Jump to content

G&L Asat Vs. Fender Tele


itsmejoewbrown

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I have tried to locate a local shop that sells G&L guitars and have come up short, unless I want to take a long drive. BTW I live in Jacksonville, FL in case somone knows of a shop that sells G&L. Anyhow, I am looking into getting a tele type of guitar would like to spend between 1200 to 1900 more if it plays well.

 

For those that have had the chance to play both a fender american tele / american deluxe and a g&l asat. What were the pros/cons of each? Did you like the feel of the neck more then another. My personal tastes lean towards a beefier neck. The fenders ive been able to play are comftorable to me, but they can be larger and I dont think id have any discomfort. How are the pick ups different? Also overall quality of each guitar.

 

Any information would be great guy and gals.

 

Thanks

 

Joe

 

PS MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I prefer ASATs. I have 3; a Deluxe, a Bluesboy and an "S" (see avatar) and they are all perfectly made. Fender makes a great product, but I think you get a great deal more in terms of quality, fit and finish for the price with G&L.

 

One thing to note is that ASATs with MFDs (this includes the ASAT Special, Custom and Classic) will have much more bite than equivalent Fenders. Although I have noticed that the MFD single coils have a somewhat sweeter tone than the MFD soapbars.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Hey Joe,

 

I went on a Tele safari that lasted a little over a year. After the long search, I ended up getting a 52RI Hotrod. The great neck was what sealed the deal for me. I've had it for a couple of years now and still love it.

 

That said though, I've been very impressed by every G&L I've ever played and think that I might have bought one instead of the Fender if I had found more to try out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Having played plenty of both, I think G&L fit, finish, and QC is better on average. Nothing wrong with a good Fender though. The biggest difference is the pickups. The ASAT pickups are hotter and thicker sounding at the expense of a bit of traditional tele tone. On the flip side, the SCN pickups in the American deluxe sounded pretty wimpy and thin.

 

My G&L has a decently thick c-shape neck...they might be shaping them differenty now but I just played an American standard strat at a store yesterday and that guitar had a thinner neck than mine.

 

I really dig the g&ls, good value relative to fender, easy to do "semi custom" orders, very high quality stuff at a fair price.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thanks for the replies, as for pickups in a G&L asat has any one played the p-90 looking ones? Ive listened to people play them on youtube but i dont think that is the way one should choose. I am Definetly leaning more towards G&L as a company to buy from, but with no store to try one so hard to put the money out there.

 

Out of curiousity David, which of the ASATs you own your favorite and mostly overal played. I ask because The ASAT classic and bluesboy both look apealing to me.

 

Thanks again yall for the replies!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thanks for the replies, as for pickups in a G&L asat has any one played the p-90 looking ones? Ive listened to people play them on youtube but i dont think that is the way one should choose. I am Definetly leaning more towards G&L as a company to buy from, but with no store to try one so hard to put the money out there.


Out of curiousity David, which of the ASATs you own your favorite and mostly overal played. I ask because The ASAT classic and bluesboy both look apealing to me.


Thanks again yall for the replies!!!

 

I had an ASAT Special with the soap bar MFDs (I sold it to get an ASAT deluxe..and I've missed it ever since). The soap bar MFD's are excellent pickups that will do everything from country twang to jazz. They sound quite a bit like a combination of traditional single coils and high gain humbuckers.

 

Like all MFDs, they have more bite and bottom end than single coils, so using your tone knob is needed if you want a mellower sound.

 

All three of my ASATs have unique "flavors" - the Deluxe is very much like a Les Paul with 2 HB & Mahogany w/flame top, while the "S" is just a one of a kind guitar that combines the best of a tele with a strat. My favorite ASAT is the Bluesboy. The combination of the vintage voiced Duncan Seth Lover in the neck with the gritty G&L MFD in the bridge really makes for a unique guitar. The guitar is incredibly versatile.

 

Here is a pic!

P1010038.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well now that I have the manufacture to choose from down. Now comes the hard part, Pickup configuration and color/neck options.


Any owners of a G&L want to share some pics / vids or there own?



