G&L ASAT Classic

Mine is a 2008 ASAT Classic. I bought it new a little over a year ago.

Standard telecaster styled body, but the bridge is 6 saddles instead of 3. This really makes setting up the guitar easier than a typical Fender Telecaster.

The Classic comes with two of G&L's MFD single-coil pickups which are a little more modern (and less twangy) than typical telecaster p-ups.

The guitar is US made and the best part about G&L is the guitar is very customizable. I chose mine to be maple neck with the gun-oil tint lacquer. The body is a 3-tone sunburst finish with a black pickguard. Alder body.

I was originally looking at buying a Fender telecaster, but I was sold on a G&L ASAT classic after sitting down and playing one. The sound was much suited towards my style. My playing style is heavily influenced by 90's emo, folk, and some country. I was looking for a tele that could sound great through a British high gain amp. The only Fender I found that did this well was the Highway-1 tele, but the build felt really cheap on those guitars.

This guitar cleans up very nicely too. I use this guitar for all my american styled cleans in the studio. I use my Gibson LP standard for that pushed style of clean because I feel the humbuckers do a better job at that than single-coils.

I have found that the ASAT sounds incredible through my Orange Rocker 30. It is such an amazing gainy rhythm tone. My AD30htc and '86 800 2205 like humbuckers better though.

I don't know how the guitar came set up because I had the dealer set it up toe 11's once it came in. Besides that everything exceeded my expectations of a guitar for just over a grand.

The guitar is very reliable. I haven't had one issue yet.

Haven't dealt with them yet. From what I hear from the dealers, they are a great company to work with.

The guitar isn't perfect, but then again I didn't have the money at the time I made it to make it perfect. I plan on getting either an ASAT special, Gretsch Duo Jet, or PRS custom 22 next. If I end up with another G&L, I will go all out in the customization department.

2005 Fullerton California
22 Frets
3 piece transparent Honey Swamp Ash Body with 1 piece Gun Oil Tint Glossy hard Maple Birds Eye Neck
Sealed Schaller Tuners
3 Way Switch
I replaced with 1954 Seymour Duncan Single Coil Staggered pole Bridge Pup and 1955 Seymour Duncan Seth Lover Humbucker Neck Pup

Plenty of natural sustain from swamp ash wood and hard maple neck

Lots of Noisy harmonics due to 1954 Seymour Duncan which gives it lots of snap and breath. Very responsive nice alive bright sound. Very easy to translate your touch. The 1955 Seth Lover humbucker kicks warm sustain forever when called upon.

Bought used on EBAY with Seymour Duncans STL2 and STR1s.
I did not like being too hot for this guitar hiding much of its true voice.

Action is very good low or high. No buzzing, great engineering. Sting thru body with the ashtray bridge and old brass 50s string tree

The swamp ash wood is top notch matched seamlessly on body. Can only tell its a 3 piece by looking at the bottom and top edge of guitar

Hand Built very well, nice and tight neck pocket which is essential for the excellant sustain that it has.

The Best. Stopped off at the factory in Fullerton to see Leo's office where he set up Music Man and G & L. They were awesome, gave me a tour and a free G & L case. Mine came with a 90s damaged Fender case to protect in shipping. These factory and office guys really like their job and care.

Playing for over 30 years. My other favorites I use is a all original 1969 Les Paul Deluxe, 1992 Fender Strat with Fat 50s pickups and a Gibson 1972 SG. I went for a G & L knowing they are made by hand using the similar machines that Leo used prior CBS prior. It was one of the best days of my life seeing these guitars being born at the California Fullerton factory with great care and attention from all the craftsman. Its not a large facility...very personal with alot of human touch. You can feel the history especially where Leo had his last 1970's shop and workbench.

Standard features. It has what I need and what I want. This gets a 9 for lack of features that allows a guitars natural tone.
Classic in white with 2 single coils. lightly finished baseball bat neck

I play through a vibro-king, Fulltone FD2 and a Maxon AD-9. This setup live is amazing. Same goes for the studio. The G&L is a pro level guitar. It stays in tune, sounds amazing and it pretty versatile. I play alt-country and rock stuff and it just works, feels very comfortable and allows me to focus on the music. These classics with

I picked this up from Rocker guitars in San Francisco for 899. Best buy IMO. The fit and finish from the factory was great. I haven't touched it and it just plays sweet. The guys at G&L pay attention.

not much to break on these bad boys and the parts used are high quality as well. I have many guitars and this is the one... at the moment.

