G&L tech resources: Wiring harnesses

 
 

The wiring harness of the ASAT Classic, introduced in mid-1990, initially started out identical to the Broadcaster/ASAT harness, i.e. the tone potentiometer is in series with a 6.8kΩ resistor to ground. According to Greg Gagliano on his ggjaguar.com website, the early ASAT Classic (Signature) also had slightly differently wound pickups as later versions. The diagram drawn up by Paul Gagon in 1998 for the “Clasic” [sic] shown below, accessible here in the Gallery of the Guitars by Leo website or via the archived G&L website, is hence valid only for a handful of these early instruments. But while the 6.8kΩ resistor created a positive change in the sound of the ASAT by not coloring it too much, the modified tone taper aversely affected the intended twang and robbed the ASAT Classic of some sparkle. Hence soon after its introduction, 2 changes were made to the ASAT Classic harness. First, the 6.8kΩ resistor was removed. Second, the value of the treble bleed capacitor on the tone pot was reduced to 22,000pF (.022µF). And so the ASAT Classic became what it is to this day. This ASAT Classic w/gold Leo Fender Vibrato from October 1990, built just a couple of months after the ASAT Signature discussed in the previous section, has the updated harness with a CTS 250kΩ Audio Taper potentiometer and a 200pF ceramic treble bleed cap for the volume control and a CTS 250kΩ Audio Taper pot with the 22,000pF (.022µF) treble bleed cap for the tone control. Somewhat surprisingly, these same changes were then carried over to the ASAT. This makes sense in that unifying the 2 wiring harnesses simplifies the production process. There are several other instruments of interest shown below, all with an ASAT Classic harness as described above: one of 3 ASAT Classic ‘Buck Owens’ guitars from 1991, an ASAT Classic Signature (top-bound) and Lacewood Commemorative #1, both built in October 1991, Lacewood Commemorative #26 from 1992 and #7 of the 22 ASAT Classic ‘Daddy’s 22nd Anniversary’ guitars from 1994, both with Japanese sourced potentiometers typical for the transition period when BBE Sound, Inc. took over G&L, and an ASAT Classic from 1999, which has CTS pots again. When looking carefully at the treble pot on that 1999 Classic, one can make out the “9853” date stamp indicating the pot was made on December 31, 1998, the only day in the 53rd week that year! The same wiring harness is also used on other ASAT Classic variants like this 1998 ASAT ‘Classic III’, the precursor to the ASAT Classic ‘S’ with its 5-position pickup selector and push-pull pot for extra pickup combinations, or this 1999 ASAT BB (Blues Boy) ‘Contour’, which morphed into the ASAT Classic Bluesboy only a few years later. This ASAT Classic Bluesboy SH Alnico is from 2014 and demonstrate the harness has not changed over time, even when another neck pickup but an ASAT Classic MFD is used.


But that does not mean it has always been that way. This (pre-2002) ASAT Classic Custom built in 1997 is an outlier with its Japanese 250kΩ pots, no treble bleed cap on the volume control, and the tone pot being in series with a 47,000pF ceramic cap to ground. And although this 2007 ASAT Classic Spalted Maple has the usual 250kΩ Audio Taper volume pot with 200pF treble bleed cap again, also in this harness the 250kΩ Audio Taper tone pot is in series with a 47,000pF (.047µF) cap to ground. With the lone differences of the tone pot being push-pull, the same is found on the ASAT Classic Bluesboy Spalted Maple from the same year.

 

ASAT Classic (BluesboY, III, ‘S’)