Anderson Drop Top Classic

1993 Drop Top Classic made in California(as every Anderson guitar outta there, I suppose).
Pickup controls are made by the infamouse Switcheroo system, that gives great flexibility , much better than a standard 5-ways toggle.
Pickup configuration is S-S-H, passive electronics.
Pickups are two SL1 at the neck and the in the middle, and one humbucker HN2+ at the bridge
Body made of basswood, with maple neck and palisander finish.
Bridge is a fantastic Kahler, that gives good sustain even if it is not fixed (I'm plannin' to fix it in the low part and to limit excursion to just one side, to improve sustain, because I do not need to do the Vai's things a lot).

Buzz Feiten tuning system (Great!!! Once you try it , you will never go back). Large frets.

Bought use in Italy in 1999-2000(I do not remember exactly). It included a sturdy case, that , trust me , it will nver fail even if I run over it with a bulldozer. Great-added-value.

My style is primarily rock-blues oriented type a' la Guns and Roses, Led Zeppelin. Dismised to play heavy music since a lot of time.
I like also to play a few funk and country.
I have used this baby with a lot of different guitar amps, including:
-Laney chrome o'zone class A
-Marshall JCM 900 SL-X (100% pure tube path, as instead JCM900's Dual reverb).
-Laney GH100 (hi-gain tube guitar head)
-Some small fender tube and hybrid amps.

Actually I'm using it with the Marshall and with a small combo amp 10% tube, that has been manufactured in the 60's I think (brand is LOYOLA, I think nobody knows it), very voxey-AC-30 in the sound.


The only effects I ever used is the built-in reverb in the amps, and a ibanez tube screamer reissue for leads.
Actually I do not use anything between guitar and amp, because I like to hear the sound of my fingers, without anything that alters this sound.

I like also to play with a quite high action, because the sound is stronger, with a much better sustain, and I think it gives much greater personality in the sound and in the way you hit the strings.

I would like to say that the Anderson complements well my playin' style: it is true, as many others said, that it plays like butter, and it can sounds sweety or aggressive depending to your playin style, and pickup height-configuration.

It is also the less-noisy guitar I have ever heard, even with high gain sounds the hum is very very low.

I used to think to this guitar to a stratocaster, with a Gibson sound in the bridge, with less personality than these two guitars, but with more dynamics and sensitivity.
So the sound can be full or bright depending how you set pickups, even if I have to say that usually is quite bright , similar to a stratocaster, this I think is due to the woods used.

On thing to say is that the sound is never thin and brittle, unless you want to obtain this type of sound ( you can do this thank to the switcheroo that can set the PU's in every known configuration).

Dynamics are great, and changing your playin style and attack hughely affects your sound. Maybe the sound is missing a little of "punch" or "take-it-in-your-face" that can comes only for heavy-rock or metal-designed guitars(as jackson, Bc-rich or ibanez), but if extreme styles are not for you the sound is always incredibly rich, full of harmonics, and round.
Sound is quite soft, yet aggressive when it needs to be, but it can never become harsh.

I'll give it a 9, because it is true that the perfection does not exist, even if the sound of this guitar is simply great.

Action was shitty when I purchased , but I think it was the guy that had it before that was not able to set it well.
So for all the other, I cannot judge the catory settings, because I got it used.
A couple of minor flaws are present, like very used screws that sometimes can make me lose the correct setting, but after 10 years I suppose it is time to change them.

Finish is astonishing, and I think that only a custom made Gibson Les Paul can be better than this.

This guitar absolutely rules during live playing, and it is very reliable.
The hardware is top-class and it's easy to see that it was made for very long life lasting. In fact, this guitar has 10 years, and tuning is still perfect.

Strap button solid as hell.

I use another gutiar as a backup for gigging, but only in case of string-breaks.

Nerver dealt with the company.

I'm playing for 7 years, and I own also a Ibanez guitar, a shitty strat japanese copy, and a couple of amps.
If it will be stolen, I will look for another guitar that will give me the same features of Anderson: if I will not find anything similar, I will wait and I will buy another Anderson.
Compared to all other guitars I have played(Ibanez JEM, Les Pauls, stratocaster, various ibanez models, Hamers, and Peavey), I think it's superior class and tone.


