G&L ASAT

1997 G & L ASAT. Tele style body, 2 MFD single coils p'ups with adjustable pole pieces, one is RWRP, so they are humbucking in the middle position. String-thru-body bridge, 3 color sunburst, quartersawn, one-piece, hard rock maple neck Made in U.S.A.

This guitar is like a Tele, but without that ice pick in the ear treble that most Teles have. It is more midrangey and chunky sounding. Doesn't sound thin at all. You can get a little overdrive with it in the middle humbucking position, but to get real gone you probably would need a pedal. I play it through a '77 Hiwatt DR-504 head and a Reeves 2 x 12 cabinet with Vintage Purple speakers. You can't get a bad sound out of the guitar. You probably would need a Tele to get those piercing Roy Buchanan volume swells. It doesn't do that. The pickups are shielded, so 60 cycle hum is not a problem. It's a great guitar for rock, country, and blues.

I bought the guitar new from a pawn shop. It was still factory sealed with the cellophane on it. The action was terrific. No manufacturing flaws that I can see.

This guitar is solidly built and will last a lifetime. I'm going to miss it when it's gone.

N/A

I own a number of other guitars, mostly P-90 equipped. This is a well-built, relatively inexpensive professional quality guitar that looks and sounds great. When I am in a better financial position I will get another one. No regrets with my purchase.

1988? Model. Alder body and one-piece maple neck. 3 bolt neck plate.

standard ASAT specs.. 2 soapbar singlecoil MFD pickups

Black with Black hardware.

These pickups are pretty much my favorite ever. I also had a F-100 with the humbucking MFD pickups that split into single coils.

Much warmer and fuller than a strat or tele in my opinion but also cuts like single coii pickups do.. basically the best of both worlds, though if you REALLY needed super distorted metal action and were the only guitarist in your band, you might want a guitar with humbuckers.

once i brought it to my tech for set up it how plays and sounds and is built AMAZINGLY. this is an early (3 bolt) GL from the leo fender era (when he was still with us) and these are just amazing, handmade guitars.

this guitar is over 20 years old and is solid as a rock.

never dealt with them

ive been playing for over 20 years and have had about that many guitars.. this is THE best guitar I've ever had.

Happy New Year 2007
written new years eve


I have the basic ASAT with 'soapbar' type pickups.

I love the playability. I keep a med. action, not low, for the tone.

This guitar has wonderful sustain, the whole thing just vibrates.

It likes Diadderio 10's changed once a week or else the 1st string
may sitar. I bend alot and the 1st string acually gets bent.
My guitar doesn't like bent strings. So to keep it happy I change strings often.

When it comes to tone, for me, this guitar is it.
I play it by no accident

Funny but none of my guitar heros play this ax.
But, I think they should.
Strats sound like strats. Teles sound like Teles.
These guitars both tend to spit notes at you. They are slinky, spanky
Texas approved standards of tone.

The ASAT tone is kinder, warmer, and in my opinion more vocal and throaty tone than the Strat or Tele. Much more. Notes do not spit. But
warmer, like in the neck p/u you hear the wood, like in an archtop. Air, you hear the depth and openness. And it howls and moans and screams with distortion.

I do confess that I love the neck p/u the most. Almost exclusively.
But the bridge does great Jimmy Page Les Paul, really amazzzing. But it's not long before I'm back on that fat neck.
It's like a hot tub of tone I tell ya.

It's the only guitar I own that I haven't torn apart and rebuilt.
It's like what could I do to improve on this design. Nothing.

I keep it tuned up

My guitar is around 15 yrs old now and my frets are wearing a little maybe time for the real guitar tech in this area for some TLC

My guitar always works good.

They replaced my neck about five years ago.
Great work.
All done within two weeks.

I bought this guitar becouse of the tone. Simple.

It turned out the playability was great, it just melts in my hands.

Other guitars sound great. The Les Paul with Burstbucker p/u is a great guitar.

But I ain't rich and as great as that guitar sounds, it doesn't sound better than the ASAT. They are really different beasts and do things the other can't. So maybe I should own both, or a good cheap copy of the Paul that will get me 95% of the way there.

I feel Leo Fender and George Fullerton realized their best work with the ASAT. I'm very happy to be wearing out one of my very own.

Summer of 1996 production date. American made NOT a tribute. Beautiful Clear finished ash. Rosewood on Maple neck(not bi-cut).

Bridge design, bridge saddles, tuners, neck constructution, and hand made quality are all G&L US Trademarks. They aren't noticable at first...they make the guitar play and sound better, the only features of a guitar that actually matter.

Sounds the way all teles should, nice and full at the bridge a little twangy at bridge. Tone control @9 can take off the extra edge of the bridge pickup that can become harsh at times.

Usually run it to my H&K through a 95Q wah.

Now if I had a Mesa Heartbreaker, or something boutique to use it with...I can't imagine, probably really a 9 or 10.

Got it used. At the age of 10 it appears used, the non chromed pieces are a bit tarnished..frets are still great, action still sits nice and low.

Handmade, hand inspected 10 years ago at the factory...nothings changed!

Great, as I said the typical hardware that isn't plated tarished (the machine head; head screws for example, and the pickup poles, otherwise its built "like a brick ____house".

Strings break...you always need a back-up, I'd suggest anything from G&L for those duties too ;)

**One folly these guitars have is the output jack, they go south..but you do get some warning as they start intermitantly...if you ignore it and don't get it fixed, it will go caput...but at least you get your warning!**

Never had to bother em. Purchased from mountain music in Hamilton Ontario, they gave me a free output jack to replace the crumy one..so I'll give them a thumbs up, I've bought a bunch of stuff from them and never had any sort of problem they aren't happy to resolve.

I've wanted a tele since I started playing 10 years ago. I've played at least 1000 teles, mostly fenders. None grabbed my attention like the G&L. Since I first played it, I've loved every minute of it!


People seem to have some misinformed opinion that G&L's are knock off Fenders. G&L was the Godfathers of the Solid body coming back to their masterpieces 30 years later to add the finshing touches. The Corona Custom Shop has got NOTHING on the good ole boys back in Fullerton!!

The reviewer before me just about said it all. Very good review.

I have the P-90ish type pickups. I got the guitar probobly in '92.
I went to the local north of San Francisco killer music store in Cotati.(Zone). The store was thriving and they had such a selection
Anderson, PRS, Gibson, Fender and G&L.
I found my faves and took them in a private room. I also had my own Gibson 335 Dot Neck Pro. The 335 was one of the first guitars eliminated but I was mad at it anyway. It came down to the ASAT and the Fender Tele. I just had to give it to the ASAT. It's a warmer, kinder type of Tele. Not so brutal on high notes. I sold the 335 on the spot to get that paticular ASAT.
The action is not fast but high. I mean it's fast enough but to get that pure vibration off the fret you need higher action.
I have had problems with sitaring on my 1st string when strings get to be one week old. A little filing and now it seems ok.
I'm giving it a ten even though it's bare bones. Great tone pot.
Nice clean sweal in the volume pot. No wah effect (bummer)
I slightly bend the neck for an elastic chorus effect. It seems to hold up fine. I'm not hard on it. I had a harder nut cut for it.
I cut a pickguard out of redheart wood. The toggle switch has abalone inlay. Looks bare bones with style.
I feel the build quality is consitant thruout.

The P-90 style p/u in the neck position is quite possibly the finest
electric guitar tone I've heard.
I use the Line6 Podxt Live going into one or two Tech21 'PowerEngine 60' speaker/poweramp cabs. The Line6 accuratly models amps and the Tech21 accuratly reproduces the Podxt. I favor the Fender amps, the Vibroverb, the Showman, and the '64 Deluxe - my fave. Well it's my fave with the ASAT. This is a marraige in Fender heaven. The biggest, warmest, most wood toned Fender solid body. Nothing like it.
Not Strat nor Tele but A-fter S-trat A-fter T-ele.
I prefer not to think of it as named after a weapon of mass destruction.
The ASAT in my opinion was Leo's finest, and last great guitar.
He came out with the Z3 noizzze canceling pickup but it wasn't even close to what the ASAT could sound like, just quieter. The ASAT can be noizzzy at times.
At the local blues jam I go to, I see all kinds of botique gear. People putting the last minute tunings on their axes and showing it off. I hear a lot of Strat and Les Paul and PRS. NO guitar ever sounds as good as my ASAT. My amp allows me to dial in any amp tone
and all I use that for is to showcase the ASAT. It's a killer blues sound and translates into Ford or Scofield or Frisell or Steve Kimock
it does him very well. The amp helps and my brain helps. I try.

I choose high action for sustain and overall good tone. I use .10's
I can match the extra depth a Strat gets by tuning down 1/2 step- without having to tune down. The guitars sound is huge.

I had to replace the plug for the guitar cord. The guitar itself is a tough ol gal.

I had a rosewood neck put on. I shipped the guitar to them and had it back in two weeks with a beautiful new neck.

One night at a club I saw 'Lil Bit, a guitar singer that at the time was in Johnny Otis's band. She was such a soulful singer and she could really play guitar. She had an ASAT and an old twin and I was BLOWN away by her tone.
The next day I took my 335 down to Zone Music in Cotati,Ca. and got me my own ASAT. BYE BYE 335. That was the day I found my electric guitar voice. 'Lil bit "aka Gail Muldrow" also bought her ASAT at Zone I found out.
This is not my only electric guitar. I have others. I also play a lot of acoustic guitar. But the ASAT is still my favorite.

Telecaster style created by the man that created the telecaster. Mine is a 1987 model which means it was one of the early ones made whilst Leo was still at the helm.

Ash body, P90 style pups, maple neck and fingerboard, 3 way selector with tone and volume controls. Fixed bridge and bone nut.

"Now I hate to give anything a 10, but...". How often is that written on this site! Will 10 it is anyway.