I called and talked to the guys at G&L before I purchased this one to find out more about why the cost was 899 and not 1200+ like the other classics. They were very cool and quickly informed me that they save the money on finishes and not supplying cases as well. They were available, helpful and honest.

This is a best value instrument at 899.00. Just a solid custom instrument. Go play one and see for yourself. The overall revues say it all though.

This review is for a 2008 G&L Asat Classic 'Tele'

Butterscotch Blonde with 1-ply black pickguard, Maple neck with Polished Gloss finish over Hand-rubbed Gun-oil Tint, G&L Magnetic Field Design single coil pickups, Alder body on Standard and all solid finishes, Swamp Ash on all Premier finishes, Hard Rock Maple neck with Maple fingerboard, Neck radius: 7 1/2" (190.5mm), Neck width at the nut: 1 5/8" (41.3mm), Traditional boxed steel bridge with individual brass saddles, 3 position pickup selector, volume, tone, Chrome Hardware, G&L molded hardcase.

I love the 'plain' and 'cheap' looks with the Butterscotch Blonde finish. This guitar has great character. Stays in tune very well.

Normally I'm a real Les Paul guy so I wasn't thinking about a Tele-style guitar at all. It's just recently that my love for Fenders got bigger everytime I played one. I didn't really like the Yamaha SG-2000 I recentely bought, because it played and sounded to much like the Les Pauls I already had and honestly I wanted something real different instead of basically a Les Paul again. I went back to the guitar store with the SG-2000 for having it exchanged and there was a beautiful G&L Asat Classic waiting for me. This had to be 'The One'.

Playing it unplugged it has a beautiful, sweet 'ring' to it with great resonance and good sustain. All of my Gibson Les Pauls sound dead compared to this G&L AC. The G&L is much more alive naturally with sweeter balance between the strings. I don't think it can get much better than this.

Plugged in it's HEAVEN. Never thought it was going to sound this great through my (trebly/tight) Engl Screamer 50 combo. It's the first guitar that sounds perfectly balanced through my Engl. Most Les Pauls and even the Yamaha SG-2000 sounded thinner and more ice picky on the clean channel, especially when using the bridge pickup. I couldn't ever get a ringing, balanced and clear sound out of it. Problem solved now. The cleans of the G&L are God-like and I had a very hard time to put it down when I tested it in the practise room of my band. Although these are single coils, they are still warm and thick sounding with great balance between the strings AND pickups! I don't want to change a thing on the pickup height or polepieces, because it's amazing already. When switching from the neck pickup to the bridge pickup you'll only get a different tone, but without any loss of volume or balance. The pickups are perfectly matched with each other. You'll get the famous G&L feedback/squeel when playing hardrock or metal on high volumes, but it isn't a problem for me. I won't change anything on this tone monster, because it shows all the purity and character of this guitar.

It's set-up with 10's, medium action. It didn't have any flaws or something, it's just great how it is.

No annoying buzzes across the fretboard. It still sounded great with very old, rusty strings on it, but I changed them soon after I bought the guitar...it feels even smoother now. Normally I bring my guitars to my trusty luthier for having a professional set-up, but I don't want to infect this G&L. Maybe I'd get lost of the sweet, ringing and balanced sound it has with the current/factory set-up if I'd set it up by myself or a luthier. Having a guitar set-up to your own taste can be great, but any change could also destroy the original sound you had before.

I don't know anything yet about the durability or reliability of this guitar, but it seems to be very well made. The fretboard will stay smoother through the years compared to any of my Les Pauls, because of the special hand-rubbed Gun-oil Tint they used for the G&L. I'd play this one definately without a backup.

I've never dealt with the company.

As a musician it took me a long way to get where I'm now, but this G&L Asat Classic is probably the last guitar that will serve me through all the years, always with a smile from the inside. It has the greatest cleans I could ask for and it helps me to get recognized as a musician and above all as a person. The guitar fits my character and playing style. When I feel bad OR happy, I'll grab my G&L and not my Les Pauls anymore. That says a lot, to me at least. If you care mostly for hardrock or metal, this probably wouldn't be your dream guitar.