I love pretty much everything about it: the only things missing is traditional old Les-Paulsy and stratish bluesy tones, but I think there is no other way to obtain that sound that to buy a original vintage guitar.
Another missing thing is the nasty in-your-face metal sound, but you can spend a few bucks and get a guitar only for doing that.

For all the other things in the middle, the T.A. drop top classic is simply fabolous.

In late 2002 I purchased this Anderson after thinking I'd never spend more than $2,000 for a guitar. I am soooo happy my fiance prodded me into doing it as this machine is unlike anything I have ever played before (always been a Strat guy). 22 frets with the most gorgeous Walnut top on top of Maple. Twin Hummers up and down with a 5-way toggle. Huge range in this thing from throaty to bright. Buzz's tuners (work great after you get used to them). What brought me to the guitar was the neck shape - semi-thin and plays like butter.

I grew up on 70's rock and have made the transition to Blues and am comfortable with Country. This guitar is at home in all three places. Very fast action on the middle and high end of the neck. I run it through a Hot Rod De Ville and use a distortion box on the Clear channel rather than the Drive setting as the guitar throws a LOT of sound to the amp. If you turn the guitar volume down and play through the Drive side of the amp, the result is a quiet buzzy hum that works great in Rock and some Blues - heavy on the reverb.

I could not find a single flaw with the factory set-up. Excellent fit and finish. Learning the tuning hardware took a couple of tries before you get it down cold. Very nice hardshell case goes with it. I had a minor problem with the volume pot which was repaired right away by the sales staff. Pricy and worth it!

I've played this almost nightly for close to a year now. All I do is wipe the sweat off nightly and replace the strings every other week. It's as pretty and playable as the day I bought it. I have gigged without backup. Plan to match it with a semi-hollow body in the future just to round out the Blues side, but, this Anderson will do 95% of what's needed.

Most of the customer support has come from the retailer and has been excellent. The sales staff (all of whom play very well, I might add) were sorry to see it leave the store. Too bad they probably won't be seeing it for repairs anytime soon.

I've played off and on for about 30 years now - seriously again for the last 5. If this thing had been around in the early years, I would've pissed off my folks and bagged college for a life of playing in a road band.

There was a lot of emotion attached to this purchase as the fiance I mentioned earlier (the one who prodded me to spend the extra money on this) died of cancer a month later. Consequently, it would break my heart if it were ever stolen. Best features? Simply put, it is as comfortable to play and as strong and beautiful as she was.

I was thiiiissss close to buying a PRS when the salesman introduced me to the Anderson line. I compare the exhilaration of playing the Anderson vs. PRS as I did playing the PRS vs. a Strat - it's that good! As for an overall rating - you gotta be kiddin' me!

My Drop Top Classic features a highly-figured Cajun Magenta maple top with natural binding on a black basswood body. Its one-piece maple neck has medium-jumbo frets and the perfect feel for my hands. Mine was born in the morning of 11-8-96. It has the Buzz Feiten Tuning System, locking tuning machines, and a pickup configuration of: SD1R, SD1, and H2+. The guitar has a volume pot, a tone pot, a normal 5-way toggle switch, and a mini 2-way toggle that splits the stacked humbuckers in the neck and middle position. EVERY PICKUP SETTING SOUNDS AMAZING.

I play funk, fusion, jazz, and rock, and I give lessons to put myself through college. In all my 6 years of playing guitar, I have never played a solidbody electric that comes close to the tones that flow out of this guitar. This guitar is PERFECT for funk, rock, and fusion--it can be snappy, poppy, mean-and-beefy, or it can sing or scream. However, I'll stick to my giant hollowbody for jazz (let's be real--an Anderson isn't made to sound like an ES-175).
Anyway, It is highly responsive to how you attack it. The harmonic colors that come out of it are the sweetest ever. I had mine set up by John LeVan when I was in Nashville with my band, and he knows Tom and Buzzy, so I had him intonate my guitar for me, and I really think that helped. I haven't played another Anderson that sounds as good as mine (to me, anyway). If I had the time, I'd drive to the factory and buy the entire Anderson Guitarworks crew a beer.

