G&L ASAT Special

Made in california /controls are volume, tone and a three way selector (for two single coils) body is alder i think, but i`m shure that the neck is one piece maple with 22 frets
the reason why i love this guitar is it`s simplicity an the 7.5 inches fretboard > it`s just perfect

You can use this guitar for virtually anything (never tried extreme metal though) neck pickup sounds like a classic tele while on the other hand if you select the bridge pickup you`ll get a mixture between a strat and a ES-335 (i mean a good one)although i love every sound on this guitar i prefer the neck pickup for it`s bright but also fat and full sound
my current gear is : gl asat special, crybaby wahwah, boss os2 distortion and a small clone chorus, amp is a small vox

action was very well (bought it second hand)it really has that handmade-touch if you compare it to a standard usa-strat
but what i like best on this guitar is that it stays in tune for such along time you wouldnt believe it (once played three hours a day for two and a half weeks until i had problems with the g-string

it`s a tank it will withstand everything i use it for a very long time now and it preserved it`s nearly mint condition

never had to use it

i think i really found my guitar it suits my style and it defines my sound i would never exchange for another guitar but i would probably use others beside it. If it got stolen i would try to find the same again > but i think i wouldn`t find it for such a cheap price in such an excellent condition again

2001 model,made in Fullerton california,22 frets,solid one peice body.
1 volume/1 tone,3-way selector
two fairly hot p-90 type "magnetic field effect" pickups
body is made of swamp ash i beleive,neck is hard rock maple w/rosewood fretboard
deep blood red w/metal flake(9 coats,it's tough,stock finish),pearloid pickguard
imitation shallers
7.5 radius
rates a 10 because of it's simplicity...

the sound of this thing is why i'm writing this review...
i took this guitar to a sunday night "jam",a typical blues oriented jam club/bar...there were 5 or 6 strats(of wide varying quality),and one old late 60's? fender telecaster...the amps were fender twins...
this guitar absolutely smoked ALL of the other guitars in tone,sustain,tonal range,and just flat out burn,it just sounds BIGGER and FATTER,and this was without touching any settings on the amp(s)...it would have made Leo proud i'm sure...;)
i use this guitar for music whitch is a mix of improvisational blues/fusion/classic rock/metal,and it does them all very well,it is probablly one of the most versatile guitars i've ever heard.
if you like the Telecaster design and want something that's just a bit different than what everyone else has,check out one of these,the ASAT SPECIAL,it's one of the best models G&L makes...there nothing to dislike about the sound of this guitar.

action was a bit high,so i lowered it,this guitar is a very unforgiving guitar to play,in that you must have "good" "technique" to really play this thing,as well as be able to break beer bottle with your bare hands...i don't know why(an s-500 strat i have has the same attribute),but the string tension seems to be pretty tight at 440 tuning on this guitar,making playing fast legato,and hammer on/pull off playing brutal on the fingers(9/42 gauge),but i manage to wring it out of it anyway because the audience IS listening ;)
the finish is very thick,and very hard to nick or chip,industrial strength finish...the only thing i don't like about this guitar is the tuning keys,they arent "tight" they have a loose feel,much like those on sub $300 guitars-but they do seem to keep the guitar in tune most of the time pretty well,even with my severe 2 1/2 step bends.

the G&L ASAT special is built like a tank,really.
the bridge is massive you won't hurt much there.
i play this thing 2 or 3 times a week for an hour or two,then play it for 2 or 3 hours on the weekend gig thing,i basically expect this thing to outlast me.
the strap buttons are great,they have this knurled edge that grips whatever strap you are using,really eliminating the need for strap locks.
i can easily depend on this guitar provided i start with a fresh set of strings,i have never had a string break on this guitar(starting with a new set of course)...
i can easily gig without a backup with this guitar,did i mention because of it's excellent bridge design,it seems to be very economical on string life-they last for quite a while,i use DR strings. as a comparison i would never gig with my Les Paul without a backup because that thing eats strings in 3 hours...

