introduction post in the Introductions sub-forum, too.

Hope this helps.

[Craig]

Thanks again. So, how do I find out if a special run is currently available for an Asat special? I am sure the dealers don't want everyone calling them randomly about this.

Steve

Have you looked at the post I mentioned previously? (G&L USA Factory Inventory)