G&L Tribute Asat Deluxe Carved Top Electric Guitar For Sale (2023 Update)

I picked up the Irish Ale model on the stupid deal of the day last Thanksgiving. After getting it and seeing the quality, I'd have gladly twice as much. It's just beautiful, solid, and plays very nice. The neck humbucker is warm and rich. The bridge HB screams on leads when overdriven. When you tap them for single coil, you can get good crisp sparkly tones too, though the volume drop naturally is noticeable. I just have a pedal boost setting for playing it in single coil mode that brings the volume up to the HB level. The guitar intonated exceptionally well right out of the box and playability is top notch. It has the best bridge design I have ever seen or played on a solid bridge guitar. They hit a home-run on that. It's a great upgrade platform too, since the body, neck and bridge are made so well. I'd put the stock Gagon designed pickups right on par with Gibson OEM humbuckers, but they are not as good as Lollar's or Fralin's. The tuning machine heads are very usable, but an upgrade to Schallers, Grovers, or Gotohs makes sense if you play a lot. It does not have a bone nut, but the tone and intonation on mine is so good, I'll probably just leave the stock nut in.Birddog

It's rare to find low-cost gear that meets high-level expectations, but this guitar has thus far done just that. I purchased this thinking I would almost certainly have to put a fair amount of work and parts into it just to make it playable; off the bat, I assumed the pots and wiring would have to be replaced, the bridge would likely be of poor quality, the setup would be unusable, and the tuners/nut would have problems. For the vast majority of these, the opposite has been true. The pots and electronics (switch, jack) are incredibly solid, quiet, and smooth. The bridge is solid, no rattles, and intonates very close to perfect. The setup out of the box was dead on; shocking, for a guitar made overseas and at this price range. The one area where the jury is still out is the tuners and nut. There are a few occasional tuning stability issues, especially on the higher strings. This is likely due to a bad nut, so I've ordered a Tusq replacement to see if that helps. The tuners also seem to have a little more throw than I'm used to, and aren't as precise as I'd like. That said, they're still fine and I'm not going to hesitate to gig with this guitar. The look of the guitar in person is, in my opinion, nicer than what you see here. I think it's a beautiful guitar, if not a little plain. The neck is a glossy yellow, which some folks might not like, but I don't care what it looks like. The profile is a bit chunkier than the previous Telecasters I've owned; most comparable to the Baja series, though a bit smaller than their V-shaped cuts. Just a solid feeling neck. Lastly, the sound. This is where this guitar shines. These are some of the best vintage-sounding P90's I've used, and I've played more than I care to remember, many from expensive boutique winders that we're all familiar with. This is not a guitar for clean, crystal clear tones. It's overdriving my amps right away, in a very good way. All in all, a great axe at a surprisingly low cost. G&L did right.Good Eye, Brian

