View Full Version : observations
so i played a brand spankin' new classic with 3 SC's in it this weekend. i have never been a strat guy, but this weekend i made myself play the whole evening with it. it proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that i am still not a strat guy. the guitar was wonderful to sit and play and i loved the way it sounded, but when i played standing up, it quickly reminded me of how uncomfortable that shape is for me. this is not to say that there aren't zillions of people who find this shape the most comfy ever! but tom may not ever under any conditions build himself another strat style guitar...ever...ever.
being mostly a humbucking player, i was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was for me to make the SC's work for me. it reminded me of how much fun i had playing a shorty a few weeks ago so i pulled out my ct and stuck an M2 under the bridge position hb cover. i think i'm in love all over again. it's a big fat guitar and this more focused pickup made it sing. can't wait for the weekend!
dannopelli
05-12-2009, 09:06 PM
You know, its kind of funny how we tend to gravitate towards a particular type guitar.
I have been a S type player most of my life. But sometimes it is just so cool to have a couple of humbuckers roar out.
Tom, I am going to pass to you some advice from a friend of mine who asked if I ever play a LP or something like that:
This friend is in NJ. He speaks with an Hispanic accent. Name is Henry. I tell you about his accent so that when you read the quote you can do so in your best Al Pacino in Scarface accent. So I am telling him about the white Classic that I got last year. I am all excited about it. So he asked me about the LP thing. I said I play one sometimes, but it is usually some sort of S guitar.
He says, "Danny, Danny, Danny. You have to have something like an LP. You know, sometimes, when the crowd is not so into it? You have to reach behind you and say, DON'T MAKE ME TAKE THIS OUT!"
Just a bit of humor to top off a great observation by you!
You never know Tom. You may want to keep that Classic nearby!
John Price
05-13-2009, 09:30 AM
I just went through a similar situation! I've been using humbuckers for ever and as I shape my personality as a player over the years I realized that I shine more with single coils what ever form maybe true singles/stacked. Not to say that I don't have fun with humbuckers but when it comes down to choosing what I take to the gig I feel complete using a classic with singles.
I can have a guitar with singles and I wouldn't miss the humbuckers but I can't have a guitar with just humbuckers I start panicking for singles.......
guitarzan
05-13-2009, 11:22 AM
Interesting, fer sure. I am playing with a band tonight that always asks me to bring my Les Paul. (I'm not sure how they're gonna react when I tell them my good friend, Suriel, now owns that Les Paul!!) But every time I do a show with them, I come home and practice afterwards with a strat and I love how it feels like the guitar is formed to my body. The softness of that arm contour against my arm and the smoothness of the belly contour against my hip... it's like the s-style was made with a mold of my torso.
I still like the emotional impression that a LP or a t-style gives me, but my money is always better spent on an s-style. And I'm finding that I don't need to be that guy who owns one of everything to get gigs. Right now, the LP is en vogue, but when the S-style comes back around in 5 years, I'm gonna be sitting pretty.
taclassic
05-13-2009, 12:17 PM
I have found that I am not comfortable anymore with Singlecut shaped guitars.
Last Les Paul I picked up did not feel right..same for the PRS Singlecut I tried.
I just pickup up a Cobra and love the sound and the neck, but I am not comfortable with how it hangs when I play standing up. I do recall that my previous Andy (Drop Top Classic) felt great.
if the sound and neck feel is to your liking then a cobra s would probably be a great fit for you.
Suriel Zayas
05-13-2009, 02:34 PM
(I'm not sure how they're gonna react when I tell them my good friend, Suriel, now owns that Les Paul!!)
cory, as a result of buying that guitar from you, i've had to enroll in the "rock star training school." my daughter ask me everyday if i've seen her eye-liner, but i have a problem looking at her straight in the eye. ;) btw, i am getting custom made spandex pants with strobe lights on the side seams. :D ;) :cool:
i grew up playing lp's and t's. today, the lp feels very weird when hanging, however, the t's still feel just right, very comfy. strats are at home with me, i can pretty much get any tone i need and they feel great. i still can't get over that artists ask me to bring a specific guitar.:mad:
taclassic
05-13-2009, 02:40 PM
I am hoping to pick up a Cobra S.
I know that the S Shape has been my favorite. Funny because the Standard Strat shape I find big and bulky...but the Anderson Strat shape is more to my liking.
tom may not ever under any conditions build himself another strat style guitar...ever...ever.
i pulled out my ct and stuck an M2 under the bridge position hb cover. i think i'm in love all over again. it's a big fat guitar and this more focused pickup made it sing. can't wait for the weekend!