Thanks all, I hope everyone Has a Very Blessed Christmas!

 

 

Here is my MIK Tribute. Flawless guitar, had it set up by a pro and it plays like a dream. Pups are noticeably hotter than my Nashville tele. My only issue is that it's a tad neck heavy, but as long as I use a quality wide leather strap, it's not an issue.

 

 

 

GLTELE1.jpg

 

GLTELE6.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well... I am sooooooo tempted to test a bluesboy out, i checked some videos on youtube. I wish that i could hear them in person. Any musicians in jacksonville, florida area have one by chance I can hear lol?? Wishfull thinking I know. Anythoughts on neck options, like gun oil, light oil, unfinished etc? I kind of like a birds eye maple with gun oil look from pics ive seen. How do these affect playability?

 

Btw David and yz250f49 them are some nice guitars!!! Keep on posting!!

 

 

Joe

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Thanks for the replies, as for pickups in a G&L asat has any one played the p-90 looking ones? Ive listened to people play them on youtube but i dont think that is the way one should choose. I am Definetly leaning more towards G&L as a company to buy from, but with no store to try one so hard to put the money out there.


Out of curiousity David, which of the ASATs you own your favorite and mostly overal played. I ask because The ASAT classic and bluesboy both look apealing to me.


Thanks again yall for the replies!!!

 

 

The ASAT Classic Bluesboy is OUT OF THIS WORLD. I have one with a birds-eye neck and it's absolutely gorgeous. The finish is much more beautiful than my '52 RI Hot Rod. I picked the guy up for $900USD used. The neck pickup is just so articulate and clean, but there is a little bit of sacrificed tele twang, the '52 Hot Rod wins there.

 

p.s. to try and sell you on it, I am gonna go take some pix.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The basic neck is a satin finish. You can also get the gloss neck, or the gloss + gun oil which adds that golden yellow hue to the neck. I guess it's just a question of gloss vs satin for feel and whether you like the look of maple plain or tinted. Birdseye is a further cosmetic option.

 

They also have a bunch of necks shapes to choose from if you are ordering. Back when I got mine it took about 3 months but it probably varies based on how busy they are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Theres a black double bound blues boy on PGS that looks pretty hawt, heres a link.

 

http://proguitarshop.com/store/guitarsl-guitarsl-current-inventory-c-1_27_531/g-l-asat-classic-bluesboy-blackbinding-p-946

 

hope that link works lol

 

 

Joe

 

 

PS im shopping around if any one knows of somewhere with sales or just generally a good place to shop at.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I have this ASAT Special. A couple years ago I went to GC and spent most of an afternoon playing every version of a Tele that they had there, from the cheapest Squiers up to Custom Shop exotica. There was also a used ASAT Special hanging on the wall, so I included it in the evaluation as well.

 

I was looking for something with some real twang. After playing a whole bunch of Teles, the twangiest, snarliest one of the bunch was either a certain 52RI, or the ASAT. Given that the 52RI cost many hundreds of dollars more than what a used ASAT was going for, it was a no-brainer. (The next-best was a MIM Baja Tele, which just goes to show you that you can find great Fenders and Fender-style guitars at any point in the product range---all those guitars beat out higher-end Custom Shop stuff.)

 

Not all ASATs (or even ASAT Specials) are the same. A friend of mine also has one and we've compared them, and although they both say ASAT Special, mine is a bit thicker than his, and, mine has a four-bolt neck and his has a three-bolt neck. I think mine's a little snappier; his has a more balanced tone. (So if you're NOT looking for ultimate twang, you can still get a great tone from an ASAT.)

 

These are Specials, with the MFD pickups. I don't know how they would compare to one of the ASAT with more traditionally-constructed Tele-style pickups. But, even with non-Fender pickups and a non-Fender bridge, this guitar has plenty of Tele character to it, I think.

 

When I got mine a couple years ago, they were undeniable out-and-out bargains. Nowadays the word has gotten around and prices have crept up, but I think they are great guitars and worth the prices they seem to be going for.

 

1371126039_c6a6d440ed_m.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...