The G&L Tribute ASAT Deluxe Carved Top in Trans Black is brilliant, in looks and how it plays and sounds, with the brilliant single / double coil switching adding to the sound(s). One point I'll make is that this guitar is not just plain black, but as the wood grain shows; which I think makes look better; more distinct.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I love this ASAT Special. Mahogany body, mape neck with rosewood fingerboard. Picture a Tele that sounds giant and is much more versatile. It's not the US model, but the feel is comfortable and the electronics and hardware are much better than similarly priced guitars. I can actually get a useable range of tones with the controls. They don't have to be wide open to sound good. The only thing that irked me was the pick guard cut around the control plate looks like a kindergartener did it. This wasn't listed as B Stock, so I'm not sure how it passed QA. I'm playing it, not staring at it, so I won't send it back, but I expected a new guitar to look 100%. Would rate looks excellent if not for that.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Chose this G&L against the relative Fender as it played and felt better. Fingerboard and bridge were vast improvement over the Fender. I wish I'd chosen the showroom model as the my boxed version needs a set-up.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I bought this guitar on a whim as a cheap and cheerful alternative to more expensive Fender Telecasters. I own a G&L tribute SB-2 bass which I'm very happy with, and the G&L MFD pickups used in the Asat Special were particularly appealing as I'd never owned a guitar with them in before. The guitar itself is made in Indonesia, however it is well built with good quality components (I believe the electronics are the same used in American G&Ls). One thing it was lacking was a good setup – the nut was very high and when I bought it the previous owner had it set up for slide. I had to shim the neck to attain an agreeable action however with the high nut I was unable to get it to play well without string buzz and choking – I initially attributed this to a vintage fingerboard radius however my tech measured it and found it to be a thoroughly modern 12". This made my day as I'd been searching for a Fender with this radius to no avail – I have a Gretsch Corvette with a 12" board and it not only feels great, but I've never had issues with strings fretting out when bending high up the neck. After a professional setup by local guitar wizard Eltham Jones (no fretwork was required but the nut needed dressing, alongside a few tweaks to neck relief and action) the guitar plays very well with great sustain provided by the solid mass of the G&L bridge. There is no choking out when bending strings and the neck itself it very comfortable, with a fairly shallow profile. It has something of a gloss finish on the back which I may try and mattify at some point with wire wool, however it's not sticky and feels fast. The pickups are wonderful – I've backed them off nearly as far as they will go from the strings and then brought the bridge pickup up just enough to balance with the neck pickup. The output even down low is very good and they seem to capture a wide frequency range – this is the first guitar I've owned where using the tone control is not only required, but is rewarding – the tone pot itself in conjunction with these wide range pickups seems to provide a very musical roll off of treble without resulting in any kind of mud/muffled tone when fully rolled off. I'm finding the sweet spot for general playing to be about 30% roll off, where normally I would leave the tone pot entirely alone (on some guitars I remove it completely!). Tonewise, online I have seen comparisions between these pickups and those found in the Jazzmaster. I don't know if there is any truth in this but with the placement of the pickups and general differences between the two guitars, I don't findthem to be tonally similar, to my ears at least. The G&L pickups are very clear, powerful and articulate, with more upper midrange presence than a Jazzmaster (again, IMO). They respond very well to rolling off the volume as well as the tone knob to clean up the sound – even at low volumes they remain clear and full sounding. Despite an abundance of treble on tap the high end is less "icepick" than Fender Strats I've played and less "twangy" than your average Tele. It's got character of it's own which is nice to have in what is ostensibly a Telecaster. I've also discovered a slightly bizarre wiring quirk where if both pickups are on and the tone is entirely rolled off, it sounds as if the guitar has switched out of phase – it sends distortion boxes absolutely wild, and i've never quite heard a sound like it from a guitar. I wonder if this might be a mod from a previous owner or if they all do this – whatever the case, I love it, it seems to flatter my playing and helps me pretend i'm Frank Zappa. Overall, I'd absolutely recommend a G&L Tribute Asat Special to anyone looking for a Telecaster that isn't a Telecaster, on the basis that the parts are good, particularly the wonderful pickups, but it'll probably need a good setup by your local luthier of choice to get the best out of it.ebolamonkey11

I picked up the Irish Ale model on the stupid deal of the day last Thanksgiving. After getting it and seeing the quality, I'd have gladly twice as much. It's just beautiful, solid, and plays very nice. The neck humbucker is warm and rich. The bridge HB screams on leads when overdriven. When you tap them for single coil, you can get good crisp sparkly tones too, though the volume drop naturally is noticeable. I just have a pedal boost setting for playing it in single coil mode that brings the volume up to the HB level. The guitar intonated exceptionally well right out of the box and playability is top notch. It has the best bridge design I have ever seen or played on a solid bridge guitar. They hit a home-run on that. It's a great upgrade platform too, since the body, neck and bridge are made so well. I'd put the stock Gagon designed pickups right on par with Gibson OEM humbuckers, but they are not as good as Lollar's or Fralin's. The tuning machine heads are very usable, but an upgrade to Schallers, Grovers, or Gotohs makes sense if you play a lot. It does not have a bone nut, but the tone and intonation on mine is so good, I'll probably just leave the stock nut in.Birddog

