Hello from north of the border!

[Eric Pykala]

Hi folks! Just picked-up my first Anderson, immediately joined the forum, and thought I'd say a few words of introduction. I'm Eric Pykala, I've been a professional musician/luthier/engineer/producer for forty years now. I've also been a manufacturers rep for the likes of Paul Reed Smith, Soldano, Groove Tubes, Hipshot, blah blah. Yeah, music and great guitars are my life.
Anderson #1 for me is a Hollow T, #7-15-95A. She is amber flame on basswood, a beautiful piece of rosewood on maple, all gold and pearloid. Absolutely stunning, but in need of a bit of work (see my thread in Technical). Can't believe the flyweight, and the deep contours help her melt into my body like she was born there. Very impressive! My taste in Teles usually runs to the strictly vintage side (and I've scratchbuilt 16 of them), but this axe wants to be judged for what she is. The stacked hummers sound darn good in both the thicker and vintage sounds, and all five sounds are really musical. I can't wait to get her out to a rehearsal, and then play her out live and loud. (Next gig is opening for Albert Lee, but that's at a Musicman clinic, so I'll be using my Albert Lee Limited Edition Musicman for that one...darn!).
I'll post some pix and a full Tone Report after I get a chance to gig her, but so far I am really blown away by the quality and Tone of this little amber gem! Kudos to Tom and the gang at TAG! Peace.-Eric

[kurt1981]

Welcome to the forum, sounds like you've got some serious guitars there, and some serious credentials. Good luck on the Albert Lee gig, that'd be a blast!! Let us know how the anderson sounds, if you're like a lot of us, it'll quickly take over most of your guitar duties.

Kurt

[Eric Pykala]

Thanks for the kind words Kurt. Wish I could play the Andy at the Albert thing, but since it is a Musicman gig I'll have to use my Albert Lee Limited. Still marvelling at what an excellent guitar my Hollow T is!
I'll let you folks know how the gig turns out. Always wanted to be able to say "Albert Lee was my lead player last night..."-Eric

[Road King]

"Albert Lee was my lead player last night". Thats killer. Would have to go on my top 10 list of things I wish I could say. That and "I was jamming with Steve Morse last night and was trying to get him up to speed on a few of my more complex licks". Would love to get an audio download of the Albert session both for myself and one of the guys I share duties with from time to time. He's an Albert disciple bigtime.

Brad

[Eric Pykala]

Hey Road King, that's a priceless one too. Saw Purple last Thurday with Mr. Morse...one of those times you feel like going home and selling all your guitars and picking-up accordion or something...E.

[Road King]

no doubt man. one of the bands i was in around 82 or 83 was fortunate to get one show with the dregs. this was back when steve played the franken-tele. it was the beginning of my aspirations of becoming a hot dog vendor.

brad

[Eric Pykala]

The Dixie Dregs, what an amazing band! Yeah, that's what turned me on to Mr. Morse. One of the best examples of ultra-clean picking is still his work on "Gina Lollobreakdown". If I had 10% of his technique, I'd be a monster. Oh well, there's always practice...and a very inspiring new Anderson!-Eric

[Guitarded]

welcome to another picker from the Great White North (even if we are cooking in the 30's right now - that the 90's to our friends in the us)... where is the Albert Lee thing happening for you?... you will enjoy the forum immensely... it has been a real learning trip for me out here in BC

[Road King]

speaking of technique, did your notice mr. m's right hand. it looks kind of like a limb deformation while he's picking with incredible speed and accuracy. i tried that technique for while back. no bueno por mi.
my hall of fame dregs tunes would have to be........ice cakes, leprechan prominade, the bash, assembly line, ect., ect., ect. yes and amen to the practice and the TAG. I think maybe the hollow drop top T appealing to me so much probably had something to do w/that old franken-tele that steve morse played so long ago (sigh heavily) when i was but an impressionable youth.

guitarded, dude, i have actually been to kelowna!!!! i toured the tolko plant there on a business trip about 10 years ago. BC rocks!!! unbelievable beauty eh. tell me, have you ever passed though McClendon Chisholm Tx. in your travels? you know. that little settlement about 15 miles east of dallas. com'on man, you remember.;) ;) anyway that is where i sit now posting on the forum when i could be out mowing.

to my new friends north of the border...... may you never break a string on a floating bridge system.

brad

[Eric Pykala]

