G&L ASAT Classic Bluesboy Semi-hollow

2005, 22 frets, ash body 2 piece, Seth Lover neck and G&L classic Tele p/up, Triburst finish, # 4 neck (12" radius and 1/11/16 th`s)gun oil tint w/ gloss finish, rosewood fingerboard,locking schaller tuners.

Sounds Great for a Tele type of guitar,especially acoustically(it really gushes) I ended up changing the bridge p/up out to a Dimarzio Virtual Hot Tele bridge p/up to eliminate the hum(wonderful p/up)I`m giving it a 10 for Telecaster type of Guitar

Excellent, The only complaint I have w/ G&L is it`s hard to get them to build a neck w/ a large backshape like a Fender Nocaster. Otherwise it is definitely as good as it gets at any cost.

Works great for about any situation , and any kind of music. I`ve used in the studio to record, live jazz gigs, blues gigs, rock gigs, modern churh music gigs(direct as well as amplifier) Very versatile

Professional Guitarist for 32 years(that`s all I`ve ever done) Definetly buy again. I currently own Gibson Johnny A., Pat Martino Custom, Parker Fly Deluxe, Rickenbacker 330-12 string, Larivee` C-01 all great instruments

200 something.As described below as far as wood goes. Funny case that holds the guitar well but seems to not fit it when you first close it. The case is stock.Almost jumbo frets. The nicest intonation of any guitar I own.

It has a great sound. The seth lover is great for blues and leads in that vien. I like the middle setting the best for rhythm. It has the best combination of sounds for my wide variety of styles. ( played not so well though in case i sound conceited.)

This is the nicest put together guitar I have ever owned. It is a keeper. It is bright and clear or bluesy. The pickups are exceptionally well balanced. The finish is flawless. it is light to pick up and easy to play. The luthier who set it up said he had never seen niver intonation. I agree, as i can play open chords past the 12th fret and it is in tune.Try that with a gibson or a fender.

i use it live. I just change strings quickly if need be, however i have never broken a string on it. It rings acoustically and fits well. It has that nice combination of being light and well made, it resonates like an acoustic.

Never had to deal with them so i have no idea.

I've been playing 30 plus years. the guitar is expressive and the note you hit is the note you get. Really incredible sustain for a bolt on neck. Don't seem to need mass to do that. ( Another myth debunked?) I know as i compared it to a gibson firebird and the pickups are lounder and brighter and the difference in sustain is not noticeable. It also looks a lot better and is easier to play.

USA made, not sure of the year, I have not removed the neck yet.
Pickups - Seymour Duncan Seth Lover SH-55N humbucker in neck position, traditional size G&L Magnetic Field Design single coil in bridge position
Swamp Ash body with twin Voice Chambers, no f hole
Hard Rock Maple neck with Rosewood fingerboard, gun oil tint w/ gloss finish
Tuning keys are G&L's with the split (like mini bass tuners) traditional tele style boxed steel bridge with 6 machined brass saddles
3 position pickup selector, volume, tone
Butterscotch blonde finish (I call it baby shit yellow)
Pearl pick guard, "bone" nut
Not sure how to describe the frets, but they feel right to me.
With a molded case (consider an upgrade, all molded cases suck)
This is all 1950's technology. A basic electric guitar. If you're looking for bells and whistles, this probably isnt for you. The pickups and hardware all seem to be top notch.

I play blues and rock, badly. I love the sound of this axe through a small tube amp, clean and at volume. I play through a 40 year old Ampeg or a Crate vintage club. If you're looking for Chicago blues sounds, get one of these. The humbucker in the neck sounds super warm. The bridge pickup can get that tele twang and together, the humbucker and single coil sound awesome. I think that the chambered body mellows out that twang a little bit, which is nice. The tone control seems to be alot more responsive than my other guitars. The tone controls on my Gibson ES (P-90s) seems to be either "on" or "off".

I got this used but unplayed. Set up was fine (w/ 10's). I can't really find anything to complain about except the case. I don't like the way the guitar fits in there, the way it closes or the fact that there's no lid on the accessory box in there. Some of the screws on the pickguard look a little crooked, which you wouldnt expect on a quality instrument. A nice touch is the felt under any parts that contact the finish (strap buttons, etc). The finish on the neck is perfect. The body finish is average, not bad and not spectacular. It seems pretty durable. The butterscotch could be a little more translucent, you can barely see the wood under there.

