pre-BBE ASAT vs. '07 ASAT Special: Differences? posted by Jet Age Eric on June 21, 2007]
: Hi,
: Just wondering what the differences are, technical or tonal, real or imagined
Thanks! -EThe two instruments look very similar on the surface but once you dive in you find many, many,
many differences all of which add up to different sounding sounds and feels.
1. Pickups. Look identical but under the covers are very different. The 2007 model has
considerably more turns than the 1986 to 1991 version and the 2007 model pickups are
machine wound as compared to the vintage pieces that are hand wound. The coil wire used
in 2007 is poly coated #42AWG whereas the vintage wire has PE #42AWG. The frequency
response is different between the two for positive with the newer pickups being less bright
and less lively. The new pickups tend to have more capacitance which is a function of more
turns and machine winding.
2. Control circuit. Big differences as the 2007 version has carbon film Mexican made pots
whereas the the vintage piece uses CTS USA Carbon Composition pots. Both serve the
same purpose, however, the carbon composition construction of the old pots adds shimmer
to the signal that is otherwise absent in a carbon film pot.
3. Body Wood. This varies...most early ASAT's are made from soft maple then later they were
made from mostly ash and sometimes soft maple. New ASAT's are either ash or alder. The
body shape itself has changed a little bit and the body thickness has increased from 1.625"
to 1.75". The maple bodied ASAT's do not sound much like the ash or alder versions.
4. Fingerboards and Fretwire. All the vintage ASAT's have low-wide frets that I personally
cannot stand. The newer guitars have tall jumbo wire...which I love. Fingerboards on the old
guitars were either fretted straight into the maple or fretted into a thin ebony or rosewood
curved veneer. Modern ASAT's have either a fretted maple neck or a big-ole slab rosewood
or sometimes ebony fingerboard. The thick rosewood or ebony fingerboards definitely alter
the sound a little...many folks prefer these to the old guitars.
5. Bridges. The bridge designs are more or less unchanged though the newer bridges utilize
billet brass saddles which are considerably better than the die-cast zinc used previously.
These interchange to the old models and are a highly recommended swap.
5. Geometry. The vintage G&L's have less than ideal tuner placement on the headstock
meaning the strings exiting the nut don't really have a truly straight shot to the tuners which
was fixed by G&L in the 97' timeframe. Does it effect the sound? Not much but I like the
modern geometry better.
6. Pickguard. Most of the old ASAT's have aluminum pickguards which have a pronounced
effect on the sound of these guitars. They also provide some shielding from 60 cycle hum.
Some very early examples have plastic pickguards. All 2007 ASAT Specials have plastic
pickguards.
These are the more major differences...there are others...
The proof though comes when you A/B a modern ASAT against a vintage piece. The two
guitars feel different and definitely sound different. Personally, I prefer the feel of the new
version and the sounds of the old. I prefer the fit and finish of the new guitars (most of the
time) to the old versions as in the 80's the quality of the finishes sprayed on the bodies was
nowhere near as good as it is now.
What you will find with the 2007 ASAT Special compared to the old is a guitar with less highs
(though no shortage of treble for certain) and nice tight bottom end and a decent midrange but
nothing in the same league of a good P-90. The Alder bodied modern ASAT's have a less
spanky top end and sound a little more rounded off in general...I personally prefer the alder
ASAT's to the ash.
The old ASAT's with the ash body are bright yet still meaty. The parallel connection between
the neck and bridge pickups has a nicer jangle to it than the modern guitar and more complex
overtones...a killer rythm sound for certain. The bridge pickup is less authoritative than the
modern guitars. 60 cycle hum is less noticeable on the old guitars partially due to the
aluminum guard but also due to the lesser turn count.
The maple bodied old ASAT's are my personal favorites of the model. I've never played one
that didn't sound superlative and they are less peaky than the ash vintage ASAT's I've played.
Soft maple makes for a very balanced signal when coupled with those large MFD's. When you
play one you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
I say give them all a whirl and then decide...there are plenty of old ASAT's out there to go
around...
And if you want a new one...G&L will be glad to build you one.
That's my dos pesos on the subject.
Gabe