G&L ASAT Special: A Better Telecaster? (Demo & Review)
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- Опубліковано 18 гру 2020
- The G&L ASAT Special is often called a Telecaster on steroids. That doesn't do it justice. The ASAT was Leo Fender's final iteration of the guitar that made him a household name. In this review I cover a brief history of these enchanted creatures and demonstrate some of the wonderful tones they can produce.
#guitar #gandlguitars #guitarplayer
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G&L is truly and criminally underrated. MY ASAT Bluesboy will never be replaced
That's my favorite guitar!!! I have one in sunburst
Is it a proper G&L or a Tribute?
Agreed
Keep it that way, quiet. That way the price stays low. The best values are the Indonesian built G&L.
I only swaped the neck humbucker for a Charlie Christian humbucker size pickup. What an amazing guitar it is.
Thank you for doing a true review. A lot of "reviewers" on YT turn it into a performance and go on for 30 minutes. Five minutes gets the job done, way to go Mike!!!
Thanks. I’ve seen plenty of reviews that overstay their welcome. I just tried to make the video that I wanted to see when I was in the market for an ASAT.
I love my ASAT Special. If I want single coil sounds, I use the ASAT Special. It is so versatile.
I've got an ASAT Special Deluxe and I agree, there's a lot of sounds you can get with it using the volume and tone., very versatile.
Fabulous demo. Ive had a G&L back in the 90s and want one again- this model has such trippy lookin pickips. I really dug the tones you got. Fabulous playing
I have a 1991 ASAT Leo Fender Signature. It’s fantastic, as good as any Tele I’ve played. Great vid, very helpful!
I agree. Enchanted. It's can be both a beauty and a beast! The Jumbo MFD pickups are amazing! The bridge is brilliant. Solid, and the lock screw is great.
Wonderful sounding pickups!
Nice video brother! I like the way you play & how you give the information, keep it up
Wow great review thanks for playing with a pick! I’ve wanted a tele for many years, I love the twang and crisp tones. Just never found the right one.
Nice review. G&L guitars are awesome sounding/playing instruments.
Love that guitar and that sparking sound!
I love G&L, I own several to include the the ASAT special tribute. The one complaint I have about G&L is the neck joint. I wish the would make their guitars with a more modern neck joint that makes playing the upper frets more comfortable. Everything else about the guitars is amazing.
Totally agree with you. I’m pretty accustomed to the blocky Fender-style neck joints, but I got an American Professional II Precision Bass last year and now I find it baffling that any modern builder wouldn’t offer some kind of contoured heel.
There is absolutely nothing I don't like about this video: and Leo Fender-made tele, played very well, by a dude who understands the role of a tele in the various music genres.
I'm gonna say it, the saddle lock bridge is the greatest hardtail bridge ever made, there I said it.
Their US models, match Fender Custom shop, and their Tributes are up there with Fender USA standard ranges, but cost high end Squire or low end Mex Fender kind of money (400-600 bucks)
Mexican Fenders now range from $750 to over $1000.
Buy USA Fullerton Ca, no Tributes. Support our Luthiers I've been playing 60 years supporting Jump Blues and more. I own many G&L's since the 80's. Los Angeles
I have a USA ASAT special and I have to agree with you. I’m consistently amazed at how well it stays in tune and almost never gets out of intonation or has bad spots across the neck. The one I have was freaking flawless
i remember playing a rare red swirl one, im a les paul guy. but that guitar made me love telecasters
Very nice review!
Thanks!
Good review!!!
I own two ASAT’s. An ASAT CLASSIC CUSTOM, I has a MFD fat single coil on the neck position and a regular MFD single coil in the bridge position. Maple quarter sawn V shape neck, maple fretboard all gloss finish. The two piece ash body has top binding, the cap on the body is a burled maple in clear orange. It is beautiful and has a three position switch. The sound of this guitar is very articulate and clear. It’s just a killer when overdriven.
The second ASAT is a Himalayan blue Blues boy. Has a Seymore Duncan PAF humbucker in the neck that goes from crystal clear to full on dirty with a turn of the volume knob. The bridge has the standard MAF ASAT single coil. Maple neck with a fat “C” shape with a maple fingerboard, satin finish and big frets. Needless to say, this guitar covers a lot of ground.