It's so basic, I don't see much that could go wrong. I think the design has proven itself very dependable over the last 50 years. I've heard some people complain about the tuners, but I have not had a problem with them when changing strings.

Never dealt with them. Probably never will.

Watch what you read on the internet. Anyone can sound like an expert. I'm not. I just chimed in here cause I looked here when I was shopping for a guitar, I used this site in my decision. I tried not to be "10, 10, 10" "my guitar is the greatest". I see those reviews for $200 Chinese guitars. I also see alot of "G&L rules and Fender sucks" guys. USA Fenders are great guitars.
I bought this guitar because you can get an awesome deal on used ones. Before I bought one, I played alot of them at local music stores and learned that they come with several different necks, I liked the sound of the hollow one, and I dont like the G&L satin neck finish, I like the gloss. I wanted a humbucker in the neck cause my other guitars are single coils. I looked at Gibsons, which I think are over priced. Fenders, which my option was an Asian thinline for about $600, or a custom shop for who knows how much. I wanted a Heritage, but new they just make them too hard to buy and I couldnt find a used one I wanted. You can find these guitars in mint condition for anywhere from 600 to a grand. They're well worth it. The gun oil neck seems to add alot to the price. The price was right, the sound is right for blues, and it plays great. If I lost it, I would get another but I'd consider the maple neck with the 7 1/2" radius and the wood binding on the top. I would definately get the upgraded case. Check out glguitars.com and guitarsbyleo.com they have alot of specs and stuff.

Custom ordered December 2004, delivered February 2005 to FatSound Guitars. USA model, semi-hollow ash body without the f-hole, natural wood binding and clear orange in color. I don't like the standard #2 G&L neck. This one was ordered with a #1 "V" neck with the gun oil tint and rosewood board. I opted for the vintage cream pickguard and the colrs all complement each other so well. I couldn't be happier with the way this ASAT turned out. It is visually stunning and looks like a vintage guitar minus the beauty marks. (e-mail me for a pic - I love showing it off). The Bluesboy comes standard with the small G&L MFD bridge pickup and a Seth Lover neck. Three way selector switch. Price included the upgraded G&L tolex case which is SO much better than the stock G&L molded case. If you have the extra money, this upgrade is well worth it and very reasonable. I'm not going to rate this because IMO any guitar you buy should have the features you want specific to that guitar. The ASAT has everything you need, and nothing you don't need.

I first heard this Bluesboy through a Dr Z Maz Jr and no one on this planet could've wiped the smile off my face. The tone was so chimey and clear, yet gritty at the same time, very David Grissom like. I know most of this was due to the DrZ, but the guitar does sound sublime.

I'm mainly a home player, occasionally I'll join our worship team at church. I love the blues and blues-based rock guitar. This guitar can cover most ground except very aggressive rock and metal. Let's face it, it's a Tele and the bridge pickup has plenty of clear twang. But the middle position is truly stellar. The tone is just beautiful when played clean or with just a hint of grit. This position is the best for clean rhythm work or arpeggiated chords. The two pickups are just a match made in heaven. I bought this having never heard a Bluesboy and despite the stellar reviews at www.guitarsbyleo.com, I was still blown away. G&L really outdid themselves with the Bluesboy.

Nearly flawless, but there were a couple of tiny things that bugged me. First the good. G&L has unreal finishes. Super glassy, a mile deep, fantastic color selection. This Bluesboy is no exception. The orange is subdued and the grain shows through perfectly. The natural wood binding is absolutely flawless. The set-up was good, but the action was a little high for my tastes. I took it to the local set-up guru and he suggested that I play it hard for a month, then bring it back to him for a set-up. Supposedly this will allow the neck to settle in and it won't require another adjustment a month down the road. May or may not be true, but he always sets my guitars up perfect so who am I to argue? The # 1 neck fits my hand like a glove. I was a little apprehensive about getting the "V" profile. Neither of my other G&L's have a "V" carve but if I were to order another it WILL have this feature.
Okay, now the nit-pickey stuff. The pickguard wasn't finished off very well. There were a lot of rough edges that should have been sanded down. I know this is minor, but I expect an instrument of this caliber to be finished off completely. Also, the bridge and/or bridge pickup was severely microphonic and I had to wax pot them myself. No big deal, it was easy and only cost a couple of bucks, but I can't believe it left the factory without someone catching how microphonic it was. I'll still rate it as a 9. Overall, the flaws were minor.

