My guitar collection - G&L

 
 

A very popular configuration amongst the Nashville session cats is the so-called “Nashville setup”: a marriage of a Telecaster body with Stratocaster pickup layout: an additional middle pickup, a 5-position pickup selector but only the single tone control. The G&L version is called ASAT III and was produced between 1987 and 1991. Judging from the measured DC-R values (N:4.43kΩ, M:4.44kΩ, B:4.48kΩ), this guitar seems to have the more common S-500 Magnetic Field Design (MFD) pickups. Few have MFD pickups as found on the Nighthawk/Skyhawk and there are also a handful ASAT III HSS models with a GHB (aka HG-2) humbucker in the bridge position. As an aside, when George in “Guitars from George & Leo: How Leo Fender and I Built G&L Guitars” claims that the same Skyhawk MFD’s are used in the “modern day S-500”, he is talking about the 1990-1991 S-500. The true modern day S-500, demoed in this instructive G&L video by Steve Grom, has even more windings of poly-coated wire instead of enamel. The ASAT III usually has a 2-piece swamp ash body, but the guitar below seems to have a soft maple body. Depending on the finish, they either had black powder-coated hardware or a white enameled aluminum pickguard with chrome Locktight (Saddle-Lock) bridge, control panel, and knurled knobs, and Sperzel Locking tuning machines. The headstock shows the ‘by Leo Fender’ script logo. This guitar has a hard-rock maple neck with 7½” maple fingerboard, black pearloid markers, and a 1⅝” nut. In contrast to the BBE-era ASAT III, the pre-BBE ASAT III is a Rarebird for which information can be found in the Guitars by Leo (GbL) Registry.

 

ASAT III (pre-BBE) w/maple fingerboard

The story behind this guitar

Year:

Serial number:

Neck date:

Body date:

Strings:


This guitar belonged to Tom Giberson who bought it new in 1990 and gigged it between 1991 and 1995. He put it up on the Guitars by Leo Marketplace and I could not resist snatching up this beautiful example. The back of this guitar has some nice figuring and the finish is an as beautiful, but darkened, Cherryburst finish as the very first G&L I ever purchased: my Legacy Special. The Tele-shaped body makes the Skyhawk/S-500 pickups appear in a completely different environment. Greg Gagliano claims on his ggjaguar.com website that the ASAT III sounds neither like an S-500 nor an ASAT, assuming he is talking about pre-BBE models. I can assure you he is right on both accounts. You hear the quack in the middle positions but with a Tele-twang to it. Sonically, this (heavy) guitar is enormously diverse and one of my absolute faves. Even now owning one, I have to hold myself back time and again whenever a pre-BBE ASAT III comes on the market. It is pretty clear to me now why session musicians would go for a setup like this!

The story behind this guitar

1989

G025054

JAN 21 1989, second stamp NOV 17 1988

JAN 25 1989

D’Addario EXL110 Nickel Wound Regular Light (10-46)