Well, let's see...it is a dream to play, it looks incredible, the pickups are the best I've heard, it stays in tune incredibly well, and has absolutely no flaws. I am very impressed with the fretjob on this guitar.

When I gig, I use this as my main guitar, and I have no backup for it. What the hell could back this up, anyway? I'm still in school, so I can't afford ANOTHER one of these. I'm happy to say that I haven't needed to. I have never broken a string on this guitar nor had any horrific problems. It is rock solid.

I have talked to Roy at the Anderson factory, and I have emailed him, and in both cases, he was incredibly helpful and friendly. The guy is just enthusiastic about building the perfect guitar. He's with Anderson because the rest of the people there share that enthusiasm. He actually thanked me for choosing to play an Anderson, and I could tell he meant it. It was awesome.

I have been playing for 6 years. In the category of solidbody electrics, I've played Strats, Les Pauls, and even the occasional Ibanez Talman (a neat little guitar that lacks any and every kind of tonal identity), and this guitar tops them all with a grace and sound on an entirely different level. I regret nothing about purchasing it except maybe that I hadn't found out about it sooner. If it were stolen, I would mourn long and hard. I would also buy another Anderson with the insurance money, but I would be scared that it wouldn't sound as good as this one.

Made in 1995. Gorgeous flamed maple top, transparent amber finish.
S/S/H configuration, with Anderson's switcheroo thingee. There are even dip switches in the back of the guitar for parallel-series sound options but I'm quite happy with the ones on the front so havent had to experiment with the ones behind. There's such a thing as too many options!
Floyd Rose Tremolo.The knobs have no indicators which is a minor bummer, but I can always have them changed.

I play jazz mostly, but use the Anderson for funk and fusion. Play it clean or crunch thru my Yamaha DG100-212. The sound is incredibly rich and versatile. Guitar is very quiet. It blows away every Strat I've tried. The clean out-of-phase sound option is particularly appealing to me.

For a really heavy full sound, I'd still go for my twin-humbuckers-in-a-mahogany-log Les Paul, but the Anderson is lighter, cleaner, faster and more responsive to volume and tone knob adjustments. I play it thru various amps and find that it sounds great thru them all so it appears not to be amp-sensitive.

I get tired of reading abt Anderson's perfect fit and finish but , hey, they really ARE perfect!! The setup was perfect right out of the box, the finish incredible, the flamed top mouth-watering. The frets were, in particular, incredibly finished. No burrs, no rough areas. Plays like butter.

It looks delicate because it's so beautiful, but I've put this thing thru some rough gigs and it still plays great and stays in tune better than you'd expect. It's not Buzz-Feitenized, but the intonation is as perfect as I need. I keep it in the case when I dont play it. I once had it stored away for 3 months and when I took it out again, it was still perfectly in tune!

No contact so far. None needed.

Been playing 28 years, own Gibsons, Yamahas , Martins, Taylors, an Ovation and an Epiphone. I have absolutely no complaints abt the Anderson. For me, it's as great a Strat-style guitar as I can imagine.
I hardly use the tremolo and next time may go for a guitar without a tremolo - makes string changing easier!

i recently purchased another drop top classic, and this one was built entirely to my specs. the one i reviewed below was one i purchased used.

the anderson drop top classic is a 22-fret double-cutaway instrument which is characterized by a back wood made of basswood, alder, swamp ash, or mahogany. the top is actually a piece of figured maple or figured koa which has been "bent" or "dropped" over the forearm contour.

this model is a 2001 model with an alder back and a flame maple top--compared to the more common basswood/maple combination, this yields more lower midrange punch and slightly more upper midrange bite. it's a big sound, but it cuts a little more than the very even-responsed basswood/maple configuration. the thing i love about this wood combination is that you get the wonderful lushness and harmonic complexity that alder gives--something you cannot get with a basswood back.