You certainly gave it the old college try. If you feel the urge in the future, you can let us know and we'll institute an intervention. 'zan is familiar with the process:D
I think M2's are the greatest pickups ever (well at least TM2's, haven't had a guitar with a regular M2...yet) Perfect balance of articulation, warmth, and output, IMHO
i'll definitely call if i find the need to be talked down.
i'll definitely call if i find the need to be talked down.
Tom, STEP AWAY FROM THAT STRAT!!!
I'm not a gigging guitarist, so maybe that colors my opinion.
I don't know. I think that I'm a Les Paul/humbucker kind of guy. I LOVE a good Les Paul. I like the feel of the strings, I like the way it handles my striking the strings, I like the way it plays back at me, and I like the tones available. But, I also LOVE the tone on the H2+ in the bridge of my Koa on bass wood HDT......it's killer humbucker tone!! The type of music I play best I THINK sounds best on humbuckers.
But, I can't imagine not having singlecoil guitars, and specifically a Strat and a Tele. There are sounds on a single coil that you just can't get out of a humbucker, esp. the "duck tones" in postition 2 and 4.
The strange thing is, I seem to play a Strat more than any other guitar, even if I fancy myself a LP kind of guy!!
I think that a lot of what guitar I end up playing depends on what amp I'm using. Some amps want single coils, others want buckers. So what amp is "in rotation" has a lot to do with what guitar I pick up. I tend to pull out a singlecoil with Fender combos and the like. And, I tend to pull out a guitar with buckers if I'm playing a Marshall, or similiar amp.
The weight, size, "comfort", thickness of the neck.......most ergonomic related considerations don't seem to make a huge difference to me. I have my favorite guitars in terms of how comfortable they feel. But, I think I play as well on just about any well set up guitar. If I was gigging, and had to perform to a level of excellence in front of an audience and "earn my keep" in a band, I bet I'd be more "demanding" of this sort of stuff. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that if I was playing out, an Andy would be with me at all times!!
The best playing guitars I've ever played are my three Andersons. The best feeling guitar I've ever played is a tie between my Koa HDT and my Andy Classic Strat. The best sounding is a early '60 LP..........and as boxy and heavy as it felt, that DIDN'T MATTER AT ALL!! LOL The tone was heavenly. Of course, it did not come home with me.
Hey Tom, does the move back to the CT indicate that your back is feeling better???
my back is feeling better, but another interesting thing about the way different guitars hang is that my super light hollow atom did not really feel "lighter" on my back than my 8 lb ct. the ct just balances right and hangs perfectly without me having to influence it one way or the other.
as for the gigging vs. home playing, i totally agree. i can play that same classic here at the shop and thoroughly enjoy it. but get me in a live situation and all i want is a 2 pickup guitar that does not hug my tummy:o
michaelomiya
05-14-2009, 02:23 AM
i have never been a strat guy, but this weekend i made myself play the whole evening with it. ...but when i played standing up, it quickly reminded me of how uncomfortable that shape is for me. ....this is not to say that there aren't zillions of people who find this shape the most comfy ever! but tom may not ever under any conditions build himself another strat style guitar...ever...ever.
:D tom, it is ironic that you personally don't find strats even remotely appealing, and yet you have built thousands of these guitars - which their owners (myself included) would swear are THE BEST strats (super strats in my case) they have ever had the pleasure of owning. (and most of us have gone through the fender-knock offs, the Charvels, the Jacksons, the other boo-tiki builders.) Truly a testament to your luthier skills and innovative genious. Sorry to come off as a fan-boy, but after years of playing, there is nothing that comes close IMHO.:cool:
mslugano
05-14-2009, 07:02 AM
My first real guitar was an LP goldtop. I saw Michael Murphy's guitarist playing one at my High School and I was smitten. After about 15 years of gigging LP's, strats and teles, I swore off LP's in about 1990...too heavy, not versatile, poor build quality, fret spacing too close beyond the 12th, etc.
So for almost 20 years as a confirmed 25.5" player I thought I was done...especially once I was turned on to TAGs. Then about two months ago I played a friend's Huber Orca. I was blown away. All korina so lightweight, thinner body than an LP, longer scale so fret spacing works OK, really convincing split coil tones and the quality was incredible. I hope this is not entirely blasphemous to write this on the Anderson Forum, but I think it is my next purchase. I gotta give it a try.
