G&L ASAT Z-3

I'm told mine is a custom order. I bought it in '05 and it's an '04. You Dudes in the States get these for a STEEL! I paid $1,700 and was told it was $2,200 new! It's tobacco sunburst, semi-hollow, solid tail, gold hardware, and the most beautiful gun oil (orange) maple neck on earth. She's not flashy, but classy. I own nine guitars, got rid of my Fender Tele (bad one). Price was no object. I tried 20 guitars in a row with my drummer. This thing out Tele'd and out Strat'd the Fenders. We were blown away.

Like ring'n a freakin' bell man. I have a Marshall AVT stack, an old 2x12 stereo Peavy (perfect for '80's) and a little Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The Winner for this axe? The Fender. Oooo, what a combo. The slight overdrive when it's clean gives me goose bumps. It's the ultimate Fender sound, BUT, my SG comes out when I need it thick and nasty. Can't play ACDC with the ASAT, sorry. However, it does Steve Miller better than anything I've every played.

Because I didn't buy it new (1 yr. old) I can't promise this is the factory set up. However, the intenation is the best out of any guitar I've ever played OR owned. My God. Perfection up and down. Every chord, open or bar, is perfect. They say that is against the laws of physics, but I'm tellin' ya! Fit and finish? Blows Fender and Gibson out to sea, and I love Gibson. No contest. Pefect.

I still gig with two guitars on my stand. 1) because I might bust a string, and 2) the ASAT can't get the Gibson's full sound. Sometimes, you just need both. This honey NEVER goes out of tune. Think about that - NEVER. I bend the snot out of 'er and it's still perfect. Wammy's with locking bolts never worked like this. If I had to choose only one for a gig (between my Les Paul, SG, Guild Starfire III, or Strat), ASAT is the baby.

N/A

28 yrs. of playing, twenty yrs gigging. I may never buy another electric again. I'm done. And my wife is very happy about that. However, if this ASAT Z3 were a woman, I'd merry it. Well, it does have an F hole...

Alder body(black w/white pickguard), maple neck with rosewood fretboard, 3 Z pickups, fixed bridge, locking tuners, volume and tone control, 5 way pickup selector.

All the features you'd expect to find on a Tele style guitar are here plus the pickup combinations of a Strat. Nitpicks: While I really like locking tuners the Shallers aren't my favorites. They're not very smooth(and I do lube my nut slots) and they're big and heavy. Grover makes a much nicer locking tuner. Again, just nitpicking. I'll take the Shallers over non-locking tuners any time. Also, the volume pot does not taper very smoothly. The first quarter inch of rotation cuts the volume dramatically, then it smooths out. It's very difficult to use when you want to roll your volume up and down to control overdrive. Maybe I just got a bad pot. I'll definitely be replacing it.

This is what's kept me playing this guitar while my Tom Anderson sits in it's case. I love the Z pickups. Hot single coil sounds! It's like a Fender with less chime and more snarl, different and very cool. Noise is not a problem at all, crank it up!

No problems here. Quality is excellent, finish is beautiful, stays in tune, plays great.

Quality of construction is top notch, no concerns.

I've never dealt with G&L.

I've been playing for 20+ years and I've owned a lot of guitars. Recently I've been playing Tom Anderson guitars, they're fairly pricey hand built guitars. While the build quality of the Andersons is just amazing, I've never played a guitar with as much "personality" as the G&L. My original intent when purchasing the ASAT was to have decent guitar that I could take anywhere and not have to worry too much about being damaged or stolen while leaving my precious Andersons at home. After getting to know the ASAT it's become my favorite guitar. It's just a really fun guitar to play and again, I absolutely love the Z pickups. I'm selling one of my Andersons so I can get a G&L Comanche too. The folks at G&L should be proud. They're building fantastic guitars at a very reasonable price. If you're in the market for a Fender-style guitar you owe it to yourself to look at a G&L.

2005 G&L ASAT Z-3 custom ordered. Black finish with matching headstock, Dual Fulcrum Tremelo, Ebony fretboard w/Mother Of Pearl Inlays, Graphtech graphite nut, Belly Cut, and Mirorred Pickguard. A Real Machine with those awesome Z-Coli Pups!!!