this guitar has a solid maple neck. frets are anderson heavy frets on a 1-11/16" anderson standard contour neck. frets are immaculately crowned and polished--they don't get any better than this. pickup configuration is SSH (neck to bridge), though HSH, SS and HH configurations are also available. controls include a master volume and master tone, a 5-way switch, a master splitter, and an add bridge/add neck push-pull pot on the tone control. this configuration is as easy to use as a standard 5-way and infinitely more versatile.

all of the pickups in my guitar are double-coils. the single-coils are actually stacked pickups, so you can wire them in series, parallel, or split. my preference is to run them split or series, and that's what my master splitter is assigned to--however, you can also assign the splitter to switch between series and parallel, if so desired. the wonderful thing about this switching is that the fifth position on the 5-way is ALWAYS the bridge pickup in series, regardless of how the master splitter is set--that means i lose the stock single-coil strat pickup tone, but i've never been a big fan of that tone, anyway. with the master splitter and the 5-way, i can keep the in-between positions completely split for a more authentic strat tone, while not having to worry about not having the bridge humbucker tone in series at my fingertips. the add neck/add bridge option is also a great option for adding more warmth to your bridge pickup settings or for getting more bite out of your neck pickup settings--as the name implies, it basically adds the neck pickup to any bridge pickup setting, or vice versa. anderson has chosen to go this route instead of using a blend pot a la don grosh because tom feels that the blend pot loads down the signal and changes the tone.

pickups are anderson's own design--i have an SA1R stacked single-coil in the neck position, an SA1 stacked single-coil in the middle position, and an H3 humbucker in the bridge position--check the pickup review database for my extensive reviews on the H3 (i will review the SA's in the future). compared to the SL's i had in my previous drop top classic, the SA's are fatter and punchier, without that scoop in the midrange and that compression. this brings the tone more in line with a traditional overwound single-coil pickup compared to the more compressed "studio rat" sound that i get out of the SL's. however, anderson pickups are by nature very versatile, so i can cover lots of bases with either pickup.

electronics are completely passive. finish is an immaculate gloss transparent white tusk finish which highlights the beauty of the flame maple top. anderson is renowned for its finishes, and this one is truly stunning. imagine a mary kay white over figured maple, and you're in the ballpark. i have the first guitar they've ever finished in this color, and it's amazing--so stunning that anderson isn't sure that they're going to offer this in the future, simply because of the fact that it requires such a stunning piece of figu

my musical style is primarily rock, pop and funk. the anderson is incredibly versatile for those styles, and it's used by players ranging from neal schon to vivian campbell to studio ace dann huff to country cats like brent rowan. the andersons are incredibly versatile guitars, and i can go from a big high-gain rock soloing tone to a clean funk setting with the flick of a switch and the stomp of my amp channel's switching pedal.

i use the anderson with a bogner ecstasy head and a bogner straight 412 cabinet with vintage 30's. i use effects from a t.c. electronic M-one sparingly (mostly just a slight bit of pitch shift to thicken the sound and some delay for ambience), and i use a monster rock 21' cable and custom-made speaker cables made from 10-gauge canare wire and extra-large switchcraft plugs. strings are SIT power wound, gauged .009 to .042 on the guitar, and picks are standard fender extra heavys.

the anderson is incredibly quiet and has a rich, balanced, complex sound. plugged in, you'll be simply amazed by the complexity and richness of the tone. i'd liken the anderson in many ways to an AMG mercedes. it's a sleek-looking car, but it's not gaudy, and it has refinement and class. though exceedingly civilized and genteel in its manners, you can lay on the accelerator and make that AMG aggressively corner at high speeds. in many ways, the anderson resembles the mercedes--it looks very understated and refined, and you know it's a top-quality instrument when you pick it up. like the AMG, the anderson is exceedingly smooth and balanced, but it can exhibit incredible muscle and power when you want it to.

another incredible aspect about anderson guitars are their rich acoustic tones. if you ever have a chance, play it acoustically first, and listen to the way that the strings resonate against the wood, giving you a rich, woody, organic sound. that sound portends incredible things from the instrument when plugged in, and the anderson never fails to deliver jaw-dropping tones.