never dealt with them

been playing since hearing Blizzard of Ozz in 1982,guess that makes it about 20 years...i own 2 Peavey Wolfgang guitars(one standard/one special)Gibson Jimmy Page Les Paul,G&L ASAT special,Peavey Transformer 212 combo,Peavey Special 212,Peavey Classic 30 tweed,BBE stinger pedal,Mesa Boogie V-twin pedal,an armada of BOSS fx,and my old italian Vox-846...
if it were lost or gone,i would get another one exactly like this one.
the one thing i love about this guitar is it's huge fat glassy TONE,it also has alot of twang there if that's what you want.
the one thing i hate about this guitar is that is wasnt free.
i compared this guitar to fender,fender,and fender,this guitar serve's up that fender sound in truckloads,something even a fender guitar can be hard pressed to do at times...
i wish this guitar had a middle pickup,also the 7.5 radius has a very round profile,sometimes this causes me to get a thumb-cramp,in contrast the Peavey Wolfgang guitars i have are '15 radius=very flat on the back of the neck,i like the flatter neck better,but the 7.5 radius i think makes it easier for vibrato,and pepole with smaller hands will like this neck as well,has an excellent taper,,,skinny down at the first few frets for easy chording,and tapers out to what is still a pretty skinny neck up at the 12th fret.
i mainly play the Wolfgang guitars i have,but this G&L ASAT special is one hell of a blues/classic rock guitar,for those styles of music i recommend this guitar 100%

You know the drill about most of this. Newer 4-bolt model. I don't have the year but I'd say 1999-2001. It has the two soapbar MFD pickups, a rosewood board. It has non-locking tuners, 7.5 radius, medium neck (neither thin nor basebal bat-like). It's honeyburst, with wood binding on the front and a pearl pickguard -- quite sharp-looking. I don't give numbers for the "features" category because it doesn't make sense to. I'm happy with the features.

I have a pretty specialized use for this guitar -- for me, it's set up to be a solidbody jazz guitar a la Ed Bickert. I have strung it with heavy GHS Boomers -- .012-.052. Using the neck pickup through a tube amp using only clean settings (in particular, a 1964 Supro 1696TN with a 15" Jensen), I am getting a beautiful jazz sound. I want particularly to note that it is the solidbody ASAT Special, and not the hollowbody (thinline) version, that works best for this application. I use a full-fledged archtop if I want a shimmering, airy jazz sound. But the solid ASAT provides its own unique jazz sound, as jazz players using teles have long known. The tone is warm and harmonically complex and there is also outstanding definition. I also like the rosewood board, which to my ear gives a slightly "woodier," smokier sound than maple. With both pickups selected, this guitar yields great blues sounds -- snappy and woody -- but I am using it mostly for the jazz sound.

I got it used and it need something of a setup -- some frets needed crowning and polishing, and the nut slots needed some cutting. Nothing major. Everything else is fine. Anyway, I bought it used.

How can I know? I'm sure it'll be fine. It's a solidbody. Never gig without a backup if you can help it.

Haven't dealt with them.

I'm very happy with this guitar. I have an ASAT Classic (with a maple board) that I use more for rock 'n' roll, blues, and country sounds, but which also has a good jazz sound on the neck pickup. I also play a 1968 Gibson ES-125 deep body with P-90s, and a DeArmond X-155. I play them through a BF Pro Reverb and the aforementioned Supro, which is quite a sleeper of an amp, by the way. I'm very happy I bought this ASAT Special. The main point everybody should be aware of is that a used ASAT is an unbelievable buy. To pay $500-600 for these instruments that are as little as a year or two old is a no-brainer.

I am not sure what year it was made as I bought it used off of eBay and have not removed the neck. I do know that it is a post '97 because it has a four bolt neck instead of the three bolt "micro tilt" found on older models. It is American made by hand in Fullerton, CA as all G&Ls are. It is a standard Tele shape, three peice ash body with a natural finish over swamp ash with a really nice grain. The neck is Hard Rock maple with a maple board, 22 medium Jumbo frets and a 7 1/2" neck radius. It has two large soap bar ceramic magnet Magnetic Field Design pickups which are a Leo Fender patent, a three way switch and two knobs, one volume and one tone. It also has Leo's patented Saddle lock hard tail bridge and schaller non-locking tuners. It came with a certificate of authenticity and a G&L SKB hard shell case.