This is a solid, professional instrument. As far as I can tell, all of the hardware is top shelf and I'm positive the guitar will outlast me.

I didn't deal with G&L on this guitar. I have contacted them in the past for help with a Legacy I bought used, and they were very friendly and attentive to my needs.

Been playing seriously for about 10 years. I play through a Bogner 101b and 4-12 cab. I've got a Super Reverb on the way and can't wait to hear it through that amp. I know it sounds fantastic through both a BF Twin and BF Bassman. The only pedal I use is a Fulldrive 2 which is well suited to the ASAT. I would replace the guitar with one exactly like it if I had to. I wouldn't change a thing.

2003 Honeyburst ash body,f-hole, twin sound chambers, 3 way switch, seth lover Humbucker pu in neck, G&L MFD pu in bridge, walnut body binding, rock solid birdseye maple neck and fretboard with abalone dots, hand-rubbed gun oil finish on neck, locking tuners, medium jumbo frets, chrome knurled knobs. Beautiful!

Versatile, vintage fender sound with stronger electronics. A blues machine, but excellent for jazz, too. Edgy and precise with Little-Wing strat-like tone on clean channel using Seth Lover, or tele-spank and using very hot MFD pu on bridge. Middle pu nice balance. I play it through a Mesa Boogie F50 using no effects and have plenty of tone and flexability. Sounds incredible without amp too and projects adequately for unplugged practice. Tends to feedback on Mesa when volume is at 11 or 12, which is not a dial setting you'd ever use anyway on that amp without blowing your roof and ears out.

Flawlessly crafted. Set up and ready to go from Buffalo Brothers in Carlsbad, CA.

Has withstood being played every one of the last 300 odd days for hours each time, without event. It NEVER GOES OUT OF TUNE. Honest. No matter how hard you slam the strings. Knocked my plastic switch thingy off once but put it back on.

10 year warranty, but have never called G&L.

An over-the-top, well-crafted instrument, beautiful to look at, an addiction to play. I can't put it down, have actually fallen asleep in wee hours slung over it. This is a keeper, even if I add other guitars to my slim collection, I will always keep the Bluesboy. Been playing 35 years. I would compare this guitar to a vintage fender. Looked at a lot of high-end guitars until deciding on this one.

I bought my G&L Semi-Hollow Bluesboy in the Netherlands. but it was built on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California USA. I bought it in January of 2004, it was new, so I assume it was built in 2003. PICKUPS Seymour Duncan Seth Lover SH-55N humbucker in neck position, traditional size G&L Magnetic Field Design single coil in bridge position
BODY WOOD Swamp Ash with twin Voice Chambers, with "f" hole
NECK WOOD Hard Rock Maple with Rosewood or Maple fingerboard
NECK RADIUS 7 1/2" (190.5mm)
NECK WIDTH AT NUT 1 5/8" (41.3mm)
TUNING KEYS Schaller non-locking
BRIDGE traditional boxed steel bridge with individual machined brass saddles
CONTROLS 3 position pickup selector, volume, tone
FINISH Standard and Premier finishes included
OTHER Tortoise Shell pickguard. Chrome hardware, G&L molded hardcase included

It definetly fits my music style, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it! I'm into acoustic rock, blues, country, folk. Grew up on Mellencamp, Earle, Dylan, Springsteen,... I've never been god's gift to guitarists, but as a rythym player that surfs on top of music as I write my songs, it is an inspiring combination of wire and wood. Right now I've got an old Fender Princeton stereo chorus from when I still lived in the States, but I enjoy playing my Bluesboy through my Fender Acoustasonic SFX. I'm planning on buying a Koch Multitone in the next couple of months to really get the amplification this guitar deserves. I'm not into too many effects, never really been my thing. The sound of this guitar is very full, the pickups are bright yet warm. I spent countless hours on the internet researching, I then went out looking to see if I could find the sound I was looking for. I played a couple PRS guitars, a Telecaster, and then I picked up this G&L fell in love.

