My new Comanche and recently new ASAT Classic S

[zedshaw]

I recently bought an ASAT Classic S and absolutely loved it. I'd never actually loved a guitar before. They were just things I beat up until they were useless while I learned to play. The ASAT however was the first guitar where pulling it out of the case and playing it the first time I thought, "Oh, this one is different." It had such a unique sound, not quite country, not quite anything else. The neck felt natural and let my hand just relax and play. It was sensitive to my right hand, forcing me to learn to pick properly and even learn hybrid picking eventually.

Here's the pics of the ASAT off my blog I'm starting about music gear:

http://gear.fm/pics/ASAT/

However, there's one *huge* pet peeve I have about guitars: 60hz hum and EMI. Drives me insane to hear that buzzing and its annoying destruction of what is normally a great record. It just seems to grates on me, but I manage.

As I studied more G&L guitars I discovered there's that quiet beast the Comanche. Z-coils with that MFD sound I love that are absolutely quiet and a PTB system? YES! I looked around, and decided I wanted a blond one but couldn't find one at the lower end price range. Then I found one on eBay and decided to grab it and I must say I love this thing. It's got a few problems I'll be fixing up, but it's just fantastic.

Here's the pics of the Comanche:

http://gear.fm/pics/Comanche/

The guitar plays fantastic and has absolutely no noise. I wouldn't say I like it better than the ASAT, it's just different. I find the sound to be more "generic clean MFD", and once you put some effects on it the thing comes alive. This thing *loves* effects. Any amp I plug it into just sounds like a better amp. Distortion sounds fantastic. Reverb sound clean and smooth. It's also the first guitar that has a tremolo arm I can actually use and like. I absolutely *hate* tremolos, but I read how much everyone likes the dual fulcrum and I gotta say it's the best one. Best of all if I don't want to use it then it's as if there isn't one.

So what's wrong with it? Well it looks like it'd been sitting in the shop for a while, so I had to clean the hell out of it. I suspected that it actually wasn't new, because the tuners didn't look like standard G&L tuners. The 14th fret is also a tiny bit near the 6th string loose so I'll have to get that repaired eventually. The pickguard had the protective film on it so long that the glue is just stuck to the pickguard, but I want a black aluminum one anyway. The frets also seem flat, but they play great so I'm assuming that's just how they are.

Overall I love the Comanche. It may need a tiny bit of repair, but it's a great guitar even with these defects. I don't even care if it was actually new or not so long as I can get the thing fixed on warranty.

I played it all day yesterday at work, and then until 4am last night and it still feels perfect.

[MrRoundel]

I too love my ASAT's, and marvel at how quiet the Z-coils are in my Comanche VI. You've inspired me to plug it into my pedal board tomorrow, as I've just played it directly to my MusicMan 210HD 130 amp so far. My favorite ASAT today is an ASAT III. I'm sure your Classic S is very sweet.
Congratulations on a couple of great guitars. The white Comanche with matching headstock is sweet to look at. Enjoy.

[blargfromouterspace]

Hi
Nice ASAT S. I guess it's one of the semi-hollow ones? I have one of the solid bodied ones with the belly and forearm contours. I love mine too! G&L's are just lovable things!

I also have a semi hollow bluesboy (same bridge pickup), and I agree with you that the sound isn't quite country. I find it more of a rockabilly sound, it sounds totally at home playing '50s rock'n'roll too.

The best way to stop 60 cycle hum annoying you is to just keep playing! Don't stop! It's easy for me to say because it doesn't bother me