G&L ASAT Bass

[MrNylon]

I played a G&L ASAT Bass at a Sam Ash this afternoon. A nice bass, but I didn't care for it. Or at least I did't care for the way this one was set up. Has anyone else tried the G&L ASAT? I definitely like the SG Std. better.

[Golem]

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Sold mine with no regrets ... cuz I also have

an L2000. An ASAT is an image thing. It's

an L2000 with an LP-like, aka Tele, body.

 

It's just a way to destroy the hang balance of

the L2000, which has good balance but no

margin for error ... IOW remove the top horn

from an L2000 and it WILL dive.

 

It's not simply my not-so-humble-opinion that

the ASAT is all about projecting an image.

ASAT actually means "almost same as tele".

 

I have an SG. Both basses deliver a similar

voice. Both have dual humbuggers, but not

much else in common. The SG is easier to

heft, but the L2000 has the "Real Leo Bass"

thing going on, and is a bit more versatile

in tone than the SG.

 

 

 

 

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[MrNylon]

I just didn't like the overall feel of the ASAT. The SB-2 I had felt and sounded better to me than that. There was a SG Std. there to compare with. SG Std. fits me just fine.

[Golem]

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I just didn't like the overall feel of the ASAT.

The SB-2 I had felt and sounded better to me than

that. There was a SG Std. there to compare with.

SG Std. fits me just fine.

 

Yup. Bad feel is an ASAT feature.

 

Not just bad balance, but no forearm

contour, a hard edged body, etc etc.

 

It's about image. OTOH an SB2 is a

"real" Leo Bass body, like an L2000,

so natcherleee it's comfy.

 

Nuther weirdness: GnLs hang in shops

with whichever neck the dealer specs

when he orders. Many prospective new

GnL owners don't realize that. It's just

too easy to think that like a StingRay,

Sterling, P- or J-bass, that the neck a

model has when you first encounter it

is the same neck it will always have

when you see one in some other shop.

 

Sooooprize ! Most GnLs offer a choice

between what's bassically a P-neck or

a J-neck, at the time of ordering.

 

 

 

 

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[MrNylon]

The SB-2 I had was the #6 neck. J bass neck with the 7.5" radius neck. Maple fretboard, Tobacco Sunburst, and white pickguard. I just got tired of working harder to reach on the 34" scale.

[Gaolee]

I'm probably a freak, but that's no surprise. I prefer a chunky neck, and the only Fender style bass I ever really, really liked was an old P-bass with a neck like an aircraft carrier. It wasn't a flattened out modern neck, either. It was good and deep, which makes a neck perfect, in my opinion. Too bad nobody makes necks like this much these days. The worst feeling neck I ever touched was a Carvin bass. It felt like road kill.

[MrNylon]

I know what you mean about the old style P Bass necks. Never tried a Carvin bass.

[Golem]

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I know what you mean about the old style P Bass necks.

Never tried a Carvin bass.

I've handled a coupla sooper friendly vintage P-necks,

just briefly, just long enuf to know what joy they can be.

They're nicer than my 2008 USA P-Dlx neck .... but not

enuf to rock my world. The late model USA P-neck is

extremely satifying in the same ways a vintage P-neck

is ultra satifying. It's a matter of degree, and I'm not all

that blowed away by the "vintage difference". Fender is

aware of what's expected of a USA P, and they deliver.

 

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I'll stick with my 2008. I could have a vintage P-bass

instead, for a few hundred more, since it's all about the

neck. IOW, since I wouldn't be bugged about a refin or

replaced tuner or all those other stoopidast collector's

concerns, I could have a sweet necked vintage P-bass

for $1500 instead of several thousand. But I'd miss my

18v EQ, the bridge humbugger, the cool hipshot tuners,

graphite neck inserts, etc etc.

 

I can add some of that stuff to an already non-collector

[aka "defiled"] vintage P, but the difference between a

2008 and an ancient neck is just not that striking. I can

feel it, but it isn't a big enuf difference. If someone were

heavily into vintage passive single-PU P-tone, then the

$1500 oldie definitely makes sense. But somewhere in

between a way-too-modern bass [like a Carvin] and a

collector-approved 'pure' vintage P-bass, right in there

lives my 2008 ..... and me, happily ever after.

 

 

 

 

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[Lungimsam]

I love flat necks. On my '62 reissue pbass neck I feel like my thumb is almost touching my fingertips when I play, the thing is so flat. I wish my other pbass was the same.

But I am looking forward to my new SG bass shortscale. Feels like I am wrestling a marlin when I play longscale.

Looking forward to some relief.

[MrNylon]

For me, short scale is the same results, easier getting around. I don't care that it looks like a guitar length neck instead of a more traditional bass length neck.

[Gaolee]

Both scales are fine with me. It's the depth of the neck I like, and an acoustic bass has about the deepest neck you can ever hang onto. It's a bit too much for an electric bass guitar, but that's the direction I go.

[MrNylon]

You probably wouldn't like a 7.5" radius neck then.

[Golem]

`

 

 

I love flat necks. On my '62 reissue pbass neck I

feel like my thumb is almost touching my fingertips

when I play, the thing is so flat. I wish my other

pbass was the same.

`

I'll hafta get a feel of one of those !

My 2008 P-Dlx feels like a Warwick

except for the tighter radius on the

Fender neck.

 

I like the resonance of a clubby neck

but like the feel of a flat neck. I have a

Moses that feels like your description

of the '62 RI .... like my thumb and my

fingertips are about to touch. It's a

feeling of being very much in control

altho I'm not sure that it's really any

more than just a feeling, and illusion,

control-wise. It's not a Moses neck on

a Fender. It's a Moses bass, which is

a different profile than the necks they

make for replacement onto Fenders.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Gaolee]

You probably wouldn't like a 7.5" radius neck then.

It's not the top, it's the back. A baseball bat is better than a paint stir stick.

[Golem]

`

 

 

It's not the top, it's the back. A baseball

bat is better than a paint stir stick.

 

`

I find it's both, the back [profile] and the FB [radius].

 

Playing both the USA-P and Warwicks, the P is easier,

at least more comfy, to manuever on. Both have chunky

profiles, but the P has a noticeably smaller radius while

the Wicks have an almost planar FB.

 

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There's a difference between Fender's and Warwick's

versions of "chunky. The Fender profile is essentially

round/oval-round. The Wick is like a timber that was

rectangular to begin with but somehow was carved

down in the direction of round, yet still retains some

of that "4-sided" effect of the original squarish profile.

So the Fender is more like a bat, and the Warwick is

more like heavily rounded-over dimensioned lumber.

 

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For all my awareness that GnL offers a variety of neck

profiles, I don't even know which one I've got ! It's 30

years old, kinda heavy, has an ebony blank plank and

the OMFG switch. Thaz all I really need to know :-)

 

I've also got an L2500, but all GnL 5-string necks are

alike, so there's nothing to know or not know about it,

except that the body and headstock are done in wild

"Giant Flake Silver Sparkle" [like a drum shell finish]

thaz excellent for the holiday season ! Too bad I got

nothing lined up for this year's holidays :-(

 

 

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