G&L ASAT Special Semi-Hollow

2001 ASAT Special Semi-hollow.
Swamp Ash body (I think!), Maple neck. Natural binding with a transparent Blue finish.
Standard tele electronics, three way switch, 1x volume, 1x tone.
Slot head Gotoh tuners with a G&L Saddle Lock Bridge. Jumbo Frets.

My only complaint is the Jumbo frets. I didn't realise when I brought it that it had jumbos. I really like feeling some wood under my fingers, and with the jumbos I tend to bend strings a little sharp. I might get a refret done, if I can stand to blow more money!

I play praise and worship music. In the band there is only one electric guitar, so I have to flick between lead and rythmn constantly. Unusually for P&W music, I play a lot of slide.

This thing is like the bastard child of a Tele and a Les Paul. The tone has the weight and thickness of a Paul, but with the bite of a Tele.
There is a lot of variety between pickup settings. I mainly use the bridge for rythmn, centre for slide, and the neck for lead. (neck pup is set higher for a volume boost)
Like any single coil guitar, it can be a little bit noisy, but it's not real bad. I've have far, far noisier guitars in my time.

I'm using a simple rig with:
Catalinbread V8 fuzz
DT-10 tuner
MI Audio Boost'n'Buff
T-rex Alberta overdrive
Eventide Timefactor delay.

Amp is an old Sovtek Mig 50 with a Mesa Boogie 4x10 cab.

For the tones I like (bright but not peircing, fat but not dark, overdriven but nor distorted) this guitar is perfect for what I do.

I brought this second hand off Ebay, so I never saw the factory setup. When I got it, it hadn't been used for a long time. The hardware had dulled, it was very dusty and the strings were nasty. I changed the strings and cleaned it up.
I haven't really found any flaws with this guitar - the grain/bookmatching is great, the neck joint is tight and the frets are flat. There is a very slight finish drip over the natural binding at the F-hole, but you would have to really look to find it.
It balances on the strap well too.

It feels nice and solid. It's very light and comfortable to play for long periods. Hardware is all top quality. The finish is very, very tough. This guitar is the best part of ten years old and the finish looks like it was applied yesterday. Strap buttons are ok but a bit small. I really need to put on some strap locks!

I use it all the time with no fears. I do bring a second guitar (strat), but more for string breaks and different sounds.

I've never contacted G&L about anything, but I've heard good things. Hopefully they will live up to their reputation if I need them.

I just love this guitar. Out of all the stuff I've had, this one matches my playing style and the tones I like best. I really wish it didn't have jumbo frets thought!
My favorite thing is the variety of tone available from the different pickups and tone knob.

I would certainly buy another one if something happened to this one.
When shopping for this I also looked at 335's, Rickenbacker 360 and Tele's. This one I brought on a whim off ebay, and just felt right. Still hoping to get a Ricky 360/12 though!

This is an American made, semi-hollow, high-gloss ASAT Special with full body binding, birdseye maple fretboard and two high output MFD single coil pickups. Comes with a very, very nice tweed case. The entire package is guitar porn.
I became aware of G&L years ago when a guy I worked with would not shut up about how superior they were. At the time, I was a performing acoustic soloist so I didn't pay much attention. Ten years later, I'm browsing the store and pick up one of the S-500 Tributes and quickly realize it's a steal at $489 - five years later, my 11 years old son has the Tribute and I now own a Legacy, an S-500 and as of this week, an ASAT Special Semi-Hollow. I wholeheartedly agree, these instruments definitely compare with Fender Custom Shop. Between the S-500 and the ASAT, my arsenal is just about complete for what I need.
My only complaint is minor and involved the use of the knurled steel volume and tone controls. I would much prefer knobs with numbers so I have an idea what settings I'm using when playing live. I hate relying on the monitor mix to adjust my tone / vol and prefer using my memorized settings and letting the sound guy make the adjustments.

OMG this thing is a tone machine. More than any other guitar I own, this guitar has the SIGNATURE sound that makes me glad I hadn't discovered it twenty years ago as I would probably still be a starving musician with a well-worn ASAT Special...

