Just Arrived - My first ASAT

[offplanetfilms]

I’ve been hunting for an ASAT Special for a while now, but they aren’t easy to come by in my neck of the woods. I’m usually more of an S-shape guitar person, but I’ve been gassing for something with large MFD’s and a saddle lock bridge (after listening to a lot of G&L demos on YouTube, I knew what I wanted).
Last week, I ordered a new Tribute ASAT Special on sale from a Sydney dealer. She arrived yesterday & I was truly shocked at the fantastic quality! My hopes weren’t too high, since all my other G&L’s are USA made… also, after I ordered it, I researched that the body was likely to be made from basswood. It was advertised as being swamp ash, but, …it’s painted black, so It's more likely to be basswood. I've since lost my Tribute & basswood fears in one swoop!
The neck really has an uncanny profile/feel resemblance to my USA maple-neck Legacy. According to the serial number, she was made in Korea in late 2006, although the large headstock decal & bridge resemble the Indonesian models. (Obviously sold as NOS). She weighs in at 8.8 pounds, and certainly does have an ash like tone, but whatever the wood is, I wouldn’t change a thing! I love the saddle lock bridge… best sustain I’ve ever heard on a guitar. After setting her up to my taste & lowering the pickups to the sweet spot, I’m seriously enamored by my first ASAT encounter. She’s a keeper & sits proudly in my herd!

Pictures following to prove her existence...

[Kit]

Congrats! That is one great looking guitar. If it sounds as good as it looks you are a lucky man.

I've always wanted a G&L with the big MFD and I still don't own one. Perhaps some day.

[sirmyghin]

Nice axe dude, specials sound so good.

The tortoise coloured guard really sets it off wonderfully.

[Philby]

Congratulations! Lovely looking guitar.

I love my Tribby ASAT special as well. The Tributes are not to be sneezed at.

Leave her in the sun for a while this summer and you'll be amazed as the maple neck turns a lovely honey colour.

EDIT: There's nothing wrong with basswood guitars. A lot of high end guitar makers have realised what a great tonewood it is. It's just a bit boring to look at (no grain pattern) and it's a bit soft so you have to be careful not to knock it

[jwebsmall]

Beautiful guitar.

I went to the local dealer today and heard some guys
(more than one) playing the ASAT special and it sounded lush!!!
Another guy standing around said he had a strat and an ASAT
special at home. I asked him which one he played the most.
And without hesitate he said I play my ASAT special 90% of
the time and my strat maybe 10% of the time.

I then spotted a hardtail Invader with a smoke metalic finish
and picked it up. It was so nice I thought it was USA
made. I could hardly believe it when I saw the fine
print that said Tribute. I honestly thought it was USA built
at first.

[offplanetfilms]

I'm very impressed with the hotter overdriven sound of these pickups. The cleans are nice too, but the sustain & drive is putting my humbucker guitars to shame. Such a wide sonic range to her! She's definitely my new "bad girl" hard rock favorite.
Build wise, she has a really tight neck pocket, more so than a couple of my USA models (though my Fullerton model wins the prize on that score).
I've heard about basswood cosmetically being a little on the soft side, but she'll be doing only studio work, so her physical life will be gentle... it's her sound will be doing all the damage! Flawless distorted tone. Very SC-2 like, with extra sustain given that saddle lock bridge. Exactly what I was after, only more so!
I think basswood may actually be a good mid-range pairing with the large MDF pickups. I've seriously underestimated basswood as a tone wood (if it really is basswood in this guitar). I'll compare her with my maple-bodied SC-3 this afternoon & report back!

[jwebsmall]

I love the sound of basswood for hard driving rock with a touch of distortion.
Joe Satriani's guitar is basswood for example. With the right pickups basswood
has killer tone IMO. Actually I like all three (basswood, alder, and swamp ash
(light weight)) each slightly different from the next. ProGuitarShop has those
ASAT special deluxe "no top" - and the big MFD's sound awesome on mahogany
even.

Are you sure you have basswood in this guitar? The G&L website lists
possible basswood for the ASAT classic tribute but not the ASAT special
tribute.

[offplanetfilms]

Yea, I've been scratching my head over whether the body is really basswood or not. According to the registry, the black finished tributes were Tila(basswood), but looking at the G&L site, I guess the recent Indonesian models are now all ash.
This certainly has the weight of ash (8.8 pounds), but I've read that basswood was supposed to be lightweight?
I am unfamiliar with the tone of basswood, but even if that's the case, it still works well in this guitar. I often prefer heavier bodies, so I've no complaints with the weight.