I have been playing seriously for over 10 years and in that time I have owned a lot of guitars. My rule: own only one guitar at a time. Otherwise you never get the best out of them.

I have had every conceivable guitar going. I thought I had found my holy grail when I got an Anderson Classic. Wrong. The ASAT is better.

But what does better really mean? Is it easier to play than the Anderson? No harder. It is louder than the Anderson? No quieter. Is it prettier than the Anderson? No it is quite ugly. So what is it? Mojo. This guitar just drips mojo!!

I don't need a guitar to be easy to play - I need a guitar than inspires me to play. I need a guitar that I can rely on in a live situation. The ASAT does it in spades. I would be so sorry if it went missing, but I wouldn't cry - you see this guitar is a free spirit and I would never stand in the way of it's own self exploration.

The best thing about these guitars is - despite the rave reviews on this site and a few others - everyone passes them buy, so shops can't shift them. This means they are dirt cheap!! FANTASTIC!!!

Next time you see one (bare in mind not many were made in 1986/87 - which are the only years worth having) have a go. The sound produced through a valve driven amp is so complex, so full of heritage it is absolutely overwealming. You to will be trading in your current pride and joy glad you did.

Yes: Blues, Country, Funk, R&B, Jazz, Rock etc.
No: Metal

Superb

Superb. I don't even use a soft case let alone a hard case for it these days - no need.

Who knows? Different owners now anyway so they wouldn't even know what I was talking about.

IT'S A TEN!!!!!!!

Tele-style solid ash body in Honeyburst finish. Pearl pickguard. Maple neck and fretboard. 22 frets. Chrome hardware. "Soapbar" shaped MFD ceramic single coil pickups. 3-way pickup selector switch. I'm not sure of the radius of the fretboard, but I think it's 7.5". It's a bit more round than my S-500, which is probably a 12" radius.

Comes with black plastic fitted case, warranty papers, and all tools needed for setup and adjustments.

It was probably made in '99. It has the 4-bolt neck with truss-rod adjustment at the headstock. My friend got it in 2000. He never played it and kept it in its case under his bed for a year. Then I bought it from him in 2001.

My only gripe is the nut. It came strung with either 9s or 10s. I play 11s. I've had the nut filed out a little bit to compensate for the larger strings, but it's still not quite right. Eventually I'll get a new nut and it will be perfect!

Oh, and factory straplocks would be nice too. The original strap buttons are excellent, but I replaced them with Schaller straplocks anyway.

It comes with excellent G&L non-locking tuners. Changing strings is very easy. The only thing better would be Sperzel locking tuners.

Features Rating: A solid 9. Everything you need for fablulous Tele-tone! A few extras would make it a 10, but they are very minor.

One of the best sounding guitars I have ever played! Great for rock, blues, and country. Excellent twang, but if you use the neck pickup and roll back the tone a little, you can even play a little jazz. Great sustain and excellent defninition of notes in chords.

These MFD ceramic pickups are hotter and more versatile than standard Tele pickups. They also make less noise. They work well with pedals and processors, and you can play some high gain sounds with them too, although no one will ever confuse them for humbuckers. Besides, Tele and Marshall DO NOT go together!!!

I used to play thru a Rocktron VooDu Valve tube preamp/DSP into a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 4x10. Excellent Fender clean tone. Great crunch and blues leads too. Great ringing chords and enough punch to cut through any mix.

Now I play the guitar (with the same preamp) into a Peavey Delta Blues. The 15" speaker makes it EVEN BETTER! Awesome Tele twang with gut-shaking low end. It has a heart of chrome with the voice of a horny angel! ...name that tune :)

Sound Rating: It's absolutely amazing. A solid 10. You can't get a better slinky, twangy Tele sound for the money. If single coil twang is your thing, then this guitar is for you. If you like humbuckers, look elsewhere.

Beautiful finish. No flaws. Rock solid construction and a perfect neck joint. Great action with minimal fret buzz. The bridge and pickups are easy to adjust with the provided tools.

2 minor gripes. 1) Once again, the guitar came strung with 9s or 10s, but I play 11s. The nut needs adjustment for bigger strings. 2) Unlike all of the other parts, the output jack looks to be VERY difficult to remove or replace. The nut which holds it in place is set deep in the guitar where almost no tool can get to it. All other parts are easily accessible. And I don't expect to have any problems with the output jack or any other parts anyway.

Action, Fit, and Finish Rating: A nearly-perfect 9. A new nut and a re-designed output jack would make it a 10.

Absolutely dependable. I've played it almost every day for 3.5 years, and it looks as good now as when I got it. I take care of my gear, but I have no doubt that this guitar could take some hard road use.

Durability Rating: Indestructible under normal use. Absolutely a 10.

I've never dealt with G&L for service or support. The website has wiring schematics and manuals for download, which is a nice touch for those who like to do their own repairs and upgrades.

I've been playing since January of '98. Before this guitar, I owned a Gretsch BST-5000. I was cool and I wish that I still had it. I also had a Schecter custom tele that I could never get to sound quite right. I don't miss it very much. If this guitar were ever stolen or lost, I would definitely get another one.

I've tried a lot of other guitars. This is, bar-none, the best guitar I've ever owned and one of the best I've ever played. For this kind of quality and tone, you usually have to buy something custom made, and you will pay a lot more for it. You can't get a better guitar for the money than a used G&L.

Please note that I bought this guitar used and that I got an excellent price. I could never afford this guitar new or at list price. G&L guitars list for over $1000 dollars. I would certainly pay that much if I had the money, but it's great to know that they are available used for much less.

And one final note. People often say that a standard G&L is as good as a custom-shop Fender. But I think it's better, because it was Leo's last company. G&L is the "real" Fender now!

2000
semi-hollow body
2 high output, single coil pups
maple neck with rosewood fretbrd
Silver sparkle
tele body
stock from factory w/ case

Fender amps
boss pedals
noise can be heard with distortion boosted
middle position pickup select switch does cancel hum somewhat
bright sound, strong pickups...louder than the '51-52? reissue tele (fender)
one of my most fave guitars of about 20 different ones, fender, gibson, etc.

Set up was perfect out the door
everything adjusted fine
no flaws in my opinion

Rating 9
input jack replaced after a yr or two ..with aftermarket...shaft drilled out for the new one...works great
tech said, the design in this respect is bad...cavity is too small to comfortably fit stock jacks

finish is thick, seems durable, though I treat the guitar like a baby...

N/A

40+ years of playing guitar
I had borrowed one of these from a friend and fell in love with it...so when he wanted it back I went and bought one new from Jim's , then bought one used from a private party with a bigsby...and then picked up the Blues Boy (G&L) Oh , Man! that is my favorite! Humbuck in the neck position, and high output tele type pickup in the bridge position..will have to do a separate review on the Bluesboy

This is a 1991 ASAT ash? cherryburst with black pickups with a white pickguard. (Now that it grew on me, I have no desire to change the pickguard.) It has The Leo Fender signature on the upper body 'wing'. Nice feeling maple neck w/maple fretboard. I bought it used three weeks ago and can't put it down. I'm a BIG fan of the 50's V shape neck, but this one has a great feel. Nice chunky bridge, pretty much standard stuff(tuners, etc) . I'll rate the features as 9 because it has all I need, but I know I'm old school, and don't like a lot of fluff.

I play 60's, 70' rock, blues, and worship music(which where I worship the styles run the gamut from Rock, through country, pop, and easy listening). This guitar can crunch with the best of 'em, yet twang nice and thin, and still fill the air with sweet sustain. Very versatile. I play through a Fender DeVille 2-12 and will use a pod for some modelling. It is a bit noisy with the bridge pickup only, and full treble dialed in, but back off slightly, and it's gone, but not the tone with it. I own an ES-335, a Tokai '56 lawsuit strat, and now this. This is the first guitar I've had since my beloved '69 thinline where the notes practically jump off the fretboard. I've been playing Bass and Guitar for 38+ years, and I've found a new friend.

The previous owner was a G & L collector, so set-up was fine. No real flaws other than a couple nicks in the finish(whattaya expect after 13 years?) Factory finish is great, especially for the age, no checking or cracking. ( I have an '82 G&L 2000E basss I bought new with lots of checking, so, I guess this ASAT has faired well). As others have said, the input jack is 'touchy' so I'll look into replacement.

This guitar will survive Armageddon. It is solid, as it was designed to be. Finish shows no signs of wear after 13 years. I can depend on it. I would and have used it w/o backup at a gig.

Have not dealt with G & L with this model, but previous experience has been more than satisfactory.

AS stated, I've been playing for 38+ years, both bass and guitar. I have a Gibson ES 335, a Tokai '56 lawsuit strat, and "Frankenfender" tele which is a'97 Fender Tele neck with butterscotch Squier body (ready to be sold now that I have the ASAT), a Martin DM w/fishman, G & L 2000E Bass, MusicMan Sting Ray5, Tacoma Thunderchief, Englehardt upright, Fender DeVille, Mesa Boogie D 180 w EV 15, Ashdown MAG 200, Hartke cabs, 15 & 2-10's Genz Benz UC4, POD, V-amp2, Bass V-amp, etc. I would definitely buy another if something were to happen to this one. I was looking at the Tribute series, and then this baby came along. My favorite feature is the wide palette of tones available, although I'm partial to the single coil sound anyway. There is nothing for me to hate about this guitar. If I were to give advice to someone, I would say buy an ASAT if you want that true, somewhat souped up Tele tone, and some of the best Leo Fender had to offer.

It plays great, it's stock except I cut a nice pickgard out of some purple heart wood. The tone pot is smokey and musical throughout it's sweep.The neck is fast and xl'nt fret work.I'm giving it a 10 because
in my opinion, it's got all the features and great ones at that, that a bare bones guitar like this should have.10 baby.

