G&L ASAT Classic Solamente Electric Guitars – 3 Tone Sunburst Overview:

Shown in 3-Tone Sunburst over alder, 3-ply mint pickguard, rosewood fingerboard, Vintage Tint Gloss neck finish.

ASAT Classic Solamente is a single pickup version of Leo’s ASAT Classic. So why a single pickup? With only a single bridge pickup there is less magnetic pull against the strings, enhancing the instrument’s percussive attack and sustain. For decades, G&L VP of Engineering Paul Gagon had appreciated the tonal quality of vintage Esquire guitars, but not the function of the 3rd position on the selector switch. For the G&L ASAT Classic Solamente, he had other ideas. According to Gagon:

“The easiest way to explore the sonic possibilities of a pickup is to change its resonant frequency, and the most effective way to do that is to place a capacitor in parallel with the pickup coil. A standard range that I have used since the early ’80s is anywhere from .001 microfarads to .0082 microfarads. The larger the capacitance value applied across the coil, the lower the frequency at which the pickup resonates. As a young engineer, I began applying this principle in ever more complex ways, in late ’70s with my first patent for the Tone Boost Expansion (TBX) circuit when I worked in Fender R&D, then later with a system to allow up to eight different resonant peaks with the JE-1000 Peak Select system I designed at Jackson/Charvel in the mid-’80s.

“The G&L ASAT Classic Solamente called for a simple, passive system to keep it organic. We just wanted that 3rd position on the selector switch to be a very cool, usable tone, so we went with a single-stage resonant-peak shift. I’ve modified old Esquires that way for thirty-something years, so I knew exactly where I wanted to start. The difference is that for the Solamente, I could specify both the pickup winds and the cap value as pair. After experimenting with different combinations of capacitor values and pickup winds, ultimately we selected a cap value of .0033 microfarad. This loads up the pickup enough for that nice, slightly “e;wah-on” effect, but gives the player a fair amount of leeway before getting into trouble from additional loading capacitance caused by cords throwing the pickup’s resonant peak out of the zone where it sounds good. The combination of this cap value and the custom-spec bridge pickup produces a sweet, throaty midrange voice that is sure to delight Leo fans everywhere.”

ASAT Classic Solamente is available with either a G&L Magnetic Field Design or Alnico pickup.”

Features and Specifications:

• Construction: bolt-on
• Scale: 25 1/2″
• Pickups: Leo Fender† designed and Paul Gagon specified G&L Alnico or MFD single coils
• Body Wood: Swamp Ash on Premier Finishes, Alder on Standard Finishes
• Neck Wood: Hard-Rock Maple with Maple or Caribbean Rosewood fingerboard
• Neck Profile: G&L Modern Classic with 9 1/2″ radius
• Nut: 100% natural bone
• Frets: 22 medium jumbo, Jescar 57110 18% nickel silver
• Tunning Keys: 12:1 ratio, sealed-back
• Bridge: traditional boxed-steel bridge with individual brass saddles
• Controls: 3-position selector (tone pot inclusive, tone pot bypassed, tone pot bypassed with .0033 microfarad cap to shift resonant peak of pickup) volume, tone tone
• Case: deluxe Tolex hardshell