Ah yes, B.C. Cross the Macrame Curtain and things change...love it out there. Only in B.C. can people turn tofu into food. Been out there lots on western tours, and one of my fave places to play is Victoria on Vancouver Island.
The store I work at, The Arts in Newmarket, Ont. is one of a few throwing Albert clinics for...another brand of guitar. Had a rehearsal last night with our house band, myself (guitar and lead vox) and bro Paul on bass, Grant Taylor from The Salads on drums, and Juno-winner Mike Bowell on lead. God I love playing with the "A" team guys! Our outro tune is Dave Edmunds' "Sweet Little Lisa", which Albert played lead on, so we'll invite him to join us for that (or anything else he might want to play). Played my Anderson for the first time with a band, and I must say it acquitted itself most excellently! The weight and contouring just make it disappear, and I'm diggin' the stock pups. Still needs a middle pickup tho (easy enough, but would like Tom's advice on which Andy pickup would be the best mix with the stock TD1 and TD3s). Won't go as crazy as Morse did with the Frankentele, just need that Strat quack. Still amazed that this is the longest-sustaining guitar I own by a good margin (PRS Hollowbody II Artist and 513 Mahogany, Musicman Albert Lee Limited, scratchbuilt by me Tele). Throws a lot of pre-conceived notions out the window. Won't have a chance to play her in a band context again until this weekend after the Albert show, but looking forward to hearing her with my other band. Full Tone Report when I get some more mileage on her.
What an amazing guitar!-Eric

[tom]

glad it's performing well. an SA1 would be the likely choice for the middle.

[Eric Pykala]

Thanks for jumping in Tom! An SA1 it is. I see on your dealers list the only Canadian ones are Mothers in the West. Can I order a pickguard and a pickup from you, or does that mess with your dealer network? When Steve's Music was your Toronto dealer, I'd just call my old friend Gerry Markman and he'd do me something sideways, but I guess they're not doing TAG anymore. Jury is still out on the bridge pickup too, but I notice M's are now available for Teles. Do TM1s have two sounds? I bought this axe to use with my country band, but it's so excellent I'm going to use it in the classic rock outfit also. Talk about versatile! One of my guitarists, Juno(Canadian Grammy)-winner Mike Bowell tried it at rehearsal two nights ago. It was hard to get him to give it back! I've owned and played so many guitars it's hard to get me excited about one, but this one is truly special. A few mods and it will be my new Number One. Need to do these soon, as I have some killer shows coming up. Tom, you can reach me at epykala@theartsmusicstore.com
Peace all!-Eric

[Eric Pykala]

Played the Albert Lee clinic last night. One of those totally magical nights all bands dream of. Our band opened for him, and even though musos are their own worst critics, all four guys agreed we played it perfectly. Mike Bowell was getting ovations for every solo. Albert was his usual kind, humble, amazing self, played a great clinic, and closed with "Country Boy". Wow, I'm floored. Really wish I could have played it with my Anderson...another story.
That hotdog vendor cart is looking better all the time.-Eric

[Road King]

LOL on the hot dog vendor cart. Wish I could have been there. Saw Doyle Dykes the same night I picked up my TAG. Buried my Taylor in the back yard.

Any audio available from the seminar?

Brad

[kurt1981]

Jealous jealous jealous!! God, I wish I was there, I love his playing. I saw him here in Tucson, at a little hole in the wall club, and there were maybe 40 people there, a shame, if you ask me. He played his heart out, and the few of us there walked away changed. I love seeing guys like that. There's a guy here in town, never played with anyone big, but he has the most amazing feel, and the most unique way of phrasing I've ever heard, and seeing him doing bar gigs really makes me wish I'd picked up bass or something.
Kurt

[Eric Pykala]

Hey Brad, we were planning on recording it in stereo, and that got lost in the shuffle (long story actually), so no (darn I'd kill for a recording of our set). He'll be back next year, and hopefully this time we'll have enough time to play together. He was impressed with our set, and apparently in past years other stores had tried the opening act thing with less than professional results ("Wadda you want to play. I dunno, what do you want to play"...hate that stuff). Got to be as pro as he is.
One thing I've always loved about the real pros is how humble and patient they are, willing to wait, willing to pay. In an industry that has a hundred guitar players waiting to step in your shoes if you screw-up, it tends to weed-out the a**holes and the guys who've been reading their own presskits and believe them. Albert is the perfect ambassador for whoever he might be representing.-Eric

[tmihm]

A belated "welcome", Eric. Nice to have you onboard with us.

Terry

[Eric Pykala]

Thanks guys for all the replies. TAG ownership is new to me, so I'll have a bunch of questions for ya'll. Bottom line is I haven't bonded so strongly with a guitar in a long time. Simply outstanding!-Eric