G&L Tribute ASAT Special

2005. This is pretty much a classic tele setup w/ some big, honkin' single coils instead of Fender style one. They look sort of like super P-90's but tonewise they have less bite but are fatter and smoother.

The stock pots are utter crap and are really scratchy even brand new. My tone knob stopped working all together after a couple weeks. Plan to replace them if you pick one of them up.

I play this mostly through my silverface Fender Champ. W/ the neck pickup on, this thing sounds like gold--thick but still brite, mellow but not muddy--very responsive to playing. You can just feel how that pickup connects your fingers right to the power tubes.

The middle selection gives that articulate, funky out-of-phase tone and the bridge has a cool skronky bite to it. For my money, I keep it on the neck 90% of the time.

Mostly I play this clean at home for practice and the clarity of tone is wonderful of that. Occassionally, I bring it to band practice where I plug it into a pair of cranked Bassman 100's (loud as God) and it easily competes w/ my SG in terms of raining doom and blistering metal w/ sustain for again. Surprisingly brutal considering what most people use tele-styles for. I do have some trouble w/ feedback because the pickups are so loud though.

The one fault I can see is these pickups like to pick out the noise of every electric light and motor in the joint which can be a hell of a problem in a studio.

Factory setup was really nice. I ended up putting some thirteens on it and adjusting the truss because I play detuned to B. The finish is beautiful w/ nary a flaw to be seen. A couple of the frets are seperated from the fingerboard by the thickness of a sheet of paper which does not affect playability whatsoever. They don't stick out the side and rub against your hands.

The nut is plastic fantastic so it'll need replacing along w/ the stock pots as I mentioned earlier.

I'd gig w/ it no problem. The thing seems solid except for those damn pots but even then I think it could easily function as a workhorse.

This is a great guitar. Blows away even American made Fenders aside from the stupid pots which I can't seem to stop mentioning. But don't go thinking this is just a tele-clone. It has a really unique voice of it's own.

Bought it brand new from BobbyB in oklahoma City. Great dealer, fair, responsive, prices are good. I paid $399.00 for mine with a REALLY nice G&L gig bag.
Tele - style body, made of ash (?) with a clear coat, tortoise pickguard. Two silly looking big plastic covered US made pickups that look like p90s. REALLY nice, solid bridge, very stable, comfortable to rest your hand on. Good tuners, nice neck and frets (but more on that later).

I play a variety of music, but mostly Classic Rock, Blues and Surf / Instrumental. In fact, I bought the G&L to get some different sounds like Link Wray, Roy Buchanan, Danny Gatton, etc. The neck pickup is perhaps the best sounding neck pickup Ive ever heard, and I've heard thousands. Deep, full, rich, very musical. The in between position give me the same sound as the neck, but with a little more treble. My disappointment lies with the bridge pickup. Sounds good, but is nowhere near the volume of the neck pickup. Both pickups are adjusted exactly the same, so I dont understand why the bridge is weaker than the neck. But the neck pickup is so good that I'll just use it all of the time. On the other hand, Ive gotten alot of compliments on the tone of the guitar already! Even though these are single - coil pickups, they do not generate as much hum as I had expected, even when I have higher gain set on my amp. If the bridge pickup was louder, the sound score would easily be a ten out of ten.

Great setup except that the frets came with very fine marks on them and it'll take awhile for them to play out. They almost feel like stainless steel frets. Just disappointingly scratchy. The neck is great, stable, nice feel. Feels like any good Fender neck. If the frets had been better polished at the factory, the A,F&F would be a ten out of ten. No buzzes, guitar was shipped with .009s, but I immediately switched to .010s. The next day I had to make an adjustment to the neck relief. No biggie, as the neck came right back to where it needed to be. No buzzes, no dead spots. I should also mention that the satin finish on the neck is a pleasure to play. On the other hand, the rosewood fingerboard needed and still needs oiling, as it's as dry as a

Ive only had the guitar for two weeks, but I can tell that the guitar will withstand regular playing. Heavy, solid, stable, like any good Tele. I replaced the strap buttons with Straplocks, for obvious reasons. I will be gigging with it, using it and my Fender Deluxe Player's Stratocaster (a terrific guitar!) as my two main guitars thru my trusty Marshall JTM 30W. Both guitars and the tone of the Marshall bring me to complete nirvana regularly. The Marshall seems to really love single coil pickups.

BobbyB is the best. He cares about you after the sale, so I cant ask for more than that. I have no reason to contact G&L, escept maybe to ask them about my pickup situation. Warranty is for two years, which is adequate for me and a $400.00 guitar that will be used every day!