It only gets a 9 because no guitar gets a 10 in this category. This is truly the Swiss-Knife of guitars. Like a silent assassin, it sits quietly until it goes for the throat. I play through a Fender Hot Rod DeVille with Eminence Red Ryder speakers and can't praise the tone of this combo enough!! The only thing I don't play is Bruce Springsteen, and it covers everything!!

Came from the factory ready to roll and hasn't need but 1 small adjustment to the Tremelo in 1+ years of solid gigging.

If there is EVER a problem, I'll be surprised. I own 5 G&Ls (ASAT Deluxe, ASAT Classic, SC-3, S-500, and the Z-3). They are all very well built. My Strats were so inferior I sold them all except my MIM.

Service is fine, just a little slow. That's fine with me.......

If it was stolen, I'd decapitate the thief. Then I'd order the same exact guitar with a different finish just for kicks.

2000 model semi-hollow swamp ash body Z-3. Tobacco burst with gold hardware and birds-eye neck.

The best all around sound I have ever gotten from any guitar, and I have had many. Sounds alot like a strat but hotter with NO HUM.

Here is were it really shines. The craftsmenship is next to none. First rate to say the least. It puts my PRS and Custom Shop Strat to shame. Mine was used, but looked like it had never been touched.

This guitar was made to last forever. I gig always with 2 guitars, but I would not fret about only haveing this one if I had too.

Have not had to use them yet.

I have been playing for 14 years have owned around 15 different guitars from just about every USA maker, and this is by far my best guitar to date.

2000 model made in the G&L Factory in Fullerton Califonia USA
22 Fret , 3 Z-coil Pickups , Swamp ash body ( I think ) as G&L premium finish guitars are all swamp ash.. Very Light weight locking tuners, vintage frets and beautiful blue burst finish. Fixed G&L style bridge .

Best of both worlds .. simple as a tele and versatile as a strat, I call it a tele-strat hybrid. All I every needed was good souund with one volumn and one tone control to mess with!

Great ! sound, personally I like the warm clean sound for country style, not too much bite! I use a Laney TF200 amp ( Tube Driver ) it seems to marry well. We Play a cross of old popular tunes , Rock & Roll, Country and sometimes do gospel concerts. The five position selector and the ( 3 ) Z-Coils give me a range of sounds that I need with amazing quiet pickups.

Need it adjusted for my own preference didn't really like the factory setup, although it seems very well built and the fit and finish is very good.

Had an Intemitten jack that I called the factory and they told me how to replace it,,, replaced it and it is fine. Other than the jack I think the thing is well built, especially the fixed bridge that is a tank.

Good! the Factory answered my email within a few hours. Told me how the jack was remmoved and installed ( I wanted to do it myself instead of taking it to the store )

I love this guitar will probally have it for the rest of my playing days. This was the 5th electric guitar I had gone through in about a year and half then I found this guitar two years ago. I love the simple opperation of it, and the great versatile sound. If stolen or broken ( heaven forbid ) I would order another maybe in a different color..

New Z-3, played over a year. Semi-hollow, Silver sparkle, Bigsby, Mirrored pickguard. Maple fretboard, and neck, 7.5" radius. Locking tuners. Arguably Leo Fender's most advanced Telecaster. This is a heavy sucker. There is a lot of metal in this thing, from the whammy to the 3 monster pickups. It is very metalic looking, and after a while you forget it is wood. Not for the weak.
It has everything I have ever wanted in an electric guitar, except for the switch to combine bridge and neck pickups. I rate it down slightly for not having the Comanche control setup, which is the ultimate Z-3 configuration.

