Took my Atom and Classic to a Friend's house last night...

[Pietro]

...he hadn't seen them yet, and I'm moving away soon, so I wanted him to.

He's an admitted Fender Custom Shop snob. All his guitars are Fender CS and he has a RIDICULOUSLY cool 60s or 70s syle one that is reliced nicely that plays and sounds amazing... He absolutely positively would not ever own anything else.

He also had one of those new 3 x 10 Bandmasters from the Custom Shop or some such (it is an AMAZING amp).

We plugged the Classic in and he liked it, especially the neck.

But...

... we plugged in the Atom, went to the middle position, split the coils, turned the volume to about 40%... and he would NOT HAND IT BACK to me.

He was blown away.

Just thought you should know.

[tom]

how un fender can you get!

[Pietro]

how un fender can you get!

Tom, he has admired TAs that I and a couple mutual friends have had for years, and always said they were nice, but not for him.

This time, he was seriously considering trying to offer something in trade for that Atom... but he knows it's going nowhere.

Seriously... This is the finest electric guitar I've ever touched. Thanks again for making my life better!

[Briggs]

how un fender can you get!

Not enough :D

I'm gonna run and hide now before the slings and arrows start flying!

Seriously though Peter. I'm intrigued by the Hollow Atom. I know you said it would cover all the LP tone you needed, but how close to a semi hollow (i.e. 335ish) tone can it get?

[BFC]

I'm torn between the looks of the Bulldog and the functionality of the Atom. Decisions... Decisions...

[Pietro]

...Seriously though Peter. I'm intrigued by the Hollow Atom. I know you said it would cover all the LP tone you needed, but how close to a semi hollow (i.e. 335ish) tone can it get?

Not at all. More like a LP wish "zhing"... Not like a 335 at all, imho.

single coil tones are way way more useful than I ever would have guessed.

[Pietro]

I'm torn between the looks of the Bulldog and the functionality of the Atom. Decisions... Decisions...

I hear ya.

I wonder if Tom would make a Bulldog shaped guitar with the Atom control layout?

[tom]

no 5 way on the bulldog. we have done a couple with only two knobs but still retain the 3 way on the upper bout.

335's are midrange funnels, no low bass and no high treble. i really think they have to be plywood to get that same sound. that's one of the reasons we probably will not do one. that construction style is just too different to be practical for us. collings does both and i think if you played the two side by side you'd see what i mean. a hollowed out solid wood guitar in that style just doesn't do what they do.

[Briggs]

awesome. Thanks for the info Tom and Peter. Extremely helpful as always.

[BFC]

I'm leaning toward a hollow Atom with a Bigsby and PQs right now. Maybe a Bulldog later.

[Pietro]

I'm leaning toward a hollow Atom with a Bigsby and PQs right now...

I would LOVE one of those! A special for me... all-mahogany sweetness...

[Big Harry]

Bravo Pietro !
I like those stories from the real life, with the real people playing TAG's for the first time .
That specific face expression is priceless !
Doesn't matter what they say after that, face expression tell me all !! :cool:

The same thing , even more dramatic , happen with Kemper , these days....

Imagine now crazy combination of TAG + Kemper = ultimate facemaker !!! :D

It is definitively times of changes in the world of guitars and guitar toys
And that's good !

[gibson5413]

Bravo Pietro !
I like those stories from the real life, with the real people playing TAG's for the first time .
That specific face expression is priceless !
Doesn't matter what they say after that, face expression tell me all !! :cool:

The same thing , even more dramatic , happen with Kemper , these days....

Imagine now crazy combination of TAG + Kemper = ultimate facemaker !!! :D

It is definitively times of changes in the world of guitars and guitar toys
And that's good !


I bolded where I am at right now. Loving my TAGs and Kemper right now.

[Big Harry]

+1 ! TAG & KPA team ! ;)

[kevin h]

no 5 way on the bulldog. we have done a couple with only two knobs but still retain the 3 way on the upper bout.

335's are midrange funnels, no low bass and no high treble. i really think they have to be plywood to get that same sound. that's one of the reasons we probably will not do one. that construction style is just too different to be practical for us. collings does both and i think if you played the two side by side you'd see what i mean. a hollowed out solid wood guitar in that style just doesn't do what they do.

i totally agree with tom on this. i've owned a few 335's over the years and i've played both of the collings i35 models. they are both very nice instruments, but the non-laminated construction model just does not sound like a 335.

[dannopelli]

no 5 way on the bulldog. we have done a couple with only two knobs but still retain the 3 way on the upper bout.

335's are midrange funnels, no low bass and no high treble. i really think they have to be plywood to get that same sound. that's one of the reasons we probably will not do one. that construction style is just too different to be practical for us. collings does both and i think if you played the two side by side you'd see what i mean. a hollowed out solid wood guitar in that style just doesn't do what they do.

I had a PRS Hollow I and have 335.They sound NOTHING alike. The PRS was a great guitar in all aspects and far warmer. But it was kind of non-descript, which is often my complaint about PRS, and I've had quite a few.

So I sold it, waiting for the eventual TAG Hollow F holed guitar. I know it is not going to sound like a 335. But I got that sound in an actual 335. But as with all of my Andersons, I know it will have its own identifiable character.

Whenever it comes around...