Im 52, been playing since I was 10. Ive seen and owned lots of great guitars, lots of trainwrecks, some keepers. I think that sooner or later, I'll resolve the issue with my bridge pickup, and if so, the guitar will be a keeper. I think this guitar is a little better built than your average Fender Mexi Tele, and the pickups on the G&L are really FAR superior to the Mexi Tele from Fender. Oh, one more thing - I really dont like the shape of that headstock! Couldnt George or Leo have come up with a prettier design? In any even, the $399.00 I paid for it new, places it squarely in competition with Epis, Fenders and others. But the American - made pickups and quality finish and hardware make it a better buy IMHO. If it were stolen or lost, yeah, I think I'd buy it again, as every guitar has certain endearing qualities and drawbacks. This guitar has a lot going for it and stacks up well against much more expensive guitars.

Premium swamp ash finish, cherry burst, white pearl pickguard, maple neck with rosewood fretboard, 12 inch radius, tremolo, 5-way switch with mini-togglo for neck and bridge (positions 1 and 5) and all three (positions 2 and 4), no case in Canada, actually nothing but the guitar, period! Comes with genuine G&L pickups, excellent feature (PRS are you listening?) Well made in Korea.

It sounds like a 3 single coil double-cutaway that normally sells for 1.5 to twice the price.

excellent One issue; the neck was a little off line. Adjusted and retightened and no problem. Really nice finish, seems rather durable.

seems pretty tough

played through a Dr Z Maz 18 junior it sounds exactly like you'd expect it to. Excellent value

PREMIUM version, 2004 Korean, Cherryburst body with Pearl pickguard, Rosewood neck. Telecaster style. This combination of colours may be too traditional for some, but it makes it a real Tribute guitar. I am just glad that this model has a dark neck, I somehow feel more confident with it.

2 large single-coil pick-ups, passive. 3-way selector, volume and tone knobs. Fixed stop.

Acessories: tunning tools and short cable. No gigbag (bought in Croatia), no strap. I expected a gigbag...

My style varies from british indie-pop to heavy grunge of Alice In Chains. This baby can do it all! OK, I don't tune it to D so it hasn't got that sub-roar, but the bite and range of the pick-ups is very usefull. I don't bother thinking about humbuckes. Clean, it is a thing of beauty, anything can be done with it.

Finish is some of the best I have sean in guitars, it really screams VALUE, all parts fit and sit perfectly, pickguard is really spot-on, chrome parts are chrome :-).

BUT, as someone mentioned before, there is one characteristic flaw : Volume control. I was so excited with this guitar that I haven't checked theat basic thing in the shop. Stupid me. In fact, maybe I heard it, but all cheap guitars I had in my hands, had that volume-knob-noise, so maybe I disgarded it as normal...Anyway, you can hear a glitch when making a turn in three places. For now. And it goes up and down a little when turning. Tone control is fine. I am thinking about going back to the shop, but this is Croatia, I would probably have to wait a month for it to be fixed with spare parts arriving from USA... Maybe I will change it myself like the previous reviewer. I don't mangle the volume knob that much anyway...

This is very convincing piece of axe. Heavy enough, sturdy, with fixed Saddle-Lock bridge, it can go the distance. Just those Volume/Tone controls, although they look good, leave a suspition after this introductory noise I hear.

Strap buttons look solid.

I have it for a week, so I cannot really give my opinion, but it feels like a tank.

Croatia, distributor from another country, not much to say here...

I am a periodic and sporadic player, who finally got his act together in making some credible piece of music. Guitar is just one of the instruments I use, but the only one I can play somewhat well. Others are virtual (PC). My previous guitar was a '79 custom made Strat copy, with two soapbars. When I heard this guitar I threw the old one in the trash. Thats how good it is (or how bad the previous had been).

I got so much inspiration from this guitar, that I just cannot stop playing it. For the price, I expected to get a gigbag, but then again, I can do without it. Volume knob makes noise, I am used to it. I tried a few Ibanezes in the shop, and the feeling of value just cannot be compared. Maybe the PRS SE soapbar comes close in the price/performance, but I think this baby has more range.

Great one!

2004 Korean made with USA parts
22 frets
Solid body with dark amber-red-black three tone sunburst
Three position selector, volume and tone
Two S/S G&L Magnetic Field Design pickups
Passive electronics
Maple neck and fretboard, Alder body
Satin finish
Telecaster body style
G&L Saddle Lock Bridge
G&L tuners: 12:1 ratio, sealed lubrication, adjustable knob tension
Neck 7.5" radius, 1 5/8th inches wide at the nut.
Includes high quality gig bag with backpack straps, a chain hanger and two front music book sized pockets.