I use it with a TopHat Ambassador, with original Greenback Vox 12's, a sicko gain mod brown 62 deluxe with ev force 12, and Crate Taxi to practice. It goes direct into a Tascam 428 to record. The guitar sounds incredible in any of these configurations. It has a deep, harmonically rich sound at any setting. There is never any noise. The tone control is usefull, and the only one I have ever liked the sound of rolled off.
I really like the Bigsby tremelo. The guitar is very solid and stable, even when the whammy demon strikes. No tuning problems.
My gig is acoustic guitar only, so I don't play this out, yet. I use it to write and record originals in a straight ahead rock context. I practice an emerging vague jazz chord style. In this context it covers a gibson 335 warm, humbuck tone.
The Z-3 pickups are extremely hot. I dont mean in a rock distortion context. I mean in the sheer amount of voltage they supply. This is probably why they seem so quiet. Signal to noise ratio, ya'know? If you want to make any amp stand up and bark, this is the setup. Every time I pick the ASAT Z-3, any sonic direction I want to go, it is right there with me. What else is there?
To describe the tonal range? Illegitimate love child of the best tele ever, and a hot and horny 335.

Superb finish. Looks at least an inch deep. I cant imagine a more over the top silver sparkle. Tremelo, bridge, neck, nut, tuners; it is all perfect. 7.5 radius is stock for ASAT. It has that nearly impossible combination of slim but substantial, which is helped by the fat frets. I am rating it down slightly for the sharp fret edges. When I go into a 4 hr. guitar playing trance, and start to shred the calouses, they sometimes catch on the treble side of the frets. OUCH!
Dealer did a string change. They think stock string guage is too light. It was really fine when I took delivery of it.

Hard to imagine anything more solid, substantial and higher quality, in a bolt on neck guitar. The price I pay is weight. Other than the dissapointing case quality, I would not hesitate to play it out without backup. There are some very high quality pots, and components in these instruments. It has a silky and expensive feel to everything. There is no scratchyness or grit in the controls.
I am rating it down for case quality.

The warranty is for something like 3,000 years. A certificate of authenticity and historical importance, signed by Mrs. Leo Fender, is included. There might have been some mention of being adopted into the family. These folks invented the production of solid body electric guitars. It is not a company, it is a dynasty. I cannot imagine using the warranty. It looks real cool on the wall.

Been playing 38 years. If it was lost or stolen, I would probably kill myself. As time goes by, it seems more nearly perfect. I have played it a lot, and it seems like it has not been touched. I dont know if it means it is slow to break in, or that is was already there. Every time I open the case, it knocks me out.
The case, the weight, and the sharp fret edges are annoyances. I could fix 2 out of 3 of those things. So my baby is a little fat! She is still a 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tele Style with 3 split coil single coil pickups (hence the name "Z3").

5 way (strat style) pickup selector.

Huge fixed bridge, great hardware. I'm not going to go on and on about how much better these are than Fenders, but they are. It's not even close.

No bells. No whistles. Nothing useless. I would add an "all on" position to the 5 way.

G&L is the real deal.

This thing bridges the gap between the best of the Strat and Tele.
The pickups are definitely Strat like.
Compared to a Strat:
Because of the fixed bridge, it doesn't shimmer like a tremelo equipped Strat can. However, it does have more sustain and meat to the tones (probably due to the fixed bridge). This is where the Z3 is superior to a Strat IMHO, in that the neck/middle position is more solid and beefier and more bell like. I was shocked to find the clean Hendrix/SRV sound AUTOMATICALLY! Same clean amp settings I was using on a Tom Anderson Classic, just plugged in the Z3 and there it was.
Compared to a Tele:
Not nearly as brittle, but quite capable of chimey and compressed sounds that are as close as I want to come to a true tele sound. Although I like to hear guys rip on that clean tele sound, I don't play that style. I can get 90% there with this.

Bought Used, so truss rod adjustment needed. Otherwise, PERFECT.

Big Fat Neck.

Bulletproof.

16 yrs exp. Tons of gear.

This is a great rock/blues/country/americana guitar.

I'm happy about this guitar because it does things neither a strat nor a tele can do, but it stays well within the traditional boundaries of both camps.

Heavy ash, cherryburst, maple fretboard, 3 Z-coil pickups. Tele style body, Strat-style pickup switching, locking tuners. I've also got an Asat Special and I bought this Z3 because I just wanted a highly versatile guitar with Strat-sounds. This guitar is like a Strat on steroids. All the features I need.

