G&L ASAT Classic

1998 ASAT Classic, Burnt Orange Ash body (Tele style), maple birdseye neck, jumbo frets, ashtray bridge, 2 single coils and a 3 way selector, G&L tuners.
The finish is just beautiful. Transparent orange, great wood highlights!
Made in the USA!
This is the most well manufactured Tele style guitar I've ever seen! Head and shoulders above the Fender Am Std Tele, which I passed over in favor of this one.
I'm not going to give a number because the Classic has all the traditional Tele features that I bought it for.

Classic Tele sounds, as one would expect from Leo's "classic." Tele's are very versitile, and this one is no slacker. For a 2 pickup, 3 way selector, ou can get a nice range of sounds. The tone knob allows you to role off the treble to a nice warm sound from all selectors. Good for country, jazz, BLUES and Rock. I bought it for blues and rock. I would look elsewhere for metal, but you knew that.
The pickups are exceptional! Great clarity, warmth and the classic Tele sound that you like to hear. I'll give it a 10 because I wanted this sound and am not dissapointed in the least.

Out of the box, dead perfect! Had it shipped to me, and it was in tune on arrival. String action is right on for all 6.
The body finish is the nicest I've seen on a sub $1000 guitar.
I've looked carefully at all frets, joints, etc, and can't find a flaw!
The fretwork is amazing! Perfectly set, nicely rounded. No buzzes (of course not!).

I haven't had it long enough to rate.

10 year warranty.

I wanted to write this quick review for anyone who is thinking of buying a Tele style guitar. I own a Fender Lone Star Strat, and believe that the quality is fair for the $800 price tag. In fact, I thought the quality was as good as one could get for a sub $1000 guitar. Boy, was I wrong! G&L guitars have amazing quality and their prices are bargian-basement low. Made in the USA, my Classic is both art and history. This is the guitar that Leo Fender built and, unlike the modern Teles, a beautiful piece of artwork, both visually and musically. Having purchased this guitar, I know that I will never go back to Fender (even though I do love my Lone Star) because G&L has spoiled me. Now, for $700, I want to purchase custom shop quality instruments. You can't do that with Fender, but you can with G&L. If you haven't looked at G&L, do yourself a favor and try before you buy. You cannot buy a better Tele style guitar for less money, and perhaps not for any amount of money. I looked at Am Std Teles extensively before I purchased my G&L and Fender's Tele's just could not compete. Try purchasing a Fender with an Ash body, premier paint job and a birds eye maple neck and see what it will cost you. Then call up indoor storm and ask for their prices. It will blow you away.
I already have gas for my next G&L!

This guitar is a Telecaster with the added benefit of 40 yr's of experience built in. 2 pick-ups, a three position switch, a TONE knob, a volume knob. Very basic,very efficent.

I play in a classic rock band. We have to cover a lot of bases. Sometimes playing clean, sometimes playing distorted. This baby covers all of them with no problems. Excellent tones from both pick-ups, fat bluesy sounds at neck and dark twang at bridge. I love this guitar. I am presently using a Fender Princeton Chorus amp. (Great amp.) I also own and use a 66' Blackface Bassman with 2-15 cab. and various distortion pedals. I know tone and this guitar rocks. I have been playing for over 30 years. I'm an old man, thats why I love this guitar and amp combo it's light and effective. Owned this guitar for a year.

I haven't changed nothing but strings on it. I played several ASAT's in the store before I decided on this one. The only complaint I have with this guitar is the middle position of the pick-up switch. Maybe it's just dirt or something but I get a dirty switch noise, probably a blast of air would solve the problem. I gig regularly with this guitar with no back-up, only a set of strings.

I back-up my effects pedals, I take a back-up amp I take an extra set of strings. I trust God and this guitar to get me thur the gig. I'm not a pro, I play about 4 to 6 gigs a month.

If it got stolen or broke in half I would replace it with another one, maybe an ASAT Classic. Sometime in the future I'll probably buy a Gibson Les Paul just for that LP sound. This little G&L ASAT is gonna buy it for me. Thank you Leo.

The usual

Sound was fantastic once I put Alnico pickups in there (TX Specials). The Ceramic stock ones were to harsh and loud and shrill. This is why I only gave a 5 for features.
The guitar is awesome. Plays great, Perfect intonation, Stays in tune FOREVER! Much beter tone than a USA Fender Standard Tele. I prefer this over the asat because I think the bridge on a tele/asat classic is a major part of the tone. I also did not care for the asat "p90" type pickups. G and L has the guitar building thing down...but the pickups are a bit yukky to me.
I like the fact that you don't have to say "American made" because you know G and L makes no Imported guitars...no amps...no BS...just GREAT hand made guitars in The USA.
I am rating the sound low due to the pickups...but with the TX Specials I would give it an 8.
It is really killer sounding and bullet proof...a great gigging guitar...but an OLD Esquir or Tele just can't be beat...to me that is a "9" or "10" sound.