There were no flaws or fit problems, this is a piece of art. After I got it home and played it for about an hour I bumped the pickup switch and it fell off, the plastic grooves were cracked. Seeing as how I barely touched it with my pinky, I presume is was cracked from the factory. I drove back to the store and they said they'd order me another one. A couple weeks later it wasn't in yet and they said they didn't know when they'd get them in. So I mailed G&L and within 48 hours per Federal Express they sent me 5 pickup switches at no charge with apologies for the delay from their dealer. The wood binding and the finish on this guitar are incredible.

This guitar is made by true craftsmen that know that a guitar isn't a guitar if it's so fragile it can't be played,... I have no reason to believe that it won't stand the test of time. I will take care of it, but by no means do I have fears of it letting me down during a show.

As I said above:I bumped the pickup switch and it fell off, the plastic grooves were cracked. Seeing as how I barely touched it with my pinky, I presume is was cracked from the factory. I drove back to the store and they said they'd order me another one. A couple weeks later it wasn't in yet and they said they didn't know when they'd get them in. So I mailed G&L and within 48 hours per Federal Express they sent me 5 pickup switches at no charge with apologies for the delay from their dealer. In addition to this, they sent a follow up e-mail a couple days later making sure I received them.

I've been playing for 19 years, and have had several guitars over the years. Concerning the cost of the guitar, import fees, taxes and shipping make up a big portion of why this guitar costs so much more over here than Stateside, but as far as I'm concerned it was worth every cent. My only other guitar these days is a Takamine LTD-92 acoustic electric. I've had a Fender Strat in the past, a Yamaha 450s, a copy of a Gibson Hollow body ES 335 and an AlvarezYairi 12 string cedar top acoustic. I only keep a guitar if it ispires songs, if songs come out of it,...the strat didn't do it, the Yamaha did it and stopped, the Gibson copy was crap and I unloaded the AlvarezYairi because I needed the cash at the time. I will I still had the AY, didn't wtite much with it, but it was a wonderful guitar. If my G&L were stolen I hope for the person that did it that they don't find out! Whatever reason, if it were to be lost or stolen, I would definetly do all I could to replace it. This is the first guitar I've ever had that literally turns heads. I honestly can't think of anything it's missing,... no it's not a guitar loaded with 3 pages worth of features, it's a guitar that puts people in awe with it relative simplicity and beatiful workmanship.

2003 G&L ASAT Classic Bluesboy, made in Fullerton, CA. This is a semi-hollow with f-hole. Swamp ash body. Premier blue see-through finish with natural wood binding. Maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Standard tele 7.5" radius, 1 5/8" width at nut. String through body standard classic tele 'box' bridge. Single coil MFD bridge pup and Seth Lover humbucker in the neck. One volume, one tone, three way switch, non-locking tuners. The neck is thin. Came with standard G&L molded hardshell case.

I have not had this guitar too long as I just bought it off eBay, mostly to turn it around and sell it (maybe) but the few times I've played it, I think it sounds great. The neck humbucker is very mellow and warm and the bridge single coil just positively spanks! The middle position is a very nice combination of the two. I must disagree with the previous post and agree with the original in that I have a real feedback problem when I turn on my Marshall Bluesbreaker II overdrive pedal for distortion. Now in fairness, the current amp/pedal set up is for my other ASAT, a Special, and I haven't tweaked the amp/pedal with the new Bluesboy. I'm not sure if the squeal is from the semi-hollow body or the pickups which do seem to be hotter than the specials. I may tweek is some more but don't want to play it too much for fear of dinging it up or, worse, falling in love with it!!! When used just clean through my '59 Bassman RI it sounds great with all three positions giving a much more distinctive difference than the ASAT Special. I'll only deduct a point for the squeal because as I said it might not be the fault of the guitar but rather the amp/pedal setup.

Action, fit and finish are top notch, as is always the case with G&L's. This guitar is physically beautiful, almost too much so. I would be terrified to gig with this guitar. The finish detail is phenomenal. Wood quality is outstanding, chrome perfect in every way.

Hard to rate this as it's so new but you can definately tell the guitar is build SOLID! Even as an f-holed semi-hollow I think it would hold up nicely. It's definately more solid than the Fender '69 Thinline RI I had. I'll guess and give it an 8. I'm wondering how well the natural wood binding holds up on one of these guitars over time!

Never had to deal with them.

