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10K views 30 replies 8 participants last post by  DLHelfand 
#1 ·
Hi,

I am planning to buy a brand new Tom Anderson Hollow drop Top, or order one.
I want to know if there is people who owned or played one ??
What do you think of this guitar ??
If you have any comment (about all you want : sound, pickup, reliability, finish ....), it will be great.

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
zom said:
Hi,

I am planning to buy a brand new Tom Anderson Hollow drop Top, or order one.
I want to know if there is people who owned or played one ??
What do you think of this guitar ??
If you have any comment (about all you want : sound, pickup, reliability, finish ....), it will be great.

Thanks.
Good choice, they're fantastic guitars. I really like the TA's.

Too bad they don't make the Drop Top 7 anymore. :cry:
 
#3 ·
Tom makes great stuff. I have two of his guitars, a Pro Am T (which is actually one of the first ones made,) and a Cobra with Fishman piezo bridge. I love his stuff, but I prefer the Cobra serious for most applications. My next Anderson will probably be a CobraS unless, I pickup an old school drop top. If you are ordering one, I would recommend that you go to a dealer of Andersons that has an extensive collection and try out a lot of them. This way you can get an idea of the difference in neck shape, size, frets, woods, pickups, etc. My two are totally different beasts. My proam t is similiar to a drop top minus the top. It is also Tele shaped, but has all of the same contours, pickups, and mine has a Floyd. highly recommended. Tom cares about the quality of his product....and he has been known to answer the phone himself when you call. :D
 
#4 ·
I am planning to buy a Tom Anderson with the piezo bridge, DLHelfand what you think of your Fishman piezo bridge ??
I heard many different things about the piezo, some people said Parker and Musicman guitar have a better sound than a Tom Anderson; some others said that the piezo who feature Tom Anderson guitars are the best sounding in the market.
Tell me what you think of your your Fishman piezo bridge with the cobra, and if you have the opportunity to compare the sound with other guitar (Musicman, carvin ...)

Thanks.
 
#5 ·
As beautiful as i think Tom Anderson guitars are, i think they're outrageously priced, as are most "boutique" Strats like Schecter custom shop jobs, Suhrs, Pensas, etc.

Considering most of those boutique guitars look like they came off the same CNC mill (you could probably buy identical bodies and necks from Warmoth), i think they represent really poor value for the money.

But hey, if i had the cash, a hollow DropTop with piezo might be on my list. They sure are purty. :)

Polaris20: Have you seen the Schecter USA custom 7's? They look almost identical to Anderson's Drop Top 7... even the Schecter pickups look identical to the Anderson models. I often wonder if there's still some sort of relationship there... a lot of their work looks really similar.
 
#6 ·
darren wilson said:
As beautiful as i think Tom Anderson guitars are, i think they're outrageously priced, as are most "boutique" Strats like Schecter custom shop jobs, Suhrs, Pensas, etc.

Considering most of those boutique guitars look like they came off the same CNC mill (you could probably buy identical bodies and necks from Warmoth), i think they represent really poor value for the money.

But hey, if i had the cash, a hollow DropTop with piezo might be on my list. They sure are purty. :)

Polaris20: Have you seen the Schecter USA custom 7's? They look almost identical to Anderson's Drop Top 7... even the Schecter pickups look identical to the Anderson models. I often wonder if there's still some sort of relationship there... a lot of their work looks really similar.
No, I really haven't. Everytime I think Schecter these days I think Diamond series (which ain't all bad, but not my cup o tea).

I'll check it out.
 
#8 ·
Darren,

No offense but your statement clearly shows your lack of knowledge of these guitars. Anderson, Suhr, Pensa are basically hand made. Sure there are machines involved, but the attention to detail is ridiculous. A Jem that cost $3000, can not touch the quality of ANY of these guitars. The fit and finish is world class. Anderson also include the feiten system which some feel is very important. Vai's Jems are feitened, but the production models aren't. That alone is a $300-$500 feature, should you want it done. When I purchased my first anderson, it was missing the neck. The guitar is from November '86 which is when Anderson started production. Tom agreed to build me a neck to my spec and then reassembled the entire guitar and feitened it. He did this only because he remembered building my guitar back then and because it is a special model. That in itself is amazing, but this is better. The original neck eventually showed up. The neck was in awesome shape, but the original owner ruined the fretboard by scalloping it. He then brought it to a luthier to have it fixed. A new fretboard was glued on, and that was it. That is how I got it. I called Tom and asked if he would fix this one instead of building me a new one for the same price. He would not. The reason was that even though the rest of the neck was near mint, he will not put out a product that he and his team haven't worked on from start to finish. He has this policy because he can't ensure proper quality control otherwise. These small, boutique builders provide excellent value for their products. You can buy a new Anderson Drop Top for not a whole lot more than some new Jems. How can you say that the ANDERSON is overpriced?
 
