Ordering an Anderson (warning: newbie)

[BAN]

Hey guys. Well, this is my first post, but it comes after a long and intensive search where I have pretty well settled on my first custom guitar (first custom electric, that is) being an Anderson. I do have a couple of questions before I begin though, and I was hoping you could help.

First, I love the 24.75 scale guitars, and that is definitely what I want. I have played a Cobra Special at my local, excellent store her in San Francisco, Rocker Guitars, and while the tone wasn’t exactly what I was looking for (didn’t want the P90 style pickups) the playability was phenomenal. So here are my questions about the Atom or the cobra (T-style).

1. Can I get a Cobra/Atom with the H-S-S pickup combination? Or even H-S-H?

2. Is the Switcheroo available on the Cobra/Atom?

3. How about thoughts on an H-M-M equipped Atom/Cobra (I did see both of those in the gallery).

4. What's up with the switching system in the Guitar of the Week Atoms:
(5-Way with Push/Pull Switch—for 8 Sounds—& "Kill Switch"). That's not the same as B5 with add bridge is it?

What I’m looking for are nice beefy (SRV, Albert King) blues tones for the neck and middle. And it would be nice if they could handle some jazzy stuff, too. Then I’d love to switch to EVH/Randy Rhoades/Metallica stuff when going to the bridge. And I just love the tonal variations afforded me by the Switcheroo system.

I know that's a lot of questions, but I’m really looking forward to hearing your insight. Thanks in advance---and thanks for the great forum.

Best,
Brett

[tom]

1. no single coils in those, you can get m's
2. no switcheroo
3. mmh works well in both. i personally am a slave to the bridge humbucker.
4. it's what i use on my guitars. it has some combinations that are available with the B5 but would requiremultiple motions t get them. for me, it's easier this way. the kill switch was for them because they use that machine gun thing.
5. oh, there is no 5.
the switcheroo is very versitile. it offers more subtle variations. others will argue, but many variations are so subtle that for me personally i would not use them live.

[BAN]

First post and I get an immediate reply from Tom himself. I knew I made the right decision when I decided my "dream" guitar was going to be an Anderson.

Thanks, Tom. Sounds like if I want the Swithceroo and H-S-S combo, I need to come to grips with the 25.5 scale. Maybe I'll start doing more forearm exercises so the bends become easier.

Now, in full-on "give 'em an inch, they take a mile" mode, I'll ask a follow up: do you think the M's (I haven't heard them yet) are the right pickup for beefy blues and Jazz in the neck position? And what do the five positions/push pull in the Crowder lads' guitars correspond to exactly if it's not quite the B5"

Thanks again.
Brett

[tom]

i will go on record to say that i will probably never have a single coil on my guitar again... well maybe...someday. i think the m's are perfect for what you are asking for.
tom's atom goes like this
1. neck m1 series(humcancelling)
2. neck M1 split(weak but very cool single coil tone)
3. neck M1series with the H2 in the bridge split(think middle tele sound but a bit bigger)
4. middle M1series with the bridge split( big strat caught sound)
5. bridge H2 series
the pushpull puts the H2 in parallel in pos 3,4 and 5. i call this a situational switch. i only use it if i'm playing somewhere really noisy and i can't use the splits. it makes pos 3 and 4 quiet. i ocasionally use the H2 in parallel for brighter countryish stuff.

[brian b]

M's mmmh good. :D

[BAN]

That is a very cool arrangement. And I think it might work for me, too. Hmm ... barely lunchtime and I'm staring to think of this guitar in new ways ...

Thanks, Tom.

Brett

[OSCAR ZOROASTER]

Hey Tom, how about some sound clips from those various settings?

[TimH]

Hey Tom, how about some sound clips from those various settings?

I seriously doubt Tom has the time for clips. Maybe I'm wrong though...

[OSCAR ZOROASTER]

But it is a guitar selling business, and would be a nice addition for those of us with no access to TAGs.

[dkaplowitz]

I need to come to grips with the 25.5 scale. Maybe I'll start doing more forearm exercises so the bends become easier.
Hmmm...interesting. I didn't know this scale length made harder work of the bendies. I'll have to compare between my HDT and my SG. Regardless, I find that with stainless jumbo frets, the bending on my HDT is insanely "like buttah", to use the technical term. ;)

[tom]

who wants to give up their guitar slots so we can do sound clips?

[OSCAR ZOROASTER]

Tag has a website. It gets updated with photo's and text. Why not sound clips? What a great way to demonstrate PU differences. But then I'm just an interested consumer.

[fractal]

who wants to give up their guitar slots so we can do sound clips?

I know the suggestion of clips adds time to website development, and takes labor away from building, but this might be a resource that would be useful. I know I would've found helpful when I was trying to decide on which pickups to order (knowing full well the limitations of compressed sound clips in other people's setup and amps, variances in guitars, etc.). My local dealer didn't know an H2 from an M2, and didn't know what was in the guitars they had, so I wasn't able to get a good reference point. (Maybe I should've asked another salesperson, but that is awkward - and I looked up serial numbers later, but can you really recall and compare sounds two hours later critically?) I ended up having to buy non-local to get a good source of information, without being able to try before I ordered.

Maybe I wouldn't have bothered Roy as much if I had some form of starting reference.

-Garrett (Who is not trying to be negative, and is probably reading more into the response than was intended.)

[enr1co]

hi ban,

If you dont mind driving down 101 south to Redwood City, it would
be worthwhile to stop by Gelb Music and check out their Anderson
inventory. They usually have a inventory of at least 10 Andys in stock at any given time of various models and PU configs that you could
try out. As of a couple weeks ago they had a Cobra with the three M config that you could try. I believe they are also expecting an Atom very soon. Ask for Erik or Keith-
they are super knowledgable of Andersons.

e

[BAN]

Thanks for the tip, Enrico. I think I'll head down there on Saturday and then feed my acoustic needs at Gryphon in Palo Alto. Sounds like a good way to start the weekend.

Brett

[njjessee]

They have sound clips on a lot of guitars that are in stock at www.indoorstorm.com. Just click on the "more info" button under the guitar pic.

Noah

[TimH]

guys honestly, when have you ever heard a clip on the internet that sounded JUST like what the amp/guitar sounded like in real life? most of the time it is such a lackluster representation of a great piece of gear that I might as well not have heard it. And most of the time this has to do with amps. To get a guitar soundclip right we'd have to take into account what amp is it being played through and who is doing the clip...do they know how to record...is this a representative guitar. IMHO it's not helpful and not worth the time. And no, Tom, please don't give my slot to someone in order to make clips