I have been playing it through my Mesa F-30 (Mesa's best clean channel), a 65 Deluxe Reverb RI and a Gibson GA 20 RVT hand wired combo. My style is pretty diverse but this thing begs for rockabilly licks, Texas swing, bluesy shuffles and jazzy mixolydian phrases. The semi-hollow body really makes a difference and adds just the right amount of air. Honestly, tone for days. Not a lot of sustain just beautiful, bell-like single coil chime with the right amount of responsive bite when you dig in. These three amps have very different flavors and this guitar is outstanding through all three.

Perfect factory set-up. I normally get home and start adjusting relief and saddle height. This one was fine right off the wall. Fit and finish is outstanding. Not a flaw to be found. G&L has outstanding QC.

Reliablility is not an issue. As stated, built to the standards of a custom shop instrument.

No dealings but a pretty large dealer network and lots of faithful Fender converts means it'll probably be just fine.

This is my favorite guitar in my collection which includes:
LP Supreme
G&L S-500
G&L Legacy
Taylor T-5
Taylor 914 CE
Line 6 Variax 700 acoustic
Takamine Santa Fe
1989 LP Goldtop signed by Slash! (wall art - in a display case)

Built in 2005, my ASAT semi-hollow has a factory installed recessed Bigsby Vibrato, Clear orange finish over an ash body, gunoiled birdseye maple neck and maple fretboard, wood binding and creme MFD pickups & pickguard

I play alot of ambient and textured guitar as well as some jazz & country. I'm always in pursuit of beautiful clean tones and big sounds that can be layered as well as straight ahead basic guitar to amp sounds.

The asat is a tone machine. I had read loads of reviews, played several g&l's and finally decided to take the plunge when my dream ASAT come along. The tone this guitar acheives does not dissappoint. It is telecaster with a twist and that means no icepick in your ear highs with plenty of twang and a smoothness in the bass response (p-90 reminiscent) that can't be found in a regular tele. The f-hole and hollow chambers give a life and resonance that can' t be had in a solid-body. It is woody sounding and snappy, the notes breathe in a way. The tone control is very responsive and doesn't rob your sound. THe volume is good in that way as well, you have your tone just less volume. The MFD's are actually pretty hot, and certainly hotter than a regular set of telecster single coils. The setup is simple but it is remarkable how much territory can be coved with a 3-way switch, tone and volume. The bigsby adds to the versatility too and is beautifully recessed into the body at the factory.

For the most part, the guitar was impeccable, but let's have the bad news first. The neck had a slight twist in it and was pitched incorrectly and the setup was crap. It was like trying to run up a hill past about the 8th fret. Not quite what I expected from a very custom order USA G&L. $100 fret dress, shim under the neck and setup later and it was a completely different story. Incredibly fast, subtle and easy to play. I wasn't entirely happy about the shim, even though it is pretty thin. It really should be necessary in this calibur of guitar, but it sounds an plays great nonetheless.

The finish on the neck and body are incredible. THe colour is gorgeous and the wood is highly figured and first rate. When it comes to quality, G&L far excede Fender's USA output, even rivalling the oft overrated custom-shop. Just the materials and techniques used by G&L are really on another level. The retail on this guitar was around 2500 (1600 low street) a comparable fender would be much much more and I got this baby for $900! Everything is so well crafted, it is a shame it came so poorly setup, but this seems to be the trend these days from fender and g&l to gibson and prs, unfortunately.

As solid as they come. I can't imagine needing a backup, unless you feel the need to hedge your bets for every eventuality. Totally reliable after setup. Stays in tune quite well, even after using the bigsby.

never dealt with them though it is under warranty for 10years. Should any issues arise I will probably deal with them. The tech I used felt they wouldn't do anything about the setup issues as to them they'd be pretty 'minor' and thus I'd have to wait around and go through the whole shipping bit for basically nothing. I just wanted to it to be right so I could play it without the wait and the hassle of returning it.

