Over 60 year's later, Leo Fender's iconic solid body breakthrough continues to charm players of all stripes. And his final incarnation -- the ASAT Classic -- features the same timeless layout with important updates including their specially design Magnetic Field Design pickups. Who would have guessed that two pickups and a slab of wood could be so much fun? Finished in somewhat rare clear Lemon Drop with white top binding this ASAT is both functional and elegant.
This custom USA ASAT Classic features:
- Lemon Drop finish on two-piece Swamp Ash, 7.2 lbs
- Top White Binding
- G&L 'Modern Classic' maple neck, 1-11/16" width at the nut, 9.5" radius
- Maple fingerboard with vintage satin tint
- Original Leo Spec. 1.625" Body Depth
- Rear Contour for weight saving and comfort
- Medium jumbo frets
- G&L split and drilled tuners
- 3-ply Parchment pickguard
- G&L MFD neck pickup
- G&L MFD ASAT "ashtray" bridge pickup assembly
- G&L Saddle Lock Bridge
- 3-way switch, volume and tone control
- G&L non-compression truss rod
- Plek® laser guided fret finishing
- Deluxe tolex hardshell case
G&L has about 40 different finish options, and Lemon Drop is one of the less common ones. It's great for showing off nice Swamp Ash grain, and the lemon hue is fairly subtle and not candy-like in appearance. If you like sweet detailed high end with a little midrange scoop, Swamp Ash is also good choice. While not quite as punchy as Alder G&L's MFD pickups pair nicely with Swamp Ash and are not lacking for power.
The original Tele® neck pickup is a love/hate affair. Good one have a lovely bell-like tone, but compress easily. And bad ones are just dark and lifeless. Constructed with a low resistance coil and powerful ceramic magnet at the base, the ASAT Classic neck pickup leaves those issues behind. Full up, it's clean, bold, with a very even response across the spectrum. It can punch like a P90, but without the often muddy midrange. Roll off the volume just a tad and the classic round, slightly hollow Tele neck tone appears, but with less compression. Distortion tones range from crunchy to creamy, and unlike the many guitars of this ilk, it's perfectly suited to lead work.
The ASAT Classic bridge pickup is a Jekyll/Hyde affair that will go toe-to-toe with many humbuckers. Played clean it is sparkly with plenty of twang on tap, and any icy tendencies are tempered by the even mannered response of the Swamp Ash body. There is more midrange and body than a traditional Tele® pickup, and overall its a richer sound but with all the traditional flavors packed in there. Add your favorite gain pedal and this pickup becomes an awesome classic rock machine with gobs of overtones, harmonic complexity, and great sustain aided by the string-through body and brass saddles. It's truly great lead pickup; more articulate than a humbucker, and enough bottom end to lay down tight defined rhythms. Remember, most of the early Led Zeppelin was all on a Telecaster, so with the ASAT you can play hard rock...or a square dance.
The neck on this guitar is the standard Modern Classic which 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. G&L makes several different neck profiles, but the Modern Classic has really been a hit with players of all types.
This is a deceptively versatile guitar, and its ability to flow from country twang to jazz, blues, funk and killer rock crunch makes it hard to put down. Who would have guessed that two pickups and a slab of wood could be so much fun? The ASAT Classic combines classic looks, flawless finish, and outstanding flexibility.
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