Early 1980's G&L ASAT Telecaster Blonde | Guitar of the Day
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- It's #TeleTuesday!!! Enjoy today's new episode of #GuitarOfTheDay with @mikelemmo playing an Early 1980's G&L ASAT Telecaster Blonde finish available here at #NormansRareGuitars! For any questions you may have or price inquiries about this #ElectricGuitar give us a call at 818-344-8300. So what do you guys think of this #guitar?
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GUITAR: Early 1980's G&L ASAT Telecaster Blonde
GUITARIST: Michael Lemmo
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Had one in early 2000’s … had those pickups… Blue sparkle, never should have got rid of it… those full MFD pickups are the best ever tele pickups..😎🎸🎶
I have exact same g&l guitar. Playing as my main guitar for 30 years. We have been so many places spending so much time together. Always this guitar was by me in my good time and bad time. It’s been in a case for a while, but I’m going to spend more time with mine tonight.
Thanks!!
No wonder Leo said these were the best guitars he had made. That g&l sounds freaking amazing.
Who said you could not reinvent the wheel..Leo Fender may have not known how to play guitar but he sure knew how to build them...time over time his creations have proven to be the cream of the crop.This Tele is proof..nice tonality..snd Lemmo's playing his great of course..Bravo..bring it on !!!!
87 ASAT is my #1. Tone machine.
I have watched many of his presentations of various guitars but this is the purest sounding guitar he has played. Every note is clear.
I love G&L guitars.
They are like the Fenders from the early 60's.
Nice! They (hand) made beautiful instruments while Leo was still in charge (and for a little while after). This model came out in 1985, and was called the Broadcaster (again) and G&L had trouble with Gretsch (again) over the name. I think those G&Ls with Leo's signature were from about '89- '92 (?) and Fender were displeased with the name Fender being used on a G&L.
Yep. ASAT was a renamed Broadcaster. Broadcaster started in 1985. ASAT started in '86. Signature series started in '88, and officially went through '91, though they were shipped out in '92 as well.
The funny part is that Leo was averse to designing a G&L guitar based on the Telecaster. He would not allow it to happen. The Broadcaster prototype was slapped together by his company-mates while he was on vacation, using the electronics from the discontinued student model SC-2. They surprised him with it when he returned, and he eventually allowed it to be developed into a G&L model. They kept it as the Broadcaster for a while, but when it became clear Gretsch was taking exception, they just changed the name and made it a run-of-the-mill G&L.
He later got back at them by designing the ASAT Classic without their knowledge!
Indeed, Leo never saw the point in repeating himself. Apparently it wasn’t just all about money for him
Sounds so gorgeous in the neck position through the Reverb.
Big fan of the G & Ls! I have a '97 ASAT Classic and a newer Doheny. They play great and have not only the the classic Fender sound, but also the modern whatever you want want sound!
under rated the entire line...Leo was genius '48-63 and was even smarter at G+L and Music man...
Great demo & superb playing but Ya’ll gotta change the video title. That’s an early 90’s Asat Signature model. Judging from the recessed bullet truss rod it’s most likely a 1991 model but sold in 1992 after BBE took ownership of G&L. That occurred during the tale end of ‘92 after Dale Hyatt retired. BBE immediately started implementing cost saving measures to make G&L profitable hence the plastic case… they also were under pressure from Fender to offload anything bearing Leo’s name in a timely fashion. For this reason, there are many ‘transitional’ Asat & Asat Classic models from this time period which have both Pre-BBE & BBE features. A satin finished neck and jumbo frets are tell-tale signs of BBE as all Leo-era finishes were nitro lacquer & feature low & wide fretwire. This particular instrument as mentioned most likely hails from 1991.
I agree with your bottom line. However, the shorter bullet truss rods nuts that were used through about 2005-2006 started being used in about 1989 - so they are not a good differentiator between Leo era and BBE era. This one does indeed appear to have transitional features, as the neck appears to be glossy, and the frets do appear to be low profile. The BBE era headstock decal in combination with those features is the giveaway that it is what you say - a very early BBE instrument made with slightly earlier parts. Likely a '92 or possibly '91 (some "by Leo Fender" headstock decals, and signature body decals, were used in to 1992).