It's rare to find low-cost gear that meets high-level expectations, but this guitar has thus far done just that. I purchased this thinking I would almost certainly have to put a fair amount of work and parts into it just to make it playable; off the bat, I assumed the pots and wiring would have to be replaced, the bridge would likely be of poor quality, the setup would be unusable, and the tuners/nut would have problems. For the vast majority of these, the opposite has been true. The pots and electronics (switch, jack) are incredibly solid, quiet, and smooth. The bridge is solid, no rattles, and intonates very close to perfect. The setup out of the box was dead on; shocking, for a guitar made overseas and at this price range. The one area where the jury is still out is the tuners and nut. There are a few occasional tuning stability issues, especially on the higher strings. This is likely due to a bad nut, so I've ordered a Tusq replacement to see if that helps. The tuners also seem to have a little more throw than I'm used to, and aren't as precise as I'd like. That said, they're still fine and I'm not going to hesitate to gig with this guitar. The look of the guitar in person is, in my opinion, nicer than what you see here. I think it's a beautiful guitar, if not a little plain. The neck is a glossy yellow, which some folks might not like, but I don't care what it looks like. The profile is a bit chunkier than the previous Telecasters I've owned; most comparable to the Baja series, though a bit smaller than their V-shaped cuts. Just a solid feeling neck. Lastly, the sound. This is where this guitar shines. These are some of the best vintage-sounding P90's I've used, and I've played more than I care to remember, many from expensive boutique winders that we're all familiar with. This is not a guitar for clean, crystal clear tones. It's overdriving my amps right away, in a very good way. All in all, a great axe at a surprisingly low cost. G&L did right.Good Eye, Brian

The G&L Tribute ASAT Deluxe Carved Top in Trans Black is brilliant, in looks and how it plays and sounds, with the brilliant single / double coil switching adding to the sound(s). One point I'll make is that this guitar is not just plain black, but as the wood grain shows; which I think makes look better; more distinct.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

When I opened the guitar and took it out the neck felt like a rough baseball bat. I thought, if I were at a store I'd likely not even play it. Keep in mind, I have mostly high end guitars so I am picky.The neck was very rough, the frets were not polished so the strings felt rough sliding on them when you bend them. The back of the neck was not "satin" or stained, it just felt like a piece of wood. The rosewood doesn't appear to be oiled, it looks really dry but I decided to take it home and try it out before just sending it back. The Ash body looked very good though, the workmanship was superb, and the hardware does appear better than even my American Tele, it was just the neck I was concerned about. I compared it to my 2012 American Tele, alder body, maple neck and they had quite a different sound so because of that, it helped me want to keep it more. The bridge output on the this guitar was a bit louder and had more of a twang than my Fender. In my opinion it was my reason for keeping this guitar The neck pickup on my tele is a single coil so really no comparison there, this guitar has a much darker and fuller sound. As others mentioned it maybe is a little too dark and warm, it's almost like they purposely built a low pass filter to make it that warm. You can still hear the individual strings as you play, so it's very articulate but I also own a few Gibsons and other humbucker guitars and they do not sound like them, although it is a very nice mellow and different tone. Now for the good part, after playing it for about 2 days the frets have polished themselves from my playing and the neck is starting to pick up the oils from my hand so they feel more polished. The strings now bend easily without feeling like fingernails on a chalkboard. Plugged into a solid state amp, this is very comparable and probably even better sounding than my American tele. In a tube amp though, the fender at least to my ears sounds better. This guitar PUPs also has less noise.zzzrain

I was hoping for exactly what this guitar delivered sound wise, feel wise, and together with the looks for feeling good about taking the chance on it, this and the Epiphone Broadway have given me the best experience out of the box and down the road, for inexpensive Guitars that allow me to try many different builds and styles of guitars with out going broke. The GB10 Ibanez (econo-concious model) closer to a grand included was also very nice) I would buy this guitar again, and am exceptionally happy with my purchase. I agree with all the great detailed reviews that point out the solid quality, design, and execution of this instrument. I got the clear orange/ with (finished) all maple neck and absolutely love it. I don't think this Guitar is a classic tele in any sense of course, and I wish it and all modern teles (& asats) had a p/u blending/balancing feature. But for a humbucker sound, this guitar feels and sounds like Leo took a second look at his first try at the country tele, and made it new again, his way for blues and rock (even Jazz!) Just my take on it.Some guy

