G&L ASAT Classic pickups

FAC

FAC

New member
I am laughing at myself as I write this thread...

I have a Tele and wanted to experiment with a Charlie Christian pickup in the neck position...but I did not really want to route my favorite Tele, so I went looking for something similar to experiment with that I was not afraid to cut into... My first choice would have been a standard Tele, but none of the stores in my area had a left handed one that I liked.

Then I found an ASAT Classic for a good price at a local shop with the MFD pickups...great, those are ceramic non-traditonal pickups...I can just rip those out and cut away, right?

Well...I really like them! And, I love this guitar...way more resonant than my Tele, more sustain, better neck profile, and better fretboard radius for me! Frankly, I had never really considered, or tried, a G&L before, and I am impressed with this one. I believe it is from ~2007.

I look at all my guitars...NONE have stock pickups. I chuckle because I have been conditioned to despise ceramic magnet pickups (I certainly did not like the ones that came stock in my Les Paul or my SG, so there is personal precedent) and to be skeptical of any stock pickup.

Anyone else out there like these pickups/guitars? I'm not looking for justification here...what sounds good, is good...just that these guitars and pickups were never on my radar and I am curious about your experiences, if you replaced the pickups and if so, with what?
 
Re: G&L ASAT Classic pickups

I have a Tribute series ASAT Classic. Built in Indonesia by Cort, using US-made G&L pickups with - as you say - underslung ceramic bar magnets. The guitar slays my Fender MIM Tele (even with SD pickups in it!) but falls short of any of my American Fender Telecasters.

Another thing that I like about the G&L pickups is that they are surprisingly unaffected by interference and hum.

I considered fitting a Li'l '59 in my ASAT but thought better of it. After decades of tinkering, I like to think that I know when to stop. (Pots, selector switch, machineheads.)
 
Re: G&L ASAT Classic pickups

I hear ya, I had a ASAT classic with the intention of putting a lil'59 in the bridge and a vintage stack in the neck. Never needed to swap, those pick ups give the ASAT a Tele on steroids tone without all the hum and noise, great pick ups - great guitars.
 
Re: G&L ASAT Classic pickups

When they came out in the early '80's, G&Ls were some of the first American "non-Fender Fenders" that hands down smoked proper Fenders. And they really haven't gone downhill much since then. They've also managed to keep from getting too big for their britches. That can be frustrating when it comes to finding a dealer, let alone one with a wide variety in stock. However, in the end I find it very endearing, as it's quite easy to get what you want from them without paying through the nose, and it feels like you're dealing with a small business instead of a mega company.

I'm not saying that every last detail about them is better than Fender, but on the whole they make a high value product, and they give their customers lots of choice, unlike Fender.
 
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Re: G&L ASAT Classic pickups

Thanks for the insights. Yeah...G&L was never really on my radar, but they are now.
 
Re: G&L ASAT Classic pickups

This is my first time participating on this forum. I must say that I joined because a few days ago I met MJ (from Seymour Duncan company) and she was generous enough to give me gave some sets of pick-ups that she made herself and I was very fortunate to get one. Nevertheless, I have to buy a pick-up in order to participate in the lottery that MJ created. So I decided to change the original PU (MFD) from the butterscotch Asat classic I've been using and go with the APTL-1 Alnico II Pro as bridge PU. I'm also considering buying a mini-HB (Vintage Mini-Humbucker SM-1) for the neck position. This switch calls for putting a wider hole for the mHB PU in the neck position, which brings up some other questions... Do I really need to change my PUs? Am I commiting a crime thinking on changing the original PU? Will the new PU fit? What if I don´t like the new PU?

Note that in the beginning I was thinking about buying a Tele, but then I tried that G&L Asat and I loved it and bought it. Perhaps I might still want a tele. Hmm....

Any advise, comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Re: G&L ASAT Classic pickups

I've been a G&L player since 1983. The Asat Classic model is one of my favorites! Here's my '97 Asat Classic semi-hollow.

 
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Re: G&L ASAT Classic pickups

Never tried those MFD but I do like large MFD. Not all ceramics sound crap.
 
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