Great work from the dewds at G and L! Perfect neck pocket fit...again GREAT WOOD! Big fat Frets. I might prefer a slightly wider neck with less radius...This neck sucks for slide playing! But no big deal...got A guitars for that...Its called a Les Paul.

This is the BEST thing about this guitar! It is a breeze to tune...and hold true for EVER! You can POUND the strings too!

I dunno?

For the money it is great. The only downfalls are the the case (cheap skb plastic)...I want Tweed or Tolex dewds...And the pickups.
But in every other way this thing is the best out there today as far as new fender type guitars go. I think It is a Tie...G and L / Fender Custom Shop. But these are priced better. So a 10 is it.
You can blow more cash on a tweed case and pickups ($200) and still be under a grand and have one bad assed little combo!

Mine is a '96, all stock, 2pc ash body with maple neck, 22 frets and a "modern" profile, thru-the-body stringing, 6 saddle "box" bridge, vol, tone and conventional bridge-both-neck switch. The G&L pickups have large ceramic magnets and the obligatory copper shielding plates. Sealed G&L tuners. With hard case. 10 year warranty. It would rate a 10 but for the old "tilt-neck". As Teles go, it's a solid 9.

Sound is a 10, at least. I play country, blues, 60s r&r, using a Fender Stage 112 (hey relax, I'll have tubes by x-mas). In this idiom, I believe, it excels. I agree with GP in that the Classic is aggressive. That may be an understatement. The bridge pickup is typical Tele, but more muscular. Forget the metal thing as the bridge pickup doesn't seem to like distortion, which takes the "Tele" edge off the tone. Sounds non-descript, as such, to me. However, use a clean amp setting and a little compression and it will bite your ear off. The highs go right through you. Low notes and open strings clang like an old mission bell. Piercing highs and superb twang. Terrific. Put the boxes away and let your picking attack do the talking with this one. Conversely, the neck pickup loves a little OD and will do an excellent SRV knock-off. The neck pickup is not just an after-thought, as on some other Tele-types. This axe is all about tone.

Factory set up was OK. I use a hybrid set and had to tweak the truss rod a bit. Adjust pole pieces accordingly. I ordered my ASAT in Fullerton (aka Fiesta)red to match the custom color Tele on page 141 of the Gruhn Electric Guitar book. I even had a single-layer white guard fitted. It took 2+ weeks to arrive, but man, what a knock-out! The red has this "warmth" to it. Beautifully applied. Even my wife was impressed. The neck pocket fit is very tight, easily passing the notorious GP business card test. Playability is tops.

It'll probably outlast me by a very wide margin. I think the G&Ls are particularly well made. Great finish, feels very solid, sturdy, work- manlike. Only the tilt-neck (actually, its' reputation) makes me nervous. I've had 2 mid-70s Strats and both had alignment problems. However, G&Ls manufacturing quality appears to be light years ahead of CBS/Fender (oh, surprise). That, alone, may be enough to vindicate Leos' original design. I've had no problems with my 3-bolt. Dependable hardware. When Armageddon comes, we'll hide behind the ASAT. Gig w/o backup, sure.

...and its' close cousin, marketing, 4. I wrote the company to express my thanks and to ask why the tilt-neck, after the Fender debacle, and have yet to recieve a response. No where in their sales lit could I find mention of the return of the tilt-neck, yet they loudly trumpet every other technical feature. It's Leo this and Leo that. If the new tilt-neck is so great, then tell us about it, don't hide it. Anyway, I didn't expect Geo Fullerton to invite me over for dinner, but even a form letter would have been nice.

The guitar, itself, should rate a 10. Even the 3-bolt will, most likely, not be any trouble as the ASAT Classic seems especially well made. Manufacturing and engineering appear first-rate. Its' performance is tops. Just that customer service thing that bugs me. I compared the Classic to Fender USA products. IMHO, the Am Std Tele is not in the same league (tho it's some $300 less). The '52 RI was the Classics' closest competition and is a very cool guitar. It lost out because it has all of the '52s weaknesses as well as its' strengths, especially in the neck. The ASAT is much more playable. The Custom Shop models are great, but surely no better than the ASAT. They are, I think, grossly over-priced. A $2000 Telecaster??? C'mon. The Classic is a far better value, I think. In fact, I'm a bit put off by Fenders' all-consuming-corporate-mega-monster approach as of late. Check the G&L website. There are no t-shirts, ash trays, baseball caps, picks, market-saturating imports, or even amps. What you will find is that many of the tools, techniques and machinery, that Leo devised and built or aquired over the years, are still being used to make guitars, today. It feels good to know that your pickups were wound on a machine that CLF put together. I've been playing on and off for 35 years, and you bet I'd buy another ASAT Classic. Wish I could get 3 of 'em.