I play with my fingers, I play with a pick, and I use both together.
If you don't have good tone in your fingers, forget it.
I have excellent tone in my hands. The ASAT is the perfect sound for what I'm after.
Robben Ford, Bill Frisell, Sco, Steve Kimock. That's the sound I'm shooting for. Especially Steve's sound. He uses Dumbles and Two Rock Amps and thats a big part of his sound.
In my opinion, the ASAT is THE perfect Guitar for these sounds. Even though none of them use an ASAT. The ASAT can cop all those sounds with my amp setup.
It's simply the best guitar I've ever owned. I sold my 335 to get it.
It's the TONE - smokey and clean tone and moan.

Clean, fast, pretty

I've owned it for six years and it's just better. And I bend the neck like Frisell.

I have dealt with them. and they are great and helpful.

I've got to rate this high because I've found my voice in it.
I'd buy another in a flash if I had to.
And oh yea, I'll take on any strat any time, any place for a tone showdown.

i actually have 2 asat's. one is blond ash, with an ebony fingerboard neck, with jumbo frets. it has the standard "shrunken head" p-90's, what appear to be schaller tuners, and the usual problematic output jack configuration.
it also has the leo signature on the body.
the oddest part of this guitar is the bridge, a trem, (on a tele body???) that has fine tuners, and a hole to put the whammy arm on either side of the bridge. when a tech did some work on the dreaded output jack, he noticed that the thing looked like it was put together with bubble gum, and bailing wire on the inside. we concluded that it was some sort of prototype that somehow escaped from the factory. oh, and i paid $50 for it, with case:)

my other asat was a pawn shop prize, that i paid a whopping $250 for, as part of a 2 guitar deal, where i also got a 1978 takamine 12 string, both for $500. its an alder body dark sunburst with black hareware, except for the brushed aluminium non-locking sperzels. maple neck with jumbo frets. i bonded with this thing at once.

i used the blond both onstage, and in the studio, and its a champ. i play roots rock, stonesy type stuff.
i play a boogie mk III, and also use the pod.
not noisy at all.
much fuller than my '68 tele, with the real '56 bridge pickup.

both guitars are very well put together. no complaints except the usual output jack moaning, and having to put another string tree on the sunburst to keep the g string in the same county as me when bending it.

with one of these, you can chop your way out of a burning building. the hardware will outlive me, and the finish is superb. i put schaller strap buttons on both axes. i never use any guitar without a backup live.

i used to be in wholesale guitar parts, and the g&l guys were the best i dealt with.

been playing for nearly 40 years. i have a '62 strat, with a lefty maple chandler tele neck on it, a '68 tele with the maple on maple neck, charvel surfcaster 12 string, and a nice pile of acoustics, takamine, epiphone, yamaha, and ovation.

they are the best playing tele style guitars i've ever owned.

Lake Placid Blue with pearliod mother of toilet seat P/G.Alder body ,rosewood finger board bought new August 1997,so last century technology.In Australia the dollar was/is no so great against the green back so paid $1795.00 which was slightly more than say a Tele from Fender.All up standard (when bought)ASAT.
I love the way in which the bread and butter elements have been considered,for example the bridge is FANTASTIC , really well thought out.
The input socket is dreadful and the tuners ...well they had to go because of the post configuration (fat at top, slimming down to the base ) now has Sperzel tuners

I have replaced the original pick ups (10 out of 10 )with RIO GRANDE pearloid pickups .Let me say here the original P/Ups are fantastic and I have not let them go ,I`m just vain and like the look of the new Rio Grandes ,mind they sound fabulous and need a reveiw of their own (10 out of 10 for the rio`s)

Very together when I bought the guitar

Now for the down side the input socket is horrible and unreliable the up side is the rest of the guitar is ....well .... fantastic.

no need yet

If you are thinking about buying a Fender Telecaster go ahead and buy one .If you want to buy a Tele style guitar that is a musical instrument think about an ASAT.

1986-87? Still haven't taken time to get a better understanding of the 'born on date'. Made in USA. Bought this used w/case. Is an experienced guitar. All original parts as far as I can tell. Not sure about the body wood yet, although there are a couple of gouges in paint and it looks like might be ash. Oh yeah, nice creamy-blonde color with black crinkle p/guard and black hardware. Rosewood board. A straight-forward guitar - no surprises. A true example of less is more.
If you are reading this review, you know what to expect.

Ah, the sound ... I couldn't wait to play this when I finally got it home. Clean, it is unlike anything I've played or owned before. Its got some good beefy tones. Neck p/up supports my version of jazz, while bridge can crank it out and let the notes bite with distinction. (okay, sounds crazy, but sometimes I actually do talk like that ;)Am mostly playing 60s,70s rock/r'n'b/blues - lots of rhythm work with the occasional lead/chickn pickn/screech

Usually, just a bit of distortion, unless trying to make noises like pre-historic woolly mamooths completing their mating ritual.

Set-up includes Pro Co Rat, Danelectro Delay, E-H Small Stone Phase and the occasional appearance of a filthy little sound pig called the MXR Blue Box into a Fender 'evil twin' or old Super Reverb.

Traditionally a Fender Tele/Strat fan - but this guitar is giving me the sounds I've been chasing for a long time.
It is a single-coiled dream in terms of TONE.

Well, I bought it used. Have done some tinkering to get action set-up to my liking. P/ups were set at a good height, but may still get some adjustment. Pots still need a quick blast of air to make sure there ain't any excess crud.

Fit and finish? This guitar has seen some action in its day - but the neck pocket and fit are far better than several of the other newer Fenders and other products I checked out.

Neck itself is fairly decent - some frets are 'peeking out' the side a little and may need some attention. Fretboard will get a cleaning one of these days, too.
Tuners are solid - have tried my best to bang heck out of the strings and the tuning holds very nicely.
Giving an 8 cause it ain't perfect, but its pretty close.

By the way - what's the deal with some of the brand-spanking new G&Ls have crappy fret work? I have seen more than a couple with fretwork that looks like it outright missed any sort of quality control. Don't mean to be a nag, but hey - if I'm dropping money on a quality piece of new gear, it's gotta be a quality piece of gear

Reliability? Have a couple of gigs coming up. Will have a back-up as per usual - probably my Tele.
Hardware looks like it will outlast me by a few centuries ...
Finish - its an experienced guitar, but doesn't look like its going to give up all the paint without a good fight.
I expect this guitar will still be making noise long after my time has come and gone.

Warranty? Not likely due to the fact this beast is approx 16 yrs old.
G&L? Nice web-site, but haven't had the need to contact them for anything as of yet.

Repair work? I know a couple of shops around town.

Dig the guitarsbyleo website, too.

Been making noise with guitars since I was 14. Am now 34 and still making noise. Have owned or currently own - various Fenders and Godin guitars. Run all my gear thru tubes amps - its a tone thing.

What do I like about this guitar? It has TONE, looks, feel and staying power. This is the guitar I should have bought when I first started playing instead of the crappy Squire - but that's another story (foolishness of youth and attraction to colors deemed 'awesome' by an ex-girlfriend).

If stolen - I would be very, very angry ....

1994 ASAT (now know as ASAT Special), USA made. Solid Ash body, natural finish and maple neck and fingerboard. Telecaster style body. One volume/one tone and 3-way pickup switch. Two pickups- the ASAT "soapbar" type of pickups. Not as wide as the P-90s but much larger than traditional tele or strat pickups. Bridge is a solid G&L ASAT type, that has a lot of meat to it and a little screw on the side that pushes the saddles together to get the effect of one solid mass. Tuners are non-locking sperzals- standard for G&L. Came with the G&L hardshell (plastic?) case. I give it a 10 for a tele style, but just an 8 compared to guitars with many more features. Don't get me wrong, it's got the features I want and need. Just trying to be fair.

I play blues and rock. It would be OK for Jazz. Useless for "Thrash-noise, death, nihilsitic metal." It sounds like a tele, but then again, it doesn't. It has the scooped out middle like a tele and the twang. But it's a bit thicker, slightly more harmonically complex sound. It's like a tele, but only fuller (hard to describe). The bridge pickup give me lots of bite and twang. I use .11s on this because this type of guitar likes a slightly heavier guadge. The neck is just so full and complex that I love the sound for leads and rhythym. The guitar will weap, moan, laugh and cry. It's the only tele for me. It is the finest tele available. Leo lives!

I got it used, but the set-up was just fine. The guitar is solid as a rock. Action is good (I use .11s on it). This is an extremely well made guitar. Neck fits super tight in the neck pocket (my G&L Legacy is good, but there's enough room to slip a business card in...but not on this ASAT). Excellent wood...quality is visible in the natural finish. Frets are nice and the neck is good. No real flaws. I've heard that the input jack sometimes caused problems. My is OK, but it's not really solid. Sperzal tuners are great--only thing better are locking sperzals.

No such thing as indestructable, but this come closer that most. Other than the input jack, my guess is that this will last forever. Finish is nice and thick. Strap buttons are wide enough that I didn't put locking buttons on it like my other guitars. Probably the only guitar that I could gig with without a backup (I'd still have another for broken string moments). Voted guitar most likely to survive Thermo-Nuclear War.

Haven't dealt with them. Lots of good info on their web page and the G&L discussion page.

The ulitmate Tele. Viva Leo. If it were lost, I'd replace it right away. Only change I'd make is get a rosewood vice maple fingerboard because I prefer rosewood feel and tone (I settled for the maple because of the good price). I love the sound, feel, and durability of this guitar. Beats the pant off of any tele. FYI- I've waited for 5 months after buying to have plenty of time to play this and learn the good and bad, and get a sense of what the guitar "wants" to play and sound like. I reccommend future reviewers do the same--no reviews until you know your guitar inside and out. It will save the ratings inflation.

1989 ASAT, clear laquer on Ash body, 7.5" radius neck (thin design front-to-back), maple fingerboard, 2 G&L Magnetic Field Design pickups (the large rectangular ones). Not much, but meets my needs.

