G&L ASAT Bluesboy Blonde Swamp Ash

The G&L Bluesboy has been a consistent seller for a number of years, and for good reason. By combining the rich and powerful G&L ASAT MFD bridge pickup with their own Alnico 2 humbucker in the neck position, you get warm, clear jazzy neck tones combined with the twangy-but-rich sound of the ASAT Classic. It's killer for Wedding/General Business/Cover players that need to cover a diverse song list without carrying a slew of guitars.

This custom ordered ASAT Classic Bluesboy features the following:

• Transparent Blonde finish on Swamp Ash, 6.8 pounds
• G&L 'Modern Classic' neck, 1-11/16" width at the nut, 9.5" radius
• Indian Rosewood fretboard
  
• Rear body contour
• Medium jumbo frets
• G&L split and drilled tuners
• Tortoise shell 3-ply pickguard
• G&L A2S4248N Humbucker neck pickup
• G&L ASAT Classic MFD bridge pickup
• Ashtray bridge with 6 individual brass saddles
• 3-way switch, volume and tone control
• Plek® laser guided fret finishing
• Deluxe tolex hardshell case made in USA by G&G Case

Back in the day, a common mod with guitar players was to swap out an underwhelming Telecaster neck pickup with something more powerful. G&L made this a standard configuration with their popular Bluesboy, where the worlds of Alnico and MFD collide to create sonic landscape that is truly diverse. Paired with a light weight swamp ash body, this particular example is resonant, and the we like the way swamp ash lightens the midrange slightly, and lends a nice top end sweetness.

The G&L A2S4248N Humbucker is a lower output humbucker that is meant to emulate early PAF designs. The "A2" means Alnico 2 magnets, and the "4248" indicates 42 gauge wire at 4800 turns. Compared to the more common Alnico 5, Alnico 2 has a softer magnetic pull which gives the pickup a looser more free-sounding feel, with good sustain. We prefer the G&L humbucker over the previously standard Duncan Seth Lover. The tone is still warm and mellow, but the wound strings have better attack, and overall it's less squishy. Plain strings have good clarity, but with a roundness that is smooth and pleasing.

The ASAT Classic bridge pickup presents quite a contrast. The ASAT bridge pickup responds with a twangy piano-like low end attack, strong output, and shimmering highs that aren't icy or brittle. The ASAT's solid output also makes it a great lead pickup, and it absolutely loves overdrive pedals, creating harmonically complex rock crunch that is bristling with overtones. It's both a great traditional country pickup, and a very capable rock pickup.

Some of our favorite tones are found with using both pickups: Sweet, bell-like and impeccably clear, the two pickups together blend clarity with enough heft to work well for rhythm, single note work, and detailed picking. Note separation is excellent, and it's easy to get lost just listening to all the nuances of each note and chord.

The neck on this guitar is the standard Modern Classic decked out with a dark Indian Rosewood fretboard. The Modern Classic profile 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. The feel is very similar to a USA Fender profile, while G&L offers several neck profile options, the Modern Classic is the runaway favorite. As with all USA G&L's, the dual action non-compression truss rod and Plek fret finishing assures consistent playability and easy setups.

The G&L Bluesboy has multiple personalities: It can easily cop great country and pop tones, and the neck pickup can handle smokey blues or jazz without hauling around a hollow body. And with your favorite stomp box it's not adverse to dishing out some great classic rock crunch. It's killer for Wedding/General Business/Cover players that need to run the range without carrying a slew of guitars.

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. You can contact us at 508-686-6697