This guitar sounds quite different from my Asat Special. I would say it sounds a bit more neutral but also bigger.
The pickups are noise-free. You can get loads of different sounds with this guitar. Highly versatile instrument.

Came with 009 strings. I replaced them with 010's and made a little truss-rid adjustment. Well made instrument. Tight neck pocket, great chunky neck.

Even if it's a well made guitar, I don't gig without a back up.

I mainly use this guitar for high octane Country but it works fine with all styles except heavy metal. (But I don't play that anyway)

It's like a Tele with Strat pickup positions and high output MFD's. The Z-Coils are humbucking in their own way, and won't really give you the country spank that a regular ASAT has. The neck is a great profile, jumbo frets, locking tuners. Just as many features as it needs.

Full sound in all positions, Can't get a real Tele twang, or a creamy woman sound, but almost everything in between. Sounds wonderful just a little dirty, you know, right on the edge of breaking up. Sounds better through a Fender tube amp than through a Boogie or a Marshall.

Bought it used , set-up was great when I got through with it. Fit & Finish solid, this is a heavy hunk of swamp ash.

This is the fifth G&L I've owned, all different models. They hold up bettter than any other production brand I've played. Like I said, they're solid made, not finicky at all, not real sensitive to temperature, etc.

G&L has always been there for me.

Played my first paying gig in 1965. Owned 'em all. G&L's are much better built than Fenders these days. Play G&L for single coil, country, funk, use my PRS's for everything else. I'm real fickle - i like to try new things, so if this were stolen, I might go with a Comanche next time. Overall the Z3 is better than a Legacy or a stock Strat, not as"Take-the-top-of-your-head-off" as an ASAT. Real good guitar.

Took a chance and bought this on E-bay (from a picture), Best buy I ever made ($750.) ...played great right out of the box, no marks / absolute mint! Don't know year of manufacture (late 90's?) Louisiana swamp ash body, Cherryburst finish, rosewood board/ maple neck, 3 Z coil p/ups, 1 master vol 1 mast tone 5 position p/up selector, locking tuners,hand made in USA. Just the meat and potatoes controls you need, a basic workhorse for any bar / club gig.

I play Dylan / Springsteen / Eagles / Creedence / Cougar / Stones / and Irish. Covers all bases in tone. Like a Tele / Strat / SG in a blender. The only guitar you need to bring to any gig (unless its metal). Fave positions are 2 and 4 on the toggle (the tone is sweet / rich and ringing and not as thin as a Tele).
I run it through a '65 RI Deluxe Reverb. Rig is as follows: Fulltone Supa Trem(set all nite as a clean boost only (it's a killer!)(I use amp tremolo)>TS9 Turbo (ts9 setting)>MXR Micro Chorus (rare early 1980's)>MXR Phase 90 (late 70's) >Dan Echo (luv it!)>Boss Tu-2 tuner > Amp.
No noise, dead quiet. This guitar can Rock and Sing the blues in the neck positions (woman tone) and cut like a strat/tele in the bridge.
Only problem is middle pickup drops down after every gig (maybe a stripped screw, no big deal..I'm lazy, gotta get a quick fix!)
This guitar covers all the bases except the harmonics of a humbucker. If you can live with that, (I can after hearing the rest of it's tones!)this guitar is it!
I've owned the following:
(2)71 Gibson SG's (humb),Rickenbacker 620 (Lennon),Rick 360-12, 76 Explorer, 69 Mustang, Fender John Jorgensen Hellecaster(killer looks with terrible tone), 79 Strat, 76 Les Paul Custom. The Z3 is the most versatile (the SG is 2nd).

Fender MustangAnd it doesn't cost you $1500-2000.!!!

Guitar was mint out of the box, minor adjustments to set the action for my tastes and it plays just great! Neck not as thin as my SG (nor as fast) but I'm 44 yrs old and I'm a tone freak now... my speeding days are over!
Fit and finish are tight as a clam. Gorgeous cherryburst finish with nice hard topcoat. What craftsmanship for under a grand!