the andersons are incredibly versatile. as i said before, you literally can get just about any tone out of this guitar, from dark jazz tones to all-out high-gain heavy metal to country spank to crying blues tones to skanky funk tones. and with the switching system, the anderson can give you this versatility at the flick of a switch.

honestly, there are no dislikes about this guitar...it's an amazing instrument and one that has made me a lifelong anderson devotee.

factory setup is immaculate. action couldn't be any lower, and it's incredibly smooth and refined. pickup height was adjusted for perfect balance--i haven't touched the heights since having the guitar set up. everything about the guitar's construction is 100% immaculate--you simply cannot buy a better-built guitar today. in every way, the anderson rates an A+

i've owned a lot of andersons in my time--and still own four to this day--and i can attest to their reliability and durability. yes, it's a beautiful instrument, but it's meant to be played and not simply looked at. all of the components are durable and will last the test of live playing. lots of touring musicians have been using andersons with great results, and they've gotten top-notch remarks for every major guitar publication--for good reason.

as far as gigging without a backup, because my instrument has a floating trem, i would tend not to do so. however, if you're asking if i would be inclined to rely on this guitar because of its workmanship, i'd say a resounding yes. the fact that i have to gig with a backup is really only a byproduct of the floating tremolo problem when you break strings, not because of anything less than exemplary in anderson's build quality.

anderson has, without a doubt, THE BEST customer service on the planet. every time i talk to them, i feel as if i'm the only customer that really matters to them, and tom anderson, roy fought, and laurie berg have been extremely helpful in many ways.

anderson truly supports their guitars, and they do a fantastic job of customer service. anderson gets my highest vote for customer support. no one else comes close.

i've been playing 17 years and currently do studio work. in the past i have managed bands and produced artists, and i still frequently get involved in new artist development.

as far as the anderson goes, this is the ultimate guitar for what i want. if it was lost or stolen, i'd certainly be disappointed, but because of anderson's incredible build quality, consistency, attention to customer service, and dedication to innovation, i would have no problem purchasing another instrument, knowing fully well it would equal or exceed my current instrument.

My Drop Top Classic was born in March of 2001 in the State of California. Its a 25 1/4 scale neck made with rock maple which features an unusually dark african rosewood fretboard. I knew those guys were looking out for me.. It goes well with the quilted maple top which is a georgeous transparent black burst on top of a solid alder body. I cant complain about a thing, it was all to my order and better than I had imagined. The slickest thing is the wiring where it applies to the pickup configuration and the tone and volume controlls.. pickup config.. Hum Single Hum, five way toggle, with a bridge add push pull switch in the tone pot and hum single two way toggle to make it strat like... vintage voicing.. I dig it..Oh yeah.. all chrome hardware, matching headstock (black..)and a strat like trem ( I dont personally dig floyds...)

It does everything Its supposed to. The only problem is that there are soo many possiblities that I would have to have a dozen or more of Toms wonderful guitars to get them all the different sounds I could dream of in one room. Woods, scales.. body types.. pickups.. necks.. you name it. However.. the test is this.. what does a person who does not play think of it when they hear it for the first time? My girlfriend listened to me playing (she didnt have much choice unless she left the apartment..) the new axe for the first time and she said flat out.. that is MUCH better than your other guitar. And there you have it. Its tight and focused.. crisp, warm, not dark.. resonant. not neccisarrily perfect but... beautifulll...

Action.. "plays like butter.."
Top was well matched.. I had to look closely to see..
Set up and ready to go, finish.. wonderfull, georgeous, all that beauty and you dont have to play have to play some gaudy instrument that says "I am stuck in the past few decades and have no original sense of style..." It is all about YOUR style.. you pick it out.
Oh yeah.. the Elixer string s that shipped with it are really nice..

I heard a frightening story about a guy running over his anderson while in the case, not once but twice.. and the guitar lived to tell the story.. (the case did not fare so well...)

I will likely throw myself in front of the path of an oncomming vehicle to protect the guitar.. I already threw myself in the way of an oncomming floor and VHT half stack to protect the guitar.. ask Brian Harris at Brook Mays in Dallas about that..