Natural Ash body, 2 "magnetic field" ceramic single-coil pickups with 1/4" magnets (look kind of like a P-90 and a tele pickup had a kid), 7.25" radius maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, 22 jumbo frets, saddle lock bridge, tortoise pickguard, typical tele knob layout. No bells or whistles, but works damn well. Features? Who needs 'em?

I use this guitar with either a '67 Blackface Bassman w/matching 2x12 cab or a blackface Deluxe Reverb. This is an excellent and complex sounding guitar with a substantial output. It is louder and colder sounding than a typical telecaster. This can be a virtue to a player that needs a bright and biting tone. You will have absolutely no problem cutting through a band with this thing. It is a beast.

As all G&Ls, take it to a trusted repair person or luthier and have it set up. I've had 4 of these guitars and not one of them was set up very well from the factory. When you do, you will have a guitar of comparible to better quality than the Fender Custom Shop guitars at a fraction of the price. They are also extremely durable. I can leave it in our trailer overnight during -15 degree weather, take it out and not have to tune it! This is my only guitar and I trust it with my life. Never doubt it for a second. Also, best Fender-type neck in the business!!!

As I stated above, it is an anvil!!!

I never needed a repair. I have, however, tried to order a custom guitar from them and it was like pulling teeth. They told me that they were a complete custom shop, but when I asked them to rout a Duncan '59 humbucker in the neck position, they told me 1: they were not equipped to perform such an operation and 2: It strayed too far from their product line. Grrrrr.

If you want a warm, buttery, singing tone--steer clear of the asat. If,however, you want the biggest Tele sound around with a more aggressive neck pickup, the asat is for you. If you want a guitar that cuts through horns, dense mixes, loud drummers, and most metal objects, the asat is for you. If you want a guitar built like an tank, then the asat is for you.

USA made Tele-style 1996, bought used, (with only a few hours of use on it, still had the adhesive pickguard cover on), in Nov. '97. Swamp Ash body, maple neck and fingerboard. Clear finish on body, satin finish on neck. Came with all G&L hardware, including pickups. This is the G&L model that looks and sounds like the classic Fender Tele. I have replaced the stock white pickguard with a tortise shell one, and also replaced the pickups with Joe Barden Tele model pickups. Everything about this guitar is classic Tele: slim neck with little radius (I believe it's a 7"), medium frets, chromed Tele six barrel-type saddles bridge. Came with molded case. Not a guitar with tons of gizmos and gadgets, but that's not what Telecasters are about. It has what it needs to aspire to Twangdom, so I give it a 10.

I play my ASAT through a Fender Hot Rod Deville 4x10, with various pedals, or sometimes straight through the amp. I play a little bit of everything stylistically: Rock, Country, Jazz, and heavy on the Blues if you please. Stock, this baby was pure Tele; bright, twangy and noisy. With the Barden pickups, the complection of the instrument changed dramatically. Now it is dead quiet, and extremely versatile tonally. I can get Barney Kessel jazzy, Roy Buchanan gritty, Albert Lee twangy, and even a passable Angus Young ballsy. It all depends on the tone settings of the amp, and manipulation of the onboard tone control, along with my own touch. It's very sensitive to changes in attack, and the height settings of the pickups.

True to G&L form, the clear finish is flawless, revealing the beautiful ash grain of the body. Factory setup was very good, but I had it setup when I purchased it to accomodate my string gauges; 10-52. All hardware is excellent quality, and I've had no problems with any of it, nor have I witnessed any degradation. I don't know the electronic values of the tone control capacitor, but is a very even roll-on, yet is capable of a slight "wah" effect, when rolled on in conjunction with striking a note.

This guitar will probably be inherited by grandchildren! I've gigged often with this instrument, and it is totally, absolutely bombproof!

Have not had any warranty issues with this guitar, but I own other G&L's, and the factory is very, very supportive. All G&L's come with a ten year warranty for the original purchaser, but it is not transferable to subsequent owners.

I've been playing 22 years, 21 1/2 as a semi-professional, and this guitar is probably my favorite I've ever owned. At the very least, it's in the top 3! Through buying it, bringing it home, and then rehearsing and gigging with it, it took the ASAT about a month to become my main guitar. My arsenal of guitars is currently around 7 or 8 (who's counting?), but, if I could only have one, this would be it, without a doubt. I've thought about adding a middle position strat pickup, but won't , because I'm afraid I might spoil a good thing, and I love this guitar too much to risk that. I have a beater Tele-style, and will modify it instead; if I like the result, I'll buy another ASAT. With the addition of the Bardens, which are FANTASTIC, this guitar is absolutely incredible. Yes, I like it! I love the look, feel, and sound of Teles. If you're in that club too, I could not recommend the ASAT Classic enough!

