I periodically visit the GC website for used G&Ls, and several great finds have come home. This ASAT III escaped my notice at first because the condition was rated "Fair." That, combined with the silver/grey pick guard, had me thinking it was a later, BBE ASAT III. Fast-forward many months to December/January or so, and I zoomed in on one of the not-great photos to decipher the Leo signature on the headstock. Aha!!!
I was briefly obsessed with this guitar. I have an ASAT III with a maple body and neck (from Greg G's collection) that is great. It definitely has S-500 pickups, rather than Skyhawk pickups. Given how much I adore the Skyhawk pickups [see "Skyhawks I have known and loved" https://www.guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/view ... hp?t=17763], I was always tempted by any ASAT IIIs on the market, especially when they had obvious, first-edition Skyhawk pickup covers. But I gradually talked myself out of it, because of lack of need for yet another guitar, another somewhat duplicate, and the condition... The five photos were of the front and the neck. I assumed the sides must be beaten.
But another month or two later, GC emailed me about price drops. Checking for this guitar, the price had dropped to where it was not a losing proposition. I decided it was worth gambling that it had Skyhawk pickups and that the condition was not so bad.
Out of the box, it sounded great, despite crappy GC strings. I immediately went commando on it: removing the neck, giving a thorough cleaning and polishing with Virtuoso products, installing my preferred Pyramid round-core strings (but in 9s, as spec'ed), and doing a set-up and intonation. The neck was unharmed except one minor impression, and the headstock is flawless. The fretboard is great, the frets are great. Yes, the sides looked in a couple spots as if it had been used for batting practice. The guitar couldn't have been played enough to wear off the white powdercoat from the pickguard. It doesn't show scrape lines, so it must have been (mostly) stripped, somehow. I wish it were white on the beautiful cherry sunburst. But I can't locate a replacement aluminum pickguard.
The prize is the tone—this guitar sounds so great, with plenty of sparkle and great quack on the 2 and 4 positions. The Leo-era setup (3/32 to 2/32" at the 22nd fret, and micro-tilt adjusted neck angle) makes it a breeze and a joy to play! It's quickly become one of my favorites, and a friend agrees. Also, it's made me appreciate my other ASAT III with S-500 pickups, which sounds good in a different way, with a meatier tone that overdrives well. I feel as if I pulled the lever on the machine and came up with three golden bars!!
(although this emoji is really the sick emoji)