It will never have an opportunity to test its own durability.. except maybe after I wear out the frets playing it so much..

never had to.. though I hear that they are the best most warm and friendly people you could ever want to know..

This is it.. this is the prize winning horse in the stall for the way that I play.. I can do Hendrix, Keith, Wes Montgomery, Johnny Thunders.. friggin ANYTHING that I like anyway.. but that was the point.. so I give it a ten. After all.. it was built the way I wanted it. It IS expensive.. but you get what you PAY for.

My Anderson was born on 9/10/96 in the afternoon in California. One of only two guitars built that day. It has basswood super strat style body with a thin uniform thickness maple top that is dropped on, or bent over the tonewood body. This gives the guitar a consistant depth of maple over the entire top instead of putting a thick piece on and shaving it down to form the contours of the guitar. The top on mine is a translucent purple quilted maple with a perloid pickguard. It's georgous. It has a maple neck / fretboard with 22 frets, a chrome Floyd Rose locking tremolo, grover tuners, and the Buzz Feiten tuning system which is amazing.
The pickups are: Stacked humbucker in the neck SD1R. Stacked humbucker in the middle SD1. Humbucker in the bridge H2+.
The pickups are all passive with vintage voicing. My guitar has the "Switcheroo" system. Each pickup has a 3 way mini toggle switch. You can choose bewteen single coil, humbucker, or off for each pickup. There is also an access panel on the back of the guitar which contains three dip switches. This allows you to change the function of all three switches from coil split, to parallel when the mini toggles are in the up position. You can use any combination of the dip switches, so you can set your neck pickup for single coil operation, and your middle for parrallel, and bridge for either. Or any combination therof. You can get some amazing selectiions from this system. Also my favorite feature is what is called the blower switch. A 2 way mini toggle which when used by-passes the three individual switches and activates the humbucker no matter how the other switches are set. This is great for solos. I have added three schaller strap locks (two on the bottom of the guitar so that when you lean it up against the wall it won't fall over, a really usefull feature).

I had finaly decided after playing a ton of PRS's that I would never find one guitar that could do everything that I wanted. They were all missing tone specifically the 60's Strat sound. I was looking for a guitar the would give me a Strat tone and a modern humbucker style (Jackson / ESP)type tone. The Anderson nailed it. Amazing ducky Strat tones from the singles and the H2+ humbucker is close to a Duncan Distortion but with better tone. Tom Anderson's life revolves around finding the perfect tone, and it shows in his guitars. The Drop Top does everything except the dark dirty Les Paul sound. The basswood and maple are too bright for that, but it is so articulate and accurate that I don't care. I play through a Johnson Millennium and a Marshall VS100R and the guitar sounds great through either amp. It suounds great through any amp actualy. I have never had a guitar that made a substandard amp sound better, but this one does. There is nothing that I don't like about this guitar. It really has better tone than anything esle out there.

I bought mine used, so I can't judge the factory setup. But cm'on Tom Anderson builds two to three guitars a day with a total of 17 employees, mine is perfect. The build quality is above reproach. I have a Les Paul that cost more than the Anderson, and even though the Gibson was the best I could find of it's kind it can't even come close to the build quality of the Anderson. I can't explain it, but the guitar feels like it is a part of me when I play it. It's weird I love this guitar, it's like nothing I have ever played in my life.

The Drop Top is much lighter than my other guitars, so it seems a little fragile. I think that's all in my head though. I believe that it could stand up to any abuse you could throw at it. I wouldn't use it at a gig without a backup only because of the floating tremolo and a broken string would take you out. I replaced all buttons with straplocks, wouldn't you?

I have e-mailed Anderson a couple of times. First when I bought some used pickups and put them in my Strat. I asked about the tone of the pickups I was looking at. Roy got back to me right away and was very helpfull. When I bought this guitar I asked them about the tuning system, and such, and Laurie got back to me the next day answering all my questions and thanking me for purchasing a Tom Anderson. A+ both times. Since I am the second owner, I am sure that I am on my own as far as a waranty goes, but that doesn't bother me at all. I don't foresee any problems.