This being said, I will ALWAYS gig with an S and T at hand and if I had to make a choice it would always be an S. I figure the single cut HB model will add something to my choice of tones for performance though and it also might re-confirm my decision to stick with 25.5" scale.
just like there are tons of great amps to choose from these days, there are also lots of great choices for different flavors of guitars.
michael, i've been around strats or strat style guitars for all of my 30+years making guitars, so it's not like i haven't tried to be comfortable with them or impart some of my likings on the ones we make here, but they just don't hang like what i like best for live playing. like i said before, i love sitting around and playing everything we do(in a hushed tone)don't tell anyone, but i actually enjoyed a classic with VA7's the other day, and you all know how i feel about vintage style alnico pickups:o
entraind
05-14-2009, 11:33 AM
Tom, I know what you mean about the way guitars hang. I was convinced that my classic was my end-all guitar, I played various classics for 6 years onstage, sitting down, etc. When I first played an Atom I thought it felt weird but I loved the tone so much that I bought one figuring I'd switch between that and the classic. Now I have 2 atoms :) and never touch the classic (or any other electrics). The Atom feels so right standing and sitting for me--ergonomically it's a true masterpiece and then there is the tone, for me it's perfect.
mslugano
05-14-2009, 12:19 PM
just like there are tons of great amps to choose from these days, there are also lots of great choices for different flavors of guitars.
michael, i've been around strats or strat style guitars for all of my 30+years making guitars, so it's not like i haven't tried to be comfortable with them or impart some of my likings on the ones we make here, but they just don't hang like what i like best for live playing. like i said before, i love sitting around and playing everything we do(in a hushed tone)don't tell anyone, but i actually enjoyed a classic with VA7's the other day, and you all know how i feel about vintage style alnico pickups:o
Yea, I suspect you probably have a pretty darn good frame of reference. I tried to be comfortable with LP's for a long time...just couldn't.
I was loaned the Orca by a friend of mine here in Lugano who is the distributor of Huber, Soloway, Ruokangas and a couple other brands in southern Switzerland and Italy (I assure you it's not lost on me his true intentions when he loans me a guitar...and he knows of my fondness of Andersons). I had the Huber for about a week and it is the first single cut I have played that I decided to give a shot at buying.
Some day I'd like to try an Atom and/or CT but I don't know anyone around here that carries them (you need a distributor here?). I have no doubt that I'd love them which kinda frightens me...I could end up falling back into the single cut zone and then what would I do with my S's and T's?
but i actually enjoyed a classic with VA7's the other day, and you all know how i feel about vintage style alnico pickups:o
I'm shocked. That wasn't accompanied by a "hankerin'" to make a nylon stringed Crowdster, was it? I need to double check my "end times are near" list :)
i think we're safe for a while still. "enjoying" for me is still a long way from "willing to take it out live":D
va7's . . . . . hummmm, go on!
John Price
05-14-2009, 09:05 PM
but i actually enjoyed a classic with VA7's the other day, and you all know how i feel about vintage style alnico pickups:o
Tom,
Any chance that was mine? Was it an olympic white classic with tortoise gaurd... It's due this month.....
dannopelli
05-14-2009, 11:21 PM
va7's . . . . . hummmm, go on!
Yes, please, tell me more!
Will there be a VA 5/7?
Pietro
05-15-2009, 06:18 AM
I pulled out a strat for rehearsal last week (my US Masters). It played great, sounded fine, worked wonderfully with my pedalboard and amp (I hadn't used it with this rig yet), and yet for the weekend ended up going to mainly my Cobra.
This weekend, again... I played that Strat in rehearsal (trying to justify keeping it, I guess)... rehearsal went great, I LOVE the Wilkinson trem on it, used it quite a bit, again... loads of fun...
but...
...I wonder if I'll end up just getting out the Hollow Cobra again (or the PRS) instead...
Then I'll likely get a nice fret dress for this guitar and sell it...
enr1co
05-15-2009, 09:18 AM
Everything about my Atom is just super comfortable, ie. the shape, weight, how it feels playing standing or sitting, but having just received a new Cobra (T shape) the first few moments after removing it from the case, it just felt
like "ahhhh...home again" :)
On a sorta? related subject, how many have looked in a mirror to see how "cool" your Anderson (or any guitar) looks on you while playing (sitting or standing)?