I had a ASAT Classic S in candy apple red. Standard ASAT Classic single coils front and back and a S-500 middle pick up with a five position switch to play all the Legacy pick up combo’s as well as a push pull volume pot to allow all three pick ups at the same time. Sadly, I no longer have it as I stupidly traded it for a guitar I no longer have😢
I have had many Fender Telecasters in the past, but, when I discovered G&L I never looked back and they are now all I play. Yes….. standard Fullerton made G&L’s are built and finished as well as any Fender custom shop guitars.
Good post & great sound. Being older now, clean is my thing.
Yes Gary, with age comes excellent taste. That's why I think Jimmy Page's best ever guitar work was on Since I've Been Loving You. Throughout the song he would switch from neck to brigde pickups going through a Supro 1960T amp with reverb set to about 5/10. The neck pickup was set to a super low volume, which gave a very clean tone - but the bridge pickup was set to the max! And he'd flick between the two. Very tasteful playing, in my view.
I love the colour of the guitar!
Leo's mind never stopped like anyone else that's got that engineering mindset you just can't turn it off n thank God he didn't
Love my g&l strat great guitar great company and blessed Men.
I love the sound of these pickup. And, yes sir, you do know guitars.
I have a G&L Asat tribute (jumbo MFD's) and have A/B'd it against a 90's USA tele std, and a USA 52 reissue. Playability it was level with the 90's USA std, and smoked the Fender on tone
Tone wise it was on a similar level to the 52 reissue,however the build quality of the 52 Reissue was clearly better made.
But the G&L cost £400($450) so you would expect £/$2000 of guitar to be better made., You dont expect a guitar thats a quarter of the price, Made in Indonesia, to match the USA made 2k guitar for tone, or smoke a £/$1000 90's USA Fender for tone, and have comparable build and play. but it does
Just to put across how versatile this guitar is,it will cover Jazz, Blues and Rock with ease, ...I play Modern metal on mine, and yes ...it cruises through it, and with noise gates being almost a standard thing in metal, the single coil downsides are no longer a major thing, and I can tell you, an ASAT running through a good OD boosting a 5150 block or Soldano circuit, is one of the heaviest tones guitars can make, whilst being so wonderfully musical with it (the Jumbo MFD's have a really sweetness in the lows, but also lots of bite, in fact they are very tweakable and can be made to give a certain focus if you wish, thanks to the pole pieces)
I have a mid 90’s ASAT Special that I love. I put a TX Special Strat in the middle with 7 way switching. Besides the great stock tones the N+M and B+M sound like a “Strat on steroids” to borrow from the Tele on steroids term. The MFD pickups will also stay clear when turning the tone control down fairly far. It’s one of the most versatile guitars I’ve ever owned.
They are certainly versatile. I recently watched Rick Beato's interview with Pat Metheny where Pat said he keeps his volume control at half. It gives him more dynamic range. I tried that on my ASAT and it's like having another guitar.
@@MikeEiman that’s something I’ll have to try now. I was impressed when I found I could run my tone control rolled down a good ways without getting muddy and muffled like most pickups do. That added a lot of range itself.
Sounds great; did I miss the amp/pedal/plug-in chain? That reverb is significant. Your tone here helped sell another Asat special.
It’s a Fender Princeton Reverb simulation in Amplitube 5 (sounds like the real thing as far as I’m concerned). I used a TubeScreamer for the dirty tones.
Broadcaster is actually the name of a Gretch drum set (spelled with a k). Due to copyright law, G&L could not sell over 1,000 units or they could be taken to court for trademark infringement. That's why just over a thousand Broadcasters were produced (not all passed inspection so the official number stayed under 1000). I've got number 924!
There's about 10 guitars in this house including a US strat and a Lowden acoustic. The ASAT is head and shoulders the best. I've had it 25 years and still can't get over what a masterpiece it is.
What a great video and guitar
My favorite sounding bass I've ever owned was a G&L ASAT bass...... swamp ash with maple neck.... I loved it, except that because of the Tele shape, the bass was neck heavy, and would not balance on the strap. I had to hold it up all the time, which made recording myself very difficult. That's ultimately why I sold it.