I've played Les Pauls for 17 yrs with Strats thrown in for rythym work but I did not really go for the thin sounding pu's for much else. Always admired G&L guitars but never really picked up an ASAT. Too bad it took me so long, because this guitar is both a great rythym guitar as well as a lead guitar. Very balanced and full-sounding which I was looking for to improve the clarity of my rythym playing...sorry, but my beloved Les Telelphone Pole doesn't do much for me in that department. This guitar just shines for rythym and has brought more clarity and sweetness to my jazz material; a very welcome addition.

The 7.5" radius fingerboard is a challenge when bending, especially beyond the 12th fret, but I've just become used to it and don't really notice it anymore. Also required shifting my fretting hand somewhat to catch all the strings, i.e., the more pronounced curve can cause me to mute notes; but this is my problem from flat fingerboard habit.

I especially like the taper on the volume and tone pots; you don't "lose it all" turning down below "8". Nice job G&L. Tuning machines are very good. Straighter string pull alleviates most string cathces on the nut but I still need to put graphite on it.

It's a well-used, used guitar that is 13 yrs old...dents and dings, etc. Frets need to be recrowned. Only weired bit of factory work I notice are three spots where they put small pegs in what must have been wood knots that popped out or something during finishing. No big deal to me. The guitar is well made, sturdy, etc.

Particularly impressed with the way the hardware has stood up to use. The pots and tuning machines especially. The massive bridge will probably outlast the guitar.

No idea. Neat website, but no older models like mine.

17 years playing progressing from blues rock to boredom, more lessons, and then some jazz lesson for past 3 years. This guitar covers all the territory of material I play and is a welcome change from the shortcomings of my Les Paul; the ASAT will compliment rather than replace my Les Paul, especially in recording. Definitely would buy another one again and wish I had picked one up sooner rather than spending money on more expensive used Fender and Gibson models.

Yeah, I wish it had perfect intonation always and would never go out of tune and would make me learn new material in my sleep...ha, ha. Great buy.

Late 80's model with two fat single coils. 1 volume, 1 tone 3 way selector switch. Maple fretboard, sunburst finish, tele style, hard tail non-locking tuners. Came with decent case.

Bridge pickup is very bright. Running neck & neck bridge takes some of the sharp edge off. I run through a compression pedal & an eq pedal into a Peavey classic 50 410 amp. Super low action with no fret buzz. Good for rhythm or country style players.

Never touched the action & it plays great. No flaws in the guitar when I purchased new years ago. Came set up very well from the factory. I have heard good things about how their guitars come from the factory.

It is a tele - it will last forever. Eventually I will need a re-fret, but it has been a great guitar with absolutely no problems.

Never spoke with the company - never needed to.

Good quality inexpensive guitars. They can be picked up on e-bay for $300 - $500. Not for metal, punk, etc... Good for country & rhythm for main stream rock.

Ok, I'm not going to bore you with specifics like the number of frets or body style. If your reading this your either thinking of buying an ASAT or you already have and you just want to see if everyone else is as exstatic as you are! My review is for those who want to know if the G&L ASAT is a keeper.

My ASAT was built in 1986. It is a basic ASAT except for the fact that it has two larger pickups (the size of humbuckers only they are not) This guitars tone is to die for! It will suit any style from huge AC/DC leads to Beatles material. It never goes out of tune, the tuners are still tight after 16 years of abuse, the neck is very very fast, the construction is sturdier than that of a mack truck,and like I said before the array of tones is f'ing amazing. I've played huge venues and also small clubs this ax's sound will swirl around the room like its alive! believe me the G&L factory mixes a little soul with their ax's! The sound is'nt just bright or thick or creamy its whatever you need at the time, total versitility!

Ok, Pretend that Leo Fender hand built the perfect guitar for you then asked Jimmy Page Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck set it up. I won't even ask if you get my point!

this guitar could withstand islamic jihaad!

G&L will help you in any way the can!

I bought a new Gibson SG a few years back and liked it, but you know that feeling.... like it's not the one. So I went looking at G&l's mainly because of jerry Cantrell. I played several new models and almost passed out because the playability and tones were so good
but the prices fetched $1,500 and higher. I had paid $1,100 for the SG
but you know music stores I was'nt going to get enough cash for an even swap . At first I thought I'd just go home and try to find love for the SG, But by what I consider to be fate I stopped at another
store and there it was all vintage looking with a darkburst finish
only $700 used! An even swap made it mine! Everyone told us it would'nt last. The passion would die and I'd start getting the wondering eye, but did we show them! We still make love for several hours a day! After a nuclear hollocaust there'll be cockroaches and G&L Guitars!!!!!

1999 ASAT with two stock P-90 style single coil MFD pickups. Alder body (black with white pickguard and pickup covers), hard maple neck. All stock with hardtail G&L bridge. Came with nice vintage-style tolex case. Mine also has the jack problem noted by others below.

I've had this for five days and LOVE it. Play direct into older Fender tube amps with some reverb. This is a wonderful sounding guitar. The neck pickup can be mellow while retaining nice sparkly highs. Unusually clear highs for neck pickup, but warm. Gets a great mellow jazz tone with the tone control rolled back a bit. The bridge pickup is good for more overdriven sounds, quite bright and tele-like but warmer. The best sound in my opinion is the middle position. Full range of out-of-phase sonic bliss. Great clean and for driven blues and classic rock. The tone control is very useable, unlike most guitars with a single roll-off tone control. This guitar has excellent sustain. I think this guitar really needs a good tube amp. I suspect that a solid state amp could not bring out its combination of warmth and sparkle.

The nut was cracked in the middle when I bought it and I have yet to replace it. I bought it used from a guy how mostly let it in the case. So there must have been some sort of problem straight from the factory. The cracked nut does not appear to affect sound or action, but I will have to replace it. The main problem is the output jack does not hold a 1/4 plug tightly. I have one cable that seems ok, but I will probably have to replace the jack before I gig with this.

Other than the jack, I think this is very durable. Seems to stay in tune and the neck pocket is nice and tight. The finish seems fine, but shows prints very easy like most dark, high gloss finishes. Very solid.

I have been playing for about 25 years. Have a 2002 G&L Legacy Deluxe, 79 Fender Strat, and several other electrics that are being neglected. This guitar offers a nice full bodied sound that retains a high end "Fender" sparkle. I have had it for less than a week, so my opinions might change. But for clean rhythm guitar and slightly overdriven blusy crunch this is the best guitar I have ever owned. I don't think this will get lost in the mix. Does not sound like a strat (no quack), but has the warmth associated with Gibson guitars while retaining single coil shimmer associated with Fenders. This is just what I was looking for. The best thing is that one can buy these used for a reasonable price.

Mine is a 1987 natural finish with swamp ash body, bolt-on maple neck and maple fingerboard, saddle lock bridge, and MFD (soapbar-type) single coils. There's a volume knob, tone knob, and three-position selector switch. This is essentially what is now an ASAT Special, but in 1987 it was just an ASAT. Like all G&L's, it was handmade in Fullerton, California. I bought it brand new some 15 years ago at Ace Music in Santa Monica, CA (may they rest in peace). It's simple and it's beautiful. The only thing I don't like is the black crinkle pickguard and bridge, but people tell me that's a trademark of the ASATs G&L made back then, so I'm not changing a thing.

This is a bluesy, semi-twangy guitar that begs to be played through a real tube amp. I play blues, Motown soul, and classic-style rock. This guitar is a tone machine. I play through a Peavey Duel 212 Classic Tube Series (yeah, I know most everything Peavey makes sucks, but this is one of the few good ones, trust me) with built in reverb and tremelo (footswitch), Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive (love it), Voodoo Lab Analog Chorus, Boss CS-2 Compressor, and Dunlop Cry Baby (used very sparingly). The pickups are a little bright, but I just roll back the tone knob. I never use the bridge pickup by itself, but the middle position has a great out of phase funk sound and the neck pickup is pure blues vibe. Great clean sound as well. This has been my baby for 15 years. I would say that the way it sounds has defined the way I play.

From the day I bought it, it's played like a dream. The action was low and smooth when I got it, the pickups were set just right, the intonation is perfect. I love the feel of the curved maple fretboard and the fat round neck. I respect Gibsons and those who play them, but I've peronally never liked the way they feel. It's probably due for a fret job, but that's because I've been playing it for 15 years.

Did I mention I've had this guitar for 15 years with no problems. I've played this guitar on stage, I've loaned it to friends who've played it on stage (of course they all tried to buy it off me, NO WAY!). I never gig without a backup though (who wants to change a broken string in the middle of a set?). I suspect it'll last longer than I will.

I've never dealt with G&L. Never had to in 15 years.

I've been playing nearly 20 years. This was only the third guitar I ever owned. I had just graduated high school and was getting out of my "metal" phase. I wanted something with a great classic single coil strat/tele sound. This was the one. I didn't realize what I had at the time, I just knew it was a good price. I feel very fortunate that I stumbled onto this guitar. I would never lose this guitar because when it leaves my house it doesn't leave my sight. If anyone stole it there would be hell to pay! I don't know if I could find another quite like it, but I would definitely buy one of the new ones.

G&L ASAT classic guitar, vert translicide. C'est une merveilleuse guitare. je regardais pour acheter une fender mais je ne regrette pas du tout mon choix. La qualite est irreprochable. Le rapport qualite prix est dur a battre. Si vous cherchez une guitare facile a jouer avec un son riche alors n'h.sitez pas un instant.

Cette quitare a un son superbe. De loin superieur a une telecaster de fender.

Finition impeccable.

La mienne a ete construite en 1995 et elle n'a demandee aucune reparation.

Pas besoin pour le moment.