Been playing 18years. I love this guitar from the stunning look and vibe of it to the tone and playability. It is so vintage feeling, it sounds and feels right and it is difficult to set this one down once you pick it up. The ASAT was definitely Leo's greatest unsung acheivement. He took a classic, his own classic notheless, and perfected it and that kind of innovation takes genius.

honeyburst finish
birdseye maple neck with gun oil tint
spezel tuners

This guitar is pretty versatile - the single coils sound nice, smooth and very very clean. It sounds part strat, part tele - probably mostly tele - but it can get many sounds depending on what you use it with and how you set the guitar controls.
the neck pickup sounds woody, smooth and clean - that is, until you switch to both pickups mode, where things get a lot cleaner and spankier, a great sound that has the tele bite with a twang and the cleanliness fenders are known for.
The bridge pickup is trebly and punchy, as you'd expect - you wouldnt believe how this guitar screams when you crank it and bust out the pinch harmonics.
My sg standard doesnt come close to responding like this baby when you make it scream - and it sounds fantastic.
When you roll back the tone knob things get a LOT mellower with much less bite - then you truly get the hollowbody sound you paid for.
You can play jazz, rock, blues, pop, almost anything with it.
My tastes are very varied and are pretty much all over the place - I like a lot of stuff from mainstream pop, to heavy and extreme metal, to ambient and chillout, to acoustic mellowness, to 80s hair bands, etc.
This guitar comes through very well on a fairly big part of all that - you can pretty much play leads with it over anything you'd like - except for whammy bar dives and 27th fret chopping for death metal.
In fact, this guitar doesnt handle too much distortion for playing rhythm too well - which by no means says that she is not suitable for rock, but rather than that, she cant handle metal.
So as long as youre not getting this to play chuggy riffs there's a pretty big chance you'll do just fine.
It does what it claims to do very very well, so rating this is tough - I'll give it an 8 for pure versatility's sake.
But if youre looking for a TELE, this is a 9 or 10.
It should be noted though that the pickups hum like CRAZY if youre around too much electricity - it clears off nicely though as soon as you take a few steps back.

I got this guitar from a store in newark and it came there straight from the factory.
The setup is very good, it came with .10's which i dont care for too much (too heavy for very wide bends and wild vibratos that I employ extravagantly in my playing) but it sounds good, intonated almost perfectly, which for a factory guitar is awesome.
no fret buzz plugged or unplugged, responds nicely throughout the entire neck, this is almost perfect.

It seems pretty solid, strap buttons very solid.
Personally I wouldnt take it to a gig because its just so delicate and gentle - but it definitely seems like it is solid and built to last.

I have been playing for six years now.
I own an '87 sg and this new ASAT, previously I owned hamer, washburn and other guitars. I have played some great guitars in my life, including limited edition les pauls, 1980's fenders, kramers, charvels - this guitar feels very special compared to all of those because it just has the touch of true craftsmenship.
At 1300$, this guitar truly feels handmade.
There's just nothing wrong with it whatsoever - the neck is amazing, the body is beautiful, the hollow chamber adds a lot of room to your sound..
If it was stolen I'd be very upset probably as I spent a lot of time and efforts briging it over to Israel which is where I live, and finding a guitar truly as unique as this is not easy at all.
I would find it nice if the guitar had easier access to higher frets and even more, Id really love it if it had a bigsby or a tremolo of some kind... But those are things you can always add.
My fav feature on this guitar would most definitely have to be the birdseye maple neck with gun oil tint gloss, which is just fabolous beyond words.
For the money, this is one of the highest quality guitar I think you could get today without having to worry about getting a hit-and-miss guitar.

Everything a tele does, and more.

Goes from twangy treble tele to screaming gritty face ripping punch.

Flawless

Bullet proof

Never dealt

I'm going to beat the horse a bit more, as I already rated this guitar. I wnet to Guitar Center yesterday looking for my next victim, and I've got to tell you that G & L guitars are the best deal going out there. Fenders are hit and miss, Gibsons are sub par unless you buy a custom shop/signature, etc., etc. I did play a used Suhr strat that was awesome as you'd expect. But I went home and played my Asat, and realized once again that I will not buy any other guitar period. My next ax is a Legacy, and I will buy it off ebay and not worry about the quality.

2000 or 2001 ASAT Special Semi-Hollow. 2 passive G&L MFD P-90 Style pickups. 1 volume, 1 tone, 3-way switch. Newer style 4 bolt neck. Saddle lock bridge. All the features you could want in a Tele-style guitar.

Fantastic and usable sounds abound. From Tele-twang to jazz-box mellow. MFD pickups are unbelievable in their versatility and tonal excellence. Signal path = ASAT - Peterson Strobostomp - Barber Tone Press - Foxrox ZIM - '69 Fender Super Reverb (or '90s 'The Twin'). There is little one could not do with this guitar, short of metal styles.