Made in '97 I think, bought in '98; Swamp ash body with Premium Clear ORange finish with white pearloid pickguard; 2 G&L MFD pickups; maple neck w/ rosewood fingerboard. Satin finish on neck. Tele style body; G&L patented bridge, Gotoh tuners. 25 1/2" scale. Hard case (SKB) included. Tone & volume controls, both very smooth and sensitive for flexible tones.

Great guitar for blues and r&B; I use it with a Fender Blues Jr., and Custom Vibrolux Reverb. Not particularly noisy, gives very clean Tele type spank on the bridge pickup, great rich & warm tones on the neck pickup (use that & turn down the tone pot and you can play warm jazz), and a nice combination in the middle pickup selection. Sounds like a Tele but with higher output, a warmer, fuller sound. Not a Tele clone (see the ASAT Classic for a more purely Tele like sound).
Excellent variety of sounds. I use either the bridge or neck pickup alone so far, I haven't found a lot of good uses for the middle setting (both pickups combined).

Superb build quality, as good or better than my Fender Custom Shop Tele. Action excellent (moderate-low), pickups well adjusted. The top is 3 piece and joints are flawless. Everything aligned right. A bad input jack caused some buzzing and was replaced right away under warranty (G&L has a 10 year warranty).
This is an impressively made guitar, and especially considering its price

Still relatively new, but seems as sturdy as every Tele I've ever seen; and since this is Leo Fender's successor design to the original Tele I have no reason to doubt it. Hardware looks good, it is a solid instrument and I'd gig without a backup. Have to see how the finish holds up but I think it looks pretty durable.

Had a warranty repair done immediately after purchase (Buzzing input jack). Done in 2 days, no problem. 10 year warranty and G&L has a reputation for high quality and good customer support.

I love this guitar! I have others that are more "valuable" but my G&L ASAT Special is a real 'player.' It and my Heritage 535 are the guitars I take with me to play out. If you want a clone of the classic Tele sound, then the ASAT Classic is the one; otherwise the ASAT Special (I think now just called the ASAT) is a great Tele-like guitar that also covers some warmer, fuller territory. I'd buy another in a second.
I don't hate anything about it. I'm still bonding with the MFD pickups, but so far I really like them. For the price, the ASAT is about the best guitar (Tele style) for the dollar that I've seen, perhaps in any style.

1995 purchased as new in 1998. Solid ash telecaster body and rosewood fretboard. Controls are standard telecaster 3 way switch, 1 volume, 1 tone. The pickups on the classic model are conventional fender tele size and this guitar came equipped with a Seymour Duncan Vintage '54 bridge and an Alnico Pro II neck pickup. Transparent blue finish. Ashtray style bridge with 6 adustable saddles and strings feed through body of guitar. Tuners are slotted with vertical hole for feeding string down into it. Neck is 7.5 inch radius. Hard shell case was included. I am rating the features as 10 because being a telecaster, it has all the features you need and none that you don't need. My guitar is pretty heavy.

The tone of the instrument is fantastic for the styles I play, blues, rock and some country. The guitar has a glassy clarity that is outstanding. I use it with one of several high quality OD pedals and several high quality fender style amps. It sounds particularly fine through my Victoria Bassman 45410. The single coil pickups are not particularly noisy and the shielding is adequate. Being a guitar with a vintage telecaster style it can produce very bright tones. However the heavy weight solid ash body gives the guitar lots of low end depth. With all my amps I can get a fantastic even tone across the entire frequency range from the bottom to the sparkle. The pickups are not wound to be noise cancelling. The neck sound can cover jazz to warm texas strat SRV tones. The bridge sound twangs and cuts like a tele should but is surprisingly well balanced and rich sounding. The middle position is very spanky. Overall I'd say the sound is clear, somewhat scooped in the midrange, and very rich.

The factory action had to be tweaked somewhat at one bridge saddle. I've went up to 11 guage strings and have tightened the truss rod to compensate. That rod adjusts smoothly. The relatively weak Duncan Vintage '54 pickups sounds best and balances well with the neck when set up fairly close to the strings. Tho bodywood was very wall matched and the seams are almost impossible to find. The neck was misaligned and the neck pocket of the guitar was too tight to permit correct alignment. I carefully filed the neck pocket myself to allow better alignment of the neck. Overall the guitar was very playable from the get go but I downrated this catagory to 8 because of the neck pocket.

The quality of everything on this guitar is absolutely top notch. I am amazed at the quality for this price range.

Have not dealt with them since I bought the guitar used. Very slightly used, It was owned by someone else for 2 weeks.

I have been playing for 30 years and presently own a '63 Gibson ES335 and a '97 Squier Protone Thinline Telecaster. The G&L ASAT Classic is a fantastic guitar that I would recommend to anyone.