Since I am still learning, I play a little bit of everything. It has a killer clean tone through my Marshall Lead 20 solid state amp. For distortion I plug it through my BOSS Metal Zone pedal and it wails. These MFD's are very versatile and can play everything from country to Blues.

The fit and finish on this guitar is excellent. The neck pocket is so tight you couldn't fit an onion peel in there. The wood is all high quaility and the finish is flawless. My one complaint is that the satin finish on the neck is a little thin on the edges of the finger board and has discolored a little. I really had to search to find something wrong with this one.

This guitar is solid. I don;t gig but if I did, this would be my guitar. The finish is durable and all the hardware is top noch. I think I will have this guitar for the rest of my life.

I have never had any problems but from what I hear, they are pretty good at working with you on problems that are their fault.

I have been playing for about 17 months now. This is my first "High end guitar and if it were lost or stolen I would definitly get another one. I love the idea that this is a "Real" Fender and the names George and Leo on the head stock represent a lot of history. I feel that these are the best "tele's" that one could buy.

EARLY 90'S AMERICAN MADE. P-90 STYLE PICKUPS, SOLID TELE-SHAPED BODY, BLACK WITH TOURTISE PICKGUARD.SCHALLER NON-LOCKING TUNERS. THIS CATAGORY IS HARD TO RATE SEEING THAT THIS IS JUST A GREAT BASIC GUITAR!

THIS GUITAR IS GREAT, I PLAY EMO-STYLE ROCK(FUGAZI,SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE) AND PLAY THRU A JCM 900 4100 100 WATT HEAD AND JCM 800 1960B CAB, AND WHILE IN THE STUDIO I ALSO USE A 1972 FENDER TWIN I CUT IN HALF AND MADE INTO A HEAD THRU THE SAME CAB. ALWAYS RUN THRU A RAT DISTORTION PEDAL AND A SMALL CLONE CHORUS PEDAL.I USUALLY STAY ON THE BRIDGE PICKUP SETTING WITH BOTH KNOBS ALL THE WAY UP, BUT FLIP THE SWITCH TO NECK POSITIONS FOR THAT SWEET CLASSIC LEAD SOUND. hAVE NO BEEF EXCEPT FOR THE INPUT, IT IS NOISY AND A PAIN IN THE ASS TO FIX, THINKING OF GETTING SOMETHING DIFFERENT INSTALLED.

I PLAY REALLY SLACK WITH 11'S SO I HAD TO DROP DOWN THE ACTION WHEN I PURCHASED IT, OTHER THAN THAT IT CAME IN GREAT SHAPE

tHIS GUITAR TAKES ALL THE ABUSE I CAN GIVE, I TEND TO BREAK ALOT OF STRINGS AND THIS GUITAR HOLDS UP ALLOT BETTER THAN MY OTHERS(1965 FENDER MUSTANG, MID 80 EPIPHONE SG(W/GIBSON CLASSIC 57'S).WILL BE REPLACING THE TUNERS WITH LOCKING TUNERS BUT THIS GUITATR STAYS IN TUNE WELL ALREADY. MY BACKUP GUITARS ARE LISTED ABOVE BUT ARE ONLY USED IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS THIS GUITAR HAS A SOUND ALL IT OWN AND IS VERY DURABLE. I AM LOOKING INTO PURCHASING ANOTHER.

HAVE HAD NO NEED TO CALL

AS STATED ABOVE I WILL BE AQUIRING OTHERS BUT PRICES HAVE GONE UP. THIS GUITAR SOUNDS GREAT, CAN TAKE A BEATING, AND PLAYS GREAT. IF YOU WANT A BASIC SET UP THAT YOU CAN TURN UP AND NOT WORRY ABOUT THIS IS THE GUITAR TO BUY

late 80's model, bought used; solidbody tele-style; solid black - has a lot of gig dings and a little bridge corrosion; 2 soapbar P-90 sound-alikes; rosewood fingerboard; fantastic neck - 1-5/8" at the nut, 7.5" radius; bridge has patented locking feature to improve sustain; tuners are that open style that I never can get to work

Can pull just about anything out of this rig, from country tele twang to really fat crying blues (may have the best blues sound of any reasonably priced guitar), to crunchy power chords; not really a jazz sound; hums like a son of a bitch, even with both pickups working (I'm going to try some body shielding, which apparently is lacking - come on G&L!) Only knocks are for excessive hum, even for single coils.