This is a great sounding easy to play instrument that I am already comfortable playing after just two days. My first Tele-type is everything I wanted it to be. I wanted an easy to strum electric semi-hollow to add to my collection of mostly acoustics (Martins, Gibson, Takamine and Fender) and one solid Fender custom shop electric. I mostly play acoustic and I feel my touch is too heavy to sound good just strumming my strat. And unlike my custom shop American fat strat I wanted the humbucker in the neck position instead of the bridge. This new G&L ticks all the boxes and sounds great either strumming or picking notes and intro riffs. I'm not a shredder – just looking to accompany vocals. Very, very satisfied with the bluesboy. Love it, love it, love it. And not at all disappointed it comes from overseas even though I have been a brand snob most of my life. Long story short the bluesboy tribute compares well with all my much more expensive guitars. I will not hesitate to purchase another imported G&L in the future. This new axe sounds very nice through my old-school Fender Twin as one might expect but I think it sounds even better through my Mesa Express 5:25 that I played it through literally all day today.Intro

I love this ASAT Special. Mahogany body, mape neck with rosewood fingerboard. Picture a Tele that sounds giant and is much more versatile. It's not the US model, but the feel is comfortable and the electronics and hardware are much better than similarly priced guitars. I can actually get a useable range of tones with the controls. They don't have to be wide open to sound good. The only thing that irked me was the pick guard cut around the control plate looks like a kindergartener did it. This wasn't listed as B Stock, so I'm not sure how it passed QA. I'm playing it, not staring at it, so I won't send it back, but I expected a new guitar to look 100%. Would rate looks excellent if not for that.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I love this ASAT Special. Mahogany body, mape neck with rosewood fingerboard. Picture a Tele that sounds giant and is much more versatile. It's not the US model, but the feel is comfortable and the electronics and hardware are much better than similarly priced guitars. I can actually get a useable range of tones with the controls. They don't have to be wide open to sound good. The only thing that irked me was the pick guard cut around the control plate looks like a kindergartener did it. This wasn't listed as B Stock, so I'm not sure how it passed QA. I'm playing it, not staring at it, so I won't send it back, but I expected a new guitar to look 100%. Would rate looks excellent if not for that.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I love this ASAT Special. Mahogany body, mape neck with rosewood fingerboard. Picture a Tele that sounds giant and is much more versatile. It's not the US model, but the feel is comfortable and the electronics and hardware are much better than similarly priced guitars. I can actually get a useable range of tones with the controls. They don't have to be wide open to sound good. The only thing that irked me was the pick guard cut around the control plate looks like a kindergartener did it. This wasn't listed as B Stock, so I'm not sure how it passed QA. I'm playing it, not staring at it, so I won't send it back, but I expected a new guitar to look 100%. Would rate looks excellent if not for that.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I love this ASAT Special. Mahogany body, mape neck with rosewood fingerboard. Picture a Tele that sounds giant and is much more versatile. It's not the US model, but the feel is comfortable and the electronics and hardware are much better than similarly priced guitars. I can actually get a useable range of tones with the controls. They don't have to be wide open to sound good. The only thing that irked me was the pick guard cut around the control plate looks like a kindergartener did it. This wasn't listed as B Stock, so I'm not sure how it passed QA. I'm playing it, not staring at it, so I won't send it back, but I expected a new guitar to look 100%. Would rate looks excellent if not for that.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I love this ASAT Special. Mahogany body, mape neck with rosewood fingerboard. Picture a Tele that sounds giant and is much more versatile. It's not the US model, but the feel is comfortable and the electronics and hardware are much better than similarly priced guitars. I can actually get a useable range of tones with the controls. They don't have to be wide open to sound good. The only thing that irked me was the pick guard cut around the control plate looks like a kindergartener did it. This wasn't listed as B Stock, so I'm not sure how it passed QA. I'm playing it, not staring at it, so I won't send it back, but I expected a new guitar to look 100%. Would rate looks excellent if not for that.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I picked up the Irish Ale model on the stupid deal of the day last Thanksgiving. After getting it and seeing the quality, I'd have gladly twice as much. It's just beautiful, solid, and plays very nice. The neck humbucker is warm and rich. The bridge HB screams on leads when overdriven. When you tap them for single coil, you can get good crisp sparkly tones too, though the volume drop naturally is noticeable. I just have a pedal boost setting for playing it in single coil mode that brings the volume up to the HB level. The guitar intonated exceptionally well right out of the box and playability is top notch. It has the best bridge design I have ever seen or played on a solid bridge guitar. They hit a home-run on that. It's a great upgrade platform too, since the body, neck and bridge are made so well. I'd put the stock Gagon designed pickups right on par with Gibson OEM humbuckers, but they are not as good as Lollar's or Fralin's. The tuning machine heads are very usable, but an upgrade to Schallers, Grovers, or Gotohs makes sense if you play a lot. It does not have a bone nut, but the tone and intonation on mine is so good, I'll probably just leave the stock nut in.Birddog