You have to spend an extra $150 for a Fender Swamp Ash body (like my Custom Shop Tele) where the G&L is standard option. I was turned on to the by a friend so I custom ordered an ASAT with a 9.5 radius rosewood neck in clear orangeish tint. It spanks my Fender for clarity and silence DI or into Plexi standing 3ft away. Try that with a Fender (stealing pig 🐖) . I paid around $1625 with tax, my Fender was $3800. About a month ago I found another ASAT Fullerton Bluesboy used for $1100, Swamp Ash 9.5 yada yada yada. Brought it home and checked sold pricing and was surprised they are going up ! I guess the cats out of the bag. I swapped Fender electronics into thenusd ASAT one weekend and it sounded identical to my 🙄 $3800 closet queen. I swear, had I known this I would have never ordered the Fender, but I do love it. Maybe I'll swap it for a hardwired '57 Tweed ?🤔
@@jimshorts6751
If you’re considering a hand wired Fender tweed I would recommend checking out Victoria Amps out of Naperville, IL. They make clones of every Fender Tweed amp. Most are identical to the original Fender tweeds, and some are available with variations that Fender never offered. They are very well made and sound amazing.
Owner of a 93 ASAT Special, bought it in the late 90s.. high quality materials and workmanship for sure. Love it, but not as much as my Fender.
It really depends what kind of sound you're after. The ASAT can do almost anything a Tele can. But it definitely doesn't sound like a vintage Fender.
iM considering a G&L. THANK YOU😊
Go for it!
i am buying one
Great demo! How do these pickups compare to Jag/JM pickups? I definitely hear some similarities in the jangly tonality!
I think they are similar. The output levels are different and I think they handle overdrive in their own ways. MFDs have ceramic bar magnets and steel poles, which gives them more output while retaining clarity. Vintage-style Jazzmaster and Jag pickups use alnico poles, which have that classic Fender sound. I find myself having to tame the "ice pick" frequencies on my Jazzmaster a lot more than the ASAT. Might be worth doing a comparison video.
Ive always wondered what the ASAT special would sound like with the pickups modded to be in series. Cant find any information about anyone even doing it.
It's cool, and I agree with all the specs but I'd want to get a cover for the neck PU and try to pull the standard throaty tele tone out of it. I'm hearing surfy jazzmaster but without the jangly-jang. I like the overall idea, but the covered neck pickup is a must have for me..
It would definitely be better with the more traditional look. I think that’s what G&L tried to do with the ASAT Classic. That has a Tele-style bridge and pickups. Still no chrome cover on the neck pickup. I assume there’s a tonal reason why they did that.
@Mike Eiman I am trying to decide between a semi hollow tribute version of this and a Sire T7. Problem is I can't get my hands on a T7 to compare. Any thoughts?
Unfortunately I've never played a T7. If you've tried the Tribute ASAT and like the sound/feel, I'd say go for it. The Sire looks like a great value with the roasted neck, rolled fretboard edges and locking tuners. But I'm always suspicious when a builder packs that many upgrades into a sub-$1,000 guitar.
I noticed the pole pieces in your ASAT are staggered, did they came like that from factory or did you just took your time to balance and adjust them like that?
The poles were flat when I got the guitar. I figured if they give you adjustable poles I'd might as well balance the output from each string. Did it make a huge difference in the sound? Probably not.
If you blindfolded people and handed them Fender's and G&L's, Fender just might go out of business...
Nice demo! Can anyone tell me if the fingerboard edges on are rolled or are they straight/sharp feeling?
Mine has a slight roll. That’s the Classic C neck profile. I believe the newer models with the Modern Classic profile have a more substantial roll on the edges.
In the beginning in what position you playing?
The Telecaster perfected. No genres it cannot do, flat pick or finger pick. I've had mine for decades.
The Bluesboy model really looks appealing but i feel that its neck humbucker is not hot enough in order to balance well enough with that fantastic bridge MFD.
What do u reckon ?
I am also thinking that by ommiting the F-hole on your ASAT, you prevented a lot of high-gain feedback to occur. Would you agree, to that?
I feel i wanted the Bluesboy...but i'll refrain from going with the F-hole due to that issue.
Thanks very much for this video.
You clearly demo-ed the pickUp differences.
cheers from Portugal
I've never had the chance to play a Bluesboy. Not sure how balanced those pickups are. There is also the Bluesboy 90, which has a P90 instead of a humbucker. That might suit your needs better.
I'm not sure how much the F-hole affects feedback. I like the semi-hollow body because it weighs less and has a more "woody" tone to my ear.
@@MikeEiman @Mike Eiman yeah... The Thinline is right up there, amongst my favourite Teles..mostly because of those same reasons.. ;)
And yes..like I mentioned above.. The Doheny features those larger P90-like MFDs and it sounds great.
I really dislike floating bridges but the G&L's design seems to being really solid.
@@MikeEiman just listened yo your podcast (ep. 12, on the approach to writing .
Pretty decent ;)
Kudos
I had that same guitar but semihollow. Those big MF pickup are very bright, the highs can be piercing. Completely different from the p90. I finally sold mine.