I have owned a Fender Mexican telecaster for ten years, and decided I needed an upgrade. I read quite a few good reviews for this guitar and after playing one at the music store, I was more than convinced that this guitar fit me. I play original songs in the spirit of sonic youth, the pixies, archers of loaf, etc. and I have always prefered the sound and look of a telecaster over strats and other double cut away guitars.

I play through a '68 Reissue Fender Twin-Reverb and use a Fulltone 2003 Fulldrive 2 overdrive pedal for distortion.

Playing clean through the amp between 3 and 4, in the bridge position, the guitar sparkles with the tone knob all the way up. Easing the tone knob back, it loses the treble without sacrificing tone.

In the middle position, the guitar sings to you, bringing a wide range of sound. I've actually had to change the tone settings on the amp dramatically compared to the way they were with my telecaster. With the tone knob all the way up, you get the wholesome sound of the neck pickup intertwined with the jangly twang of the bridge. Easing the tone knob back, you can find the guitar morph into something completely different. At about 40% on, I get a sweet, thick tone which sounds almost as though its being filtered through a wah pedal. When you pull the tone all the way down to 0%, I am reminded of a jazz box sound, but didn't notice it until I found myself subconciously playing through some jazz scales and thinking how nice it sounded.

In the neck position, the tone naturally becomes much fuller. The guitar still retains a bright sound, but the bass added a lot of character overall. I found that this was where I liked to crank up the distortion and get sweet feedback and sustain. Again, turning the tone knob gives you a huge range of sound.

What I have found is that owning this guitar is more like owning several guitars. The variety of tones you get out of it are outstanding.

I have no dislikes or reservations about the sound this guitar makes.

The guitar is extremely well made. I took only slight exception to a couple of the frets which had a paper thin separation from the fretboard around the 9th through 13th frets on the top side of the guitar.

The previous owner of this guitar played 10s, which I also play, so the guitar was set up very well for this. The distance at the 8th fret is .07 and I only receive a little fret buzz on the 19th fret of the first string. I will try to work this out eventually, but I'd rather not sacrifice any playability for buzz way up on one of the meedly-meedlies.

The pickups sound amazing and don't need to be reposition.

The previous owner seemed to play it a good bit and there was the natural scratching on the pick guard and a wee bit of discoloration on the bridge saddles, but those are the only cosmetic flaws.

This guitar's contruction is phenomenal and I think it will withstand almost anything I can throw at it within reason. The finish is beautiful and looks like glassy water on a calm lake. (A brown sunburst lake, but a lake none-the-less.) The strap buttons seem to be embedded with a rivet gun. They are not going anywhere.

Not going to speculate and hope I never need to find out.

I have been playing about 15 years. I own a '58 Ephiphone Flying V Korina reissue, the aforementioned 10 year old Fender Mexican telecaster, an Ephiphone accoustic guitar, and an old Alvarez Voyager type guitar I kept for sentimental value.

I would buy another G&L if this one were ever stolen or lost. Without a doubt.

The only thing I wish this guitar had was a rosewood neck, and black pickups rather than white.

2005, Tribute ASAT Special Premium. Specs are the same as all the others.

Side-by-side comparison with American Deluxe Tele revealed a sweeter yet brighter sound than the tele (which this guitar was supposed to be similar to). Test was conducted with a Peavey Delta Blues 210 (EL-84 tubes) and a REAL 1968 Silverface Fender Deluxe Reverb Amp (6v6 rectified). Through both amps this guitar shines and had all the vibe and chime expected of a tele style guitar. During this test the Tele sounded nasally whereas the ASAT was more vocal. Neck position is thick bassy but NOT muddy. In fact the neck is more usable than most neck postions on many guitars i have or have played. The MIDDLE position is where this guitar SHINES. Sounds like two guitars playing in unison. Bridge is a more badass biting sound...more grind and grit than the tele. The tone knob, like all G&L guitars since i've been playing them (1983) is USABLE! You can gently roll the highs out without it getting muddy, or completely compress the tone by rolling it way back and pushing a vintage tube amp into TONE HEAVEN! Overall, this guitar in any type of amp will do WAY more than expected from any tele type guitar.

