Anderson vs. Grosh

[JoeB63]

I A/B'd an Anderson Drop Top against a Grosh Drop Top. I greatly prefered the Anderson.

I preferred the Andy in terms of:

Tone
neck profile
finish (even though the Grosh is Nitro and the Andy isn't)

Thoughts?

[Felipe Nacif]

That is a tough match!:)

I think Grosh wins on the vintage wannabe models, the Retros S and T, but Anderson wins on the rest of the fild. TA can bland modern with vintage better than anyone else.

I like nitro, but I'm with you on thet one, TA's finish is really nice and tougher than nitro, while keeping the wood vibrating freely.
The workmanship on Groshs is top notch but no one can match TAs fretjob. Neck profile is a matter of taste.

I'm pretty convinced that unless you're very anal about vintage stuff, an Anderson Classic like mine, Alder, Switcheroo/SAs/H2+ is pretty to beat in terms of tone and versatility.
(That's why I got a Hollow Drop Top...:D )

[JoeB63]

Yeah, but here's the thing. If you really want "vintage," then buy a Vintage Strat, Tele or LP. Or if you can't afford that, buy a real Fender or Gibson reissue.

How can a Grosh be "vintage?"

[Felipe Nacif]

Yeah, I know Groshs don't look vintage at all, but sound more vintage than a lot of Fender CS stuff, even better than a lot of real oldies.

One of the vibest guitars I've ever touched was a Grosh Retro T, one piece ultralight ash body, a real great sounding one. But, as I said, the gap between that and a good T Classic is small, and the TA gives you more options tonewise.

[sonsop]

Well, that's a tough one. Both are great guitars made with an incredible passion and a desire to supersede the players’ expectation. Either purchase is guaranteed to put a lifetime keeper in your hands that will get the job done, every time. I think Anderson makes about 800 guitars per year versus Grosh’s 250 per year and both Tom and Don are still hugely involved with production. I don’t think one is really better than the other but when it comes to a plain Retro style Strat then I lean towards Grosh.

Here’s why:

Finish: Nitro is very cool and I like how the guitars age when sprayed with it. No other finish interacts and builds a relationship with a player more than nitro. Anderson and Grosh make really banging’ colors and they blow me away with their creativity but when it comes to retro style guitars I like an instrument that shows it's battle scars. Edge: Grosh

Necks: Both makers really know how to make them play and sound great. I think I’m a little more nimble on the Grosh 6105 fret wire. However, I do like the 12' radius that Anderson uses and it’s my overall favorite guitar radius. The rosewood that Grosh puts out is so organic feeling and I love his oil-finished necks, they are absolutely the smoothest I’ve ever played. It feels exactly like a forty-year-old guitar! Both makers taper the neck perfectly from the first to the twelfth and both roll the edges to feel broken in. Each offer locking tuners and both sport a cool headstock. Check out the gold Grosh logo that he offers now, it’s a very slick retro take on the 60's transition Fender headstock. Anderson offers the Buzz Feiten system and combined with the Anderson Bridge they form a fantastic and audible benefit. It really is not the make or break feature that I seek when I go guitar hunting but it is something I can hear and appreciate when I play a BF equipped guitar. Edge: Tie

Body Shapes: Each maker takes the traditional Fender shape and offers their own variant. Both smooth out the perimeter edge and contour the body for a comfortable fit. Every Anderson I’ve picked up has been a real featherweight, not always the case with Grosh. They are not heavier than expected, nor do they appear unbalanced but the Anderson’s I’ve played turn up slightly more consistent in weight. But I’d say they all average under 8lbs, which to me is the ideal Strat or Tele mass. Grosh does the controversial “swimming pool” route and Anderson does the Hum/Single/Hum route. Grosh offers his route because he feels it helps define the entire sonic equation that ties the body and neck together. They sound awesome and he will do the standard route by request. Anderson adds another contour near the neck to help reach the high register and his input cover is side mounted as opposed to the standard face mounted plate that Grosh uses. Both Grosh and Anderson balance extremely well standing or sitting. Maybe it’s the nature of the design but these makers know how to make a guitar feel like it’s attached to your body. Edge: Tie

Hardware: The 1088 bridge that Grosh uses sounds warmer and closer to vintage but the Anderson’s Fisherman Powerbridge saddles are slightly more comfortable to rest your hands on. Both makers use durable switches and pots and steel blocks for the tremolos. I like the Blend control that Grosh offers and I find it more useful than the Anderson’s push/pull on the tone to add the bridge pickup. I find the Blend really can help dial away the anemic tones associated with the bridge pickup and it adds an almost hollowness to the neck pickup, just like a real Telecaster. Anderson uses tele shaped knobs that are spaced perfectly away from the pickups and the heavy curl on the knobs grips better for volume swells. Still, I like the numbers on the traditional knobs and use them all the time but I will admit the layout is a little cramped for fingerpicking. One small niggle is the capacitor on the Anderson does not allow for the tone knob to completely roll off all the highs. Of course, that’s an easy fix but it is something that irked me about the Anderson. Probably the biggest coup d'état are the wonderful Fralin Pickups that Grosh Guitars are usually appointed with. The Fralin’s adds more cost to the guitar but generally even if the Grosh has upgraded pickups it still is around the same street price as the Anderson. I love the Fralin Blues Specials and his Vintage Hots are so sweet and chimey. Anderson pickups are fantastic sounding and incredibly well balanced but I often find the tones dryer than the Fralin's especially when played clean. Plus, there are many more choices that Grosh offers compared to Anderson but the bottom line for me is I am enamored by Lindy Fralin’s Vintage Stratocaster pickups. Edge: Grosh

I'd love to hear from the other's that have owned both!
JoeR

[JoeB63]

Thanks for the informed opinion Joe!

[sonsop]

thanks & thank you for starting this thread.

i love these exchanges because it's just plain fun. maybe not as fun as bashing ed roman but that never was my cup of tea;)

i can't wait for stan to come along and throw his two cents in...

JoeR

[Jarrett]

I like them both :) Here's what I (currently) have:

Look for "Pinky" (http://www.andersonalley.com/sale.htm)

My Grosh (http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jhinds7@swbell.net/lst?.dir=/Gear+Pics&.view=t)

[LeonC]

I played three or four Groshes a couple years ago and found no qualities that I preferred over the Andersons. They seemed like finely built guitars...but there was just nothing magical about them to me. This is totally subjective, of course.