This guitar was not purchased new, so factory setup is not applicable. When I received it, the setup was great. Strung with .10-.46 set, no buss. Excellent fretwork. No scratchy pots or noisy switch. Super solid construction. A+ Fit and finish. Among the best constructed guitars I have ever played.

Extremely gig-worthy. All the hardware is built to last. I think the bi-cut neck is genius. Solid hardshell case. This is a "long haul" guitar.

Never had to deal with G&L.

I am completely sold on G&L. After researching Tele type guitars for several months, I found that the Fenders I playted could not hold a candle to G&L. Fender cannot touch the quality for the price. The only products Fender has that approach G&L quality are the Custom Shop models, and they are 2-3 times the price of a G&L. Where else can you get a handmade USA built guitar for well under $2k? Comparable to the quality of Anderson, Suhr, etc. for a fraction of the price. Try one. You will not be dissapointed. Right now, I think G&L is the best value in "traditional style" guitars. Get one soon (before everyone figures it out), and hold onto it for a few years. These will be quite valuable in the future. I am selling my Strat now, too as I just bought a G&L Legacy as well. I see a Comanche in my future, too.

This category cracks me up. OK, so it doesn't have two splitable humbuckers and two single coils with tone controls for every pickup combination, kitchen sink, etc. It has two MFD single coils with a three way selector, and each setting has a distinctive sound to it. Mine is aqua sparkle with matching painted headstock, rosewood board. I'll give it nine, deducting only because it doesn't have the array of features that some people want. It has everything that I want, but I'm trying to be subjective here.

The sounds that this things produces are simply awesome. I've been searching for "that sound" for a long time - 25 years - and this is it. I used to like the punch of 'buckers, but always hated the muddy, unfocused tone they produced. The MFD's have a gritty timber that cuts through and gives me the attitude that I wanted for my sound. Interestingly, it has casued me to go for a much cleaner tone, right on the edge of breakup. In my studio, I play it through a silver face Vibro Champ, and it is just cookin. There is NOTHING that I don't like about the sound of this guitar, in any pickup setting. The MFD's are toothy and focused. I would love to hear this through a cranked Bassman or Plexi.

I'll be clear here - you cannot beat G & L guitars for value to price ratio. I owned a Legacy Special until recently, and that guitar was gorgeous. I just didn't like the dual blade pickups, and I'm just not a tremelo guy. My Asat special is the most beautiful guitar that I have ever owned. Some out there who own PRS guitars with the 10 top and 20 foot finish may snear at this statement. But really, the sparkle finish is three dimensional, and the matching painted headstock balances the overall visual beauty of the guitar. G & L guitars are custom shop quality at prices that are reasonable for what you should pay for one. I'm not one of the people that will say that Fenders suck, but I will say that I strongly prefer G & L guitars. I believe that many people that buy Fender products do so only becasue of the coolness od the brand-heritage. People that buy G & L's really understand the difference!

Need I say more?

Can't say - never had to talk to them.

Been playing 25 years. Owned LPs, strats, Music Man, Guild, etc. If it were lost or stolen, I would be extremely bummed, as I love this thing like a son, and I got such a great deal on it. Great, Great guitar!

This is a semi hollow tele style guitar with large P 90 style pickups which are wound hot...f hole in the right place...saddle lock bridge...etc...standard tele features, well done

will do anything within reason...noisy as these things will be

100 %...made in the usa

solid

this is the third g&l I've bought this year...they're great guitars...the "fender" company can't compete with them...if you want an overpriced piece of crap, buy a "fender"...if you want a well built american made guitar which costs what it should, sounds fabulous and plays like a dream get a g&l and then play your ass off...you'll be way too busy to look back

This "tele-style" guitar was made in 2004. 22 fret ebony fretboard with a 12" radius and jumbo (Dunlop 6100) frets on a moderately slim hard rock maple neck with a gloss finish. It has a 25.5" scale. Also has Schaller locking tuners.

This has a semi-hollow ash body with a nicely bookmatched flame maple top and natual binding on the top. It has typical tele style controls - one volume, one tone, and a 3-way switch.

The pickups are the large G&L MFD's (Magnetic Field Design). They are a passive ceramic magnet pickup - very hot, with a wide tonal range. These are commonly mistaken for P-90's.

