
I didn't have a chance to plug it in when I bought it, and didn't expect to like the sound, not being the biggest fan of MFD pickups. The plan for this guitar was always use it as a test bed for something I've been wanting to see G&L do for a long time - a standard Tele pickup set with a saddle lock bridge. Getting my hands on something suitable to try this out is what took the longest as I didn't want to buy an ASAT Special just to have to cut up the body. The Z3 with its swimming pool route was always the perfect candidate although I'd never seen one fir sale in Australia and didn't expect to. I roughed out a pick guard and this is what I put together

Some observations-
- The bridge pickup is a full 10mm farther from the bridge than a standard Tele which alters the sound considerably
- Tall pickups are required to make up for the additional height of the SLB
- Cutting pickguards is very tricky without the right tools!
Overall a worthwhile experiment but not a winner. Too much of that Tele sound lies in the bridge. I'd like to experiment further with this concept, perhaps adding a metal plate under the pickguard to mimic the Tele bridge but that's for a later date.
I'm actually very happy with the standard Z3 pickups, and short of adding a super-switch to get neck + bridge pickup combo I'll be leaving this one stock.
As an aside, the baggage handlers damaged the case significantly on the flight home, making three damaged cases from three flights where I've checked my guitar in. What can you do....
One more photo, Solamente style