Although I bought this guitar technically used it is brand new. No scrathces, dings, nothing. The pickguard still has the plastic on it. I bought it solely because it was going so cheap on eBay and I knew I could flip it for a profit if I didn't like it. I'm not fond of the standard tele neck as my ASAT special has the 12" radius 'V' shaped neck that I just love. I also prefer a maple fretboard. If this guitar had the same neck as my Special I would definately keep it. I plan to play it some more, just around the house and wait a couple of months to see if it grows on me. If not I'll sell it on eBay.

Cut and past this URL into your browser to see both ASAT's:

http://home.metrocast.net/~scottm/GGap/Img_0258.jpg

I purchased this guitar brand-new from a local dealer in 2003. It is a G&L Classic Bluesboy Semi-Hollow, Natural Gloss Finish, Swamp Ash body, Tortiseshell Pickguard, Rosewood Neck.
It has all the standard (and wonderful) options: G&L single-coil pickup at bridge, Duncan Seth-Lover Humbucker at neck. 3 position selector-switch, 1 volume knob, 1 tone knob, chrome hardware, non-locking tuners. Mine has an F-hole, but this is optional for the semi-hollow models. Came with fitted G&L hardshell case.

My setup: this guitar>>Ross Compressor>>Keeley-modified RAT>>Dunlop Tremolo>>Boss DD-5>>Fender Deville 4x10 combo. I play exclusively out of the clean channel of this amp, on the "bright" setting, using the RAT for distortion (medium-heavy sounds).

This guitar has an unbelievable sound. To start, the pickup are very hot, but the guitar is extremely quiet (in terms of unwanted noise). The semi-hollow body vs. solid body issue is dependent on taste...I love a very full sound, so semi-hollow is my pick. Beyond this, I doubt anyone could argue about how wonderful G&L has made this guitar. The electronics are just amazing...they give the guitar such a dark, singing tone, with enough edge and brilliance to cut through any mix.
I generally use the middle position (both pickups) as it has the best of both worlds...but all 3 positions are great. The best part is the balance between the humbucker and the single coil. If you play a '69 Tele-thinline, you'll notice immediately that the signle-coil is significantly quiter than the humbucker. Not so in this case. The two pickups balance wonderfully and there's a sound for all tastes.

I use this guitar for edgy-alt-rock type stuff (along the lines of radiohead, pearl jam, etc). My other guitar is a Fender Custom Shop Strat Relic. I never thought I'd find a guitar I liked better...I did. G&L just makes beautiful guitars all around (and I'm VERY picky). Given the extremely reasonable cost...I'm a life-time devotee.

I have to disagree just a little with the other review on this page...I use this guitar for some pretty heavy, loud stuff and I don't get any feedback (except where desired). In fact, I find that the semi-hollowness of the guitar allows me great freedom to use feedback intentionally (without unwanted feedback).
In fairness, I plugged the guitar in through a russian Big-Muff and it went nuts with feedback when the sustain was cranked...but with my Keeley-modified RAT pedal (see Robert Keeley effects) this can play really heavy and loud no problem. It may not be able to go the route of death-metal...but I can't imagine anyone playing death metal would buy this guitar anyhow. I feel pretty strongly that the thickness of the semi-hollow sound adds a lot of thickness to heavier distortion...so I love it.

This guitar was in perfect condition when I bought it: action is just right, no buzz (.10 strings). Though the way a guitar looks is rather low on my priority list, I can't go without saying how beautiful this guitar (and every other G&L in the shop) is. It's really is flawless. Everything on it is in perfect condition...perfect setup. What more can I say?

I have not had this guitar long enough to say anything too absolute, but this guitar is exceptionally well made and comes with a 10-year warranty. Everything I've heard about G&L leads me to believe this will last a lifetime.

I haven't dealt with them personally yet. I hear they're great and give very personal attention...but what do I know?

I can't say enough good things about this guitar. Though I'm realtively young, I owned and played a lot of guitars in my years...strats, teles, gibsons, PRS, heritage. This is the best guitar I've ever play...bar-none. If this guitar doesn't suit your style...look into other G&L's that match you better.

2002 model, made in the USA. Mine was special ordered with swamp ash semi-hollow body, red-burst finish (actually more of a maroon-burst...classy and beautiful!) with natural wood binding, white pearloid pickguard, and vintage tinted maple neck with maple fretboard and medium jumbo frets. One G&L MFD single coil ("normal" Tele style) in bridge position, Duncan Seth Lover humbucker in neck position, normal Tele style 3-way switching (no coil tap for the humbucker). Came stock with 10s for strings. Also came with nice quality G&L hardshell case. From both an aesthetic and playability standpoint, has nearly all the features I'd ever want in a Tele style guitar.