Also, not all Leo era instruments were finished in lacquer. Almost all prior to 1985 were (though sometimes not). Some were finished in lacquer after '84, e.g. several of the exclusively student model colors, like Red. The general dividing line between lacquer and urethane is 1985, but there are lots of exceptions after '85 (i.e. lacquer was used even though urethane was the norm), and a few exceptions before '85 (i.e. urethane finishes were used even though lacquer was the norm).
I have one, I have to tame down a bit the tone but once you get there, the best single coil sound ever
Tends to be a little bright and sterile but great through effects.
I especially love the 3-bolt neck. And everything else on this guitar. Have 2 ASATs from the 90s and an ASAT Bass.
I had one of those, those pickups are sweet!!
The ASAT is so underrated. I have a Bluesboy and it's absolutely world class. Mr Lemmo, as always... superb demo, man...
Superb playing. So much better than the usual blues scale noodling.
That's an ASAT Special. There's also an ASAT Classic, which has Tele-shaped pickups and a six-saddle "ashtray" bridge.
True, but when I hear G&L ASAT, this is the guitar I automatically think of.
I had a 1990 Leo Fender Signature ASAT Special for many years. I also had a Classic. Found the neck on the Special too thin for my taste. Found them both a little sterile sounding as compared to vintage Teles. Those work well with effects. The Hellecasters did wonders with them.
@@vayabroder729 -- I have a "Tribute" (import) ASAT Classic Semihollow. Love the guitar, but found the Tele-shaped MFDs sort of crude and rough sounding when playing clean. I replaced them with Bill Lawrence MicroCoils, swapped in a 5-way switch and I'm very happy now. Interestingly my other "Tribute" G&L, a Doheny, has a pair ofJM-shaped MFDs that I love, but the Tele-shaped MFDs? Not so much... 😪
I’m particularly fond of the ASAT Deluxe with flametop and humbuckers!
It is not an ASAT Special. The ASAT Special name was first used in mid 1992, after the Signature series had been discontinued. It ran alongside the ASAT. The only difference was that the Special had chrome hardware and white plastic guard and switch tip, while the ASAT had a black powder coated wrinkle finish black metal pickguard, control plate, and bridge, smooth-coated black tuners, and a black switch tip.
Leo equal legend. Thank you.
Roy in Knoxville Tennessee
It's about time that you brought a g&l in there. Been waiting to see if you were going to do that. They are awesome guitars. The factory is not too far from me.
Omg that thing sounds incredible! Next level!
How is it possible that anybody is as good as Michael Lemmo? This was just astounding.
Between the bridge tone and the nonstandard bridge and bridge pickup type In completely sold on this guitar.......I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE IT!!!!!!!
Top 5 guitar in my book. Original tone, super playable neck, built to last.
I have a ‘89 Signature Special. It is definitely my best instrument.
Leo said those were the best guitars he had ever made.
Love those telecaster s 👍
I have a 2021 G&L USA ASAT Classic Bluesboy with a P90 at the neck. In honey burst. One on of my favorites, beautiful tone, play it everyday. Love it. :)
I sometimes think Heritage Guitars is kind of to Gibson what G&L is to Fender. This ASAT Special with those MFD pickups is REALLY good sounding, too-they have really wonderful articulation compared to some other pickups out there, even compared to older Fender single coils!
Wow what incredible sounds!
Those ASAT with the MFD pickups are the best. They maintain the tele sound without the harsh ice-pickyness.
First quality guitar I ever owned was a G&L legacy. Beautiful unrivaled tones. Zero hum. The dual fulcrum bridge was also unmatched. Leo made the strat right with those bad boys.. regretfully lost to the same pawn broker that I bought it from 😂
Thank you for posting this one Lemmo - Really like the G&L stuff.
Glad to see a guitar that’s not a Fender or Gibson! I’ve heard that Leo Fender considered G&L to be far superior to his early designs at Fender!
Made my day! Awesome set Michael!
I'm probably more than a little biased, but the jumbo MFD pickups are easily my favorite single coils. I wouldn't trade my ASAT for any Tele.
Some great tones right there M.🎸👍
Awesome guitar and 💯 demo from Lemmo
Love what you fokes do I just discovered your channel I'll be watching keep up the great work 👍
Those pickups are built more like P-90s than anything from Leo’s days at Fender, magnet on the bottom, adjustable pole pieces, but you could put the pole pieces all the way down and still have great tone. They act like little volume knobs, but no loss of tone. I have an ASAT classic semi-hollow: the pickups a sized like Tele pickups, but still have the adjustable pole pieces. (But if you pull them out of the guitar they are chunky like stacked pickups).