I have been playing over 20 years. I played in several bands in my teens and twenties. I now mostly colaborate with friends and record in my home studio. I am selling or have sold my Les Paul Gold top Classic, ESP M-250, Jackson PS-7, and Strat 68 re-issue (with Tom Anderson pickups). This guitar replaces all those and has better tone and playablity than any of them. I am keeping my 83 Explorer, Yari accoustic, and something to mount my Gk2A synth pickup on. I play through a Johnson Millennium and Marshall VS100R and record into a Roland VS1680 with other misceleny. If the Anderson was stolen I would be heartbroken. I would be in the car and driving the 300+ miles to the nearest Tom Anderson Dealer, for another. I have played everything available from most manufactures as I haunt the music stores in MPLS. NOTHING compares to the Anderson. It does everything with class and tone. It lacks nothing. It took me about a day to get used to the purple finish, and now I love it. YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO PLAY AN ANDERSON. It's simply the finnest instrument I have ever had the privlidge to play.

the anderson drop top classic is a 22-fret double-cutaway instrument which is characterized by a back wood made of basswood, alder, swamp ash, or mahogany--i believe lacewood is also available on special orders. the top is actually a piece of figured maple or figured koa which has been "bent" or "dropped" over the forearm contour.
anderson pioneered this "drop top" technology to deal with a major shortcoming: previously, any guitar with a figured maple top AND a forearm contour required a significantly thicker top which was then cut manually to create a forearm contour. besides being more expensive, this method produced an inferior sound--too much maple resulted in a brittle and thin sound. the development of drop top technology allowed anderson to produce a guitar that was exceedingly comfortable to play, sounded incredible, and looked absolutely stunning.
my particular model is a '93 model with a basswood back and a flame maple top--according to tom, this is the most popular configuration and results in a very balanced tone with good lows, mids, and highs. the "classic" nomenclature refers to the fact that the guitar is top-routed with a pickguard. besides changing the look of the guitar, this actually results in a sound with more overtones and less fundamental--the net result in a softer midrange with a tad more highs and lows compared to the rear-routed drop top. i previously owned a '92 drop top (rear-routed), and i can attest to this fact.
both solid maple and maple/rosewood necks are available--mine is a solid maple neck. frets are anderson heavy frets on a 1-11/16" anderson standard contour neck--tom offers two other fret sizes and six different neck shapes. frets are immaculately crowned and polished--they don't get any better than this. pickup configuration is SSH (neck to bridge), though HSH, SS and HH configurations are also available. controls include a master volume and master tone, and anderson's famous switcheroo circuitry.
for those of who you are unfamiliar with the switcheroo system, here's an explanation: the system consists of four mini-toggle switches. three of them deal with the pickups--each of these has three positions, with the middle position between off, the down position both coils together in series, and the up position being either both coils in parallel or split coils, depending on what selections you have made on the DIP switches in the control cavity. it's possible to set each pickup's "up" position differently, so that the neck pickup's up position is set for parallel, while the bridge pickup's up position is set for split-coil mode. with these three mini-switches, you can have basically almost any combination of pickups possible, from all three on in different combinations of split/parallel/series to just having one pickup on.
the fourth mini-switch is what tom calls the "blower" switch, which is a two-way mini-toggle. the idea here is that most guitarists use their bridge humbucker to solo and then go back to some other pickup combination for rhythm playing--for example, i use the neck/middle position in split-coil mode for my clean funk playing. on a standard five-way switch, this is a bitch and a half to naiil while jumping around onstage and trying to nail your parts. however, with the blower switch, you can nail this easily by setting the mini-switches for the neck and middle pickups to the up position and the bridge pickup in the middle position to bypass it. that gives you your funk tone. when going to solos with a high-gain tone, i just hit the blower switch and that automatically takes me to the bridge pickup in series. after soloing, i just hit the blower switch the other way, and i'm back to whatever setting the three mini-switches are set at.
the switcheroo, as you can hopefully see, is MUCH more versatile than a 5-way and every bit as easy to use. once you use it, you'll never go back.
pickups are anderson's own design--i have an SL1R stacked single-coil in the neck position, an