He mentioned this one is semi-hollow without the F hole
Tuning bro!!! Tuning!!! But nice video none the less
I have a blonde swamp ash ASAT. Great Guitar.
I went out a few years back to get my first fender tele,tried a few fenders then g and l classic,then the bluesboy,that was the one.Love the bluesboy and still don't technically own a fender tele.
I got my ASAT because I regretted selling my Japanese blue flower Telecaster. Those go for $2K now. My G&L is a much better instrument for less money. But, like you, I still don’t technically have a Fender Telecaster.
@@MikeEiman probably liked it because of the humbucker as you can see from pick ime more used to les pauls
I love my ASAT but for the life of me can't find pick guards that fit out of the box. My black one has a pearl guard I've been trying to replace for years with a flat white or cream guard and each time the size is just a bit off. I have a legit ASAT but maybe there were slight variations over the years. Anyways, if anyone can point me to where I can get a good fit on a new ASAT pick guard I'd appreciate it.
I may have found an answer while looking for something else. This is from the support page on G&L's website:
"In early 2016, G&L began producing pickguards in-house. If your G&L USA instrument was made in 2015 or earlier, please contact www.pickguardheaven.com for a replacement pickguard."
@@MikeEiman Beautiful! Mine is pre-2016. Thank you for your help! Much appreciated.
Threads the needle between sparkling bell like cleans and grunty dirty.
Love my Espada, Fallout and ASAT classic. Just can't get my ASAT special to sound anything like this. Don't know how you are getting that tone. My sounds like I'm playing a duck there is so much quack.
I think it’s about getting the pickups at the right height and not being shy about using the tone control.
My only concern is... without the traditional telly's "ashtray" bridge (where the pickup is usually mounted), wouldnt we miss some of that "metallic resonance" the Telecaster (in the bridge position) is famous for?!
u can stick with your ashtray bridge for the sake of being a purist but that particular G&L bridge is one of the most well designed and resonant bridges you'll come across on any Tstyle guitar. Its just another outstanding and distinctive feature of the ASAT Special. I have an american special tele and i'd rather be playing my 2003 ASAT Special tribute, and that not to discredit the Fender. You won't miss a thing playing the G&L. If anything, your tele just might become redundant.
I had a go with a tribute version with mahogany body.
Dang it was soo nice i was tempted to buy one
I have one, they are great guitars, USA pick ups so they have the same core tone (the jumbos are USA anyway, not sure if all the Tribute MFD's are US, but the jumbos for sure are)
very bright twang, sounds more like strat/jazzmaster than tele
Is this the tribute or the full on USA version that you're playing?
It's the USA model.
G & Ls are better than Fenders for the money. The only issues with them are visual.
First, the colors and style choices in general are...kind of geared to old men. That's a generalization, I know, but it's something that could cause a negative
knee-jerk reaction to G&Ls from younger folks who just wanna look cool, like their influences.
Second, the headstock is not my favorite. I think it looks awesome when painted, but just kinda lame when it's bare.
Third, the funky looking pickups are just bad visual design. However, they sound awesome, and I prefer them to Fender's.
Honestly, G&Ls are the ideal Fender-style guitar once you get over branding, vintage specs, and traditional aesthetics.
The pickups sound better IMHO, the vibrato system is better than Fender's, the build quality is better for the money,
and you are freer to customize a G&L than you are a Fender.
As far as the visual aesthetics, you can make anything look good if it goes with your clothes and stage set-up.
They are the perfection of Leo's designs
I'm in music for the music. This one does it. I don' t care if it looks like a dried turd.... which this doesn't. It's the mark of a real guitar. player
Gnl is great if you aren't a poser. Kids nowadays go for asthetics over tone and functionality. Gnl chooses not too but it would be nice if they got input on guitar colors from some hipster teen in a park.
yes, i also wanna get the Asat Special.. but i am still in doubt with some of the details.
I wanted to get a sort of Nashville approach.. and add in a Neck Humbucker to it..lowering this neck SC to the Mid position.
I reckon the body isn't rooted for that, is it ?
As far as I know, the ASAT Special is only routed for the stock pickups. It would take some work to add a humbucker and move the middle pickup.
@@MikeEiman hey, thanks for the reply!
Yeah....i'm thinking i might give it a go, nevertheless.
I reckon i might go with the ASAT classic...though..as i am not sure i want such hot pick ups..as these.