#9 ·
good commentary, but i'm also of the opinion that these boutique guitars are WAY overpriced. Just as the DNAs and many ibanez and other brand sig models are today. I have no problem admitting that. I just don't see the bang for the buck from a player perspective (who knows the tech setup angle too).

Feiton is a 5 minute mod (if that)... zero extra cost (aside from licensing) for any guitar being built. Just a perspective.

But having a differing opinion is no crime... as there are buyers for these axes.... glad people enjoy them! ...glen
 
#10 ·
Glen,

I agree with your view. It is all relative. Price is clearly determined by market. All equip could be cheaper. My problem is when people compare Andersons and Pensas and such to imported, production guitars, that are really made of inferior materials, and call the boutique guitars overpriced. There simply isn't that much of a difference in price, but there is in quality. you are also right about the Feiten, but for many people it will still COST $300-$500 to have it professionally installed on the guitar. Ibanez won't use it because it will cost them to much and dig into its profits. If you know what you are doing, them it would be a cheap mod, but not to have it pro installed.
 
#11 ·
I gotta get into the Feiton mod thing, sounds like about $75 worth of work to me [and I'd be way overpaid at that, but that's alright with me, it'll even out the underpaid jobs I've had]. I'll bet you gotta pay Buzz at least $100 royalty if the "pro" jobs are that expensive. I'll stick with intonating to the last fret, the whole board sounds balanced to me. Now if I could only patent that..... ;)
 
#12 ·
Hmm. Not to bust in on your technique rich, but this sounds a little more interesting. Why intonate to the first octave, when you have a two octave neck. makes sense to me. Ive noticed that if I do harmonies in the second octave on different guitars they all sound different. Would that help clear it up a little? I intonate with a korg rack tuner to the 12th fret. Hmmm. ANy insight on this rich?
 
#13 ·
Dude, just try it once, that's all I have to say. If you're going to play harmonics all day no sweat, but if you're actually going to phisically fret the upper registers then the hight of the action isn't acouinted for when you're setting the intonation. Set it so a solid attck is at pitch and let the decay go flat, that way your attack is never sharp unless you want it to be, and the decay can be corrected with vibrato anyway ;)
 
#16 ·
LOL> I know what your talking about rich. Maybe we are confusing each other. I compare the 12th fret harmonic to the 12th fretted note, and adjust accordingly. You stated in the article that you intonate by the last fret on the neck, ie: 22nd fret, or 24th fret, depending on whether or not you have a js or jem
 
#18 ·
Im calling this post the article. I cant go check right now, Im at work. Im a computer technician for hewlitt packard and this is what I do all do. Surf the internet and play around. Whats that tell you about the company> (sniggering noises coming from my co-workers)lol. Ill do it when I get home
 
#20 ·
DLHelfand said:
Darren,

No offense but your statement clearly shows your lack of knowledge of these guitars. Anderson, Suhr, Pensa are basically hand made. Sure there are machines involved, but the attention to detail is ridiculous. A Jem that cost $3000, can not touch the quality of ANY of these guitars. The fit and finish is world class. Anderson also include the feiten system which some feel is very important. Vai's Jems are feitened, but the production models aren't. That alone is a $300-$500 feature, should you want it done. When I purchased my first anderson, it was missing the neck. The guitar is from November '86 which is when Anderson started production. Tom agreed to build me a neck to my spec and then reassembled the entire guitar and feitened it. He did this only because he remembered building my guitar back then and because it is a special model. That in itself is amazing, but this is better. The original neck eventually showed up. The neck was in awesome shape, but the original owner ruined the fretboard by scalloping it. He then brought it to a luthier to have it fixed. A new fretboard was glued on, and that was it. That is how I got it. I called Tom and asked if he would fix this one instead of building me a new one for the same price. He would not. The reason was that even though the rest of the neck was near mint, he will not put out a product that he and his team haven't worked on from start to finish. He has this policy because he can't ensure proper quality control otherwise. These small, boutique builders provide excellent value for their products. You can buy a new Anderson Drop Top for not a whole lot more than some new Jems. How can you say that the ANDERSON is overpriced?
Anderson and Suhr are just better at perceived value than Ibanez. It seems to work quite well on you.

