Anderson Guitarworks Drop Top HSS Guitar, Blue Wipeout, Maple Fretboard, Quilt Top, VA Booster
Player's Perspective
Music Store Live is proud to be an official Tom Anderson Guitarworks dealer and we just got in another gorgeous guitar from them. This one's got a gorgeous quilt maple top with figuring so deep you'll think you're going to drown in the beautiful blue wipeout fade finish.
We had the crew over at Anderson give us a modern hot-rodded drop-top guitar but we wanted it to still be able to achieve some more classic and traditional sounds by splitting the bridge pickup and/or using the single-coil middle and neck pickups (in other words, you can get a strat or a tele 3rd position configuration) via the push/pull tone knob. The result is a very versatile axe that can handle just about anything from modern applications to vintage tones.
The pickup switching is intuitive and unique at the same time. The mini-toggle is a 3-way switch that can split the bridge pickup, leave it at full power, or activate the VA Booster circuit. The VA Booster, along with a small gain boost, is really more designed to change the color of your pickup and your sound. If you're playing with any kind of distortion or saturation, it'll just add a bit more "oomph" to your sound and, with the flip of a switch, can get you a more aggressive tone out of the bridge. When playing clean, it'll serve as a slight volume increase. It's almost as if you swapped out the bridge pickup for something more overwound.
It's become a regular saying here at the shop, whenever we get an Anderson guitar in, that "Tom Anderson can do no wrong" and time and time again that sentiment is proven to be true. Here's another phenomenal example of the killer workmanship coming out of Mr. Anderson's factory.
Manufacturer's Description
Before the introduction of the magnificent Drop Top in 1990, the number of "S" style guitars that had a maple top that was “dropped” to create a comfortable forearm contour were exactly zero. As a result of this design, we've chosen a body top thickness of 3/16 of an inch, which actually enhances and enriches the sonic character of the instrument. The result is a guitar that not only plays effortlessly, is extremely comfortable, and sounds amazing but is so darn good looking that if you don't dress well it just may upstage you.
Alder Body
Dating back to the late 1950's, this is the wood found in more 3 single coil, double cut-away, 25 1/2" scale length guitars than any other. Due to its wide spread popularity it produces a very familiar tone, a "vintage tone." Its sound is primarily a thicker, midrange tone. It is very full in the low midrange yet produces enough upper midrange to be clear and articulate.
Pickups:
SC1: Slightly more than vintage level, single-coil sound, humcanceling (great for neck and middle application).
HC2: Our other most popular humbucker, perhaps. Who wouldn’t love a medium-hot output package with all the vintage flavor firmly in place, wound to create a full bouquet of tonalities. Muscular mids with a smattering of lush and soft highlights so it is impressively musical, with never a hint of that “oops, I accidentally sat on a duck,” tone. Beautiful from all tonal angles.
Position 1: Neck Pickup
Position 2: Neck + Middle Pickups
Position 3: Middle Pickup
Position 3 (alternate): Neck + Bridge Pickups
Position 4: Middle + Bridge Pickups
Position 5: Bridge Pickup
VA Booster
VA Booster is a no-battery powered color change for the pickups to which it is applied, approx. 4db on single coil-style pickups and split humbuckers. The boost's effect is less apparent on full-power humbucker pickups but lends a nice saturation and smoothness.
It is as if, with the flick of an unobtrusive mini-toggle switch (see photo), we rewind your pickups for a little more saturation and oomph while still retaining the same overall character, very nice.
Clicking the booster transitions the pickups to the next level, as though we put the “next hotter” set of pickups into your guitar
Specifications
BODY
- Model: Drop Top HSS
- Color: Blue Wipeout
- Top: Quilt Maple
- Body: Alder
- Binding: Natural
- Back Color: Transparent Blue
NECK
- Fretboard: Maple
- Neck: Maple - Satin
- Scale: 25.5"
- Radius: 12" - 14" Compound
- Nut Width: 1 11/16"
- Neck Profile: Even Taper - .810 at the first fret to .870 at the 12th
- Frets: 22, Heavy, Stainless Steel
ELECTRONICS
- Neck and Middle Pickups: SC1 Single-Coils
- Bridge Pickup: HC2 Humbucker
- Controls: Volume, Tone (push/pull for alternate 3rd position pickup configuration)
- Switches: 3-Way Split/Normal/VA Booster Mini-Toggle, 5-Way Blade Pickup Selector
HARDWARE
- Bridge: Vintage Tremolo
- Tuners: Locking
MISCELLANEOUS
- Case: Black Tolex Hardshell
- Serial #: 12-12-19A
- Instrument Weight: 7.3 lbs.
Overall Condition
Music Store Live is proud to be an authorized dealer for Tom Anderson Guitarworks. This Drop Top is 100% brand new and is being sold with a full manufacturer's warranty. Photos are of the exact guitar you'll receive.
Our in-house guitar tech will inspect, test, set up, and clean all of our instruments on site prior to shipping. All of our instruments are guaranteed to be fully functional upon arrival.