Best neck ever for short fingers; may be a little tight for people with Eric Clapton size hands. Some corrosion at the bridge but functions adequately with a litle clean up;

Neck has stayed remarkably stable over 15 years; this guitar can withstand a lot of abuse.

No need for it. Might call them about body shielding.

Fat blues sound with a neck that can't be beat for me. I'll never give it up except for another ASAT Special.

Pretty new, it's a 4-bolt model. Regular (non-locking) tuners, 2 big old honkin' MFD pickups, black body and headstock, maple neck and board, top loading string design. I think G&L's solid colors are always used on alder bodies, but couldn't say for sure. It's medium weight; most G&Ls aren't very light.

Really, really good for rock 'n roll. Man this is an awesome guitar. The one thing I'll say, MFDs are perfect for all amps. They work fine with my Crate VC3112, but with Marshalls for instance, they sound kind of harsh (they're ceramic). Bites hard, each string has definition, sounds cool clean or distorted!

Really good. Nice tight neck pocket, no finish flaws, frets are dressed real well. I bought it used.

Who knows?

Who knows?

G&Ls are really good, hand-crafted guitars. When buying used, you can especially get a killer deal.

tele style, american made 91-93 model is my best guess, 22 frets 7.5 radius, maple fretboard, 1-5/8" nut, solid ash, gloss black w/white pick guard, 3way p/u selector, 2 large G&L single coils, strap locks, Schaller non-locking tuners, G&L saddle lock bridge. if you want to see the exact guitar (w/specs) go to this web page:

http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/ASAT-Special/ASAT-Special.html

whether you prefer tele's or strat's everyone needs a single coil guitar in their quiver... this one is my preference. i will never get rid of it and i have no reason to keep looking for a better one... it doesn't exist. i will now focus my search for the humbucker guitar of my life (a much more difficult search).

this guitar does blues, county, southern & hard rock, funk, etc. yes it hums on single coil modes. perfectly quiet when the 2 are blended... but as anyone knows who plays on single coils its the dedicated neck or bridge positions where you get your maximum tone and the hum makes no difference when in full play mode, so no points deducted for that in my book.

bridge p/u is very bright when pushed in that direction for country and sings as a lead guitar when full open into a good tube amp.

neck p/u begs for the blues and does the slow stuff well.

i bought this from the owner of Guitars Etc in Havelock NC (great store). Pete had the action too low for me (he was using .009's). i have since had the guitar set up by Tony Questell (the man for eastern NC) with D'Addario exl110w's. while this was only a change of .001's it gives me a wound G string which along with slightly higher action makes a significant difference in tone. this did require the nut to be filed slightly. i have found no flaws regarding the guitar construction.

when i first looked at and handled this guitar my first thoughts were "no frills quality" and "serious equipment". this guitar was built to work the road (whatever that may be for you). evey piece of hardware is solid. the 3 way switch and pots are big and quality which is good because these items are the most problematic part of any electric guitar, finish is still looking good, i have thought about repainting it to look like the old baby-crap 'tele' yellow... but not yet! no back up required unless you are anal retentive.

never have had to bother them

been playing 27 years and some. own a Yairi Dreadnault and an Ovation Cutom Legend. Amps I use are Carvin AG-100, Musicman 112/65 and just ordered a Trademark 10 for recording... lots of other odds and ends (see reviews i've posted on some of this stuff). I would replace this with another G&L tele style (everyone knows they're better than the 'F' brand). this guitar is like a woman with a nice butt (i.e. my wife), i can't keep my hands off of it... it drives me to become worthy of its ability.

i long to play this guitar through a high end amp...

2001 G&L asat special, made in Fullerton,CA. Same basic features and set-up as most Tele style guitars, no frills here except swamp ash body , premium honeyburst finish and pearloid pick guard upgrade. The ASATs come with schaller tuners (not bad), a really cool bridge which is a big improvement over the old Fender style, and an ok abs case. The two features I had to have on this guitar were the 7.5" neck radius,& the large magnetic field, p-90 style pick-ups.

