Played a Tom Anderson Guitar Today...

[Code001]

what neck wood is the red one? that guitar looks fucking great

Maple that's been vulcanized. Anderson calls it "chocolate maple."

 

[glpg80]

thats cool, will have to look into that, never heard of it

 

[rupe]

yeah i was going to have ESP custom build my next guitar.

im going to go with Tom instead. i am not shitting anyone when i say that guitar made that $400 amplifier sound like gold, and not many guitars can do that

I don't think you'll get 24 frets though...hope that's not a deal breaker for you. Shouldn't be...nothing you can't bend to from the 22nd

 

[Meathead]

John stole from Tom.

 

[Badronald]

I specifically stay away from playing certain guitars to deter gas.

I absolutely refuse to pick up a Suhr or Anderson. No good will come of it.

 

[gibson5413]

My obligatory pictures:

what neck wood is the red one? that guitar looks fucking great

That Drop Top is a maple on mahogany body and a chocolate maple neck. Taken from the Anderson website about the neck:

The only difference between our traditional light colored maple and Chocolate maple is that after the maple wood is kiln-dried to perfection, it undergoes an extra “chocolating” process that darkens the neck wood, completely through to its center, (not a stain or a coloring finish) making it dark, like rosewood, but with the sound of an all-maple neck.

The guitar finish is called Burnished Orange Burst. Love it!

 

[glpg80]

yeah i was going to have ESP custom build my next guitar.

im going to go with Tom instead. i am not shitting anyone when i say that guitar made that $400 amplifier sound like gold, and not many guitars can do that

I don't think you'll get 24 frets though...hope that's not a deal breaker for you. Shouldn't be...nothing you can't bend to from the 22nd

thats not good... i use the 24th fret to bend to a G.

i have two other 24 fret guitars i could use to track solo's i guess, but that really sucks that he does not build 24 fret necks

 

[glpg80]

I specifically stay away from playing certain guitars to deter gas.

I absolutely refuse to pick up a Suhr or Anderson. No good will come of it.

*passes anderson to the left*

dude, your turn to hit it

 

[Drew]

I'm a member of the Anderson fan club. I bought my first Anderson--a '94 Drop Top Classic in 1997 but I soon decided the fancy "magenta" quilt top wasn't my style and so I sold that and in '98 I found a solid white 1996 Classic with a Floyd. It is one of the very first ones they made with the Feiten Tuning system.

That Classic was my main gigging guitar for the next 10 years. Whenever I'd play my Les Pauls at a gig, the singer would comment "I love Les Pauls but your white guitar sounds better."

Then I was doing some recording a few weeks ago and the engineer/producer, who has very discerning ears was placing my mics in front of the speaker cab and I was back in the control room playing and switching guitars between two Strats, a Les Paul and the Anderson. He could not see what I was playing but every time I'd play the Anderson he'd yell in to me, "What are you using now? That sounds best!"

So my Anderson always seem to win out in tone tests.

 

[mikey]

I bought and sold several Andersons. I never got used to the necks. They were just too skinny for me.
That amber quilt top I'm sure I could get used to though-wow!

What are the neck profiles similar to? I've never had the opportunity to play a high end Strat based guitar like an Anderson or Suhr etc. I'm not a fan of thin/shallow profiles...

 

[Doubleneck]

Thanks -- it's an awesome guitar. Here's another pic!

That's a beauty. What are the specs on it!

 

[glpg80]

I bought and sold several Andersons. I never got used to the necks. They were just too skinny for me.
That amber quilt top I'm sure I could get used to though-wow!

What are the neck profiles similar to? I've never had the opportunity to play a high end Strat based guitar like an Anderson or Suhr etc. I'm not a fan of thin/shallow profiles...

the neck backing contour is more like the feeling of a compound neck, small at the nut and progressively wider at the pocket. the backing contour reminded me of a wolfgang neck but more extreme in the C curvature. when i grabbed the neck it fit very well in the webbing of my thumb. it was pretty comfortable to play. i understand what Andy is talking about though at the same time - i dont think i would have a problem playing one for long periods of time but ive only logged a few hours on a shitty store setup - so i cant say i agree or disagree myself.

IMHO, ive always been a try before you buy person. having played an anderson now, its a big difference from anything else i have played but i like it - especially coming from a wolfgang a few years ago. BIG difference, and BIG improvement.

its more like the neck feeling of a fender, with the balls and cutting attitude of a les paul.

 

[H Golf Sport]

I'm gonna go against the grain here and say if that Anderson sounded as good as you say, go back and grab it. Even as consistent as guys like Suhr and Anderson build guitars there is no guarantee that a guitar built to the same spec and woods will sound the same. However a setup and maybe minor fretwork will have that Andy playing as good as new. Plus save quite a bit of coin in the process vs. A custom order. You can always flip it and get most if not all your money back later.

 

[thiswaythatway]

I bought and sold several Andersons. I never got used to the necks. They were just too skinny for me.
That amber quilt top I'm sure I could get used to though-wow!

What are the neck profiles similar to? I've never had the opportunity to play a high end Strat based guitar like an Anderson or Suhr etc. I'm not a fan of thin/shallow profiles...