I'll be the first to confess :o
michaelomiya
05-15-2009, 09:47 AM
On a sorta? related subject, how many have looked in a mirror to see how "cool" your Anderson (or any guitar) looks on you while playing (sitting or standing)?
I'll be the first to confess :o
+1, but mine's a SUPA strat with BLACK hardware and a floyd!!:cool: :cool: :D
the VA7's are VA5's but with a stagger that properly matches our flatter neck radius. if you think about vintage pickups, they were made with the use of a 7.25" neck radius. those same"vintage" pickups on a flatter radius neck would give an exaggerated imbalance especially on the middle 2 strings. the VA7's are still staggered but more appropriately match the neck radius. the result is better string to string balance but more noticeably less string pull which can make the g and d strings buzz.
and john, this guitar does happen to be white with a tort guard, maple neck and coffee covers;)
mslugano
05-15-2009, 10:27 AM
the VA7's are VA5's but with a stagger that properly matches our flatter neck radius. if you think about vintage pickups, they were made with the use of a 7.25" neck radius. those same"vintage" pickups on a flatter radius neck would give an exaggerated imbalance especially on the middle 2 strings. the VA7's are still staggered but more appropriately match the neck radius. the result is better string to string balance but more noticeably less string pull which can make the g and d strings buzz.
and john, this guitar does happen to be white with a tort guard, maple neck and coffee covers;)
Tom, you always have a wonderful way of making my existing guitars feel inadequate. :o
I just hope I get a chance to sell my VA5's before the market is flooded. VA7's sound like a great idea.
well in my defense, i try to spend my time working on things that i think could be done better instead of solving the non existent problems. but the VA5 vs VA7 will be one of those i like this one because... deals. i'm sure some will still like the VA5's better.
John Price
05-15-2009, 10:45 AM
and john, this guitar does happen to be white with a tort guard, maple neck and coffee covers;)
That sounds like it! Roy said it might ship out next week! Sweet! Can't wait to try the new pickups............
Thanks!....
dannopelli
05-15-2009, 11:50 AM
Well I WAS happy with VA5's...
Well I WAS happy with VA5's...
Oh man........my new Classic has V5's............
..........I'm gonna need a therapist!! :eek:
mslugano
05-16-2009, 03:05 AM
the doctor is in...
You've got an evil streak. :p
"BRING ME MY DOCTOR!" (from movie "Dune", if you recall)
the doctor is in...
Yes, he is!!! :D
I hear that your "on call" schedule is extensive, but that you never fret about it..................
mslugano
05-16-2009, 01:08 PM
...may be earth humor, but, seems well grounded. (tee-hee-hee...snicker...snicker)
John Price
05-17-2009, 06:17 PM
Tom,
Is there any tonal difference between the va5's and va7's and does the output stay the same?
Thanks!
JP
i feel like they're a fit fuller without loosing any top end. output is the same
Janine Doubly
05-23-2009, 12:05 PM
The Va7's sound like a great addition to the line up of already stellar anderson pickups. I will say, that in my experience with "vintage" style pickups, the stagger effect can be either dramatic or subtle depending on what someone is looking for. When I used to sell Fralins a lot, I had many customers ask specifically for true vintage staggered magnets (high G string magnet) over a more modern stagger, cause they liked what the high magnet did for that string. They were looking for the subtle modulation that occurs when it got too close to the string. Its kind of an SRV/Hendrix thing, I guess. We used to sell a lot of Fralins "Woodstock" pickups, which were essentially his Vintage Hot wind, on a grey bobbin with reversed magnet stagger, to get the "lefty" sound on "righty" guitars. The difference was noticable. Whether this is what a particular person needs, or which is "better" is totally up to the player. Kudos to Tom for offering a "modern" stagger. I prefer the magnet stagger to follow a more modern radius and lower for an unwound G string. I think it tends to sound more full as well.
John Price
06-01-2009, 06:17 PM
I used the VA7's in my new classic over the weekend and have to say it was a great experience in a live situation. With all the Anderson guitars that I've owned over the years ( It's been a lot!) This one stands out to be the best one ever! I'm sure it's a combination of all the parts but It's seems like I'm getting the best classic sound out of this instrument than I ever did! I know its not a big thing but what I really noticed is when I tune the guitar with my SS tuner it zones right in on the B and G strings and keeps a steady/constant signal. Before it would always jump around and I had to choose the neck pickup to get it steady but in all positions its right on.......
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