I've got two of these that I'm reviewing together. The first was made in 1998, and it's a transparant blue over ash. The second was made in 2000, and it's a cherryburst ash. Both have the same specifications: maple bolt-on neck with rosewood fretboard; jumbo frets, 7.5 radius on neck; solid body; single coil PUs; single three way switch, one tone and onve volume control. String post are neat. They are thinner toward the base which draws the strings down. This does two things. First, it makes the angle of the string from the bridge steeper, and second, it keeps the strings in tune (thighter?) unbelieveably well. Has a fixed G&L locking bridge that's very high quality; I've never seen one better on a guitar like this. Both came with G&L hardshell case, a set of allen wrenches for all the places you need 'em, a certificate stating that they were built in the USA, and a very tacky sticker with a pin-up type image of a woman riding a G&L guitar (which I suspect keeps some women from being fans of G&L.) For a tele style guitar (which are by design susposed to be basic, I think the bridge and tuner pegs actually make this guitar one step above most... hence, an eight.

As one might expect, both guitars are very much alike in the sound department. There is a slight difference, which may have to do with the density of the ash used in each instrument. The Cherryburst is slightly darker in it's total range of sound than the Trans. Blue one is. Both, however, have an amazing range of sound. The bridge PUs are able to do the bite/sting kind of lead work you'd expect. The neck PUs can get very mellow without losing much (if any) definition in high gain situations. With both neck and bridge PUs on at the same time, you get this really clear, full bodied range of tones that's unlike most setups using two PUs. In fact, the sound in the middle position is not just a combination of the two, but something completely it's own. All three positions are very useful. I generally play through a Mesa Boggie Mark III, and find that I can get just about any tone I'm asked to deliver. On occassion, I use a Tone King with just a touch of tremolo for clean work, and It always sounds like what I'd imagine the music standing in the waiting line for heaven would be. It's just unreal. Only dislike (and it's a very minor one) is that to get heavy distortion and low end rumble you've got to do a fair amount of tweaking. The Boogie Mark III makes that pretty easy for live situations. Both guitars record very well. There is a small amount of single coil hum... much lower than any other single coils I've ever played... it's really not a problem. Overall, I like the ASAT more than anything else I've owned/played and I'm making this comparrison to a Les Paul, Gibson ES175, Gibson SG, Ibanez Artstar, Fender Strat, Ibanez Musician 500, BC Rich custom Mockingbird; Ibanez strat clone, Guild Manhattan X500, Fender 70's Tele; PRS Custom 24; and Parker Fly Nitefly. I'm not suggesting that these other instruments have a bad tone, I'm just recognizing that I like what the ASATs give me more. Oh, yearh one other thing, both of these guitars are more responsive to playing dynamics than anything eles I've owned. You vary the pick attack, you get very good response . Hence, you can move from clean/mellow to bite by just attacking harder... when you add a slight twist of the volume pot, you sound like you've just hit your pedal board without having to do so. I can find nothing to fault with the sound... that's probably why I have two. I don't have to go to an inferior sound as a backup should I need it.

Overall both the guitars are very well built. The action was set for 9s and I play with 10s; so, I had to make minor adjustments. The setup for 9's however was dead on. I really like the way the two play. While the action is not real low or build for guitar pyrotechnics, it's more than adequate for anyone who makes a living playing but doesn't have to do the shred thing. I've several musican friends who are into the flat fretboard, low frets, low action speed thing. All of them like playing both these guitars and can't believe how easy they are to play. G&L did it right on the playability for this model. The moderately thick neck, jubo frets, and 7.5 radius just seems to work.
OK, now the only negative complaint. What the hell's with the cheap input jack G&L is using? It's totally useless. If you plan to buy an ASAT plan on having the jack replaced before you take it home. It just is not worthy of the rest of this guitar. If you keep the original jack be prepared to have it cut in and out which you simply can't have on a professional level instrument. I really don't get it, why do they keep using this jack? I use nothing but very high quality cables and it doesn't matter what brand they are, they just can't keep good consistent contact because of the cheap jacks. In an otherwise well designed and built instrument this is totally unacceptable.

I have and carry both guitars... the ultimate backup for my tastes. Harware (with exception of input jack) is all first rate and very solid. The ASATs were build to be working guitars that can stand the abuse of hard work... and they do. Both are much more substantial than any other guitar I own... well maybe the Ibanez Musican 500 is in the same boat with the ASATs.

Haven't dealt with them other than to complain about the input jacks. They were friendly, but thought the design was ok...

I've been playing for over 10 years, but only seriously for the past five years. I would indeed replace either of these two if lost, stolen or somehow missing from my life. I absolutely love the combination of playability, tonal range and quality, simplicity of design, and quality of these guitars. They are not designed to be art, they are designed to be used in making music, and the certianly excel when it comes to that. I compared the ASATs to Fender teles, Andersons, Carvin, and several Warmouth built instruments. The ASAT is simply more guitar for the money if you're looking for exceptional tone straight from the guitar without a lot of electronic tweaking in your signal chain. Nothing makes me smile more than to plug either one of these straight into the amp and then just play... The tone is really that good. Get an amp with great clean tone (I always figure you can add effects to great clean tone, but it's hard to create great tone if it's not there first)and you won't believe what comes out of these simple creations.

This was made approximately a few years ago, I wanna say about 1996. There's a (short) story behind this guitar that will explain that. I got this guitar used from one of my favorite local shops, where the guy specializes in "boutique" and some vintage stuff (mostly used, as he only deals G&L guitars, and VHT, H&K, and Carr amps new - I think). The guy who originally bought this guitar special ordered it from G&L - originally, maybe even when Leo was still alive. But, it wasn't right like he wanted when he got it. So I know he sent it back once, maybe twice (I know they had to be tired of seeing this guitar). So, apparently disgusted, he sold it anyway. I got it for the sage-ly sum of $600. And it's what I wanted, and I didn't have to send it anywhere.

Okay, story over. Here's what it is: RED, RED, RED! It's got a transparent red finish over ash(?), with rosewood board w/tall frets, non-painted headstock (I don't like painted headstocks), a red pearloid pickguard, and 3 pickups (the "outside" pickups are your standard P-90 size ASAT type, and the middle is a regular Legacy strat-style single) with a 5-way selector. Oh, and the one feature that grabbed me was also standard - the greatest Tele tone ever (well, IMHO anyway).

Oh, and all the red-ness combined with the white pickups looks stunning, to say the least. I rated this a "9" in an attempt to be fair to the rating system, but this has got more "stuff" than most Tele guys want anyway.

Sound? How does this guitar sound? I think the G&L ASAT line has got to be the perfect Tele type guitar out there. This seems to be the result of Leo tweaking until it was right. G&L pickups, to me, are the best Fender style single-coil pickups made. They don't sound "vintage", more like an update on the vintage sound, whereas the new Fender stuff to me sounds like change just for change's sake. G&L's advances in pickup technology makes the guitar signal sound round and "woody" and punchy, and detailed. The modern Fender pickups sound lopsided, unbalanced, and sterile to me - that dynamic thing just isn't there.

Sorry to pick on Fender so much, but I've always been a fan of the underdog anyway, I guess. Especially when you consider that the guys who started G&L (George & Leo, as in, Mr. Fullerton and Mr. Fender, respectively) were the same guys who were responsible for the (now) Fender Corporation's "classic" designs, the reason that Fender is where they are today. They actually made killer stuff then - well, they still do, we just can't afford it anymore (and have to go to people like G&L, which I like better anyway - huh, funny irony there - the wheel in the sky just keeps going).

Anyway, to make a long story longer, I actually prefer the sound of this guitar to a Tele - ANY tele. This isn't to say that I like the feel better, because I still love the great velvety feel of an old, well-worn Fender, but man, I wonder if you combined the two ...well, it's a thought. Like anyone who owns a G&L will tell you, it doesn't have as much treble bite as a tele (which works for me, most Teles are just a little piercing - like an icepick through any of the newer Fender amps). Built like a tank?! Hell, it SOUNDS like a tank! Just imagine perfectly balanced Fender tones that can either be delicate, or kick you in the chest with a mass of air. The tones can be both jagged and beautiful, but they are much smoother than your standard Telecaster fare. Teles, by comparison, just rip your face off and stab your ears.

I use this with a number of different amps, modern hi-gain and vintage non-master stuff (bridge pickup just absolutely rules with a Matchless - that perfect "Beatlesque" power pop chime and slight grind - great for Matchbox 20, Radiohead, Sheryl Crow stuff, etc). Or you can sound more like Albert Collins than Albert did. Well, let me clarify. This seems to have more of what he was going for than he was getting with his old Teles. I would have liked to see him live long enough to get one of these made to his specifications. Or you can rip some ZZ Top, and Led Zep tunes sound incredible with this guitar (can still rip just enough face to get that Jimmy Page "beautiful and nasty at the same time" sound). SRV, Hendrix, and even Eric Johnson stuff rings true. In fact, I can't think of much electric guitar music that you can't do with this sound and be believable, besides obvious stuff like detuned 7-string crunchiness (hey G&L, there's your next project - quick, before that's out of style). Man, even jazz stuff, on the neck pickup, sounds like jazz, and ANYTHING that's remotely in the "classic rock" category.

My ONLY complaint is that the middle pickup has a noticeably lower output than the neck or bridge pickups. This makes the neck/middle position sound just a little muddy (I can still live with it), but the trade-off is that the middle/bridge "quack" position sounds great (wouldn't be the same probably if it was brighter). This is minor though.

This isn't really relevant to the guitar, because I didn't get it from the factory, but this was set-up in the shop. Everything was great on this guitar, and really, anything the factory sends out with 10's (guage of string) on it is fine. 9's on anything, to me, never sounds right.

A tank of a guitar! Will withstand all but Pete Townshend style stage abuse. But I ALWAYS carry a backup, without question, because I like to be able to just grab another guitar if a string busts.

Sorry, never dealt with them, don't have a clue...