The factory set up was "ok". I play 10's it was set for 9's and i'm working on the action now. I'm picky and want close action and setting it at .007 rather than .010, I still find now excess buzz and I believe the neck to be very capable of handling my pickiness. The frets were dressed and buried as good as I've ever seen on any american fender. The guitar was VERY VERY WELL MADE and has a beautiful finish. I would say that it compares to the absolute best that the american fender or G&L factory could produce. The chrome is crystal clear, free of flaws and evidently is a nickel chrome. looks soft and sleek. The pearly pickgard makes it stand out, and the 3-tone sunburst finish is flawless, deep, shiny and as near to perfection as i've seen. I purchased this guitar off ebay and it was advertised as new and obviosly it was new because it didn't even have a fingerprint on it. The electronics have proven to be very nice, american pickups. No noise, very limited hum for single coils and the output is almost 3-4 points higher than the american deluxe tele. These are HOT pickups yet do NOT get harsh! the saddles, bridge and tuners are seaminly top-notch as well. In the first two days of owning this, I played the heck out of it with minimal tuning deficiency...this i can attribute to not streching the new strings as much as I normall do so I trust the tuners are going to be very solid.

I can tell if a guitar is going to be gigworthy within a couple hours...because for all practical purpose, i will "beat it up" sufficiently within 2 hours to approximate 6 hours of gigging. This guitar is SOLID. the ONLY reason i'd have a back up is because if i broke a string, i like to have a spare guitar...also, if I need humbuckers, i have to have one for that as well. I never venture on stage with less than 3 guitars....well this guitar now will be my main guitar. i've owned several G&L's and this is the first korean made. I find no difference worthy of the price difference. This is EVERY BIT the quality of the american model G&L ASAT and Even though my bud has the american deluxe tele, I honestly think this is a much better guitar.

??? never can tell with G&L whether they will talk or not...we'll see.....probably never have to talk to them.

I love this guitar. Sometimes people will tell you AMERICAN is the way to go. I've owned some korean/chinese/mexican garbage and some great guitars. I've owned some AMERICAN garbage as well. BUT, although this is a korean model, I would challenge anyone to put it to the test of comparing to the american deluxe tele and see for themselves. The major cosmetic difference from the American ASAT to the Korean ASAT is the neck;american is tinted with gun oil and the korean is not. Otherwise i really think they are an incredibly comparable option...also consider the PRICE! MF sells this guitar new for 489.00 with bag. You can find them on ebay at a bargain like I did very often. SO....overall...you're hungry for a tele/asat sound but can't afford the american model, you've even looked at the highway1 tele....I REALY think you need to look at one of these.

I forgot to mention this in my previous review. During shipment, UPS must have set something heavy on my guitar's neck causing it to dip on the treble side of the fingerboard and neck, from the 10th fret down to almost the neck pocket. The bass side of the neck was still set at .007 at the 8th fret like Dave Peers at Rocketeria Music, Rockville, MD., had set it before shipping it. Apparently the neck's truss rod only goes from the nut down to the 8th fret as it was impossible to raise the dip out by adjusting the truss rod. It took three attempts of loosening the strings completely and pressing the neck flat against a hard suface, then tightening the truss rod slowly hoping the neck would straighen out. Each time I reset the neck over a period of a month, it never budged from where it had been set previously which tells me the necks onG&L guitars must be pretty stable.

I found this very feature impressive as I felt that this neck was shot and would never be true. Wrong so far ! It really took some abuse from me in getting it set straight but it has held now for a month and it plays great with ease. I set my necks at .007" at the 8th fret with first and last fret fretted and I watch them very closely over time and after the last setting, this neck has remained true. Even the tuning stays perfect. I really feel that another neck would've never taken what I put this neck thru. So thanks G&L for making a guitar that is not only pretty and with a great sound, it also can be adjusted over and over again and still be playable. Had this guitar been shipped in a hard case, this probably would've never happened either. It was shipped in their nice G&L gig bag, which is well padded and heavy duty and this must have helped somewhat, plus the dealer had it well packed.

During all of this, I was in contact with the dealer, Dave Peers and never had to contact G&L factory at all. So the bottom line, I'm happy with my cheapie Korean ASAT, feeling that it took a beating and still kept ticking. I wanted to pass this on.

So I felt this little saga of mine was worth sharing with new buyers. I feel that we have a great product in these G&L guitars, not only the USA models but also the Korean imports. Another guitar would not have taken what I put this one thru.

Try one, you might like it !!!!!!

Like my previous review states, these tanks are the best bang for the buck today. I kept this guitar and sold my top of the line made in Japan Yamaha 1511 Mike Stern model, which was a dud in my opinion. It would've never taken the abuse that I had to put this guitar thru. You might read my review on that guitar, it is pretty interesting. After my going thru both ordeals, I'm sold on G&L's and not sold on Yahamas.