I play once every weekend, four hours a night. This thing will be with me until I die on stage when I'm 93. Nothing has budged (except that one pickup). I don't carry a backup ...this guitar is a rock!

Never had any contact.

I' ve been playing for 37 years. Been gigging all over New York (CBGB, Max's, Peppermint Lounge, Electric Circus and every bar and club in all (5) counties)since the mid-seventies. I've worked with members of the Ramones, Marshall Crenshaw Band, Television and others.
The Z3 is now my right hand man.
I don't need anything else.

Year unknown. Made in California.
22 fret
One volume, one tone control w/heavy chrome knobs
Three G&L brand "Z-coil" pickups (passive single coil)
Alder body, rock maple neck w/satin finish
Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
Body finish is silver sparkle with mirrored pickguard
Bridge is a hard-tail G&L, strings load from end of bridge
Tuners are Schaller locking
Neck is rounded and substantial, frets are jumbo
Came with a hardshell plastic case

The "10" rating is not for the amount of features it has, but for having the right amount of features--this is the perfect cross between a tele and a strat while being better in quality than either.

I play many styles, including metal, country, punk, disco, rockabilly, jazz, lounge, and industrial. This guitar is great for most of what I do, though if you're looking for a creamy humbucker sound, you won't get it here.

Amp is a Mesa Boogie Mark I reissue usually set on "Tweed." My usual effects arsenal includes: Old MXR Dyna Comp, Teese RMC-1 wah, various distortions, various modulation effects. This guitar works exceptionally well with the Dyna Comp and the RMC-1 because the pickups have a bright single coil sound without the noise generally associated with strats and teles. I'm also playing it through a Boss VF-1 for direct recording into a PC--the great tones of this guitar come through well.

The three pickups provide a wide range of tones. If 1 is muddy and 10 is shriekingly bright, the tones on the Z3 range from 4 to 9. It's a good variety, covering most strat and tele sounds. The tele "twang" is not quite as twangy, but the Z3 makes up for this by getting some warmer tones--not quite Les Paul territory, but on the border.

I know what this guitar was capable of before I bought it, and I'm very happy with it. I've got guitars with humbuckers, now I have one with single coils, but without the hum.

I bought this guitar used, so I can't comment on the factory set up. But if I assume that at most, the intonation was adjusted, it's an excellent job. The neck has 4 bolts and is tight, though I can fit a single sheet of paper in the top (like that's a big deal, right?).

The finish is amazing. There's a picture of it on the G&L site here:
http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/ASAT-Z3/ASAT-Z3.html
There's tons of finish on top of the glitter, so even though it looks rough, it's very smooth.

The detailling is flawless--the nut, the frets, all the electronics have been installed with great care. Nothing rattles and everything is as it should be. This is a top-notch instrument.

I have no worries about this guitar keeping up in a bar band. It's solid throughout.

I've replaced the strap buttons with a DiMarzio Cliplock strap, but I've done that to all my guitars for over 15 years.

I do not gig without a backup. The only guitar I trust not to get trashed in a dive bar is my Steinberger GL.

I have not had to deal with G&L.

I've been playing for 21 years and have played or owned all the classic guitars and many, many others. My current keepers are a custom Ernie Ball Silhouette, an old Steinberger GL, and the Z3.

If this guitar were stolen or lost I would definitely get another. It's the ultimate single coil guitar.

I love the range of tones, the quality of the workmanship, and that butt-ugly finish.

Compared to the current crop of Fenders, this is a superior machine in every way. I compare its quality to Ernie Ball guitars, which I consider to be the best production guitars available.

If you're looking for a great rock or country guitar, try out a Z3.

I can't believe I got this for as little as I did.

I bought my Asat Z3 in 1999. G&L guitars are made in California. It has 3 "split" single coil pickups (for hum cancelling). This guitar has a nice curly maple top. The bridge is G&L's solid (read "heavy") bridge.

My first love is the blues. That is why I bought this guitar. It sounds very clear but also "heavy". The G&L magnetic field pickups have their own unique sound and it suits my personal taste. It also works for classic rock and country.

The fit and finish are excellent. I did have the action reset to my personal taste as I do with any guitar I own.

