G&L ASAT Z-3 Rally Red

This USA G&L Z-3 features the following:

• Rally Red on Alder, 7.4 pounds
• Original Leo Spec. 1.625" body depth
• Rear contour for extra comfort
• White top binding
• Gloss Vintage tint G&L 'Modern Classic' neck, 1-11/16" nut width, 9.5" radius
• Maple fretboard
• Medium jumbo frets
• G&L split and drilled tuners
• Plek laser-guided fret and nut finishing
• G&L Z-Coil MFD noiseless pickups
• 1-Ply White Pickguard
• G&L Saddle Lock bridge for outstanding bell-like sustain
• 5-way pickup switch for traditional Strat type pickup combinations
• Pull volume for neck+bridge or all three
• Deluxe hard shell Tolex case

The G&L Z-Coil pickups are typically associated with the more popular Comanche guitar, but in the ASAT they take on a quite a different character. A chunkier body and saddle lock bridge design results in a sound that is a little less aggressive than the Comanche, with a sweet top end and more substantial lows. These are dual coil pickups, where the side-by-side arrangement of the coils creates true single coil sound, but with a lot more output and a broad, flat response. The Z-Coils have tremendously good balance, and there are no dead spots anywhere in across the tonal spectrum. As a result you do lose a little of that glassy midrange scoop characteristic of a traditional Legacy-type single coil, but the benefits are great sensitivity to playing style and excellent pedal performance. And no noise.

Working the pickup switch, pull volume, and the tone controls, the Z-3 can elicit everything from twangy country, smooth and articulate clean tones, chicken pickin' or neck tones that are reminiscent of an ES-335. The in-between position are strong, clear, and have that wonderful out of phase quack without sounding thin and anemic. If you like switch position 2 and 4 on your Strat, the Z-3 will knock your socks off. The Z Coils also love pedals, and the strong output and even response of the MFD pickups creates big, articulate rock tones with great string-to-string definition and lots of harmonic content. Using a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive pedal we got nice fat lead and rhythm tones that were crunchy and detailed but never harsh. Not as glassy as a traditional single coil, but more substantial in the manner of a humbucker but with greater midrange clarity and note separation.

The neck on this Z-3 is the relatively-new gold standard at G&L. The Modern Classic blends a slightly wider nut width with G&L's Slim C profile, and a 9.5" radius fretboard. The wider nut reduces the chance of string falloff, and the slimmer profile and 9.5" radius keeps the extra width from feeling cumbersome. For traditional Fender fans, it's a very familiar feel, and will meet the needs of a broad range of players. The other thing to note is that gloss finish necks always have the best fret finish. Why? Because the finish is applied after the frets are installed, and taking the finish off give the frets that extra measure of fret smoothness and contouring.

The G&L ASAT Z-3 is really a breed unto itself. You get all the familiar 5-way sounds that you'd expect out of a three pickup guitar, plus the Nashville-ready neck+bridge combo just by pulling the volume knob. Plus you get the noise-free enhanced dynamics of the Z-Coil pickups that just ooze power, detail and clarity. A true chameleon wrapped up Leo's classic T-shape, the G&L ASAT Z-3 is worth a serious look.

We are an authorized G&L Premier dealer located in Bellingham, Massachusetts, and this is a new guitar with all tags, tools,paperwork and certificates. We have over 40 G&L's in stock at all times,and please feel free to browse our other listings, or contact us for information on a custom order.