I have a 2006 Classic with the standard "tele" type mfd pickups, blonde ash body, gun oil glossy finished maple neck and fretboard, jumbo frets, 7.5" radius, and a beautiful pearloid pickguard. The finish is gorgeous - translucent blonde with plenty of grain showing. Non-locking tuners with G&L stamped on them, but they work fine. Not exactly feature rich, but it lives up to my expectations for this type guitar.

Love the pickups, especially the neck pickup. The neck pickup is apparently reverse wound so that in the middle position there is a humbucker effect nice. I'm playing through a 70s Fender Twin and sometimes a DrZ-28; sounds great through either. The neck pickup isn't as bright as my Tele neck pickup and I miss that a little, but I'm not too disappointed. I can overdrive my Z-28 with this guitar and get a smoother distortion than with my Teles, but I like both to be perfectly honest.

I bought this as new, even though it was a store display model that had been played numerous times. No flaws at all that I can find, and I'm a geek in that area. What else can I say? At present, I don't care for the shape of the headstock with the big letters on it, but I realize they had to change it from Fender's headstock. Maybe it will grow on me. I also don't like, actually, I hate the way the output jack is mounted. I prefer the recessed jacks on the Telecasters. Otherwise, I'm happy as a kid in a mud puddle. It don't get any better than that!

"Will this guitar withstand live playing?" Dumb question, but I'll say "yes". Every guitar I've ever owned, including my old Kalamazoo or my Silvertone would withstand live playing.

"Does the hardware seem like it will last?" Yes.

"Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing?" Actually, I wish the finish WOULD show just a little wear, but its tough enough to last a lifetime. No doubt.

"Are the strap buttons solid?" Surprisingly, yes. I'll likely install strap locks soon, but these buttons are actually big enough to hold my strap in place without them.

"Can you depend on it?" Nope, these things can turn on you in a heartbeat and just blow up or start playing out of tune for no reason. Seriously though, yes I can depend on it.

"Would you use it on a gig without a backup?" Yes. I take at least one other guitar to a gig, but not because I'm worried about equipment failure.

Never used them, but I hear they're very helpful. That's the advantage of buying from a relatively small builder. They have a little more time to support customers.

I've played seriously for about 45 years. I currently own one Les Paul Custom, a Gibson CS356, an ES175, 2 Telecasters (one usa, one mim), and this ASAT. I've owned a lot of others in the past, so I probably have a somewhat reasonable background to rate a guitar. Now just to be fair, let's shed a little light on some of the BS that's circulating on some of these reviews (which I've learned to take with a grain of salt over recent months). Seems that a lot of us ASAT owners want to compare these with Teles. Well, there you go - that's what this is - a well made Tele for sure, but basically a Tele. OK? But, certain reviewers aren't content to just compare, they go and make dogmatic statements like "this blows away anything Fender makes nowadays" or "its a better guitar and don't question my professional opinion mister". Oh, shut up! Now, these aren't exact quotes, but the gist of some of the hype I've read. Here's what I've found to be true in my case (are you sitting down?): My MIM Baja Tele as well made as my USA G&L. Honest to God, no joke, & don't laugh. In fact, it actually has more features - 6 pickup settings instead of 3. The build quality on the Baja, and my luthier agrees, is on par - tight neck pocket, flawless finish, and a great feeling neck with wonderful tone. Maybe mine is a fluke, but that's the way it is. Granted, the factory hardware is more solid on the G&L than the factory baja hardware, but I can always upgrade my Tele hardware - easy, easy, easy. Bottom line: I like each for its own nuances and that's why I still have both. A lot of pros - Redd Volkaert, Brent Mason, Scotty Anderson, Forrest Lee, Jr., Prince, to name a few, still prefer & use Fender Telecasters . . . not just the vintage ones but newer models as well. I think they know a good guitar when they play one, so let's cut the crap, ok? True, some of the US teles I've played lack the quality of my G&L (or Baja for that matter), but if you try, I'm sure you'll find a great one. On the other hand, G&L really does actually have a good consistent build quality from what I've seen and hopefully this is what the previous reviewers meant. The salesman who sold me my USA Asat blurted "you would have to buy a Custom Shop Tele to find one that even comes close to this". Now friends, that's what you call sales hype(aka BS). I bought the ASAT despite that because it was 'purty' and the price was right. Sincerely, after all is said and done, this is a great guitar and a very good value.

Has all features I wanted so...10. All high quality parts used.