Not that I'm saying that they're not great guitars. they are.

At least they're not a Jackson.
 
#21 ·
For what it's worth, i didn't compare Anderson, Suhr and Pensa guitars to production-line instruments. Like Glen, i think a lot of the "high-end" Ibanez guitars are poor value as well. I just feel that a good luthier could assemble a comparable instrument from off-the-shelf Warmoth parts for a fraction of the cost.

I just find it ironic that there are "high-end" bolt-on neck guitars when the whole idea of making guitars that way was to make them cheaply.
 
#22 ·
darren wilson said:
Have you seen the Schecter USA custom 7's? They look almost identical to Anderson's Drop Top 7... even the Schecter pickups look identical to the Anderson models. I often wonder if there's still some sort of relationship there... a lot of their work looks really similar.
I bet it's just design carry-over from when Anderson worked there. (i.e., the EB/MM resembles the PV Wolfgang).

Darren- I know what you mean about the origin of bolt guitars, but it's one of those things that has taken on a life of its own with its particular tone characteristics. Anderson brags that the neck joint is so tight it's just like a set neck (then glue it, baby!). Along those lines, even the old goofy bakelite material for tele pickguards is prized among some...just happened to be what was available at the time.

If I were to by an Anderson, I'd be patient and find one used...then they become quite competitive in price.
Greg
 
#23 ·
Polaris,

It is not a marketing ploy or a percieved thing with me. I have owned both Ibanez and Anderson guitars, and they are on two totally different levels. I am not saying that Ibanez can't make guitars of the same quality, I am saying that they DON"T on average. That is also to be expected, not because it is Ibanez, not because it is Japanese, but because it is a huge company that pumps out a tremendous amout of product, whereas the other companies focus more on quality and the fine tuning than on numbers.

I also agree with what Darren is saying, that a good luthier can produce a quality instrument out of Warmoth parts. The parts, woods, electronics, etc would be top notch and the if the luthier is highly skilled, his work would also be top notch. My point is that if he bought all of the parts new and charged the going rate for the work, the final price would certainly be in the same ballpark as Anderson, Pensa, Suhr and ohter such companies. I mean a quality exotic would neck from Warmoth can cost as much as $300-$400 alone, not counting the final fretwork and setup that would need to be done. A matching body could cost up to around $500. That is $800-$900 alone, and no other parts have been included, let alone the setup costs. Your final product would be around $1500-$2000 or so, maybe more depending on your options. how much do you think Andersons cost? Your custom would also have no resale value, whereas the Anderson would. I don't understand the arguement I guess. If you are the luthier I guess I can see it, but them again, if you are that good, you could build anything not just bolt on guitars and therefore your arguement agains bolt ons being overpriced would be shot as well.
 
#24 ·
Darren,

If you feel that you can make me a custom Anderson type guitar from Warmoth parts for a fraction of the cost, I might take you up on it, as long as the fraction isn't 9/10 of hte cost. It would have to be significantly cheaper. Also, the bolt on was designed to make production costs cheaper, not to produce cheap or inferior units. When you use top quality components, you have to pay. Why is it ok for Ibanez to charge $1500-$1700 for a bolt on made out of ok wood, use color paper inlays, and have poor quality control (bent necks, sharp frets, etc...) and not ok for Anderson, Pensa and others to produce near perfect (not always, but at a higher %) guitars made out of top quality woods, high end components, top notch setups, to customer spec, for just a little more?
 
#25 ·
DLHelfand, could you tell what you think of your your Fishman piezo bridge with the cobra, and if you have the opportunity to compare the sound with other guitar (Musicman, carvin ...) ??
As I live in Europe I never had the chance to try a Tom Anderson guitar with piezo, so do you have the possibility to record your Tom Anderson guitar with the piezo, just to figure out how sounds the piezo, and put an extract online please ??

Thanx.
 
#26 ·
DLHelfand said:
Why is it ok for Ibanez to charge $1500-$1700 for a bolt on made out of ok wood, use color paper inlays, and have poor quality control (bent necks, sharp frets, etc...) and not ok for Anderson, Pensa and others to produce near perfect (not always, but at a higher %) guitars made out of top quality woods, high end components, top notch setups, to customer spec, for just a little more?
Again, nobody has really made the argument about the value of high-end Ibanez models compared to "boutique" Strats. They're all overpriced in my opinion. They fetch what the market will bear, because the market for those kinds of instruments is hot at the moment... the prices don't reflect the true "value" of the instruments.
 
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