G&L ASAT Question

[CapsLockAcoustic]

Hello, I recently came across a guy wanting to sell a G&L ASAT (which he says is custom made) because he could no longer play guitar. When I looked online I couldn't find exactly the same guitar, but from what I gathered most G&L guitars seemed pretty quality so I went ahead and purchased it. The head says G&L ASAT on the top, but on the bottom it says CLF 30301 near the tip. When I searched CLF I came up with the Centennial model and it looked the most similar to the one I purchased, save that the coloring looked slightly different. The body is vanilla in color with a white pickgaurd and silver hardware. According to him it's only been played once or twice and upon plugging it in it played just dandy. Can anyone tell me approximately what this is worth and if it's anything special? Just wondering what I've purchased, haha. Thanks!

[CapsLockAcoustic]

Here's a photo of the guitar.
http://www.thefret.net/imagehosting/thum_108324b358ec195422.jpg (http://www.thefret.net/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=1437)

[hubberjub]

G&Ls are great guitars. One of the members on this forum, Wingsdad, is a big fan and owns a few. I've always liked them and found their quality to be better than the Fender model it resembles.

[CapsLockAcoustic]

That's what I've heard, I was pretty excited to come across it and for a pretty decent price as well. Do you know if this might be a Centennial? The Centennials I saw had it actually written on the top of the head, but since it's custom I suppose it might be different. The guy I bought it from didn't know too much about its origins due to the fact that he more or less inherited it.

[wingsdad]

... The head says G&L ASAT on the top, but on the bottom it says CLF 30301 near the tip. ....
If by 'on the bottom' you mean on the back of the headstock, then CLF30301 is the serial number. It has nothing to do with the model. The CLF stands for Clarence Leo Fender.

The serial number is only an approximate indicator of the age (finish build date) of this guitar. To get that, you need to remove the neck and look in the neck pocket. The neck's number puts this somewhere around 2003, but that's a guess; G&L numbers the necks, then mates them to the body they're to go with depending on how the guitar was ordered.

This looks like an ASAT Special. It's a common model, distinguished by the brilliant Leo Fender designed Saddle Lock bridge (not stringing thru the body like a traditional Tele) and the soapbar pickups that lots of folks tend to mistake for P90's. They're a large ceramic magnet single coil MFD (Magnetic Field Design), higher output than the traditional size MFD's on the model closest to Leo's Fender Telecaster, the ASAT Classic. These pups are, again, another of Leo's improvements on his original masterpiece.

Here's a helpful link to the model on the G&L site:

G&L ASAT Special (http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/USA/guitars/asat-special/index.asp)

As for the seller calling it custom-made, other than the imported G&L Tributes series models and some specific production runs of USA models for larger G&L retailers, virtually all G&L's are custom made, ordered thru G&L dealers to the the dealer's or customer's specs. (I have an ASAT Classic Bluesboy Semi Hollow I bought this way a year & 1/2 ago.) You pick the neck option, fingerboard, finish, pickguard and other elements and upgrades and there ya go.

Your photos are kinda small and not that sharp, but it looks like there aren't any singificant upgrades like Gun Oil Tint on the neck/fingerboard, the chrome hardware is stock, the white pg is stock, and the finish is a basic solid finish color so the body is probably alder (some finishes, like bursts and trans colors cost additional and go on an ash body, commanding a couple-few hundred bucks extra). The black molded case is stock; black tolex or tweed case is an upgreade


...Can anyone tell me approximately what this is worth and if it's anything special? Just wondering what I've purchased, haha. Thanks!

Wel, it doesn't appear to be any more special than a base model ASAT Special, so, if it's in pristine shape, and it's about a 2003 or so issue, it's probably worth about $700USD, give or take, depending on where you're buying it, online or brick & mortar (market price determined by supply & demand for Tele-type guitars in the area). Search e-bay for G&L ASAT Special for a better idea.

If you paid around $700, or less, you got a better Tele than any Fender for the same price, IMHO. If you paid more than that, it may be more than you should've paid. ASAT Specials with significant upgrades, 5-6 years old may go for $800-$900, depending.

It's definitely not a Centennial, not close, really. Only 50 were made, early 2009. This is:

CLF Centennnial ASAT (http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/USA/customcreations/CLF_Centennial_ASAT/index.asp)

[CapsLockAcoustic]

Excellent, thanks a lot man, that helps a lot. I paid 400 for the guitar and case, which I assumed was a pretty good price no matter what kind of G&L I was getting, but I just wanted to make sure I know what I have.