In 1991, Dale Hyatt came up with the
idea of a guitar to honor Leo Fender: the Commemorative model.
According to Mr. Hyatt, the reason for using the ASAT Classic as the
basis was because this was the last model Leo actually devised prior to
his passing as well as the obvious linkage to the Telecaster. Like the
Signature Series, the Commemorative model has a decal of Leo Fender’s signature on the
upper bout, but underneath the signature are the dates
1909-1991 and a white
rose with black stem. The original design specified a natural finish
lacewood/mahogany/lacewood body, but only seven were made as the body’s
“sandwich” design proved
to be too expensive for the proposed production run of 1000 guitars. A
cherry
sunburst swamp ash body was chosen instead. The body is bound front and
back, and the fingerboard is also bound. Gold hardware and
even gold-plated
strings are fitted.
The
Commem’s neck plate is engraved with “XX of 1000,” but the 1000 limit
was never realized due to the lawsuit by FMIC. A letter from
G&L dated February 11, 1993 explained that the settlement
reduced the production run from 1000 to 500
units. However, the new owners of G&L also had plans to build a
Commemorative Bass and the only way they could accomplish this was by
earmarking some of the 500 units as basses and some as guitars. In the
end, 150 Commemorative Basses and 350 Commemorative guitars were
officially made by the end production in May 1993.
G&L
COMMEMORATIVE (May 1993)
Body:
Solid; 2-piece ash
Finish:
Cherry Sunburst, bound top and back, polyurethane
Neck:
2-piece birdseye maple, bound, bolt-on
Fingerboard:
Birdseye maple, bound; pearloid dot markers
Number
of Frets: 22
Pickguard:
One ply mirror gold, plastic
Bridge:
G&L ASAT Classic, steel, gold
Nut:
Plastic
Tuners: Schaller
M6, gold
Pickups:
Two, G&L Magnetic Field Design single coil with adjustable pole
pieces
Controls:
Master volume, master tone, 3-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 5/8 inches
Weight:
7.2 lb
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