ANOTHER G&L QUESTION

[PUCKBOY99]

Hey guys, newbie G&L owner here & trying to figure out what I have here.....haven't been able to find anything online & KNEW this would be the place to come !

I was selling a bass in order to get the funds to buy a 12-string acoustic. It got little interest, so I traded it for a G&L ASAT....figured a guitar would be easier to trade for another guitar.

Anyway, the guy told me the model was called an ASAT S-3 & for whatever reason, they went in & out of production.

Here are some pics:

http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d67/P ... SAT%20S-3/





The serial number is CLF18566

The body is a transparent crimson burst...flame maple neck...Sperzel locking tuners, appear to be original....3 MFD pickups on a 5-way switch....also a mini-toggle giving further p/u options....OHSC.

I'm guessing the mini-toggle was added....unknown if it was a G&L option....but there are no scratches around it, so not sure if it's stock.

Anyway, just trying to figure out what I have here, possible worth if traded (I'm looking for a 12 string) or anything else you can tell me.

THANKS !

[brianr0131]

Your guitar was entered into the registry (incorrectly) at some point in the past. It was entered as a regular ASAT Special you are correct about it being an S3. I saw your thread for trade on another site. I think you're in the right ballpark valu-wise. Maybe a tad high. It's a sweet guitar though. Very unique. What do positions 2 and 4 sound like? Stratty at all? Those Big MFD piockups are awesome, I have them on my ASAT.

I'd keep it.

[PUCKBOY99]

Thanks Brian.

Yeah, I kind of guessed at the price as I haven't been able to find anything like this anywhere on the net, so I based it off of the 2 p/u versions & considered the extra p/u, mini, & overall condition.

My #1 Tele is a Glendale & it's pretty damned sweet, but the MFDs & toggle make this very different.

Fuller tone all around....it can twang, but has a little more ooomph. Positions 2 & 4 are very Strat like, but again, thicker & fuller....enough to be different than my Strat.

The toggle adds neck/bridge and all 3 p/u's. The all 3 sounds incredible !

Anyway, it is a sweet guitar & I very well might just keep it. A local guy has a 12-string that I'm going to look at tomorrow, but it might just follow me home !

[brianr0131]

Keep it man. You'll probably regret selling it. You probably never attached to it because you planned on trading it. PLay it a while and get to know it. Then, you'll want to keep it.

[Craig]

Your guitar was entered into the registry (incorrectly) at some point in the past. It was entered as a regular ASAT Special you are correct about it being an S3.

Actually it was entered correctly in the Registry. It began life as an ASAT Special and a previous owner added the middle pickup
and expander switch. See the Other Features of the registry entry. So it is a converted ASAT S-3 with an added expander switch.

Hope this helps.

[PUCKBOY99]

And thank you Craig !!!!!!!

[PUCKBOY99]

I found it on the registry & it's entered as an ASAT Special with the comment: "Middle- Magnetic Field Pickup Installed "..........I wonder if that means he had it installed or it's a Special with the middle p/u (making it an S3 instead of a modded Special ?).


I shot the registered owner an email to see if he had it installed or if it came that way.

None of this really matters....it's a nice playing guitar, so.....more curious than anything.

Thanks again guys !

[brianr0131]

I think Craig is probably right. It looks like he's saying he added the sperzels 5 way and middle MFD. Which brings us to another question. Have you removed the pickguard? If it's anything like my 86 ASAT or any specials I have seen it only has routs that fit the pickups themselves. So, it would have been routed for the middle pup to be added. Make sure it looks clean. My ASAT had a real butcher job done to it to install a humbucker of all things. I bought a new pickguard and vow to never look under it again

Hopefully your's looks better. But, if you're considering trading or selling, it's best to know all of the facts and present them truthfully.

[Craig]

I found it on the registry & it's entered as an ASAT Special with the comment: "Middle- Magnetic Field Pickup Installed "..........I wonder if that means he had it installed or it's a Special with the middle p/u (making it an S3 instead of a modded Special ?).

None of this really matters....it's a nice playing guitar, so.....more curious than anything.

Thanks again guys !

Next time you replace the strings, remove the pickguard and see how the middle pickup rout looks.
Does it look like the neck and bridge pickup routes?

One other possibility is that it could have been a non-production employee built S-3 with expander switch.

It definitely is a very nice looking ASAT.

[PUCKBOY99]

But, if you're considering trading or selling, it's best to know all of the facts and present them truthfully.

THAT is my #1 reason for being so curious. I don't want to be accused of trying to pawn off a Tribute or something that it is not. With luck, the guy that registered it is the original owner & the email addy is good !

I found it on the registry & it's entered as an ASAT Special with the comment: "Middle- Magnetic Field Pickup Installed "..........I wonder if that means he had it installed or it's a Special with the middle p/u (making it an S3 instead of a modded Special ?).

None of this really matters....it's a nice playing guitar, so.....more curious than anything.

Thanks again guys !

Next time you replace the strings, remove the pickguard and see how the middle pickup rout looks.
Does it look like the neck and bridge pickup routes?

One other possibility is that it could have been a non-production employee built S-3 with expander switch.

It definitely is a very nice looking ASAT.

I'm off tomorrow & will do a little digging....take pics of the findings

[brianr0131]

I'm off tomorrow & will do a little digging....take pics of the findings

Please update us. I am very interested.

[PUCKBOY99]

Didn't get around to taking it apart today, but I did hear back from the original owner:


"Hey Terry, yes I am the original owner of that ASAT Special... I sold it about two years ago on e-bay. I purchased the ASAT Special new at the N.Y. Guitar Show about 7-8 years ago from a N.Y. music store called Toys In The Attic. I had the middle pickup and toggle switch professionally installed by The American Guitar Museum located @ New Hyde Park, Long Island, NY. The toggle switch engages the bridge pickup so you can get the bridge/neck combo or all three pickups engaged. I am a string bender and I wasn't in love with the 7.5 radius neck. I had my guitar tech file down the frets and this did help a little but I replaced it with a Suhr Classic T. Good luck with the guitar, I really dug the magnetic field pickups, very P90 like......it's a great guitar!

Peace"


....whoever his tech was did a real nice job on the frets 'cause it's a super nice player. And I like the neck just fine.

If/when I take it apart, I'll take pics & post them....for now, it's staying put.

[Craig]

Didn't get around to taking it apart today, but I did hear back from the original owner:


"Hey Terry, yes I am the original owner of that ASAT Special... I sold it about two years ago on e-bay. I purchased the ASAT Special new at the N.Y. Guitar Show about 7-8 years ago from a N.Y. music store called Toys In The Attic. I had the middle pickup and toggle switch professionally installed by The American Guitar Museum located @ New Hyde Park, Long Island, NY. The toggle switch engages the bridge pickup so you can get the bridge/neck combo or all three pickups engaged. I am a string bender and I wasn't in love with the 7.5 radius neck. I had my guitar tech file down the frets and this did help a little but I replaced it with a Suhr Classic T. Good luck with the guitar, I really dug the magnetic field pickups, very P90 like......it's a great guitar!

Peace"


....whoever his tech was did a real nice job on the frets 'cause it's a super nice player. And I like the neck just fine.

If/when I take it apart, I'll take pics & post them....for now, it's staying put.

Very cool to have gotten the whole story on this guitar!

Thanks for sharing it with us.

It definitely sounds like a keeper to me.