Okay, so I gave it an overall 10! Hey, somebody needs to let the world know that this is the REAL Tele. I also own a St. Blues Strat style axe (formerly known as Strings & Things Custom), a PRS Custom 22, a Fender Flame (pre-Robben Ford guitar), and a Heritage H-535 with vari-phase switching. Thinking of getting rid of the PRS, as I get all the sounds I really want from the others, and I just have it now, I guess, as a "pretty" guitar, and the others I got cheaper (wish I found them first!).

I've been playing about 10 years, and I've owned or played just about everything out there. This has the most massive bridge single-coil sound I've heard. Like a P-90, except much different. The P-90 has a dull roar, wheras this is brighter and just knocks you over (but can still sing). We like it, we love it, we want mo' of it.

I have two older G&L's bought new as back-ups for my '74 Tele Custom, ash body with (2) P-90 type single coil pickups, 3 way switch, volume and tone controls. One is a Blonde stock model (1988) with lacquered maple neck. The other is a 1988 NAMM Guitar with silver sparkle finish, rosewood fretboard and unfinished neck. Now the Tele has been regulated to back-up. The strap buttons are the best I've seen and these are the only two of my eight guitars without straplocks. All things considered I'd opt for unfinished necks eah time. The maintenance is a little more and they look a little dirtier but are they fast and easy on the hands. The guitar is a little haevy though.

I play strictly orginal Alternative / Punk / Mod stuff through an Ampeg 60 Watt combo with Celestion speakers and equalizer, chorus, delay, overdrive and volume pedals. Noise is low and mostly eminates from bad power and interference throught the cable chain. It is a little silkier than a good tele and vastly better than 90% of the tele's out there. Rich full single coil sound. all combinations of the pickups woek well and if manipulated right give a good versatitlty. It won't give you the les paul sound or a heavy metal feel. But that's not what I play.

Everything has been perfect on this from day one. Hardware has held up remarkably well in 12 years. Slight rust on the saddle springs.

See above comments about durability and strap buttons. It plays well live and certainly stays in tune better than most. Given enough heat and hard playing I have found no model that can't go out of tune. I have used it without a backup but usually with have at least one spare with me in case I break a string. Other guitars are set-up for different tunings.

Never had to use them!

For a ripping single coil sound (not strat-like) this is the best guitar I have ever played. I have the two G&L's, Tele Custom, ES335, Rickebacher 12 string, custom Ibanez, and Gianinni acoustic. I used to own Les Paul copy, 64 Fender Jaguar, and 52 Tele. The only one I wished I hadn;t gotten rid of is the 64 Jaguar. My frends with 50's / 60's Teles prefer my G&L. I've played for 24 years. I wish I could find a Les Paul that played as well.

Telecaster style swamp ash body with a bolt-on maple neck and a 21-fret rosewood fingerboard. A really heavy-duty looking G&L bridge keeps the strings attached in one end and 4 G&L open-backed tuners at the other. I think the finish is polyurethane but I'm not sure.
The 2 pickups are G&L humbuckers and you have 3 knobs and 3 switches at your disposal. The knobs control volume treble and bass, and the switches are a pickup selector, coil-splitter and pre-amp on/off/treble boost.

The electronics in this bass gives it a very versatile tone. It can go from a deep jazz sound to a bright stingray. I normally go for the mellowed out jazz style for both my alternative rock band and 70's hard rock band. But the wide variety of tones are really handy when you got that odd lounge gig. It takes some time to find just the setting for you because of all the knobs and switches, but when you've found it you're in heaven.
I recently took the bass with me to the studio, where I really discovered how great it really sounds. The bass was recorded totally direct. No amp, no EQ, no nothing. Just a little bit of compression and the bass sound incredibly warm and round. It blew the engeneer away, and it was completely noiseless.

The action is set up perfectly and very low. There is a minor string buzz but it's not important as you can't hear it through your amp. The controls are smooth and firm, so your sound does not dissappear when you jump around like a maniac.

I've only owned this bass for about 3 months so I can't really say much here. Since I bought the bass it hasn't changed a bit, excerpt for the strings wearing out. Overall it appears very solid. The strap buttons are bigger that the standard size.

I've never dealt with them.

Well this bass is the most versatile instrument I've encountered in my 4 years as a bass player. I've tried through a number of different amps (including Hartke, Marshall, Laney and Trace) and it sounds great no matter what. Most of the time you can set the EQ on the amp flat and still sound great.
Before buying the bass I tried out both Fenders and Stingrays but i settled for the ASAT because of the lower price, and because with the ASAT yuo get the best of both worlds and a little more.

Bought brand New (2000) from Local Guitar shop(authorized G&L dealer). Butter scotch blond ash body, birdseye gun oiled maple neck (vintage tint) 2 "soap bar P-90" type pickups. I was in the market for a "Tele" style guitar. A lot of Guitar techs I talked to told me G&L was the way to go: good quality for the buck. I played a few and was sold on it. I was looking for almost a year for a used ASAT with the features I wanted-no luck (did not want to go the EBAY route- I have a BIG problem with buying guitars without playing or seeing them!). I walked into a local shop on a whim and fell in love with it instantly-bought it 1hr. later

I have played guitar for 25+ years.I play mostly blues, funk and jazz.
This guitar sounds great for all three- I am quite impressed with the tone- it definitely blows away the Mexican and American Teles. I've brought it to several Blues jams- the keyboard player came over after the gig and complimented on it's tone (in my books a non-guitar playing musician's compliment is worth 10 guitar playing ones.) The neck P.U. has a nice warm Fenderish "woman" tone. The middle switch position (both P.U.'s on) has a nice funky, slightly nasily vibe, and the rear P.U. is great for quackin' pinched harmonic leads. I've played it, and it sounded great, through the following amps: Fender '53 deluxe, 63 vibroverb, hot rod deluxe, Victoria 45410 (bassman copy). I didn't like the sound of it through a '70s non master volume 4-12 cabinet Marshall- too bright and brittle.
The P.U.'s are pretty quiet (for single coils)also.
It has a nice clean sound when you want it(volume knob 3/4 up), but will also drive a good tube amp nicely for some sweet singing lead work with the knob on full. I don't like a lot of distortion and this axe works well for me.

The guitar had no flaws- top quality throughout. The only problem I experienced was about a few weeks after I took it home, it developed a back bow in the neck. I took it back to where I bought it and they did a complete set up on it free of charge. It has played great since.

I own a 70's Strat, 60's Les Paul, and a Carvin Bolt. This axe has become my Main Giging axe. It was designed by the man Leo Fender himself, and like an old Fender, I see no reason why it won't be around 30 years++ from now

It comes with a limited 10 year warranty. I never had to deal with G & L yet. The music shop I bought it at is an authorized G & L dealer, and so far they have been great to deal with.

I hate to give such a glowing review, but I can't find anything that I dislike about this axe. The only bad thing is that there are not a lot of after-market P.U.s for this guitar (Rio Grand is the only company I know of), so if you want to change the sound a bit you are S.O.L. If you are in the market for a "Tele" style guitar definitely check these out- you can pick them up used for around 500-600+; they are one of the best deals out there in this price range, I.M.H.O.

This is a U.S. made G&L ASAT with the standard Tele-style controls (single tone control, volume, and a 5 position switch). The pickups are the Magnetic Field pickups usually found on G& L models.

The body is Ash, and the neck is maple - finished in a satin-like cobalt blue with a creme pickguard and edging.

I rate it a "1" for features - hardly any are present, but that is what this guitar is all about - simplicity of form - JUST PERFECT!

This guitar produces a really nice vintage guitar sound - suitable for Buddy-Holley-esque rockers or really nice clean tones. I have tried it out with full distortion and other effects - and the tone is so clean that they all sound good.

This guitar is probably best suited for a rhythm role over a lead - but with a stretch and a good player, it would work either way.

Great factory set-up - only needed minor adjustments to get the pickups where I want them.

This is a top-notch manufacturer - so I did not expect to find too many imperfections. The only thing I can complain about is a sticky volume control - it tends to jump from full on to full off with only a tiny twist, prohibiting really fine tuning the volume output at the instrument level.

This guitar is a real "working" guitar - suitable to play as much as your fingers can take...and not likely to drop out of tune before you do.

QUALITY is the watchword here...you get what you pay for, and G&L has delivered to match that old cliche.

After 7 years of self-taught playing - I decided that is was time to purchase a REAL electric to replace the old strat-copy I had. G&L had the quality, price and style that I was after...even my favorite color.
The poor gut at the store couldn't move them...everybody wanted Fender or Epiphone or Gibson...I got this one at fire-sale prices as a result.

I would not hesitate to go right out and pick up another ASAT if something ever happened to the one I have...Though I don't forsee this one ever dropping out of service.

The best thing about it is the really beautiful tele-tones you can draw forth out of this guitar. It is warm and round or jangly and tough depending on how you want it to sound---the way a guitar should be, rather than predetermining that sound at the factory.

For the deal I got...there was NOTHING better out there...
I hope that this fantastic guitar continues to gain recognition...it is WELL deserved.

I bought my ASAT bass in 1998 new in Tulsa, I was working at a music store in town that sold Ken Smith , top of the line Yamaha's and Earnie Ball basses. I went to a another store to buy the G&L and paid $800.00 without the case. I have played bass since 1965 and besides my Fender Jazz that I played for 20 years, the G&L is the best bass I have ever owned. The 35" maple neck did need some tweaking. After a minor neck fix, I took it on the road for a year and it is still my favorite electric bass. The fit and finish are as good as the best basses I've seen. The pick-ups are unbelievable in tone and versatility...the best! In fact, I used an Ampeg SVT3-Pro head with a 4x10 Eden cabinet, and the G&L ASAT. Every club I played in, someone would come up to me during a break, and comment on how nice my bass sounded.

Incredible tone possibilities, very clean and strong pick-ups.