I play alt country rock and rockabilly swing type stuff. It sounds great with this style. I also play a little jazz and this guitar. Led Zepplin 1 sounds abound. I play mostly in the bridge position and sometimes in the middle position. This guitar has a beefier tele sound but still has all the twang. Does not sound as treble-y as most tele's I've heard.

I use a bad cat mini cat into a Fender Deluxe with a Fulldrive 2. This setup works well and I get a lot of tone compliments at live shows with guitar and amp combo.

Came set up perfectly. I have not adjusted a thing on this guitar. I could tell as soon as I picked this guitar up that it was a very high quality guitar. I've been playing for 23 years and when you pick up a G&L guitar you know they've paid attention. Stays in tune like a champ which is how I judge a good guitar at the end of the day as well.

never take a backup. This sucker is solid and built on a fundamental design that is tough as nails.

talked to the guys there at G&L and they were cool and responsive.

This thing sounds great plugged in or unplugged. I've pretty much kept all of my other guitars in their cases since I got it about 8 mos ago. These guitars do not even compare to Fender Telecasters IMO. I wanted a tele but could not find one that compared to these G&Ls. There is a million teles out there in shops and I picked up a lot of them. Every single G&L I have picked up felt like a real instrument with character.

This is a Tele plain and simple it has a nice thin neck
just the way I like it. Has 22 Jumbo frets and a maple
neck. The top is solid with three cotrol Vol, Tone 3way Switch.
Made in the USA with two Traditional size G&L Magnetic Field
single coil pickups. Made in the mid 90's with a three bolt
neck. The body is Swamp Ash with a Natural Finish.

This Guitar nails the sound that I'm after I play 60's
music Beatles , Byrds, and Beach Boys with Paul Revere
and the Raiders. My Amp is a brand new Fender 59 Bassman LTD
Ressiue and the only effect that I have is a Electro-Harmonix
HolyGrail Reverb. Its not noisy at all and I get a nice warm
sound and it can go into a nice bright sound for leads. There
nothing that I dislike its everything that I need.

I bought this guitar used and had the music store set it up
to how I wanted it. The pickups were just fine and the bridge
was dead on. No flaws at all.

Should have no problem playing live with this guitar.
Hardware should last for ever and I love the natural
finish. The strap buttons are a solid as can be and
this is my main giging guitar and I won't have to bring
another guitar with me even tho I do have another guitar.

I have not dealt with the company I can get it myself

I've been playing since 1988 and I just a brand new
Fender 59 Bassman LTD Reissue and my other guitar is
a Gretsch 6128TBEE Duo Jet-Pre Fender. If lost I would
replace it with another G&L Asat Classic or Special. What
I love about this Guitar is that its very easy to play and
for me there nothing to hate about this guitar. I compared this
to a Fender Tele and this one played and sounded so much better
then the Fender. When I played the neck I could tell this was the
guitar for me. This guitar may not be for everyone but for me this
guitar and my Gretsch are two of the best playing guitar that I
have ever had. I have had PRS Custom 24 Rickenbackers, Parker
Fly Deluxe and Steinberger GR4 and every now and then I come
across a guitar that just right and I found my two. I don't play
hard rock and besides 60's music I play Rockabilly (Carl Perkins)
type music.

Your basic tele type guitar with a beautiful ash body finished in orange. Gun oil tinted neck with a maple board. Tele style pickups and controls. Locking tuners are the only option. Not fancy, just a tele.

My style varies from some country to jazz to rock and thing in between. This guitar can do it all with its own style. I use it with a Fender reverb amp, Vox ac-30 and my favorite amp that was handmade to my specs. This guitar makes all of them sing, scream, grind or float depending on what I want it to do. Like all teles, this guitar is not for those who want to hide their shortcomings on technique. This guitar will bring out all nuances of your playing, worts and all. The ASAT can do one of the best solid body imitations of jazz that I have ever heard. Great sound overall.

The guitar was not set up well at the dealer, so I can't comment on how it was from the factory. A little adjustment to get the action down a bit and it plays like a dream. The finish on the guitar is top notch. The wood appears through the finish as though it were 10 feet deep. No visible joint in the body, so it might be a one piece body. The neck pocket is the tightest that I have ever seen in any bolt-on. Good balance, weight is kind of heavy, but I like to be able to feel that I have a guitar strapped in. No flaws that I can tell.

