MFD Pups

Hi, what is the difference tonally between pups in an ASAT Classic versus an ASAT Special? Thanks

Hi, what is the difference tonally between pups in an ASAT Classic versus an ASAT Special? Thanks

See this post: List of pickups used in G&L guitars

Also, see these demo videos:

Live! At Leo’s: Full Demo with Griff Hamlin of BluesGuitarUnleashed.com. In this video, Griff showcases the magic of Leo Fender’s ASAT Classic, a guitar with a more traditional look and feel than his revolutionary ASAT Special, yet with versatility and playability unmatched by early single cutaway bolt-on guitars. The Live! At Leo’s studio is located at Leo Fender’s historic G&L factory on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California – The Birthplace Of Bolt-on™.

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Live! At Leo’s: Full Demo with Griff Hamlin of BluesGuitarUnleashed.com. In this video, Griff showcases the magic of Leo Fender’s ASAT Special, including the versatility of the jumbo MFD pickups, the design of the Saddle Lock bridge and more. The Live! At Leo’s studio is located at Leo Fender’s historic G&L factory on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California – The Birthplace Of Bolt-on™.

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Live! At Leo’s: watch Griff Hamlin of BluesGuitarUnleashed.com throws down some tasty riffs on a G&L ASAT Special in Belair Green. The Live! At Leo’s studio is located at Leo Fender’s historic G&L factory on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California – The Birthplace Of Bolt-on™.

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Hope this helps.

asat specials are VERY hot. they're some of the hottest single coils I've heard. they're like p90s but even throatier and hotter.

I love them but they are nothing like a tele. way closer to a jazzmaster on steroids

The full size MFDs might be my favorite pickup of all. That if you could only have one what one would I choose.

My ears hear a sweetness and a clarity to them lacking in most P90s which seem more raw and throaty but they also have that same kind of output a P90 has or more and can can downright nasty as well when pushed into an OD pedal or a dirty amp. They just remain clearer to me is all with more top end "sparkle" with a very full low end and excellent note separation. Maybe one of Leo's all time best designs.

Neutralomen hears a jazzmaster on steroids while I think more about possibly a cross between a single coil and a mini-humbucker or a very clean P90s. I just feel they're a very unique one of a kind sounding pickup that like P90s can also be very versatile and the guitar itself is a thrill to play.

I have never played the single coil size MFDs so I can't offer a first hand opinion on them.

I’ve played single-sized MFDs, F100 humbucking MFDs, ASAT classic MFDs - have not had a chance to try an ASAT Special though.

Is anyone able to describe how close/far the ASAT Special pickups are to an F100 pickup (full or split?) I know my SC3 pickups don’t sound too close to a split F100 , so wondering if they may be closer to the Special pickups.

I did a quick comparison, but didn't have time to record any clips. I thought my LE-2 with reissue F-100 MFD in the bridge split sound closest to the ASAT classic. I was surprised by the results. In order of brightest to darkest it went:

SC-3 Brightest
ASAT Special between the SC-3 and ASAT Classic
ASAT Classic
F-100 Split

In my test I had the volume full and tone wide open. the ASAT classic and F-100 were quite a bit darker, less highs than the SC-2 or Special. I thought for sure the classic would be near the top in brightness...

Cheers, Dan

Last edited by WitSok on Wed Nov 27, 2019 4:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

One more question regarding the Special pups: I was recently trying out an old Special back when they were just called ASATs. It seemed particularly noisy. I've almost exclusively played single coils over the last thirty some years so I'm used to a little hum. Are these pups especially noisy, possibly because they're particularly hot?

I don't find them particularly noisy. Since they are hot, I tend to run with my volume about 70%. At this setting I find them quite quiet with output comparable with standard F brand single coils at 100%. I think is a matter to learning to use them differently.

Cheers, Dan

I guess I would add out of the MFDs, I find the ASAT Classic bridge to be noisiest of the lot. Mine has gotten a bit microphonic as well. It is not squealing or feedback, but can hear the pu selector click when I select the bridge, or tapping on the body or bridge plate when bridge PU is active. Through me off when it first happened. But I've learned to live with it, may have it replaced or repotted someday. Z coils and F-100 are hum cancelling.

Hi, what is the difference tonally between pups in an ASAT Classic versus an ASAT Special? Thanks

IMO, the difference is less than you might think. The ASAT Classic has MDF pickups from a design perspective, but engineered to fit into the stock tele form factor.

Jumbo MFD: wider frequency response, more open and "hi-fi"
Tele-sized MFD: a little narrower frequency response, slightly more nasal midrange

Both MFD sets have a bit more output and more highs and lows than a typical tele set. Both MFD sets have great sounding neck pickups that do not sound like a stock tele neck pickup. As already mentioned, the bridge PU on a Classic can be microphonic in high volume situations. I think this is a known issue that is caused by the way the pickup is mounted, not the pickup itself.

I did a quick comparison, but didn't have time to record any clips. I thought my LE-2 with reissue F-100 MFD in the bridge split sound closest to the ASAT classic. I was surprised by the results. In order of brighted to darkest it went:

SC-3 Brightest
ASAT Special between the SC-3 and ASAT Classic
ASAT Classic
F-100 Split

In my test I had the volume full and tone wide open. the ASAT classic and F-100 were quite a bit darker, less highs than the SC-2 or Special. I thought for sure the classic would be near the top in brightness...

Cheers, Dan

You ordered the pickups the exact same way I would have - minus the Special I haven't yet played Good to know how it falls on the G&L spectrum. F100 pickups are incredibly heavy, and SC3s push treble like no other.

Read this thread and decided to play my SC-2, Bluesboy (bridge pickup only) and Doheny consecutively to get a sense for the different MFDs relative to one another. All three guitars have the same strings and I kept the settings on my amp the same for all three - overdriven tweed. I was struck by how clean the jumbo MFDs are on the SC-2. Output was easily the lowest of the group. Also the least amount of bass - bridge pickup had next to none (not judging good or bad). The Doheny was the most tonally balanced, much more output than the jumbo MFDs and much more bass. The Bluesboy bridge pickup surprised me. It was much hotter than the jumbo. Close to the doheny, but the tone was much more pronounced in the upper midrange. Not a ton of bass, but the added output makes it sound fuller than the jumbos. Overall fun experiment.

I am a big fan of the jumbo MFD's. I was all about my SC-2 RI when I got it. Then I bought my 80's Asat. The bridge in the SC-2 is definitely too hot.

The large MFDs in my ASAT are hotter, brighter and cleaner than any pickup I've had in any of my guitars. Glorious clean tones with emphasis on the higher frequencies unlike a P90 which is much darker and mid-heavy. I get a little more bass with the smaller MFDs in my S-500 but the tone is similar, just not quite as hot. I prefer the larger MFDs but haven't had the opportunity to play an ASAT Classic to compare with my Special.