CJW
01-01-2005, 01:35 AM
So having spent a few days with this guitar, I've really grown to love it.
When I first saw the guitar, I will admit to being a bit disappointed. Not that there was anything wrong with it, it just didn't look quite the way I'd pictured it in my head (which is largely my fault, I suppose - you don't want to know what goes on in there). The color looked more red on the TAG site than my guitar does in person, and the gold hardware was nickel. I'd asked that, if possible, the grain be in a chevron pattern, either way - just not straight across. And as my luck would have it, it came straight across.
So at first I was slightly bummed. Again, nothing wrong with it, and no one's fault really - just when I opened the case, my expectations crashed a wee bit.
But then I took it home and decided to see what it could do in the areas that count - playing. It made up for the initial disappointment in spades.
This is an extremely versatile guitar. And I have to imagine it would be moreso if I hadn't limited it with humbuckers (Drop Tops are usually HSH or SSH).
The HO1 and HO1+ buckers are slightly hot, but retaining warmth and nice articulation. They're also very responsive to slight adjustments of the volume knob - more than any PRS I've ever owned (probably around 8, but never more than 2 at once, I'm a sell-to-buy guy). Using my 3 channel Mesa Nomad, which is not your typical nu metal Mesa, the pickups range from a very clear chime to a deep grind, responding musically to whatever is thrown their way.
The bridge HO1+ pickup with gain on it can be razor-like, but with the tone control cut to 60%, it filters out just enough treble to yield a warm throaty tone that remains articulate no matter how much gain I threw at it.
The neck HO1 wasn't boomy at all. Very usable, which in my experience is a bit of a rarity for neck pickups, it's just a darker cousin of the HO1+. Rolling back the tone knob, even to it's extreme, still gives a very usable sound. At halfway rolled off, there's a very nice approximation of the woman tone.
I had a mini-switch installed that would run the pickups in series, instead of parallel. Tossing the switch while in the bridge position and rolling back the volume while playing through Channel 2 (OD) gives some very nice jazz tones [I use this term loosely because I'm not a jazz player, though I'm taking lessons which hit on a lot of jazz].
Running in series through the bridge pickup takes the edge off of the gain. It's almost like playing through the same channel with my PRS Hollowbody, it's a bit woodier than in parallel.
This is one serious guitar. A Swiss Army Knife, if you will. The controls are all completely usable in a musical way, and messing around for a bit keeps yielding new sounds.
Is this the be-all, end-all guitar? No. It's not a Les Paul, but the combination of maple-on-mahogany with a rosewood board gives very meaty tones that will serve the purpose in any live setting. It's also not a Strat, but with the series humbuckers and maple neck, I can get sweet tones that serve my cleaner needs very well, thank you.
It IS by far the most versatile guitar I've ever owned, and it's my "you can only take one with you" guitar.
Having been a PRS player for the last several years, I have to say that the Anderson - although it's a different creature - beats it out, especially when you consider bang-for-the-buck. I've considered a PRS to be a one-trick pony, though the trick varies by model. That's not a knock - it does that trick VERY well.
However, the ability to specify color, neck shape and control layouts without bumping up $5K in cost, along with the versatility factor, make Anderson more than a worthy consideration.
Kudos to everyone at Tom Anderson - you've made one hell of a great guitar.
http://chrisw.echoes.net/guitars/Anderson/An0014F.jpg
When I first saw the guitar, I will admit to being a bit disappointed. Not that there was anything wrong with it, it just didn't look quite the way I'd pictured it in my head (which is largely my fault, I suppose - you don't want to know what goes on in there). The color looked more red on the TAG site than my guitar does in person, and the gold hardware was nickel. I'd asked that, if possible, the grain be in a chevron pattern, either way - just not straight across. And as my luck would have it, it came straight across.
So at first I was slightly bummed. Again, nothing wrong with it, and no one's fault really - just when I opened the case, my expectations crashed a wee bit.
But then I took it home and decided to see what it could do in the areas that count - playing. It made up for the initial disappointment in spades.
This is an extremely versatile guitar. And I have to imagine it would be moreso if I hadn't limited it with humbuckers (Drop Tops are usually HSH or SSH).
The HO1 and HO1+ buckers are slightly hot, but retaining warmth and nice articulation. They're also very responsive to slight adjustments of the volume knob - more than any PRS I've ever owned (probably around 8, but never more than 2 at once, I'm a sell-to-buy guy). Using my 3 channel Mesa Nomad, which is not your typical nu metal Mesa, the pickups range from a very clear chime to a deep grind, responding musically to whatever is thrown their way.
The bridge HO1+ pickup with gain on it can be razor-like, but with the tone control cut to 60%, it filters out just enough treble to yield a warm throaty tone that remains articulate no matter how much gain I threw at it.
The neck HO1 wasn't boomy at all. Very usable, which in my experience is a bit of a rarity for neck pickups, it's just a darker cousin of the HO1+. Rolling back the tone knob, even to it's extreme, still gives a very usable sound. At halfway rolled off, there's a very nice approximation of the woman tone.
I had a mini-switch installed that would run the pickups in series, instead of parallel. Tossing the switch while in the bridge position and rolling back the volume while playing through Channel 2 (OD) gives some very nice jazz tones [I use this term loosely because I'm not a jazz player, though I'm taking lessons which hit on a lot of jazz].
Running in series through the bridge pickup takes the edge off of the gain. It's almost like playing through the same channel with my PRS Hollowbody, it's a bit woodier than in parallel.
This is one serious guitar. A Swiss Army Knife, if you will. The controls are all completely usable in a musical way, and messing around for a bit keeps yielding new sounds.
Is this the be-all, end-all guitar? No. It's not a Les Paul, but the combination of maple-on-mahogany with a rosewood board gives very meaty tones that will serve the purpose in any live setting. It's also not a Strat, but with the series humbuckers and maple neck, I can get sweet tones that serve my cleaner needs very well, thank you.
It IS by far the most versatile guitar I've ever owned, and it's my "you can only take one with you" guitar.
Having been a PRS player for the last several years, I have to say that the Anderson - although it's a different creature - beats it out, especially when you consider bang-for-the-buck. I've considered a PRS to be a one-trick pony, though the trick varies by model. That's not a knock - it does that trick VERY well.
However, the ability to specify color, neck shape and control layouts without bumping up $5K in cost, along with the versatility factor, make Anderson more than a worthy consideration.
Kudos to everyone at Tom Anderson - you've made one hell of a great guitar.
http://chrisw.echoes.net/guitars/Anderson/An0014F.jpg