In 2018 G&L unveiled their Custom Shop to the world. While they've always been making custom guitars in the same building that Leo Fender started the company in via their a-la-carte process, they now have a custom shop that rivals the best in the world.
Take your favorite high-end bolt-on guitar and compare it to anything coming out of the G&L Custom Shop and prepare to get your world rocked. Music Store Live is proud to offer up this beautiful example of just what G&L's finest luthiers are capable of. With a beautiful figured and matched walnut body and a roasted flame maple neck with holographic figuring (more on that later) this guitar looks as beautiful as it sounds.
So let's get right to it because this definitely isn't your granddaddy's ASAT. Let's start at the neck and work our way down. The slab of roasted flame maple that they selected for this one was really a special one. The neck is extremely highly figured with tons of flame all over it, but what's really cool is the almost holographic-like nature of this one. Depending on the angle that you look at it you'll see different stripes popping out. It's a really cool effect that is accentuated by the roasting process. It's cliche to say that the photos don't do it justice, but that's really true with this one. Now that we've seen a couple of G&L Custom Shop guitars roll through our shop, we're starting to realize this is just what you can come to expect from them. It's incredibly top notch, that's for sure!
Of course, the most beautiful neck in the world will still only get you so far... It's got to play just right, and this one absolutely does. The satin clear finish on the roasted neck feels absolutely incredible and the hand-finished neck shape feels familiar, like many other G&L's, but with a bit more refinement to it. The fretwork is absolutely immaculate and the entire construction is spot-on perfect so that you can dial in crazy low action and not even have to sweat about fret-buzzing.
Moving on down to the body we've got an East Indian walnut body loaded up with two G&L MFD single-coil pickups. The MFD pickups have a bit more punch and oomph to them than a traditional alnico single-coil would while still retaining the clarity, twang, and spank that tele's have become known for. It'll have a bit higher output than anything vintage-voiced, but again, this just helps with retaining clarity and articulation in all of the notes. Whether you're playing clean, just going for some light bluesy overdrive, or laying it on thick, this ASAT Classic can still handle it. The walnut body is going to be very balanced. It produces an even amount of tight and punchy bass, mid-range, and treble across the frequency spectrum while adding some nice texture to the sound.
When we first saw this guitar we instantly fell in love, then we actually played it and it was obvious we needed to have it for our inventory. This is an instrument that just feels like it was put together with a bit of extra attention and care. It takes the already incredibly high standards that G&L have and raises them even further.
