Is this a real 80s Anderson?

[edrock]

Hello all, I found this on Craigslist & thought it too good to be true, but maybe not. Here's the reply I got to my inquiry:


Here are pics of Anderson, This Anderson is a late 1980's tele. Andersons name is on the bout of the neck. The guitar was apparently refinshed just to protect the body. You may want to refinish. The guy also put a Fender decal on the headstock. I don't know why. Fast player, vintage Anderson, Anderson body and all electronics. The only thing not stock is the Dimarzio pickup from the 1980's. Sounds great. Plays great. I have a Anderson TD-3 pickup if you want. Body is basswood, Maccassar rosewood fretboard, hard rock maple neck, frets are in good shape, 15/8 at the nut ,22 frets, clay DOT markers, neck carve is standard Anderson C shape. PS the original pickgard comes with the guitar which is a vintage cream white pearloid. I put the pickgard on you see in the pictures.

Here are the pics. Isn't she lovely? ;)

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/662918807_T7jWL-L.jpg

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/662919367_meJhn-L.jpg

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/662917958_cBERp-L.jpg

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/662917647_gUhSH-L.jpg

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/662916870_oJhWQ-L.jpg

Here's a LINK (http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/Music/Tom-Anderson/9776593_Cuseh/1/662918807_T7jWL) to the same pics in a zoomable gallery.

Spent some time on the phone with him, seemed pretty knowledgeable and played well over the phone. He says the body is not stamped Anderson, but the neck is. According to him, it dates to the early days at TAG following the sale of Schecter, when TAG was making necks, pickups, and replacement bodies . . . I'm going to check it out this afternoon. For $650, I gotta give it a strum or two and a look see, eh? Thanks in advance for any insight into its authenticity.

[tom]

could be parts we made, but of course not assembled here, not that i don't like penguins. he's done a good job of disguising any affiliation to us.

[edrock]

Thanks Tom, it was definitely a very good parts-caster. Very resonant unplugged, great tones through an old line 6 (not my choice of amp, but that's what the seller had). It had some serious miles on it, 'bout ready for a fret dress, and I didn't expect he'd pull the neck for a lineage check, but he did offer it to me for $575 with the non-Penguin-inlaid pickguard included. If it had a chunkier neck I may have bought it on the spot, but I think I'll save the money for an Anderson that exhibits some affiliation. :D

[mdrs]

Hummmmmmmmm..........Penguins.

[edrock]

And don't forget Frosty!

[edrock]

The guy kept emailing me lower prices until I had to buy it.

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/671606032_Y5Ch7-L.jpg

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/671608125_N6F22-L.jpg

One important step completed . . .
http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/671606845_szNHf-L.jpg

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/671608682_UBbAg-L.jpg

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/671608972_8oJeR-L.jpg

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/671609505_PVHHc-L.jpg

Euuuuu, time for a lil cleanup in aisle 9, eh?

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/671609249_ShtGf-L.jpg

Before:

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/662919367_meJhn-L.jpg

Just like it sits in the above shot, this guitar is a tone monster. I'm rather stoked, I must say. I plugged it into some handwired tube goodness and was enthralled for well over an hour. Completely forgot about dinner. I was brought out of my reverie long enough to eat, then took the ancient, brittle strings off, opened 'er up, cleaned off the F***** decal, de-penguined & de-pickholdered it, slapped a set of curt mangans on 'er . . . and

After:

http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/photos/671685974_rVMRj-L.jpg

looks significantly more tolerable, (to me) sounds even better than it did! Next up, clean up the wiring, get the frets leveled, crowned & polished, and keep this Gallery (http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/Music/Tom-Anderson/9776593_Cuseh/1/671608125_N6F22) updated. Then what, take the pink & blue house paint off & try a Tru-Oil finish on the body? ;)

[edrock]

Fretwork & rewire done including new pots. This um.... shall we say 'unusual' looking guitar plays & sounds fabulous!
I updated the Gallery (http://monkeydog.smugmug.com/Music/Tom-Anderson/9776593_Cuseh/1/662918807_T7jWL) with pics of the fretwork & wiring.
As pleased as I am with the lil beast, the neck is just too slim for my taste, and since I've got a new amp being built that's gonna need to be paid for, I've posted this in the Emporium over at TGP (http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=618267) for what I've got in it. Think there's any point in posting it for sale here? Thanks for all your feedback. As my situation improves, I hope to join the ranks of more recent vintage actual TAG-built TAG owners! :D

[tom]

now that i see it disassembled, it's not our body, but still funky cool looking.

