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View Full Version : Does the extra shaping under the lower horn really work for you guys?



mslugano
05-21-2008, 01:17 PM
OK, first, I am a devoted TAG player and I love my Andersons in every way. I have four of them along with four Suhrs, two Tylers and a ton of Fenders. The extra shaping that Anderson, Suhr and Tyler do on the back side of the lower horn is a beautiful thing...really! But...

I just wonder if you guys really find that it helps getting access to the dusty end of the fretboard. I find that, when I am up there, I don't actually wrap my palm in under the body but, instead, sorta twist my fingers toward the higher frets and wrap my palm around the heel. It's really kinda physically impossible to wrap my palm under the guitar and use the extra shaping that is there if I want to play the higher frets.

Instead, I find the extra shaving at the heel more helpful. And, I hate to say it(!), but I think the curved shaping of the Stratocaster Deluxe heel or the extra shaping of the TOP side of the lower horn like PRS (which is a guitar I cannot meld with at all) has a much greater influence over my ability to access higher frets.

So, I completely love my Andersons and this issue doesn't effect my buying decision at all...it's the quality playability and tone that matters to me and always will. I wonder, though, whether the extra (beautiful) shaping on the under side of the lower horn is more cosmetic than functional (goes for TAG, Suhr or Tyler) or am I totally missing something. Maybe it's just a more elegant way to blend the carved heel to the guitar body? Roy or Tom, do you or anyone else have a view on this?

tom
05-21-2008, 02:08 PM
the meat at the bottom of my thumb does hit the area you're talking about, so for me it is more comfortable having that area smaller and more rounded.
everybody does know that you can't make any money playin' up there, right?

mbrown3
05-21-2008, 02:25 PM
the meat at the bottom of my thumb does hit the area you're talking about, so for me it is more comfortable having that area smaller and more rounded.
everybody does know that you can't make any money playin' up there, right?

:D :D :D :D

iTwang
05-21-2008, 02:44 PM
everybody does know that you can't make any money playin' up there, right?


Ha ha I know about that Tom!!!! Add a backwards echo to them high notes and I emptied (with some nice guitar playing for once) a completely filled dance floor in 30 seconds....:D

And it is definitely more comfy!

MEP
05-21-2008, 03:13 PM
I have always heard that there is no money past the 5th fret.

I do like the contours on the Andersons and find that they make it easier to play when I happen to stray into that atmospheric area. :D

Barry
05-21-2008, 04:54 PM
maybe that should be stratospheric

Mister T
05-21-2008, 05:40 PM
I think the extra sculpting makes it more comfortable on the upper frets. I go to Fender or G&L guitars and the upper access is super clunky feeling to me.

Road King
05-21-2008, 09:58 PM
The cutaway is definitley more comfy for me. Even after about 17 frets when I pull my thumb under the neck part of my hand still rests on the cutaway.
Me likey.

michaelomiya
05-22-2008, 12:48 AM
everybody does know that you can't make any money playin' up there, right?

spoken like a TRUE bass playa!

dannopelli
05-22-2008, 05:54 AM
everybody does know that you can't make any money playin' up there, right?

You were a bass player?

Ray K.
05-22-2008, 08:36 AM
I like it, but who said it had anything to do with playing up there. During short breaks between songs, that's where I rest my hands. Very unprofessional to put them in your pockets and stare at your shoes, ya know.

Ray K.

tom
05-22-2008, 10:28 AM
no bass player here. i think i'm a pitiful bass player. that's just a comment i heard leroy parnell say.

michaelomiya
05-22-2008, 10:32 AM
You were a bass player?

Sorry, not trying to spread any rumors 'bout the Supreme Commander!;)

I was just repeating what our B-player's always coming back with when I point out that his '65 J-bass only has like 19 frets (?) (Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten are his idols).

I typically come back with "tell that to Billy Sheehan and Steve Harris". His response is "who?":eek: :p

Casper
05-22-2008, 01:47 PM
I play regular gigs up to the Fifth fret, Barmitzvahs up to the 7th and Corporate past the 8 1/2
that reminds me...I need a fret job:D