I haven't used this one a whole lot. But I've owned an Asat before and the old one was indestructable.

Never had a problem with this one or my previous G&L.

I really like the sound and feel of this instrument. It wasn't cheap, but it still costs less than a custom shop Fender.

2000 model, USA (hand-made), 22 med-jumbo frets, Solid Ash, Natural finish, 5-way selector switch, Three G&L Z-Coil noiseless single coil pickups, 25.5 in. Thick Maple neck and fretboard with satin finish, Tele-style body, G&L saddle-lock bridge, Schaller Locking Tuners, G&L hardshell SKB type case.

I bought the guitar for country twang first and for blues/classic rock second. It does both quite admirably. I am using the guitar with a Mesa Boogie DC-5, 66 Fender Blackface Princeton Reverb, and a Johnson J-Station through computer for recording or through a 120 watt tube amplifier into 2x12 cab.
The guitar is dead quiet. The Z-coils are humbucking, but sound like single coils. VERY BRIGHT with the Ash body and Maple fretboard which is exacly what I was looking for with this guitar. The tone control is very effective at mellowing out the sound or taking it to twang city. The neck pickup is very mellow considering the wood characteristics. Best positions are 1 or 2 for country twang, and 4 or 5 for blues/classic rock. No surprises there.
I like the quiet pickups. Even quieter than my Les Paul with humbuckers. The only dislike would be a slight lack of high end harmonics.

The Z3 came with a very low action. Some buzzing, especially with the B and low E strings. The low E was set up too low. The original 9's (SIT)sounded good but were changed to D'Addario 10s and I set up the action to eliminate the buzzing. Great now.
The pickups were adjusted very well. There was just a little string warble but adjusting the neck pickup took care of that.
The guitar body is two piece Ash and you have to get within inches to even see the joint. Great character in the wood and a great gloss finish. Absolutely beautiful.
The neck joint is as tight as I have seen. Cannot fit a thin piece of paper in it at ANY point. As close to a set neck as I have seen in a bolt on. I am actually afraid to take the neck off. It is so tight that getting the neck out could harm the finish on the body.
Everything else on the guitar is perfect. G&L makes one of the best hand-made guitars period, especially at their price-point.

This guitar will be played and enjoyed long after I am just a memory. This is the 50s and 60s Fenders of TODAY. Rock solid, built to last by caring professionals, BY HAND!!!
You could gig without a backup, but I always have 2 or 3 guitars for the varied music I play. I will take this Z3, a G&L Legacy (ash/rosewood), and a Les Paul. That will cover anything I want to play.

10 year warranty. I am a member of the guitarsbyleo.com G&L appreciation site. From being there for about a year, my opinion is that G&L stands behind their products, PERIOD!!! No worries there.

I have been playing guitar for 34 years, electric and acoustic. This guitar is exactly what I was looking for.
If it was lost of stolen, I would not buy this model again. I would probably opt for an ASAT Classic for that true twang.
You have to A/B this guitar agains teles to understand the difference. This guitar is exceptional, as have been all G&Ls I have played.

Semi-hollow, with the strange looking Z shaped pickups. Kind of a Telecaster style. Locking tuners, all of the regular G&L stuff

I just bought it last weekend. Its my first real electric guitar. So far, jamming at home, the guitar is amazing. With the three pickups, and 5 way switch, it goes from really bright, to really full. I'm playing it through a Fender Princeton Chorus, which has a lot of features also-stero chorus, overdrive, which really gives a lot of options.

Not being an expert on set up, I'm really satisfied anyway. It's easy to play and looks great.

Again, it less than a week old. Other reviews have been generally good, and I do not anticipate any problems.

No reason to yet. It does come with a ten year warranty.

I've been playing for thirty years, almost exclusively acoustic. I own a 1975 Guild D-40SB which I will never get rid of. I should have asked a little more about the hardware-the locking tuners, the adjustable bridge, etc. I played a Rickenbacker 12 string, and a Fender American Standard Strat in the store. I wanted a 12 string, but decided that it was too limiting. As compared to the Strat, even though it was twice the price, it is more than twice the guitar.