The bridge is the G&L "Saddle Lock" bridge. The individual string saddles are pressed together by a set-screw, increasing sustain. It's a great bridge, and it does work.

G&L molded hard case included.

I play classic rock, blues, and contemporary country. This suits my style just fine. It's pretty versitile.

I play through Fender tube amps, and occasionally use a Robert Keeley modified BOSS BD-2, a BOSS Chorus, and on one occasion, a flanger pedal. Anybody want to buy a flanger?

The pickups don't seem overly noisy, but they are single coils, so some hum can be expected. The clean is very nice, but it can't get as clean/bright as a standard Tele or ASAT Classic. It can get gritty or airy, bright or dark - the tone control works on these guitars.

I am a complete fan of G&L's MFD pickups - I've got to give this a 10 for tone.

I am extremely picky when it comes to guitars. I could not find a finish flaw. I took the neck off to check the date of manufacture, and the neck had a snug fit in the pocket, but not overly tight.

The set-up was fine. I did adjust the pickup height, but with MFD's, I've found the height is a real personal preference thing. It's no big deal to adjust the height - just the turn of a screw.

I am not sure what the nut material is, but it should be bone on a guitar like this.

As mentioned in the previous review, the jack can be an issue. I noticed a huge difference in feel between this jack (snug fit) and the jack on my older ASAT (not so snug fit).

That said, this is just a superb instrument. If the nut were bone, or the jack was easier to replace, I'd give it a 10.

I don't see a problem using a G&L without a backup, but that would be a bit nuts, if you ask me.

The best customer service in the music industry - period. I am just a hack who jams with his buddy's, but G&L treats me like I was Eric Clapton. I don't see me buying any other brand when it comes to single coil guitars, and heck, if I decide to get another humbucker equipped guitar, it just might be an ASAT Deluxe. Who knows!? G&L has earned my loyalty many times over.

10 year warranty to the original purchaser.

I own several G&L's, one Fender Strat, a couple Les Pauls and one acoustic. If it were lost or stolen, I'd get another one without hesitation.

It is very lightweight, which is nice, but it is slightly neck heavy. With a slim nylon strap, the headstock wants to head south, but with a suede strap, it stays put. Since I always use a wider suede strap, this is not an issue.

The neck feels great, the pickups are awesome, it looks like a million bucks - what's not to like?

2001 model, cool Burnt Orange finish, satin finish neck, rosewood fingerboard, 2 large special P-90 type PU's, 1 F-Hole, Sperzel locking tuners, big manly frets.

I saw this at the LA NAMM show, played it, and knew right then I had to have it.

I have a bunch of other ASATs and they have a very characteristic sound of their own. Very punchy tone, a great midrange, nice sizzling highs and a low end that rivals the neck PU of a Gibson with P-90's. Also a little quieter than normal single coils, and a bit hotter as well.

This is where G&L really shines - every single ASAT I've ever picked up and played were almost identical in set up. Nice action, perfect frets, consistent sound, no buzzes on the fingerboard, easy to bend the strings, perfect neck alignment.

The bridge is the secret to the sound on these ASATs. It's recessed into the body of the guitar and gives the guitar tone for days. The sound is also very consistent with other ASATs. These PU's ROCK! No flaws that I could detect.

On some G&L's in the past the nut was sometimes not cut evenly with regards to sting to string distancing. On this one it was almost perfect (and no guitars are perfect to me).

The Achilles heel of G&L's are the output jacks - very squirrely. The jack will not hold onto a guitar cord too well unless you loop the cord around the guitar strap near the endpin. But I do that anyway with all guitars, so no big deal.

Absolutely reliable, never has let me down, never will. Don't need a backup with this baby!

I've dealt with G&L over the years on different levels (I used to be an endorsee) but never had to return a guitar for any reason. Never had a problem with one. But if I ever did, they'd be there. Remember - this was Leo Fender's last company before he died.

I'm a professional and play in a band called The Hellecasters. I play all kinds of guitars. Most people say they're either a Gibson or a Fender guy. I think there needs to be a 3rd category with G&L ASATs because they're pretty different sounding.

If you're looking for a guitar that is a cross between a Gibson and a Fender, then the ASAT is it, brother. And the semi-hollobody ones have a little more warmth to them.

If someone stole it I'd probably hunt them down, tie them up and make them listen to N'Sync until they puked their brains out.