I got the fever for a new Tele a few months back, and wanted something different from my other Fender Telecasters sound wise. I heard a lot about the soapbar style pick ups on the ASATs, and never having heard them, I took a chance and ordered this guitar on a whim. Noise ? Heck yes, as with any true single coil passive pick up there is a little noise. Since I only use single coils in all my guitars I don't mind a little buzz , I don't think I could play without the reassureing hum of a good single. Seriously it's not that bad, the sound quallity far outweighs the buzz for me. I use the Line -6 amps live, and for recording & small jams I use an old Vox pacemaker. Though these amps or any other I have played it through the guitar retains it's character quite well. What is it's character? Compared with other teles I have owned or played, I can think of one word to describe the ASAT special's sound, BIGGER. I'm a country picker, and the twang factor for me is everything. The soap-bar style pick ups suit my style quite well, and I think the maple neck being a little brighter than rosewood, also has a role in this. The tone control is pretty well voiced, I usually roll it off just a hair because the pick ups have the potential to get downright glass shattering, but the guitar cleans up nicely when the volume knob's cut back. For me this guitar is about all I could ask for sound wise, but like I said I'm a country player. Could you tune down to low B and play Korn riffs? I don't know. If this intrigues you, you need to read a different review.

The G&L guitars are all handmade, and I guess that could be good or bad depending on who's hands we're talking about. Right out of the box, this was the best new guitar set-up wise I ever played. It was intonated properlly, and the action was phenominal. I hesitate to overly praise the dang thing but that's exactlly how I feel. To top it off I never even changed strings (different brand than I use) and took it to a show that night, never touched my other guitars. No, its not totally perfect, a fret buzz on the 17th fret b string, a dissapointingly scuffy fret job on the top of the neck, and my input jack crapped out last night. But that's fixed, and I'm really satisfied with the way this thing plays. I will not talk about how the guitar looks, I happen to think it's pretty, but heck I think Drew Barrymore is kind of pretty too.

It's a very solid guitar. I wanted to wait on this review until I had played a few shows with the ASAT, and I could have a better opinion. So far so good, but with ANY guitar I would never go to a gig without a backup.

10 year warranty ,haven't called anyone in customer service.

Been playing 18 years, owned dumptruck load of guitars, still own wheelbarrow load. Gig all the time, wish I had this guitar 32 years ago. It aint perfect, never played one that was. If you're into the twang thing, check out this guitar. If it were stolen or lost I would buy an Ibanez RG whatever and learn a bunch of Marillyn Manson tunes.

This is one bad ass guitar!!! Its 100% pure USA kick ass guitar. It is a Tele style guitar with a solid Alder body finished in a Blue-Berry burst (nice ass finish).It has a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard and 22 jumbo frets.The tuner's are sealed 6 inline and non-locking and are high quality (I rarely have to tune it even with the strongest bends!)

I manly play punk and metal (some blues some jazz) so pretty much this guitar is an all around guitar. I love the finish the most. The guitar has a really good bright sound. THe hardware is suppurb. Well lets just put it this way I pluged my Peavey Raptor I in my amp then I plugged my G&L ASAT special in there and it sounded no joke 200 times better!!!!

Lets just start here the pickups of this guitar are PERFECTLY lined up with the strings!!!! Not only do the pickups look badass the also sound badass! THe only dislike about this guitar is the edge of the body is kinda sharp and after a while of playing it it starts to hurt my side, but I am 15 I'll get over it. The one thing that I love about this guitar is the shine, it is soo shiny I love it.

Well I bought this guitar already 6 years old (came with all original paper work and certificate of authenticity) and no joke this baby looked brand new! The guy told me he played it alot so I guess this thing is pretty durable it'll last a lifetime and you'll never forget it I guarentee.

Never had to deal with em.

I love this thing to death!!! My dad got it for me for christmas and this thing really means alot to me and it is one thing I will never let go until I go!! If it was stolen or I lost it (I dought I will ever lose this thing) I would definatly buy a new one!!!!!!!!! THanx G&L