G&L Custom Shop ASAT Classic Fiesta Red Nitro

This custom G&L Custom Shop ASAT Classic features:

• Nitrocellulose Fiesta Red finish on Alder, 7 pounds
• Top white binding
• Rear body contour
• "Modern Classic" neck, 1 11/16" width at nut, 9.5" radius
• Vintage tint Nitrocellulose finish maple neck
• Maple fingerboard
• Medium jumbo frets
• White Parchment 3-ply pickguard
• (2) G&L MFD ASAT single-coil pickups
• Reverse control plate for easy volume control access
• G&L split and drilled tuners
• Logo Delete
• PLEK® laser guided fret finishing
• Deluxe tolex hardshell case
• Made in Fullerton, CA

The G&L Custom Shop affords the G&L enthusiast an opportunity to get a master-built instrument with personal attention to detail priced well below other manufacturer's custom shop offerings. And while the Custom Shop is not an "anything goes" proposition, it does allow the buyer to color outside the lines, and specify a wider range of personal preferences. In this case we took advantage of the Custom Shop process by upgrading to a Nitrocellulose Lacquer finish and adding a reverse control plate. We like solid finishes done in Nitro because of their understated sheen, and that the finish even shows a little texture of the wood grain. And of course in time the finish which age gracefully in all the right spots. While the "sound" of a nitro finish is a debatable topic, thin flexible finishes are a must for acoustic instruments, and there is certainly no downside relative to the tone of a solid body guitar. After all, they resonate too.

The inspiration for the reverse control plate came from our friends at Emerson Custom. They make custom wiring harnesses for practically every guitar out there, and their reverse Tele kit has always been a crowd pleaser. If you like to dig into your volume and tone controls, the reverse plate will allow you to tone-shape on the fly, and nail volume swell tricks a-la Danny Gatton.

Electronically, this guitar is pure ASAT Classic, which is a good thing. The ASAT Classic MFD neck pickup cures the compressed sometimes murky nature of the original Tele® pickup and provide better clarity, attack, and note separation. But roll it off a little and you'll still get those round, bell-like tones of the original. Using mild distortion yields a very musical, slightly crunchy blues tone with great note definition: The kind of tone you can use practically on any song. Cranking it up with more gain produced great chunk with tons of tight bass, and a creamy top end. For anyone who's had a love/hate affair with their Tele, this is the fix.

The ASAT Classic bridge pickup is the Incredible Hulk of guitar pickups. Played clean it is sparkly with plenty of twang on tap, with less ice and brittleness of a traditional Tele® bridge pickup. There is more midrange and body than a Tele pickup, and overall it's richer and more usable, but with all the vintage flavors packed in there. Add your favorite gain pedal and this pickup becomes a green monster, with gobs of overtones, harmonic complexity, and great sustain aided by the string-through body and brass saddles. It's a truly great lead pickup; more articulate than a humbucker, and enough bottom end to lay down tight defined rhythms. Using mild distortion accentuates the classic Tele twang with just enough grit to land you squarely in Brad Paisley/Brent Mason territory. Pummel it with gain and you've got a Rock Wolf in Sheep's clothing. 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 PLEK-finished Modern Classic neck sports and extra level of personal attention, and a thin tinted nitro gloss finish. For those who are concerned about the feel of a glossy neck, the nitro necks have decidedly less "stick" than the poly finishes. When the going gets hot, you can keep going. The full range of G&L profiles is available from the Custom Shop, but the Modern Classic has been such a hit, it seemed like the right choice for this guitar.

The ASAT Classic builds upon its groundbreaking origins, and can effortlessly flow from country twang to jazz, blues, funk and killer rock crunch. It is hard to imagine the ASAT Classic getting any better, but ask and the G&L Custom Shop shall provide.