I just had my hand built Asat Special tribute come in. It started life as just the body and everything that was added was USA made. Excellent tone and playability. BTW, the boy has got some chops! Well done.
The only thing U.S. made on the ASAT Tributes is the pickups. Literally every other thing is made in Asia. Even the "Fullerton" models have almost all of their hardware made in Asia. The exceptions are the stamped control plates used on CLF research models. These are stamped using the original dies from the '80s.
*late 80s probably. G&L introduced that body shape in ‘85 as the Broadcaster and it was renamed the ASAT around ‘86/‘87. The blocky logo and black string tree plus blonde finish with the Signature decal suggest at earliest late ‘88. Extremely underrated.
The blocky logo appeared in '88, but it also had a chunky white "by Leo Fender" as part of the decal. THIS guitar uses the BBE style blocky lettering, which does not have the white "by Leo Fender." This decal is a 1992 introduction, or possibly very late 1991, IIRC. This guitar was likely assembled in 1992, or possibly late 1991.
Gorgeous.. ..and how perfect is this? 'Just kept getting better..
Regret not buying one but exchange was for my 1973 tele rosewood .still have beautiful sound
That first piece is beautiful
Que riff sensacional!!!
Great sounding and great playing 👍
If you don't mind me mentioning another UA-cam channel ASK ZAC has a very good video about this guitar.
Such great guitars!
Nice Playing ❤ Thanks.
I've got an F100 from the first year and it's a really good guitar. They are different but Leo was probably the father of the American solid body guitar.
I'm the original owners of a 2001 ASAT Deluxe semi-hollow with HBs. I love it, but I'm seriously thinking about adding an ASAT Special to the collection. Love those MFD pickups. BTW, I also have a Comanche, and dig it as well. Did he use any pedals or was that plugged straight in to the Fender? If straight in, that was some incredible tone!
Sweet,sweet licks Mr Lemmo! Very nice! I could listen to that for a while! Would love to see you put out an instrumental LP! I’d be more than up to buying a few copies…
This is like if the Telecaster went to college in Oxford….. Leo outdid himself.
Nice!
I had one i won in a raffle, sunburst, i traded it for an empty speaker cabinet, one of my dumber moves, but i couldn't get the Jump Blues tone i wanted. Pity, i toured the country with that guitar in 87. Oh well
Whats the 1st song???
That is very similar to what Jeff Buckley played. Sounds fantastic, especially in the hands of deft players like Lemo
Back in 1995 when I began learning to play, I made the mistake of overlooking not only G&L but also MusicMan. If I had entered the game already knowing Leo Fender had a hand in both brands, I would have been a little more open-minded.
The first ASAT (Broadcasters) weren’t introduced till ‘85/86, and had a different script, this this isn’t early 80’s, it’ll be ‘87-89.
I wish I could play half as good as M L
Me too. 😉
A quarter as good would do me!
😂I was playing some george benson songs last night
Sounds really nice but doesn't have classic tele vibe.
Because it's not a Tele. It's an ASAT and those pickups sound much different than any tele has ever sounded. I like them because they are different. Despite the Jazz lesson those are some serious rock and roll funk surf punk monster guitars that should not be discounted because they don't sound like a Tele. Leo had already done the Telecaster and saw no reason to repeat his work. This is an evolution of design that got stuffed into a Tele body because sales wanted something that looked like a vintage Fender. That pickup set started in the SC-2 along with a bridge only version in the SC-1. I have a couple SC-2's they are a smaller body design much like a Mustang with a smaller upper bout. Great sounding guitars. You pick it up and you don't say that doesn't sound like a Telecaster because it doesn't look like one. The alter traditional designs sound closer (smaller pickups brass saddles) but the ASAT deluxe is it's own beast. I like them. Take that expectation of Telecaster out of your head and might find you like them too.
Cheese 🧀
I liked my own comment
👍👍👍✌❤😎
No Eagles... bummer :)
late 80's not early, nice gtr nonetheless
That’s actually an early 90’s
There are ASATs, and there are Telecasters. There is no such thing as an ASAT Telecaster.
Wow yall don't know that is not from the early 80's do a little research take the neck off not an early 80s guitar at all
I got a disease