This guitar is built like a tank. The guitar can withstand my constant abuse so I am well pleased. The only concern is the input jack is cheap and can cut out sometimes. I replaced the jack with better parts, but that was the only quality issue I have had. G&L, take note, the jack the way it is now is totally unacceptable

It depends on who you get at the factory. Some people are really helpful while others should not be allowed to answer the phone. It is best to go through a dealer to get any warranty work done. That is, when the G&L rep returns calls as ours seems to be out to lunch. . . all the time.

Although I gave the guitar a couple of dings about the jack, overall, this is without a doubt, the best playing guitar I have ever played. I have owned a lot of gear in my time, Les Pauls, Fender teles, strats, etc. This guitar has them beat hands down. Everytime I walk past the case I have to open it and play for couple of hours. IT feels and plays wonderfully. The sound is top notch, although I did swap out the bridge pickup for a Dimarzio Fast Track 1 because of the uncontrolable squeal at high volumes, but that is an easy fix. If the guitar were stolen I would be ordering one just like it. It is my number 1 guitar.

Dark Orange finish on the body, amber stained finish on the curly maple neck. I don't have to explain Telecaster style PUs and switching, do I? Except: The middle position is quieter, so I'm assuming there's a fake humbucker thing happening there. Also, it's got a little more beef soundwise, compared to the PUs running individually.

I play bluesy singer-songwriter-stuff, I tend to like warm, slightly overdriven tones. I use a bunch of stomp-boxes, the most important ones in terms of sound-shaping being a Hughes&Kettner Tube Factor, and an old RAT. I use a THD Univalve, usually equipped with an EL84 in the power stage, which I run through a Mesa Thiele cabinet equippet with a Jensen Alnico 25W speaker.
I had entered the store wanting an Eric Johnson Strat (and I guess I still like that guitar.) But the three EJs in that store on that day all felt like lemons to me. Could have been the shitty strings. I saw the G&L, noticed that it had an autograph by G.E. Smith on the pickguard, which made me try it out of curiosity. Wow! It sang. It had great strings on it, which I have since tried to find without success. They are golden colored, with black ballends. Someone told me they might be Prism strings, and no store I've tried so far had them. But anyway, that's a detail.
I guess this is not the most versatile guitar ever in terms of sound variety. But I don't believe in that, anyway. If a guitar has a great sound with a couple of slight variations, than that is this instrument's voice, and it shouldn't have any gadgetry to bend that out of shape.

This is a short category. Superb!

Rock solid. Everything makes sense. No bullshit.

I've been playing for almost 30 years. I own a bunch of fine acoustics, but nothing in the electric department that could touch the G&L. I have a Danelectro U2 which I love for spanky trebly stuff, a shitty old strat with a hardtail bridge, and a Yamaha semiacoustic with a P90 in the neck position, which sings nicely but has intonation problems and an awful spaghetty neck. The Asat is my breat and butter guitar. I'm not sure if the price I payed is a great deal, since I've seem them much cheaper online. But this one has a fantastic curly maple neck which I can't believe is standard, plus that autograph might be worth something one day. Anyway, I don't intend to treat this as a collector's item. This is one hell of a player.

Blue, metal-flake like with a maple neck. Bought it used, so not certain of when it was made, although it seems a little old.

Made in USA.

I play mostly blues & blues rock through a Vox 30W modeling amp. I took it into the local Guitar Center to choose an amp and the a number of people in the store just stopped in their tracks and several commented favorably about the superior tone. This store carries Fender products, and a side by side comparison with their best Telecasters found Fender to be woefully wanting. I find myself playing almost exclusively in the neck pickup position, the middle position is of course brighter but somehow lacking "something", and occasionally in the bridge position for an almost painfully bright Tele twang. I find that using heavier strings relly, really adds a lot to the sound, and your fingers forgive you after getting used to it.

Bought it used, so I can't comment about set-up. Buzzed a little with original .009 strings, beefed up to .011's and problem solved. Stays in tune forever.

Seems heavy and substantial. Probably will outlast me.

Never needed any.

I would like to but another electric to dedicate exclusively to slide guitar, I might buy a Godin for that. The only other guitar on my wish list is perhaps a thinline Eastwood from Ed Roman's shop.

If stolen, I would earnestly hunt for another. It's pretty much the perfect single coil solid body electric IMHO.