My new ASAT Special tele was made in Korea in January 2005, it has a heavy slab (no reliefs) swamp ash body with the nicest 9" radius unfinished maple neck I've ever played. Not too thin, not too thick, just right to fit my large hands very well. The two G & L soapbar single coil style pickups sound great, pure raw tele which is what I want. A new set of custom pickups couldn't sound any better. I sold my Yamaha 1511 Mike Stern tele and kept my ASAT Special Tribute in it's place, sounds goofy but real true ! A generous slab of rosewood fretboard makes for great fingering. Stock made in Taiwan tuners run true, easy and free. It came with a dandy G&L gigbag but it is now kept in a hardshell case where all guitars belong. This is one of my fav axes.

I play early country, rock-n-roll and rock-a-billy thru my Fender or Peavey 2x12 amps and the amps and ASAT really compliment themselves. I use only the amps built-in vibrato, tremolo or reverb for effects, no f/x pedals. I can pick out anything from boogie woogies, country to spirituals and they all sound terrific. Bright with body, articlate well balanced tones are abound. For the money, these guitars cannot be beat. It is stone quiet when switching. No dislikes at all.

The guitar was set up by Dave Peers at Rocketeria Music in Rockville, MD and it was set up great. Low action, straight neck (.007") relief. Pickups were right on. The body work from the factory was perfect, no flaws at all. Everything was put together right, a great tribute to G&L for their perfection in giving us pickers a great bargain priced guitar with loads of top notch materials including woods, hardware, etc.

This guitar, only 5 months old will be playing long after this. It'll be around next century. Yes, I'd gig it with no back-up...I have that much faith in it.

G&L set these guitars up at their California factory and then their dealers recheck things so it should be right which it was. I've had G&L guitars since 1989 and they are well built. Never had any problems with them. I own a 2004 G&L Legacy USA strat and a 2005 G&L Tribute Invader (mahogany body) with twin Humbuckers, both give me terrific service and reliablility. If I had any problems, it'll go back to the factory for their expertise. Thanks G&L.

I've been playing since the late 40's and have played many brands of guitars. I'd definitely buy another if mine ended up missing. For the price, G&L Tributes cannot be equaled in my humble opinion. They look, play and sound like a $3,000 custom shop guitar. It is perfect from the factory.

Features: see other posts for construction etc. Mine is a beautiful wine sunburst - it looks like a $1000 guitar. The P90s (or whatever they are called) are fantastic. The Bridge is VERY solid. I did have to replace the volume and tone controls - so I'll deduct 1 point. other than that it's perfect

This is the first guitar that I've ever really taken advantage of the tone knob (i usually turn it all the way up and forget about it). The tone is thicker than a single coil - and more precise than a humbucker. I'm sold on G&Ls. The next guitar I buy will also be a G&L.

Had to replace volume and tone controls - other than that - it's great

Again - an extremely solid guitar - It always stays in tune. With the exception of the vol. and tone pot - it's perfect.

The music store i bought it from offerred to replace the pots for free - I opted for some higher end Switchcraft - .

I've been playing guitar for 20 years. This is BY FAR the best value in a guitar I've ever had. I have to say it is also one of the best guitars I've ever had. - I might prefer a 76 les Paul Deluxe I once had - but this is a close second.

Buy one today - the pickups are the same one's they use on the higher-end guitars. It sounds beautiful.

I compared to US Asat's, fender teles, a Gretch. The one I bought sounded best out of them all. BTW - It made the American Fender Tele sound like a toy. No comparison.

2003 Korean made, swamp ash body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, clear finish, 2 G&L single coils, Telecaster style body, 9" radius. Gig bag with G&L logo was included.

The Blues is my main style of play and the sound that can be achieved from this guitar works very well. I play through a Fender Pro Junior and do not use any effects. The pickups are great, with no noise, and the twang that you get from the bridge is very distinct.

Right out of the box the guitar was basically ready to go, no fret buzzing, nicks or loose controls. I did change the height of two pole pieces on the bridge pickup but that is purely personal preference. The neck and fret quality is better than any other guitar I have owned including two Gibsons.

I do not play in a band but I'm sure that this guitar could withstand the rigors of live playing.

I have been playing 5 years after a long layoff. I also own a Guild Bluesbird, Gibson Blues Hawk, Ibanez Artstar 120, Gibson Blues King, Martin 0015, and several Carvins. I think that the quality of this guitar is superior to Fenders at twice the price.

I would buy this guitar again if it were stolen.