Anderson Guitarworks Drop Top Guitar, Natural Black to Dark Blue Burst, Roasted Maple Neck and Fretboard, 7.6 lbs.
- Tom Anderson Guitarworks Drop Top
- Natural Black to Dark Blue Burst w/Natural Binding
- Flame Maple Top
- Mahogany Body
- Caramel Maple Neck and Fretboard (satin finish)
- 25.5" Scale Length
- 1 11/16" Nut
- Heavy Stainless Steel Frets
- Even-Taper + .030 Neck Shape: .840 at the first fret to .900 at the 12th
- Buzz Feiten Tuning System
- Anderson H1 (neck), SF2 (middle), and H3 (bridge) Pickups
- 5-Way Pickup Selector + Push/Pull Splitter + VA Booster Mini-Toggle Switch
- Black Hardware
- Recessed Floating Tremolo Bridge w/ Locking Saddles
- Locking Tuners
- G&G Deluxe Tolex Hardshell Case
- Serial #: 10-13-18P
- Instrument Weight: 7.6 lbs
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. The flame maple top on this Drop Top has so much character and the ripples in the flame figuring almost give the top a water-like effect, which goes really well with the natural black to blue burst transition. Complementing this is a beautifully roasted maple neck that not only feels divine but will also be incredibly stable and won't shift around on you.
We designed this guitar with the modern rocker in mind. The hardware gives you worry-free trem use so you can go at it as heavily as you want and never worry about intonation problems. Whether you're going for dive bombs, light trem flutters, or anything in between, you'll be good to go. The immaculate fretwork, overall construction, and the recessed bridge means you'll be able to achieve freakishly low action on the guitar if that's your cup of tea. And if you're going to be shredding away, you'll likely want some pickups that pack some punch. So we threw in a set of versatile, but aggressive pickups in here so you can maintain articulation and clarity even if you're saturating your sound with distortion. They're a medium-to-high output pickup, but still retain a sweet and rich clean sound by not being overwound too much.
The VA booster allows you to dial in 2 levels of boost and tonal coloring for the bridge humbucker. Though the changes are subtle, it's really cool to have this incredible versatility at your fingertips. The VA booster doesn't really take the place of a boost pedal per se. It's more so designed as a way to further color your tone and adds a touch more of lows and low-mids so that the guitar can interact with your pedals or the front end of an amp slightly differently than with the VA booster switch off. Ultimately it just adds a wealth of versatility to a classic hot-rodded S-style design. And just in case you're going "ok... but what other sounds can I get out of it?" Anderson also added a push/pull option on the tone knob that splits the humbuckers so you can get some more traditional, chimey single-coil sounds.
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 worksmanship 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.
Mahogany Back
Focused and aggressive mids bring humbuckers roaring to life and offer an overall powerful experience-, a very popular choice.
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.
(Editor's note: VA Boost is subtle sweetness and saturation. It is not like a foot pedal embedded in your guitar. We find foot pedal level boost better applied and adjusted on the floor in front of your amp. The combination of VA Boost and your favorite pedal can be a magic one.)
Pickups:
H 1: Full, throaty neck humbucker tones that are never bloated, open, clear and rich, splits really well, but with a little more output and fullness for additional oomph. Perfect balance for an H3 bridge pickup or those that want more neck fullness.
SF 2: Hot single coil sound, hum-cancelling. Great for hotter neck and middle applications.
H 3: Thicker, fuller and hotter than the H2+, this is where musical legato begins. Makes the picking hand feel completely fluid while still presenting more than just midrange-only tone.
Position 1: Neck Pickup (series or split with toggle selection)
Position 1 alt: (with push/pull in up position) Neck + Bridge Pickups (series or split with toggle selection)
Position 2: Neck + Middle Pickups (series or split with toggle selection)
Position 2 alt: (with push/pull switch in up position) Neck + Middle + Bridge Pickups (series or split with toggle selection)
Position 3: Middle Pickup (series or split with toggle selection)
Position 4: Middle + Bridge Pickups (series or split with toggle selection)
Position 5: Bridge Pickup (series always)
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.