Overview :- Somewhat ironic that Leo Fender found so many faults with the original early 50’s black guard Tele – As a designer/engineer, he would spend hours trying to fine tune many aspects of such guitars in order to enhance the guitars performance capabilities – So no this USA G&L ASAT Special with a Bigsby, is not a traditional pre-CBS copy – But it certainly takes on many aspects of a hot rod Tele – Whilst the Bigsby and translucent orange finish give it some of that Gretsch appeal , which is further enhanced with a pair of G&L MFD single coil pick-ups, that capture strong hints of a P90 and Gretsch Dynasonic – So read on, to gather additional info with regards to this used USA model from 2019
USA model from Fullerton, California
- Whole guitar weighs 8lbs and 4oz
- Swamp Ash body – 2 piece – With rear belly contour
- Translucent orange gloss finish
- Bolt on maple neck with dark, smooth and even grained ebony fingerboard
- 1 11/16″ nut width (more common on ‘modern spec’d Tele influenced models)
- 9.5″ fingerboard radius + 22 medium jumbo frets
- C shape neck profile with medium depth – measures .830″ around the top nut end and fattens out to .894″ around the 12th fret
- More of a silky smooth satin feel for that ‘played in’ character
- Bone top nut
- Truss rod adjustment at top nut end
- Enclosed machine heads with ‘Fender-esq’ slotted string posts
- G&L designed + wound single coil MFD pick-ups Traditional 3 way switch
- Treble bleed cap on the volume pot
- Top hat switch tip
- Knurled + domed control pots
- Bigsby B5 vibrato with ‘tune o matic’ style bridge with ‘roller’ saddles
- Deluxe oblong case
- Includes appropriate certificate + spec sheet
- Re-strung with 10-46 gauge strings and set-up with a slinky action that responds to a light touch
Condition wise :- Nigh on mint condition – You’d need to be eagled eyed and very fussy to find any fault with the finish – It is about as clean as a 7 year old guitar could be – Clean frets – Even the 3 ply ‘cream’ pick guard shows little in the way of pick marks – The oblong black vinyl case is clean with maybe just the odd surface scuff mark at worse
Tonal character :- It possesses that single coil snap, clarity and attack – Very responsive – But overall a touch hotter, as the custom wound MFD pick-ups blend traditional Tele qualities with a P90 – Some say a Tele on steroids – The bridge pick-up offers a full bodied twang with a full on bite and attack – Not thin, weedy or piercing – Crunch rhythm never sounded so full, whilst hot licks sing, especially with subtle or hi-gain amp settings – The neck pick up offers a fuller voice, coupled with excellent clarity and definition – Now utilise the volume + tone pots to control/trim everything down a notch as required for more of a chilled voice – Like a good Tele, the ASAT is at home as a work horse working in some many different genres of music – Be it jazz, hot country, rock n roll, punk, blues or rock – No one guitar does it all but the ASAT is versatile and will deliver in some many ways
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Guitars4You is not another corporate high street guitar store - My selection of premium grade guitars is about quality not quantity. Every guitar has been selected, inspected and approved by me, with particular attention to the set-up and playing performance. Every sale, phone call, email and mail order transaction is handled by me. A journey that is now over 50 years old, has fuelled my knowledge, experience, love, devotion and passion for exceptionally fine guitars.