Anderson Pickups

[6string40]

Talk to me about Anderson pups...

I play mostly 80's style rock/metal, but also play some heavier stuff. I've tried numerous Duncans and damn near every Dimarzio made, but I've never been 100% satisfied. I'm working on trying a set of BKP Cold Sweats and a set of Suhr Aldrich pups, but I've seen several of you guys that love the Andersons. What series/models should I be looking at?

 

[LP Freak]

Not sure about the Anderson's but I love the Aldrich.

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

H2+ for 80's

H3 for a little heavier


H2+ is by far my favorite pickup.


i get them from Mesa Boogie Holywood!

 

[bigdaddyd]

http://www.andersonguitars.com/customcontent/pickups_0609.pdf

I have always dug the sound of them. I had them on my andersons, and have one on a custom Flame. I can't remember if it is an H3 or H2+ though

 

[tituba]

h3 rules.

 

[JTyson]

I like the H3+ better than the Aldrich. At first I liked the Aldrich better, but having lived with both for awhile, I'm going back to the H3+
I like the bottom attack of the H3+ better, its a little tighter for rhythm work, and is slightly more open sounding.
The Aldrich is a killer pup though. It really depends on the amp your running them through The Aldrich seems to be a bit more balanced than the H3+

 

[reilly]

My anderson has a H2+ in it and it sounds pretty killer, i just bought an H3+ but have not received it yet ( i have heard great things about them) I am use to a pretty hot pickups so i thought i would try the H3+

 

[Code001]

To me, the H3 is a tight and cutting pickup without being overly harsh. It has some nice saturation going on without it being too muddy. The H1 reminds me of a medium output neck pickup with almost P90-esque overtones to it. At first, I wasn't a huge fan of the H1, but since I've been adjusting my pickup height settings, I'm thinking about keeping it.

 

[blackba]

I think the H2+ is what you are looking for.

With my strat I first had a regular spaced JB in zebra color that I was happy with, but wanted a white trem spaced one. So I bought a new white tremspaced JB and it sounded washed out, thin and nasally compared to the regular spaced zebra JB (which I sold quickly after pulling it out ). I then tried an anderson H3 and it was a bit too hot and aggressive for me. So I went with an H2+ and have been very happy. Its more balanced than the JB and cleared, just not as sweet as the original JB was. The H2+ splits well too.

I have a Suhr Aldrich bridge pickup in each of my Les Pauls, its a great pickup too. It splits really well too. Its hard for me to compare the Aldrich in the LP and the H2+ or H3 in the strat as the 2 guitars are so different.

What guitar are you planning to put these Anderson pickups in?

 

[Mr. Willy]

I've got/had an H1, H2+, HN3, and HN3+

I have the H1/H2+ in my PRS now and I absolutely love them. The H1 in the neck does have it's own thing going on, but I like it a lot. The only other neck pickup I might like more is the Dimarzio Air Norton.

The HN3 is like a JB on steroids, but much, much clearer and not as muddy. I liked the JB for leads, but fast, thrashy style rhythm it always muddied up. This was never a problem with the HN3. Most Andersons are dark and hi-fi sounding, but the HN3 is different. It's got a lot of bite and upper mids.

The HN3+ is hotter than the HN3, but it doesn't seem that way when plugged in. I like it for modern metal and heavy rock. It's very focused in the lower mids and sounds huge.

The H2+ is my favorite out of the bunch. It's even across the tonal spectrum and is the perfect output for my tastes. The lows and highs are there, the mid is focused but not spiked. Love, love, love it.

 

[fuzzyguitars]

agreed

h2+ is my favorite all arounder

but for more oomph h3 and h3+ working pretty good for me.

 

[6string40]

What guitar are you planning to put these Anderson pickups in?

I'll be trying out the Aldrich and the Anderson pups in the Carvin CT4. I absolutely love the feel and playability of that guitar. More than likely, I'll get another CT4 and let the Jackson go, as versatile as it is.

Sounds like the H2+ may be the way to go.

 

[nighttrain69]

how about the single coils, which ones do what well

 

[supersonic]

Another H2+ vote. I've tried H2 and H3 also. The H3 gets a little dark and not enough sizzle for me.

 

[rupe]

H2+ is my all time favorite humbucker. Tight lows, crisp highs, and nice, even midrange make for a very big sound under higher gain applications. Although it has a relatively high output (on par with a JB or Custom), its less rude/raunchy and more sweet/smooth sounding. Very dynamic as well...cleans up nicely.

The H3 is a bit hotter and loses some of the sweetness although its still a great sounding pickup.