Tom Anderson pickups

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glassjaw7

glassjaw7

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I emailed TA about some new pups for a few of my guitars, and the man himself replied within a couple of hours. :thumbsup: Based on my ideal tone description, (airy crunch but not too dry, a bit of give and juicy, woody mids) Recommended a H2+ for my LP, the same for my G&L (or an H3) and pretty much nothing for my Schecter. He left that one alone as he is not a fan of neck-thru body designs, which I can understand. :lol: :LOL: They definitely change the feel and tone. I like my Schecter, but compared to my G&L, it doesn't "breathe" as much and the high end can be a bit harsh. Stuffy and a bit unbalanced...

Anyway, I'm sold on the H2+ for my LP, but what would you guys recommend for the G&L? It's an alder body, maple neck, ebony board, so it's bright and snappy. I like the tone I'm getting from a JB but want to try a TA pup. The way Tom described it, the H2+ will give me about the same output as the JB, but with a more solid, less spongy low end and better mids, without the nasal character.

Said the H3 will boost the lows and low mids with fluid highs. Both sound like they'd be great, and I'm not sure which to choose. Any opinions based on the guitar specs/wood? Thanks
 
H3 if you want it to work with the brighter tone of the G&L. I used the H3 in a GMW Strat with the same spec as your G&L, and it worked out perfect!
 
I have an H2+ in this guitar and it's perfect. I think it's the best pickup Tom makes.

TOMANDERSONBODYANGLE.jpg
 
You can´t really go wrong with the H2+ or H3. The H3+ is a bit too hot and massive for some applications, but in the right context it´s a killer too.

I love Tom´s pickups, but some don´t like them because of the non-traditional tone. Less mids, fatter lows and highs... a broader tone than the classic mid-centered humbucking tone, if you will. He has a more traditional line now, but I´ve never tried them.
 
I think I would go with the H3 on the G&L. I have an H2+ in my MIA fat strat with rosewood board, love that pickup. I tried an H3 before that and it was a little too hot for me. They split well too, so if you can wire it up to run it split.
 
The H2+ is my favorite pickup but may be a bit brighter than you want in that guitar...worth a try though. That said the H3 may be the better fit.
 
Thanks for the replies. :thumbsup:
Dave L":2vrnnizo said:
You can´t really go wrong with the H2+ or H3. The H3+ is a bit too hot and massive for some applications, but in the right context it´s a killer too.

I love Tom´s pickups, but some don´t like them because of the non-traditional tone. Less mids, fatter lows and highs... a broader tone than the classic mid-centered humbucking tone, if you will. He has a more traditional line now, but I´ve never tried them.
Click to expand...

Hmm, now you got me wondering if I'll like this "broader range". I like my "singing" mids when it comes to leads and I don't like exagerated highs... That broad range is probably killer for big rhythm tones though. Any pups you can compare them to? For example I think of some Dimarzios having a wide tonal spectrum. Anything like that?
 
The H2+ has plenty of mids and sings like a bird for lead tones. Don't let the broader range comments sway you...it still has all the good stuff in the right places. The H3 has an even stronger mid presence.

As for comparisons, two that come to mind (although neither is as good IMO) are the Duncan Custom and Full Shred.
 
The HN series has greatly boosted mids. Also quite a different character due to its neodymium magnets compared to traditional alnico and ceramics. Very sharp sounding.
 
glassjaw7":3eztiow7 said:
Thanks for the replies. :thumbsup:
Dave L":3eztiow7 said:
You can´t really go wrong with the H2+ or H3. The H3+ is a bit too hot and massive for some applications, but in the right context it´s a killer too.

I love Tom´s pickups, but some don´t like them because of the non-traditional tone. Less mids, fatter lows and highs... a broader tone than the classic mid-centered humbucking tone, if you will. He has a more traditional line now, but I´ve never tried them.
Click to expand...

Hmm, now you got me wondering if I'll like this "broader range". I like my "singing" mids when it comes to leads and I don't like exagerated highs... That broad range is probably killer for big rhythm tones though. Any pups you can compare them to? For example I think of some Dimarzios having a wide tonal spectrum. Anything like that?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I could have worded that better. They´re not scooped, not at all. It´s just that many popular humbuckers have a boatload of mids, whereas these have not. No excessive highs either, the treble is fat without being muffled or dull. I suppose balanced might be a better term, and they are 100% ace at lead tones.
 
Dave L":xxjrsrfr said:
glassjaw7":xxjrsrfr said:
Thanks for the replies. :thumbsup:
Dave L":xxjrsrfr said:
You can´t really go wrong with the H2+ or H3. The H3+ is a bit too hot and massive for some applications, but in the right context it´s a killer too.

I love Tom´s pickups, but some don´t like them because of the non-traditional tone. Less mids, fatter lows and highs... a broader tone than the classic mid-centered humbucking tone, if you will. He has a more traditional line now, but I´ve never tried them.
Click to expand...

Hmm, now you got me wondering if I'll like this "broader range". I like my "singing" mids when it comes to leads and I don't like exagerated highs... That broad range is probably killer for big rhythm tones though. Any pups you can compare them to? For example I think of some Dimarzios having a wide tonal spectrum. Anything like that?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I could have worded that better. They´re not scooped, not at all. It´s just that many popular humbuckers have a boatload of mids, whereas these have not. No excessive
highs either, the treble is fat without being muffled or dull. I suppose balanced might be a better term, and they are 100% ace at lead tones.
Click to expand...
:rock:
 
I have an h2+ in one of my guitars, to be honest I wasn't blown away by it by any means. It sounds pretty cool being run in parallel mode, but run in series (standard) it is just so so in my opinion. I mean it is good, don't get me wrong but, it didn't make me go WOW, money well spent by any means
-Brent
 
Id step up to the H3 to be honest. i have played one. very heavy sounding pickup, very dynamic. not a single bit of compression like a duncan distortion at all though - its a very clear sounding and bell like tone - you wont be hiding behind anything.

sounded good though. very balanced.

....worth nothing in my experience, forget about pulling off that singing lead type of playing without a boost, they are hot output but they are very tight and non-forgiving, its nothing like a JB/SH-6 at all except more balanced, heavier, clearer (MUCH) and you can grab harmonics all over the place.
 
I talked to Tom at NAMM and asked him about pups for my Drop Top 7 that is coming soon (hopefully). I ordered it with an H3 but he said I might be better off going with an HN3. The honky mids comments on the HN3 are putting me off me a bit because I have plenty of mids in my amps and don't want the tone going in to the amp to be mid heavy at all. Conversely, I don't want the H3 to be too loose on the low B. Not sure what to do...
 
Yeah I played a friend's ax with an H3+ in it & must say, I liked the h3 sound more than the h2s. I am usually not a fan of a pickup that is too hot, but in this case I liked the way it was voiced much better.
-Brent
 
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