It's rare to find low-cost gear that meets high-level expectations, but this guitar has thus far done just that. I purchased this thinking I would almost certainly have to put a fair amount of work and parts into it just to make it playable; off the bat, I assumed the pots and wiring would have to be replaced, the bridge would likely be of poor quality, the setup would be unusable, and the tuners/nut would have problems. For the vast majority of these, the opposite has been true. The pots and electronics (switch, jack) are incredibly solid, quiet, and smooth. The bridge is solid, no rattles, and intonates very close to perfect. The setup out of the box was dead on; shocking, for a guitar made overseas and at this price range. The one area where the jury is still out is the tuners and nut. There are a few occasional tuning stability issues, especially on the higher strings. This is likely due to a bad nut, so I've ordered a Tusq replacement to see if that helps. The tuners also seem to have a little more throw than I'm used to, and aren't as precise as I'd like. That said, they're still fine and I'm not going to hesitate to gig with this guitar. The look of the guitar in person is, in my opinion, nicer than what you see here. I think it's a beautiful guitar, if not a little plain. The neck is a glossy yellow, which some folks might not like, but I don't care what it looks like. The profile is a bit chunkier than the previous Telecasters I've owned; most comparable to the Baja series, though a bit smaller than their V-shaped cuts. Just a solid feeling neck. Lastly, the sound. This is where this guitar shines. These are some of the best vintage-sounding P90's I've used, and I've played more than I care to remember, many from expensive boutique winders that we're all familiar with. This is not a guitar for clean, crystal clear tones. It's overdriving my amps right away, in a very good way. All in all, a great axe at a surprisingly low cost. G&L did right.Good Eye, Brian

The G&L Tribute ASAT Deluxe Carved Top in Trans Black is brilliant, in looks and how it plays and sounds, with the brilliant single / double coil switching adding to the sound(s). One point I'll make is that this guitar is not just plain black, but as the wood grain shows; which I think makes look better; more distinct.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Got the tobacco finish and it looks great. Great hardware, I really like both pickups – good 'honk' from the bridge, and very warm tones from the neck. I love the middle position – nasal clean – also. This guitar is all about "clean" sounds, it just doesn't do distortion well. Clean rock, country, surf, R&B, Chicago blues, Stones – sounds top notch, especially for the finger-picker. I had to set it up to a bit – mild neck adjustment, lowered the strings and intonated. Very easy set up. The hardward is very nice. The tuners are solid, and I love the "ash tray" string-through bridge. It is hard to see from the pic, but it is the same "side walled" bridge used on the US ASAT. And again, I really like the pickups for clean playing – including chick'n pick'n. My only complaint is the metal plate has a scratch below the tone knob. However, everything else looks so good – the swamp ash with the tobacco finish looks outstanding – I simply was not willing to send it back. Also, the pick guard is sort of boring so I may replace it some day. I might also upgrade the P/U switch because I see the US version uses a better switch. I bought it when they were running a special on purchases four ninetynine or more, so I feel I got a very good deal on a very nice guitar. I give it four stars because of the scratch and the slightly lower-grade pick guard and PU switch. Also, it doesn't come with a case or even a gig bag. Bottom line: If you want a nice Tele but don't want to spend a grand+, go for it.Mr. Highpants

