The guitar so nice I bought it twice

The place to discuss, post photos, video, and audio of the G&L products (US instruments, stomp boxes, etc.) produced after 1991, including the amps & gear we use with them.
User avatar
blargfromouterspace
Posts: 2390
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 5:45 am
Location: Central Highlands, Australia

The guitar so nice I bought it twice

Post by blargfromouterspace »

Quite a while ago I foolishly sold an ASAT Classic that I'd always thought had something a little special about it. The reason was that I was playing bass in a new band, and featured on guitar on one song, and the neck on this particular ASAT felt wildly different to the bass neck, much more so than on other guitars I'd used. So I figured I wouldn't be using it a lot and sold it for not a lot of money. Fast forward 12 months or so and I was no longer playing bass in that band, moving to guitar full time as I'm a better guitarist than bass player, and man did I miss this guitar. So I contacted the guy I sold it to and he'd barely been using it and was happy to sell it back at the price I sold it to him for - excellent!

When I got it back it was in a real state. The fingerboard was filthy, the strings were black and had a layer of gunk on the lower side, the chrome plating on the volume knob had corroded away and the whole thing had a disgusting oily residue over it, hopefully from some sort of polish... I have no idea where it had been kept! So as not to risk catching tetanus, I decided to clean it up before even playing it at all, let alone plugging it in. It doesn't look too bad in the photo, but the gunk was built up thicker than appears!
Image

I took the whole thing apart to give it a good sanitising. The gunk on the fretboard was removed with a scalpel, and the frets polished up with steel wool. The body was stripped of all hardware and cleaned in warm soapy water then dried thoroughly. When I initially bought the guitar 5 or so years ago, it was sold to me as a 1997 model. It was thus mildly surprising to note that the actual build date is 1993, with only 2 weeks between build dates on the neck and body.

Image

Image

Once it was all back together, and with a favourite set of Seymour Duncan pickups installed, I was amazed that it was still as nicely set up as the day I sold it. Thats a real testament to the quality of G&Ls builds. I've been using almost exclusively for the last few months, and it was the only guitar used on an album we recorded last month - and it was certainly not the only one I brought along! Every now and then I get the urge to order another G&L to my specs, but I really don't think they'd be able to top this one.

It is not for sale 8-)

Image
Image
-Jamie
User avatar
Nubs
Posts: 288
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2014 7:54 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Re: The guitar so nice I bought it twice

Post by Nubs »

Awesome story & fantastic looking ASAT! I bought my MIM strat twice in a similar fashion. Now that she's back, she's not going anywhere.

What's the color on it? Looks like a vintage white or blonde. Hard to tell from the pics.
Join the lefty guitarists subreddit:

http://www.reddit.com/r/leftyguitarists
User avatar
yowhatsshakin
Posts: 3340
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:00 am
Location: Seattle

Re: The guitar so nice I bought it twice

Post by yowhatsshakin »

Great story indeed! And congrats on reacquainting yourself with an old friend.
blargfromouterspace wrote:It is not for sale 8-)
No really Jamie, how much do you want for it? ;-)

- Jos
User avatar
darwinohm
Posts: 3218
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:13 pm
Location: Minneapolis/St Paul

Re: The guitar so nice I bought it twice

Post by darwinohm »

Jamie, you were lucky to get it back and get it into playing condition! It is sweet. I haven't given up on bass and hope to have my new Emerald in less than 3 weeks! -- Darwin
User avatar
Kit
Posts: 471
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2010 1:50 pm

Re: The guitar so nice I bought it twice

Post by Kit »

Beautiful classic look. Congrats on getting a favorite back. That doesn't happen often.
User avatar
blargfromouterspace
Posts: 2390
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 5:45 am
Location: Central Highlands, Australia

Re: The guitar so nice I bought it twice

Post by blargfromouterspace »

Nubs - Its blonde over ash, the grain is visible through the finish. Easily my favourite finish for a T-style guitar.

Darwin - Looking forward to photos of that one! Anything to do with the 35th anniersary?

Jos - A hero of yours? ;)
[youtube]8ZMmhqfV74k[/youtube]
-Jamie
User avatar
darwinohm
Posts: 3218
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:13 pm
Location: Minneapolis/St Paul

Re: The guitar so nice I bought it twice

Post by darwinohm »

No Jamie, it is made by Emerald in Ireland. It is carbon fiber and should come in just under 7 lbs, an important factor to me. Thanks-- Darwin