[edrock]

Thanks Tom, does the neck look like yours?

[tom]

yes, i even remember the guy who's name is on it. he bashed us on the internet because his body got broken real badly and he said it was our fault only to find out years later that his band mates had put it on the floor and stomped all over it.

[edrock]

Now that's provenance. I'm not sure that'll help me sell the guitar, but hey - at least we know it's an Anderson neck, and that Anderson necks are built like tanks and can withstand the stomping of angry bandmates! I assume that since he bashed y'all on the internet he didn't bring it to you for repair, eh? :D

[bruce]

yes, i even remember the guy who's name is on it. he bashed us on the internet because his body got broken real badly and he said it was our fault only to find out years later that his band mates had put it on the floor and stomped all over it.

I will never, ever forget that guy. Knowing that guy now, I feel the pain the bandmates had to endure just being in a band with him.

[tom]

he sent it for repair and i told him the cracks were not our fault but i would repair them for a price. when i could not meet his time frame he took it back and sold all his andersons and ranted about our terrible customer service.

[mdrs]

Sounds to me like this dude was lucky that his bandmates only stomped his guitar.

Then again, what do I know??

:)

[edrock]

His attitude's all his parents fault for naming him J. Schwab Rudnick, doncha know. At least he's still got that gig in Nebraska thanks to the degree in Veterinary Proctology dear ol' Mr. & Mrs. Rudnick bought him . . . . ;)

Or is he J. Rudnick Schwab, the intrepid author of such noble tomes as "My Life With Body Odor" and "Even My Dog Hates Me." Let us not forget his latest release - his daring foray into the Self Help genre - "No Way Outta A-Holeville".

Whatta guy. What - a - guy!

[edrock]

Hey Tom, do you remember there being any damage to the neck when he brought it in with the cracked body? I've looked it over again carefully, and I can't find any evidence of cracks, breaks, or repairs. Considering how well you remember the owner - did the neck in fact survive the ritual stomping as it appears to have? I don't want to misrepresent this thing to any perspective buyers.
Thanks in advance!

[tom]

it wasn't that guitar, it was an alder classic 3 color burst.

[edrock]

Will this TAG neck fit any Fender Tele body? US, Japan, MIM?
Thanks!

[tom]

in theory they're all the same size. tele's have the square butt, strat's have a radius on the end. strats will fit in tele's with gaps in the corners. tele's will not fit in strats.

[Jimmy-Sekshun8]

So I have to ask. Let's just say, I want to buy another Tommy (at some point I will but this is just a hypothetical question and in no way affects my desire to purchase a 4th), what's the chance of getting a Cobra S with Penguin fret inlays? :) Not that I am in love with penguins, but they do add an interesting flavor to the guitar. So, I thought it would be fun to ask.

[tom]

you'd have to have that done after the fact. i'm not a good penguinere.

[Ray K.]

i'm not a good penguinere.
My goodness. Here I thought you were trying to pull a fast one and made up a fancy sounding new word. But it is a real word! :eek:

Learning new and quite useful stuff all the time here... :D

Ray K.

[tom]

really, it's a real word? i thought i was making it up.

[Ray K.]

You're a poet (or linguist) and don't know it... :rolleyes:

Ray K.

[mdrs]

I believe that there's an international treaty regulating the use of penguins on electric guitars..............

[Jimmy-Sekshun8]

you'd have to have that done after the fact. i'm not a good penguinere.

So Tom, what you're saying is, "A man's gotta know his limitations," right?

[Suriel Zayas]

penguinere.

luthier...........penguinere. can easily be mistaken. please forgive jimmy, he doesn't know better, the fumes of fresh cobra smell have overtaken him. :D

[Jimmy-Sekshun8]

Actually Suriel Zayas, I was smitten with the idea of having penguins for fret markers. Ok, not really, but I would like to know what was going through that guys mind when he put penguins on his pick guard. "Hmmm, what can I do to my guitar to give it some character? I know, I'll paint it with light blue-green Kilz then I'll have a pick guard with penguins. Yeah, that's the ticket, I'll make my guitar look like a frickin' scene from Ice Age."

So, now that I've established that, here is the ultimate Anderson:

Cobra-S, quilted maple top, Arctic Blue, rosewood neck with a quilted maple headstock top painted Arctic Blue, penquin fret markers, H3 M1 M1 (custom build white). We'll call her the Ice Princess.

Yeah yeah yeah, I know, none of it will happen, but just having the same harmless fun that our guy had when he thought pengins on a guitar were a great idea.