my musical style is primarily rock, pop and funk. the anderson is incredibly versatile for those styles, and it's used by players ranging from neal schon to vivian campbell to studio ace dann huff to country cats like brent rowan. the andersons are incredibly versatile guitars, and i can go from a big high-gain rock soloing tone to a clean funk setting with the flick of a switch and the stomp of my amp channel's switching pedal.
i use the anderson with a mesa tremoverb head, a mesa recto 412 cabinet, and an early-'70s marhshall slant 412 with original celestion 25's and 30's in it. i don't use any effects, and i use a monster rock 21' cable and custom-made speaker cables made from 10-gauge canare wire and extra-large switchcraft plugs. strings are DR pure blues, gauged .010 to .046, and picks are jim dunlop jazz III red.
the anderson is incredibly quiet and has a rich, balanced, complex sound. plugged in, you'll be simply amazed by the complexity and richness of the tone. i'd liken the anderson in many ways to a mercedes 500 convertible. it's a sleek-looking car, but it's not gaudy, and it has refinement and class. though exceedingly civilized and genteel in its manners, you can lay on the accelerator and make that mercedes aggressively corner at high speeds. in many ways, the anderson resembles the mercedes--it looks very understated and refined, and you know it's a top-quality instrument when you pick it up. like the mercedes, the anderson is exceedingly smooth and balanced, but it can exhibit incredible muscle and power when you want it to.
another incredible aspect about anderson guitars are their rich acoustic tones. if you ever have a chance, play it acoustically first, and listen to the way that the strings resonate against the wood, giving you a rich, woody, organic sound. that sound portends incredible things from the instrument when plugged in, and the anderson never fails to deliver jaw-dropping tones.
the andersons are incredibly versatile. as i said before, you literally can get just about any tone out of this guitar, from dark jazz tones to all-out high-gain heavy metal to country spank to crying blues tones to skanky funk tones. and with the switcheroo system, the anderson can give you this versatility at the flick of a switch.
honestly, there are no dislikes about this guitar...it's an amazing instrument and one that has made me a lifelong anderson devotee.

factory setup is immaculate. action couldn't be any lower, and it's incredibly smooth and refined. pickup height was adjusted for perfect balance--i haven't touched the heights since having the guitar set up. everything about the guitar's construction is 100% immaculate--you simply cannot buy a better-built guitar today. in every way, the anderson rates an A+

even though this is a beautiful instrument, it was meant to be played and not simply looked at. all of the components are durable and will last the test of live playing. lots of touring musicians have been using andersons with great results, and they've gotten top-notch remarks for every major guitar publication--for good reason.
as far as gigging without a backup, because my instrument has a floating trem, i would tend not to do so. however, if you're asking if i would be inclined to rely on this guitar because of its workmanship, i'd say a resounding yes. the fact that i have to gig with a backup is really only a byproduct of the floating tremolo problem when you break strings, not because of anything less than exemplary in anderson's build quality.

anderson has, without a doubt, THE BEST customer service on the planet. every time i talk to them, i feel as if i'm the only customer that really matters to them, and tom anderson, roy fought, and laurie berg have been extremely helpful in many ways. as i mentioned above, tom personally performed the buzz feiten tuning system retrofit on my guitar, and roy fought recently changed my pickup and did a complete setup for me even though i dropped into the shop unannounced one morning.
anderson truly supports their guitars, and they do a fantastic job of customer service. as a business school student, i'd love to do a case study on anderson guitarworks, and communicate how their market positioning, vision, and dedication to customer service have paid off for them.
anderson gets my highest vote for customer support. no one else comes close.

i've been playing 14 years and currently do studio work. in the past i have managed bands and produced artists, and i still frequently get involved in new artist development. i'm a regular contributor to the guitarguide website at http://www.guitarguide.com, where i write a monthly column on improvisation.
as far as the anderson goes, this is the ultimate guitar for what i want. if it was lost or stolen, i'd certainly be disappointed, but because of anderson's incredible build quality, consistency, attention to customer service, and dedication to innovation, i would have no problem purchasing another instrument, knowing fully well it would equal or exceed my current instrument.