[Craig]

Any solid color finish on a Tribute model will have basswood body, except for the Tribute Jerry Cantrell Rampage which has a soft Maple body. Your black Tribute ASAT Special does have a basswood body.

[offplanetfilms]

Thanks Craig! ...All the bad press I've read about basswood, I'm just not hearing in this guitar at all. It's changed my "internet-educated" bias altogether. She has great highs & lows... very surprising "hi-fi" tone all around. (We keep hearing that about MFD's in reviews, but what better description is there?) Very responsive to the tone control too.. dials from twang to creamy-smooth without falling into mud.
Doing the A-B comparisons with the maple SC-3, it stands up very well. Definitely has more drive than the older SC-3 single coils, but the sweetness is still there. It misses the Legacy alnico sparkle, but it's just a different tone palate. So far I like it better than the alder guitars I have. (I've yet to hear MFD's in an alder body, but I'm slowly building my own S-500 project from rescued ebay USA parts, so I will hear it one day).
I did some sustain comparisons with other guitars too, and my LP came close, but the ASAT Special won out. Has much better note separation & clarity through heavy distortion too. She's a dirty little tone monster!

[sirmyghin]

Basswood is fine building material, there is good basswood, and crappy basswood. Look at the original JP by music man, it is basswood. It is another piece in the puzzle of resonant wood and dead wood, species be damned.

[yowhatsshakin]

Agree with Sirmy. This is my first place to go to to get an idea about properties and tonal characteristics of tonewoords

Hope this helps,

- Jos

[Ribsspare]

Looks good. I'll have to try basswood. Mine is swamp ash and I love it but I've heard good things about basswood.

[offplanetfilms]

The sustain of the basswood in combo with the saddle lock bridge is amazing. Beats all my stop-tail guitars by a long shot.
I spotted this line on Wikipedia the other day on the "Tila" page, which mentions it's sustain attributes in the "uses" section...

"In the past, it was typically used (along with Agathis) for less-expensive models. However, due to its better resonance at mid and high frequency, and better sustain than alder, it is now more commonly in use with the "superstrat" type of guitar."

On my ASAT Special, basswood is definitely has something very special going on.

[jwebsmall]

They don't call that ASAT special for nothing!

The first time I played an ASAT special was the weekend before
last. The only way I could describe it is the notes "speak with
authority" when I picked/plucked them unlike any guitar I've ever
played. Another way to say it is the ASAT special is the alpha
male tele. Come to think of it the ASAP special 30th anniversary
with the ebony fingerboard must bite and bark with authority.

[darylb]

The first time I played a Special was a few years ago. I played one chord through an amp with some crunch and could only say "Oh my!". I knew that was a guitar I had to have. Maybe 6 months ago I was able to pick up a Tribby Asat Special and I'm in love. You are correct. Those pickups are like nothing else.

I just think G&L is making the best pickups in the business. I used to have a Tribute Legacy HB and between that guitar and my Special, I havent played better pickups. The neck pickup on the special is unbelievable. I havent played another guitar with a neck pickup that could touch it. I think if they were making their guitars out of ply wood they would still sound good.

Congrats on the new rig.

[darwinohm]

OPF, very nice Special. I have an early (2003) Tribby Special and it a very nice guitar. Fit and finish is perfect. The pickguard really looks good on Black.-- Darwin

[desertrat07]

Congrats on the Special. Those MFD's rock, don't they!

I was skeptical when I bought my USA ASAT Special Deluxe with a basswood body and maple top over the internet, but I was shocked by the amazing tone it has - incredible note to note clarity and definition (better than the PRS that I promptly sold after getting it) and a really unique midrange grind. John Suhr (who knows a little bit about guitars) calls the basswood/maple combo the "holy grail of tone." I think basswood got a bad rap because it is an affordable and plentiful wood out of which many bad guitars were built in the 80's and 90's.

[Ausistorm]

Congrats OPF on the ASAT Special. Tribute or otherwise the MFD pickups are the real McCoy (i.e. USA ) . Thay are a wonder filled pickup -the more you experiment with the tone from clean to crunch (backing off the volume to clean it up) and varying the tonal palate (via the tone knob) the more you'll discover how versatile & responsive this bad boy is!!!
You can cover soooo many genres from rock, country to jazz etc on that baby!
It's good to see another aussie enjoying these fine guitars