Great finish on body and neck. The neck did need some minor adjustments. It plays great now. The hardware is also above average.

The bass is a road-dog work horse.I would definately buy another ASAT.

None needed, I did a minor truss rod adjustment.

If my bass was stolen, I would buy another one!

US-made in '97 according to the serial number registry at the G&L tribute page, bought '00. Tele body shape with two of the big MFD pickups. The usual Tele controls, 3-way switch, volume and tone knobs of textured metal (no numerals). Mine is NOS, several years old, and still has the 3-bolt neck. However, the neck pocket is extremely tight - no room for a sheet of paper, let alone a business card or two, so I don't anticipate that the neck will go anywhere anytime soon. The neck is maple, with a maple board with 22 nice big frets.
Tuners are G&L branded, but really Schallers, I believe. There are some nice G&L-proprietary features, including the non-skunk stripe neck, recessed bridge and lockable saddles.
It has all the features I wanted, i.e. not many, so I'll omit a rating.

I play blues, folky stuff and light jazz. The ASAT suits all that just fine. My other main guitar is a Les Paul DC, and tonally, the ASAT is very complementary to it, the ASAT pickups being much brighter. However, the ASAT still has a pretty wide tonal range, with a fairly rich neck pickup and a good deal of snap to the bridge. The middle pickup position gives a really nice rhythm sound (in fact, it's sometimes mighty hard to NOT play rhythm on the ASAT). Some people find the MFD pickups a bit harsh, but if you set them down a bit from the strings and tweak the appropriate tone controls, no problem. I've played it primarily with a Fender Blues Jr around the house, but it also sounded fine with a Super and a Peavey Delta Blues at jams.

I have no idea whether I got the factory setup or not, since it sat in the local shop for a while. Whoever did the setup did a nice job, no rattles (amplified, anyway), and easy bending. It came set up with 9's, but I may change up to 10's, as the current strings are too easy to break.
The wood is alder, I believe, and not particularly impressive in its grain, although it looks fine. However, it's not too heavy, and I find it just about impossible to detect the seams.
The rootbeerburst finish was nicely done, although a couple of knots in the wood picked up a bit more stain than their surroundings. The body finish is nice and thick and looks like it will resist scratching well. I particularly like the satin finish on the neck - much easier to get around on than the usual.

Seems pretty solid - no problems in the first month, anyway. G&L's seem a bit prone to jack problems, but I haven't experienced any. In fact, I haven't had any problems other than popping more high E strings than I like, and it's the only guitar I take to jams.

Ten year warranty, no contact with them.

I wanted a single-coil guitar to complement my LP, and this was a great choice. The ASAT is a real nice guitar; I'd replace it with the same if need be. It's solidly constructed, well designed and good-looking, all for less than the typical price of a US-made Fender equivalent. I like the pickups better than the more Tele-like ones in the ASAT Classic. I'm not too enthusiastic about the Tele body shape and the lunky big pickups, but if you're playing, you don't really notice those things, right?

Mine is a 1997 ASAT with two MFD pickups (passive). Classic Tele style guitar, with a sunburst finish over a beautifully grained ash body. The pearloid guard sets it off just right. The neck is birdseye maple (with just a hint of flame), and it has a subtle "V" shape. The fingerboard is maple. It has non-locking Schaller tuners. Everything you want in a Tele style guitar and then some. Its' simplicity is the genius of this guitar.

I play mainly classic rock, but dabble in other styles as well. This guitar allows me to go from one style to another without having to ask myself "How's this gonna' sound?". Currently, I'm using it with a Mesa-Boogie Rocket44 amp, and the amp allows this guitar to sing. Pedals include Boss TU-2 Tuner (yeah, that really colors my sound), an Ibanez chorus pedal, Thomas Organ Cry Baby, Vox ValveTone, and an Ibanez Tube King. I like the fact that the MFD pickups are beefier sounding than the normal Tele style single coils. These are more like P-90's.

Before I bought my first G&L (this is my second), I played no fewer than 200 Fender Telecasters. The only ones that I found that were set up as well as the ASAT were Custom Shop models. I bought this guitar used, and it belonged to a friend of mine before he traded it in on a G&L ASAT Jr. He really knows how to set up a guitar. This guitar was perfect. The finish is flawless, and the neck joint is exact. You know, I know they don't want "glowing reviews" of gear, but I just can't help it with this guitar!

I've only used this guitar at one gig, and I did have back-ups with me. They just sat in the stand, as this was the only electric I used all night. I'm not exactly the worlds most careful guitar player. I put this guitar through its' paces the other night, and it didn't so much as go out of tune. The hardware is top notch. Dependability? That's an understatement.

I've never had to deal with G&L, and I doubt I ever will. I just can't foresee anythng ever going so wrong with this guitar that I would have to call them.

I've been playing over 22 years, and I gotta' tell ya', this guitar knocked my 1990 American Standard Strat into "home studio" status. If this were ever lost or stolen, I would buy another before the ink on the police report was dry. Like I said earlier, I compared the ASAT's to Fender Tele's, and the Fender's just came up short. The ASAT is on a par with anything coming out of the Fender Custom Shop these days, and is probably higher quality than many of the Fender Custom Shop models.

Gloss black 1 piece alder body w/ white pearloid pickguard; 2 white, large single-coil P-90 pickups (G$L manufactured) with pole pieces adjustable by an allen wrench. Bridge pickup is slanted, Tele-style, to pickup treble strings closer to the bridge. One piece bridge base is sunk down into the body with individual string saddles; strings are routed to the rear of bridge. 3-way pickup switch with one vol, one tone control. Neck is maple, 22 jumbo frets, I believe a 15" radius, rosewood fretboard, Schaller tuners, 2 nylon string trees for the top four strings. Neck is adjustable either thru the truss rod or with an allen wrench in the neck plate. US-made in the old Fender factory, with a signed certificate of authenticity. Telecaster-type simplicity is at its best with this instrument; a blend pot or volume boost pull switch, or 5-way switching are about the only features you could add to fully enhance the versatility of the equipment that exists.

I'll play country, jazz, blues or rockabilly on this rig and feel right at home. The big P-90 single-coil pickups are what make the difference. The ASAT is fatter sounding than any Tele, and to pull back some of the bright Tele twang I have to use a delay unit to bring the pick attack accents out. The tone and volume balance over all strings is uniform, which is a rare quality in these type guitars. Too often, I'll start a gutsy 2-3 scale run on a Tele-type guitar only to have the top end dissappear when I get there. Having larger single coil pickups helps put the guts back into the top string's sound. If I want to have a fuller tone, the bridge P-90 pickup can really deliver some bluesy or jazz type sounds, after all, Gibson/Epiphone/Gretch semi-hollow rigs use the same type pickup. Having a rosewood fretboard helps to bring those tones out just a bit more too, and it hides tarnishing much better than maple. The pickups are appreciably quiet, except when hooked thru some high gain stop boxes. I play the ASAT on either a 100W tube or solid state amp and the tone is similar but not exact. There are some thinner sounding single coil guitars that I could not stand listening to thru a solid state amp, but the ASAT brings in enough rich and more compressed tones to give quality clean and driven tones thru a solid state amp.

The neck is solid, a great hard rock maple feel, with a satin finish which I really appreciate on a long, hot gig. Fret work is beautiful and durable, not a single buzz on a 16-yr old instrument. I recommend getting jumbo frets because they last longer, you can find them by feel easier, and they're twice as easy to get vibrato out of as thin frets. With adjustible pole pieces in the pickups, you'll get volume dropoff when you bend the strings drasticly. I really like the bridge piece. It is a big, solid metal forged and chromed piece that translates a lot of sound into the guitar. Also, I rest my picking hand on any bridge of a guitar I play, and often mute the string, or pick it close to the string saddle to get twang. I need clearance and comfort, and Leo's patented bridge piece gives me those quite well. The classic Tele bridge plates have flanges around the edges that are about as high as the strings themselves, and it feels almost as if there are 8 strings under your hand. A few times I have plucked the flange trying to find a run on the E string, and at best it seems that I'm always scuffing my knuckles on those flanges. The point is, if you're fighting a guitar for space, or feel, the battle will be yours as long as you own it.

The plated and painted surfaces have held their glossy finish beautifully, the frets have stood up very well; every once in a while the tone pot will crackle when I turn it. The neck to body join feels solid. With a 25.5" scale, you can pick the strings harder and not pull them out of tune or buzz them as you would with a 24.75" or 25" scale. I play with .012 on top so I can work the strings hard for dynamics and not overpower them. Last summer I was at a gig, leaned over to pick up something I dropped, and the flimsy strap I was using gave way and the ASAT flopped, face down, on the stage. The microphone stand base chipped off a small sliver of paint on the top radiused corner of the guitar. Thought I was gonna die. Couldn't eat for 2 days. I have six guitars with six different straps that I trade around, and I picked a bad one that day. Strap locks are worth the trouble.

I purchased the guitar almost 3 years ago, a 1983 model, but I think the warranty is 10 years. No matter, is has been made with pride and expertise, and having that certificate of authenticity indicates to me that the folks at G&L believed they were building a classic. I have not had to deal with the company, and have not overheard of anyone else's problems with their staff. As long as they continue to make quality units that George and Leo dreamed of and built with their own hands, they shouldn't have anything to run from or be ashamed of.

I purchased the ASAT to do solid-body country with, and it has continued to grow on me. I have 5 electrics, 1 electric bass, and two pure acoustics; 8 instruments with their own personalities. The ASAT has its own special niche, as simple as it is to operate, that the others don't quite match. I haven't had the curiosity to go off and find another Tele-type rig to replace this ASAT, although I've given them as hard of a comparison test as I could, and that indicates satisfaction. I just appreciate the beefier, more balanced sound and playability this instrument gives. If it were destroyed or stolen, I would hope to find another one, but for $350 again? I don't think so. Maybe twice that. It is reasonable for me to think of this instrument as a lifetime rig.

