NGD (G&L)

profgalen

profgalen

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G&L ASAT Special. Stamped Dec. 30 2004. I picked it up pretty cheap. The guy in the boutique acoustic shop new nothing about them. I tried to tell him that it was a U.S.A. ASAT but he had heard that all G&Ls are imports. So I gladly paid him a ridiculously low asking price for this mint, non-Tribute, Fullerton CA G&L. Plays like a dream and the MFD pups are amazing. Very light swamp ash body. The maple neck has some slight flame to it that really didn't come out in my iphone pics. This is my secound G&L. I also own a 2011 Nitro Thin Series ASAT Classic Blues Boy that has become my #1. I just love these guitars. Leo's ideas perfected.
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Wow that's awesome. If you paid import price for that even better. I'm jealous! Congrats!
 
Elias Graves said:
Nice. I've never heard those pickups. What are they like?
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MFD (Magnetic Field Design) pups have a broad frequency response. They are a single coil. Something like a P90 with a nice high end sparkle. They remind me a little of Jazz Master pups the way they break up. One of the few guitars that I find the middle position very useful. All positions sound good and give you a nice set of options. Leo put a lot of R&D into them. Some people consider them his crowning achievement in pick-up design. They work great for Blues, Rock, Country and even get a nice Jazz tone with the tone control rolled off.
Probably not good for Heavy Metal.
 
smurfco said:
Wow that's awesome. If you paid import price for that even better. I'm jealous! Congrats!
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Less than $400 out the door. No case. Just a gig bag. I already had a nice tweed case. G&Ls new sell for about the same or a little more than Fenders but they don't seem to retain as much of a resale value. There are some great deals around in the used market.
 
That's almost exactly like my yr 2000 ASAT. Had to pay full new price for mine though. I love mine & will never sell it. The fact that you got yours for import price is absolutely amazing!:zoinks:drool0
 
The Saddle-Lock® bridge is also one of Leo's greatest design achievements. Once you get it all set up for intonation and string height you tighten a small Allen screw on the side of the bridge, which presses all the saddles together so they resonate as though they were one single mass. The bottom side of the bridge has a large protrusion which fits into a route in the body. The protrusion fits snugly against the end grain of the body wood, allowing the highly resonant bridge to transfer much more of the string vibration energy directly to the core of the body.
 
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HNGD!!!
I have a Tribute that is just fantastic. Same pickups, and it will wail like any tele.
 
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Congrats on the super score! With all the internet information, it's surprising that the sales guy didn't know the value of that guitar. His mistake is your gain.

At first, I thought the MDF pickups had pole pieces, but with your description and a closer look, I'm guessing they're similar to Lace Sensor pickups, but made to appear like they have magnets. Is that right?
 
Stratguy said:
Congrats on the super score! With all the internet information, it's surprising that the sales guy didn't know the value of that guitar. His mistake is your gain.

At first, I thought the MDF pickups had pole pieces, but with your description and a closer look, I'm guessing they're similar to Lace Sensor pickups, but made to appear like they have magnets. Is that right?
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They have pole pieces. Adjustable soft iron screws. Magnets sit under the coils like a P90. Not like a Lace Sensor although pretty quiet for a single. What sets them apart is the wide flat shape of the coil. According to the G&L site, one wind produces twice the output of a regular single coil.

From the G&L page:
"The G&L Magnetic Field Design® pickups use a ceramic bar magnet installed underneath each coil, with soft iron adjustable pole pieces to transfer the magnetic field to the top of the pickup. By contrast, traditional Alnico type pickups, such as used in the Legacy model, use non-adjustable Alnico pole pieces leaving the only adjustment being pickup height. The Magnetic Field Design has this adjustment, but further offers individual adjustment of each pole piece, letting the player effectively adjust the output of each string on each pickup. Magnetic Field Design yield about twice the output per wind, making the pickup quieter while allowing a greater overall output. The sound of Magnetic Field pickups is slightly warmer with a broader frequency response."


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The store that used to be here in Ketchum was a G&L dealer. I used to like to go and check them out. Those are nice guitars! Congrats!
 
Killer score. I have a '96 in cherry sunburst that I got new for about $625 (with a custom neck option)...he posted for the billionth time.

My ASAT, Am Std Strat, and MIJ '69 Thinline are why I have so much issue with modern pricing. Yes I realize that I'm talking 20+ years ago, but it's still hard to swallow modern pricing for production guitars. Especially when you factor in Godin's pricing, where you can get a guitar comparable to an Am Std Strat for $800-1000 instead of a $1300. Custom stuff is whole different world.
 
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