To complicate things a bit....i recently listened to the Doheny model.....and what a great tone too..
my question if the tribute sound like US model?
Yes, the tribute also gets the same American made pickups as the USA made guitars.
It seems that everyone that demos guitars likes to add effects to the demo. For me, I want to hear JUST the guitar then the effects can be added. My logic is that if the guitar does not sound good clean then I don't want it.
Thanks for the video! Is that surfgreen? It seems seafom
G&L calls it Belair Green. As far as I can tell, it’s identical to seafoam green.
@@MikeEimanI really like that color (and guitar :) . Is it made in Fullerton?
Yes, it’s made in Fullerton. I don’t think G&L has ever used Belair Green for any of their import models, but I could be wrong about that.
It sound in overdrive fat\full as humbucker and in same clear like single, it sound like p90
Sounds perfect, but can you do metal on it?
Yes. It can do metal. Just as long as you have a noise gate at the front of your signal chain. Lots of gain will amplify the 60-cycle hum of any single coil pickup.
I thought G&L stood for George Forman and Leo Fender. The guitar doubles as a pasta maker. Spread to pasta dough over the fret board. The strings cut the width, and the frets cut the length.
Versatile
ASAT = "A Sweet-Ass Tele"
Is this the tribute model?
This is an American model.
Don't let the American thing shy you away from it.... The tribute models use the same pickups as the American models...
@@beefnacos6258 not sure if this is still the case
Another popular naming of the ASAT is “Almost Same As Telecaster.”
"Upgraded telecaster"
Is far better than the best fenders guitars.
G&l is custom.
I tried a custom fender but then i heard the asat, i decided to go with it and sell the fender
G&L are just Fender designs in their final form lool
a step above telecaster ASAT
why would you want a bridge that transfers the sound into the body on an electric. It is important on an acoustic because the sound comes from the vibration of the guitar body from the strings..transferring the sound into the pickups would be more useful on an electric guitar.
I think it's better then some USA made teles.lol.
I always thought ASAT stands for Almost Same As Tele
Where dictortion?
Love the gtr and hate the pickups
It's taken a few years for me to adjust to the pickups. They give you way more treble than you need, similar to a Fender Jazzmaster or Jaguar. Tweaking the volume and tone controls can give you a wide range of tones. If you're the kind of player who keeps your controls on 10 all the time, the Jumbo MFDs sound pretty "unnatural" compared to a vintage-style pickup.
Use an eq pedal and this is the only guitar you'll ever need
99 red balloons
"On steroids"........that needs to be laid to rest.
Nice guitar bro. It is sad what is going on with G&L ... Those Guitars died in Indonesia. They are making crappy stuff now.
I haven't tried any of the Indonesian "Tribute" models. I've heard mixed things about them. My ASAT is a 2013, but as far as I know the American G&L instruments are still excellent.
Nah they’re aren’t. The Tribute series is still one of the best guitars in their price range. You won’t ever get America pickups in this price bracket from any other manufacturer.
Better than the Mexican Fenders imo
@@axelrad5624 I just bought one of those Tribute Series made in Indonesia bro. It came with the nut out of place, the pickguard was out of place too because of a little cable from the electrónics... I had to send It back... A piece of crap and I payed 600 US dollars for it!!
this review is about the US made model, not the “Tribute”, so I don’t how that applies to this particular video.
@@pepeguitarshop9456 Did you order it from guitar center? Because they're renowned for their poor QC. Other than that, I have heard really good words for the Tribute series
Wrong...
Leo said it stood for...
"Another Strat Another Tele"
No, he did not. That's a myth. It is well documented that it's named after an ASAT missile, or "anti satellite weapon." Leo liked names that pertained to military technology, space, modern technolgy etc. That goes all the way back to names like "telecaster" and "stratocaster."
Why did they revert to that 9.5 fender radius when G&L was traditionally 12? such a stupid decision, I can't really buy these now, without going fullerton built-to-order and having them put the right radius that doesn't choke out. Why does anyone like that old fashioned radius? Why? This boomer fetish of the dumb 1950s
I always wanted to like the MFD pups. I applaud anyone doing anything out of the ordinary in the extremely traditional world of electric guitar, and these were an attempt to improve on a very old design. But I’ve played thirty or so examples, and they sound exactly like they do in this video - terrible. The clean sounds are thin and toneless, like two tinfoil trays bashed together. Add overdrive and they just sound like a $50 guitar thru a $20 amp with a broken speaker. Total duds, fit for the trash. Ymmv, of course.