A lot of times I do not know how seriously to take some reviews because players are at different levels of expertise, commitment, musical challenges, talent and experience. A newbie may think that a certain low-end guitar is amazing whereas the experienced pro will be more critical. That being said, I am not a newbie. I have been playing, practicing, recording, teaching, etc for over 40 years and have owned all of the big name guitars. I play jazz, old blues, (Fats Waller, Gershwin, St Louis & Delta types), and classical music, all on my electrics. I have recently purchased the G&L Tribute ASAT Classic T-style, Candy Red and have added it to my collection. I had been thinking Am Std Tele and friends of mine who are pure Tele players recommended the G&L ASAT. Here is my take on this instrument. 1. Construction — as good as my Am Std Strat, my other Tele and Les Paul. 2. Electronics — Excellent. The electronics "feel" solid. The pots, cable jack and pups are above average in stability and definition of tone. 3. Tone — The tonal qualities are as good as any of my American Fenders and not only better than my LP, but more tonal variation. 3. Playability — Exceeded all of my expectations. Plays as well as all of my expensive, ( >USD 1000.00) guitars. 4. Looks — I bought it because it is red, I like red. 5. Upon arrival — Some people expect their guitars to arrive after 3-4 days brutal freight, temperature changes on wood and strings that are not broken in and play like it just came back from the luthier. This is very unrealistic. These are instruments mad from natural product, not telephones. I take all of my new guitars straight to my luthier for a complete going over and assessment. I have never heard of a guitar arriving in perfect condition. Therefore, I can say that this instrument arrived on time and in as good of condition as all other guitars that I have ordered over the Internet or purchased off the rack.GM

I just took delivery of one of these, in Butterscotch, and I have to say I love it! I consider any tele to be a niche guitar and this is no exception. It is built and set up to produce a specific sound. Still, the tone knob does in fact produce a range of alternative sound (darker, naturally)which is more than I can say of some of my other guitars. More importantly, the pickups are absolutely fantastic, at least when played through my Blues Jr. III. I was worried, some say the factory pups are too hot for a tele, that the guitar as equipped is soul less. Not to me me, these things ring out more clearly, with more punch than anything else I own. They respond well to attack, and do so consistently across the range. We'll have to see how they break in but at this point they are great, better than my Texas Specials and my ProBuckers. In addition, like the tone knob, the pup selector switch produces a nice array of very nicely balanced sound. Not startling, not unrelated but a nice progression. As for fit and finish, this Indonesian guitar shows well. That said, it is, to me, a small step down from my MIM Strat and my Korean guitars. In fact, it is that same small step down from my Indonesian Epi Les Paul Standard Pro. Small things, e.g., an itty bitty tiny tiny bit of exposed neck glue and the not perfectly glossed bottom edge grain of the maple fret board, the plastic knob on the pup selector. Small things that no one but one of us will ever notice. Of course, this cost a couple of hundred less than the Epi. Mine came out of the box set up and ready to play. YMMV. The Butterscotch photographs a bit brighter and more consistent than it really is, at least mine is a bit more 'natural' than I expected. In addition, the grain shows a soft maple painted looking 'gray' instead of a more traditional reddish brown stained grain. I do a lot of woodworking and know maple quite well. This guitar carries an excellent treatment of a classic maple look, but you have to like maple and the grays they can produce, and like it buried under a mile of soft gloss. I like, again, YMMV. Hope this helps.myatuck

This guitar is beutiful visually, confortable in hand, crafted beyond the price tag and above all sounds amasing. Surpassed my expectations in all fields. Definitely a keeper.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.