I play mostly a combination of classic rock and pop, with a touch of country and blues thrown in. For "heavier" stuff, I have other solid body guitars to use (more on that in a moment), but this guitar handles most everything else beautifully. I play it through either a Fender Bassman Reissue, or through a Fender Blues Jr, and my effects set-up includes: Marshall ED-1 compressor, Reverend Drivetrain overdrive, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb (when using the Bassman), Danelectro Cool Cat chorus, and Danelectro PB&J delay. Through either amp, this Bluesboy has a very full rich sound; it's the perfect combination between the traditional "bite" and twang of a Tele, and the greater fullness and resonance of a semi-hollow guitar. Additionally, the G&L bridge single-coil is a hotter pickup than the Fender American Series bridge pickup, but surprisingly quiet. It is well-matched with the SD neck humbucker, which provides a beautifully bluesy and smooth tone. With the selector switched to the middle (neck & bridge) position, it's not quite the same as the classic Fender Tele sound (due to the humbucker), but it's no less pleasing, and very suitable for a wide variety of music. Sound-wise, the only "fault" I can find with this guitar is that it's not particularly suitable for music using heavy overdrive or distortion, primarily because of the feedback generated by the semi-hollow body. But this is an inherent limitation in most semi-hollows, and I have other solid-body guitars for use in those situations. Overall, this guitar is the most tonally pleasing of any I've ever owned.

I'll cut to the chase; this guitar arrived nearly perfect, straight from the factory. The only thing I can mark it down for is that the pickup selector switch knob was unusually loose (the black tip knob, not the switch itself) and would pull off if I grabbed the switch too firmly. That was easily fixed; I went to my local music store and bought a couple spare knobs, which fit nice and tight. But otherwise, as far as action, it was set perfectly for my tastes, and absolutely no fret buzzes at all. Intonation was spot-on, and the pickups were perfectly adjusted and properly tightened. Fit and finish were absolutely flawless; the red-burst is gorgeous with the swamp ash showing through nicely, the natural wood binding is flawless, and the finish on the vintage tinted neck is an example that Fender should follow on their '52 Reissue Tele...somewhat glossy, but smooth, fast, and not at all tacky or sticky. The neck pocket has a nice tight fit. Overall, this is one exceedingly well-crafted guitar, and appearance-wise, is incredibly classy looking. In giving my rating, I have to deduct a point for the loose knob, but really, I would rate it more of a 9.5 if such a selection was available!

This guitar has that wonderful combination of feeling light and comfortable because of it's semi-hollow construction, but also feeling sturdy and reliable at the same time. The only drawback is that it's so beautiful, I will probably be overprotective of it. But that's a purely aesthetic consideration; I'm quite sure that in practice, this guitar will stand up to a fair amount of abuse. But being a semi-hollow guitar, it would never be my top choice for smashing into an amp, or anything like that. I can very much depend on this guitar, but I would never do a gig without a backup anyway.

Good warranty, but other than that, I really can't comment on G&L customer service. Hopefully I'll never need their expertise.

I've been playing off and on for the past ten years, but only seriously for the last 5 or 6. Over the past few years, I have owned (or still own) several Fender Teles (I'm a Tele guy), a Gibson Les Paul Studio, Classic, and Deluxe, Rickenbacker 360 and 325V63, a Mexican made Fender Strat, Route 101 Solimar custom, Epiphone Casino, Gretsch Double Anniversary, and a G&L SB-2 bass, as well as several different amps. In terms of overall quality, workmanship, playability, and value only the Rickenbackers come close to equalling this G&L (and they cost more!). The commitment to their craft is highly evident in G&L's products. When I ordered this guitar, I had orginally been looking at buying a Fender American Fat Telecaster, which does have the advantage of the 5-way pickup switching. But when I started doing my research into G&L guitars, I was attracted by the possibility of "designing" my own fat-Tele style guitar, with such a huge choice of options and upgrades. It was essentially like being able to order a custom shop quality, handmade guitar with upgraded features at a cost barely higher than a mass-produced stock Fender (and I like Fenders, by the way). If this G&L were stolen or lost, I would definitely find a way to replace it, even if it meant selling some of my other gear to fund it.