Anderson as well as Suhr make different neck profiles. The Drop Top standard profile is slim but nothing like a Jem or Petrucci. Anderson makes a 62 roundback which is fatter than the standard. Anyone who says their necks are too slim just didn't play the other options.

 

[gibson5413]

I bought and sold several Andersons. I never got used to the necks. They were just too skinny for me.
That amber quilt top I'm sure I could get used to though-wow!

What are the neck profiles similar to? I've never had the opportunity to play a high end Strat based guitar like an Anderson or Suhr etc. I'm not a fan of thin/shallow profiles...

Anderson as well as Suhr make different neck profiles. The Drop Top standard profile is slim but nothing like a Jem or Petrucci. Anderson makes a 62 roundback which is fatter than the standard. Anyone who says their necks are too slim just didn't play the other options.

+1

I got the even taper on both of my TAGs and really like it. I played an EBMM Petrucci for 8 years and it has a super thin neck in comparison. I feel much more at home on the TAGs.

 

[glpg80]

I'm gonna go against the grain here and say if that Anderson sounded as good as you say, go back and grab it. Even as consistent as guys like Suhr and Anderson build guitars there is no guarantee that a guitar built to the same spec and woods will sound the same. However a setup and maybe minor fretwork will have that Andy playing as good as new. Plus save quite a bit of coin in the process vs. A custom order. You can always flip it and get most if not all your money back later.

well for one i would have to trade one of my current guitars to do it because i dont carry $2,300 cash every day in my back pocket. i also dont feel like nagging them down form their price to the more common $1700 price range i see Andersons at.

second, all of my guitars play 20x better than that particular Anderson did, but they dont sound ANYWHERE near as badass as that Anderson. Anderson's are also really consistant guitar to guitar. thats one thing you pay for with guys like Tom and John, and things you worry about with Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, etc.

it is not worth it to me to pound more money into a top of the line guitar to get it to play good when the frets are not my preference, the fret size is not my preference, the trem is not my style, no locking nut, and it played terrible. no telling why it played terrible, the action seemed reasonable, but damn was it an elephant to wrestle. the guitars i own i never had to second guess anything and knew what they needed work wise to play decent. The anderson still kicks every guitar i own in the ass tone wise. so im concerned, and with spending this kind of coin i dislike having concerns. its not worth giving up one of my guitars to gamble.

i wont be one of those regretful guys that hate they let "that one" get away. the Anderson was great, but its not "my" guitar.

because it did sounded so phenominal, i got the serial number and looked up the specs - so i know what to design mine around when the time comes.

more money? yes. peace of mind? yes.

 

[reverymike]

Thanks -- it's an awesome guitar. Here's another pic!

That's a beauty. What are the specs on it!

1993 Drop Top, translucent yellow, basswood body, maple top, maple neck. H2+ in the bridge (not sure what the singles are), kahler steeler tremolo, switcheroo pickup selector.

 

[Meathead]

...second, all of my guitars play 20x better than that particular Anderson did, but they dont sound ANYWHERE near as badass as that Anderson. Anderson's are also really consistant guitar to guitar. thats one thing you pay for with guys like Tom and John, and things you worry about with Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, etc.

How do these companies always put out 'good' ones?
I'm sure Suhr's and Anderson's are all made very well, and you can expect it to play well and be setup and dressed well...but every piece of wood sounds different.
Nothing beats cherry picking a guitar, finding the ones with great resonance/sustain. I have to play a guitar to hear how it sounds before I'll drop down money for it.

 

[jharpersj]

love them ! have played them for like 15 years, best place to buy new is Maken Music, ask for Ted, great place to deal with. I like the new neck joint and also the boost they now have going

 

[glpg80]

...second, all of my guitars play 20x better than that particular Anderson did, but they dont sound ANYWHERE near as badass as that Anderson. Anderson's are also really consistant guitar to guitar. thats one thing you pay for with guys like Tom and John, and things you worry about with Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, etc.

How do these companies always put out 'good' ones?
I'm sure Suhr's and Anderson's are all made very well, and you can expect it to play well and be setup and dressed well...but every piece of wood sounds different.
Nothing beats cherry picking a guitar, finding the ones with great resonance/sustain. I have to play a guitar to hear how it sounds before I'll drop down money for it.

Its an artform in itself. with Anderson's and Suhr's - i dont fret over it (no pun intended)

the reason why is because they have the talent of not putting together guitars with shitty quality woods in the first place. they have excellent quality control at the factory and lumber mills, and reject countless blanks before choosing ones for each build. its a keen eye for what to look for ahead of time.

the companies that dont do this and only care about making a buck build guitars made from shit blanks in the first place - hence the trial and error mentality. i agree with you in that its extremely important and to do so as much as possible. you can bend the rules here but its not a guarantee fire you'll get what you expect - the same goes for buying guitars used over the internet.....

this is not 1970 anymore, its 2010 going on 2011 - Anderson uses CNC techniques for tight tolerances mixed with handy-work for the important areas. Suhr plek's the frets (which i dislike) but some people prefer.

alot of time and effort's going into them to make sure the guitar that you order/get comes out as expected or better.