Tele shape. Ash body. Beautiful birdseye maple neck and fretboard, jumbo jumbo frets. Not sure of scale. Two of the newer style G&L p-90ish pickups. My finish is kind of a Mary Kayish semi-translucent blond/white. Actually I am not fond of the finish. White pearloid pickguard.
Mine actually was custom-fitted with a tremolo unit, too.

I play in a surf-rock band, and the other guitar player uses Strats and Jazzmasters. I have always been looking for something different to play than his stuff. I have used Fender Teles, Danelectros, etc. I really like the simplicity and utilitarianism of Teles. I am NOT a country player or fan, so wasn't really after twang so much, just a good clean sound that also sounds good overdriven a bit.
I use a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12 amp, and this guitar sounds dreamy with the Fender amp.
The bridge position pickup is the most versatile pickup I've ever played. It covers a lot of sonic ground. I find that I hardly ever have to leave it for any song, it's so versatile. On most guitars you can't say that about a bridge pickup. If you want to play something clean, with more body, you move to a middle or neck position. Not so with the ASAT. It's a full sound, yet retains that bite you need in that position. Very impressive.
Middle position yields one of the two most beautiful electric guitar sounds I've come across (the other is the Danelectro middle position). It's glassy, full, "pretty", I don't know how else to describe it. Just wonderful. It's a very unique voice.
Neck position is more full and standard, what you'd expect, except much more body than a standard Tele neck pickup. For some reason, not as "pretty" as the middle position. This is a good thing. Each position yields incredibly different tones. So versatile.
Additionally, this guitar came with the tremolo bar. It's the only ASAT I've ever seen with one. It was used when I bought it, but I was told by the dealer that it's a custom order. Even the paint job is custom, pickguard, etc. Without the tremolo bar, I would have gone and looked for a different ASAT. But the bar iced the decision for me. It is, hands down, the most fluid, easy-to-use bar I've ever whanged on. Provides subtle Jazzmasterish 1/2-step bends for surf and fifties-type work, and yet can do amazing dive bombs and stay perfectly in tune. It feels fantastic. I guess this is the unit that goes in the other G&L guitar, the Legacy (Strat-body). The bar is twice as thick as a Strat bar, feels satiny-smooth, and slides into place. It also magically stays at the position you want it to for quick access. After years of messing with the Strat whammy bar, this is wonderful. I can't regale this thing enough!
One complaint on sound: I was pretty disappointed with the volume pot. I've never been a big fan of using volume or tone knobs to change tone or volume on the fly, but have been doing this more and more. To me, lowering the volume always seems to muffle the tone a bit. I expected this guitar to be built with the best pots available. Instead, it seems to deaden tone worse than my other guitars. Not a huge deal, I will probably replace this pot with another "best" pot.

I previously have owned 2 Mexican Telecasters, a Strat Plus, and currently own a Mexican Strat, Gibson Les Paul Custom, 2 of the new Danelectro reissues, and have owned many guitars. If you've picked up a really well-made, expensive guitar like a nice Gibson, or PRS, then you know what quality feels like. This guitar just feels incredibly solid, like my Les Paul. It's stinking heavy, too. But I love it.
The guitar seems to be set up perfectly. The huge frets are wonderful. The back of the neck is fascinating: the birdseye maple, when under good light, seems three-dimensional, like the grain is actually popping out of the wood, and yet it's the smoothest feeling stuff. In accordance with other reviews, this guitar is custom-shop quality for a much better price. It's obvious that a lot of care goes into their production.
As I mentioned, I am not fond of the strange white/blond finish. This does not diminish my rating, however. I would be nervous about doing it, but am probably going to strip and re-paint the guitar, perhaps a translucent black or a deep amber. I wonder if I could send it back to G&L for this work?

See above. I'm sure this guitar is ready for anything.

No contact yet. G&L, if you're reading, your website needs serious work. It's ugly and clunky. Not appropriate for the wonderful guitars you're making.

See my raves above. Looking forward to keeping and playing this guitar for years, for any styles that I happen to get in to. It's as wonderful as my Les Paul, and got it for far less money.

See below. Mine Maple neck with Maple blonde body (I am still not sold on the color after a year) This is the only prob with it

I play indie pop. I love the P90 type pickups. I have been using the bridge pickup as it give a better distirotion sound. I use a Mesa Boogie DC-5. The front pickup is really warm for clean but gets muddy with the boogie with distorion

Brought mine secondhand for cheapish. Came with case I use 10-52's and have no probs with it. I replaced the machine heads with sprezal locking type. I use these on all my guiatrs keeps them in tune better and much easier to change strings.(Although I hate teh sound of new strings)

Nothing has gone wrong with it.

Great guitar I went through the following in 3 years to get there. I have had it for a year one of my frinds is just about to buy one. Pity hers is a tobaco suburst.(Would like to change the color but do not trust anyone to sand and respray it) Maton Wildcat. (great neck made in aust in the 70's shit pickups.) This is a vintage in prime condition so I did not modify it. Gibson Nighthawk. Heaps of sounds but none I liked. Brought it new lost heaps on it when I sold it. Fender Musicmaster. I butchered this hepas. Lipstick in the front, hot humbucker in the back. New bridge. Sperzal loking machine heads. Just still was not what I was after.
Then I found the ASAT while looking for a freind. I brought it before she could. I have jsut butchered a Epiphone les paul junior as a second guitar.

Alder Body, Maple neck with Rosewood board. 25.5 scale with 7" Radius and 1 11/16 at the nut. Standard Tele controls. Pick-ups are a big departure from Fender. They're very large P-90 ish design.

The ASAT is great sounding guitar. It gets a very chink'n pick'n approved bridge twang although a bit darker and more compressed than say a 52' Tele. This pick-up can really rock out as well, remaining very defined when driven hard. The neck pick-up is the real magic here, for most Teles this is a sore subject. This pick-up is very P90-ish with a great bell-like Strat thing happening. For Blues and Slide this pick-up is just wonderful. My main Guitar is a 335 so over all the ASAT always sounds small to me but as far a Teles go the ASAT is a very beefy sounding guitar that can be a nice alternative to a Strat for Blues, can really get heavy, and still twang with the best of them.

The neck fit was fine and the finish was really great. Mine is a black swirl like a bowling ball. The action was a problem. It was partly my fault because I kept having it re-set as I went back and fourth between 10's and 11's. In the end I think I just needed a flatter neck. 7'' is very round neck if, like me, you're more of a Gibson guy. I did some rearranging with the controls: I reversed the order of things by having the Volume pot up front, followed by the the Tone pot, and the the toggle in the back. I also put in a more gradual volume pot for pedal steel type swells.

During my phase of going through multiple set-ups the nut at the end of the truss rod came off. Because this was very difficult to get at G&L sent me a new neck in a flash. Love that 10 year warranty, They were great over the phone. I've had it for 4 years now and I just put in the 3rd Jack after it took a dump mid set. I'm not crazy about this style of jack.

10 year warranty

Despite the problems with the Jack and truss rod, I love this guitar. It's my main 'round the house Guitar that I use for teaching and practice. It's also been used at hundreds of gigs. It's also been used a lot on session work with great results. The pick-ups are a little noisy so it takes a little bit of moving around in the studio, but it's not hard to get a great tone to tape, this may be due a little bit to the slight compression this guitar has. I'd highly recommend getting one.

Solid ash body (exceptionally light) 2 big-size "Magnetic field" single coils on a black pickguard. Blond finish, black hardware. PU's have creamic adjustable magnets. 21 frets, an innovative bridge design ("sadddle-lok" they call it, i think). A really dark, smooth fingerboeard that I would wager is ebony, even though all catalogs say rosewood. This is on a nice flamey maple neck with a "bullet" style truss rod and a 3-bolt joint. 1 vol. 1 tone knobs and a 3-way switch. 25 1/2 inch scale with a 6 or 7" radius, really comfy neck. Mine was made in the mid '80s and I bought it used, and I think it originally had a molded case... mine had a beat up old tweed reissue fender case. This is a Tele-type axe built to the specs of and by a company run by Leo Fender and George Fullerton... it's more Fender than Fender, folks. It does the Tele thing extremely well... but not too versatile.

Great for Blues, rock, country, ska... you know, that kind of thing. I play jazz usually, so it's not my best suited axe, but it can be used for Mike Stern type stuff... you can actually get a few useful contemporary jazz tones out of this thing, if you try. I use all old tube amps, my fave is a '75 super, and the 2 are a great match. Not too noisy, but if a little 60 cycle hum irks you, then the middle position is totally noise-free. Really, REALLY bright... even with neck PU and tone all the way down. Bright almost to a fault, except when you want this sound for country or Ska. The neck PU though, while leaning a tad toward the trebly side, is still very fat-sounding... this is a result of the stellar PU's. All in all, this is an axe that sounds really good for what it sounds good for and really unforgivable for what it sounds bad for (i.e. Jazz, Metal, you know... the extremes.)

I got this axe used, so everything was tweaked properly before I got it... it is exceptional, especially the action and the feel of the neck... this baby is the best playing guitar I own. No flaws that I was able to detect. Fabulous.

Again, not much can go wrong with just a tele slab, especially a good one. It's built to last, I have gigged with it without a backup. WHat can I say? Leo knows his guitars. Very Dependable.

Don't know, don't care

I've been playing for quite a while and own lots of gear, and this axe ranks right up there behind my beloved ES-347. I would definitely replace it with another ASAT if it ever grew legs and walked away. I love it's pickups and sound, I hate that it's almost useless for jazz and that it's, quite frankly, ugly as sin. I compared it with some new Fender Teles and this was superior in almost every way... especially the pickups. I think a phase switch would be useful so you could use the 2 PU's in-phase, but this isn't intended to be a feature-laden axe... it's a Tele for Pete's sake.