Following on the heels of the ASAT Classic Alnico, the G&L crew in Fullerton turned their attention to bringing uncompromising alnico sonic flavor to the three-pickup ASAT Classic ˜S'. The single-coil Alnico V bridge pickup created by Leo Fender and spec'd by G&L's Paul Gagon belts out meaty twang that that'll stop you in your tracks. Flip to the Alnico V neck pickup and you'll discover Gagon's spec offers a fuller tone that leaves traditional, anemic T-style neck pickups in the dust.

What's more, the two pickups pair beautifully for an exceptionally sweet, jangly tone bursting with harmonics. But the ASAT Classic ˜S' Alnico goes even further, with a reverse-wound, reverse-polarity G&L CLF-100 Alnico V pickup (as used on the G&L Legacy) in the middle. The result is the sweet, evocative "quack" of a good S-style axe. And they've added what is becoming a staple of G&L three-pickup axes: a push/pull tone pot that gives you the classic neck/bridge combination as well as all three pickups together, for a unique sonic depth that G&L players love.

These alnico wonders aren't just another flavor-of-the-week, having been carefully refined by Gagon for personal guitars since the late 1970s. About 30 years ago, Gagon was an R&D engineer at another company when he was tasked with finding out what was so special about the early bolt-on guitars many players raved about. Gagon tirelessly analyzed many examples of what were considered "holy grail" guitars, spending time out on the shop floor talking to builders still working in the pickup department since the ˜50s, all on a quest to discover where the real mojo was - and wasn't. What he learned from the builders matched his own engineering analysis. Back in the day, the actual spec of pickups coming down the production line varied considerably. Moreover, that nagging imbalance between bridge and neck pickup was something he longed to improve on, and today, Gagon's preferred pairing of Alnico V pickups has arrived to delight the ears of discerning guitarists.

Like the G&L Legacy, the new ASAT Classic 'S' Alnico combines best-of Alnico tone with modern Leo touches for a brilliant blend of vintage and contemporary. If Alnico is your flavor, you owe it to yourself to experience what three decades of passionate development have achieved.

To commemorate the introduction of the new 'S', G&L has commissioned a special 50-instrument production of ASAT Classic ˜S' Alnico Launch Edition guitars. The Launch Edition features a sugar pine body coated in a gorgeous new Autumn Burst finish. The combination of sugar pine and alnico magnet pickups harks back to early prototype instruments created by Leo Fender. This Launch Edition ˜S' is a thoughtful blending of the best of old-school Leo with 21st century G&L quality and playability, including Plek fret processing.