FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The ASAT S-3 was introduced in late 1998 and answered the question: "What would an ASAT sound like with a middle pickup?" One has to wonder why Leo Fender didn't think of this idea for the SC-3. Afterall, the SC-1 and SC-2 used one and two, large "soapbar" MFD pickups, respectively, so why not three of them on the SC-3? And when the ASAT debuted in 1986, there wasn't a 3-pickup version to follow it. Under the auspices of BBE, G&L certainly gave it some thought as factory-stock, 3-pickup ASATs from the mid-1990s surface from time-to-time. The 3-pickup ASAT had some players complaining about the middle pickup interfering with picking and or strumming. Perhaps that's why Leo never used three "soapbar" MFDs on a guitar... they're just too big and the middle one gets in the way. Perhaps that's why it was discontinued in 2001. Regardless, the S-3 sounds very good.  The middle pickup is crisp and the in-between "quack" tones are very rich. The example shown here is a NAMM Show guitar and has a "bound" top and contoured back. The faux wood binding is created by simply masking off the edge of the body so it is not sprayed with pigmented finish which allows the natural body wood to contrast with the color of the body finish. The overall effect gives the allusion that the top is bound with real wood binding. The back of the body has a belly contour as commonly found on the Legacy and S-500.

 Body: Solid; 2-piece ash, "bound" top, contoured back

 Finish: Blueburst, polyurethane

 Neck: 2-piece maple, bolt-on

 Fingerboard: Maple; black pearloid dot markers

 Number of Frets: 22

 Pickguard: White/black/pearloid plastic laminate

 Bridge: G&L Saddle-Lock, chrome

 Nut: Micarta

 Tuners: Schaller M6 Locking, chrome

 Pickups: Three, G&L Magnetic Field Design single coil with adjustable pole pieces

 Controls: Master volume, master tone, 5-way pickup selector switch

 Scale Length: 25 1/2 inches

 Neck Width at Nut: 1 5/8 inches

 Body Width at Lower Bout: 12 5/8 inches

 Body Depth: 1 3/4 inches

 Weight: n/a