Anderson Hollow T Classic

I bought mine used and it was made in 1990.Back then they were called Grand Am Lam Hollow T,but it is a Hollow T Classic.Has a swamp Ash back and top that is bound buy Maple binding.Three tone sunburst finish that after 15 years still looks good as new.One pice hard rock Maple neck/fingerboard.The neck has a chunky V profile(custom)and the fingerboard radius is 12" and slighty tapers to 14" after the 12th fret.This one has a chrome Tele bridge(with the metal plate)and has six saddles.The pickups are Anderson TK tele noisless.Has a five way switch that offers plenty of tonal options.1-bridge split,2-bridge in series(noisless)3-bridge and neck split4-neck in series 5- neck split.All bases are covered with this fine instument.

Anderson builds guitars that have vintage sounds as well as modern sounds.?This Tele covers all musical sitiuations.Country,Rock,Jazz,Blues and jst about any other style of music.This is the most versatile Tele I have ever played.This guitar has that Tele twang but,can get thicker,smoother and scream(with enough gain).I can even get convincing out of phase Stat tones from this Tele.This guitar has no boundaries.I have a very simple set up a the amps I use are a Two-Rock Custom 50 watt head and a Two-Rock 2X12 cab.A Two-Rock Amethyst Special 1X12 and 1X8 Combo.Also my '71 Fender Champ.This Tele has increcible tone,vibe and soul through all the amps.Heck,it even sounds great acoustically(being hollow).I wish there was a higher rating that 10 for this,becuse I give it a 12!!!

After 15 years the finish still looks good as new.Anderson builds guitars to look,feel and sound great for a lifetime.

Again after 15 years this guitar is still almost perfect.There is no such thing as perfection.They are built to last forever.

I have contacted Roy via phone and e-mail a few times.He is very cool and helpful.Answers all my questions and truley loves what he is doing.Even in dealing with a guitar I bought used.A+ in my book.

I have been bending these wires now for over 25 years.I have worked for years in a Pro Shop,selling top of the line gear.So,I have played it all.Don't just take my word and experience,go out and play one.

Hollow T Cassic 01/05/02A
Lake Placid Blue
Alder on Aler
Hard Rock Maple
-medium fres
Buss Feiten Tning System

Fixed bridge
TV1 TV3 Aged White
3 way Vintage Voicing

I play country music, so I like the twang ie fat twang.
I play through a bogner and have a variety of effects. My last purchance was
a soldano super charger.
One time my adapter gave out during a gig and I had to plug straight into the Bogner. I had forgotten how good "good tone "sounded.
After that I only use slap back. I run my guitar wide open and use a floor volume pedal.

I highly recommend the soldano for distortion and it's kinda
expensive but worth it.

no complaints

This is my main guitar from rock, to country, to r&b

I've been playing a lot of yrs. I own at least a dozen guitars, some I give away
lord knows you won't get what you paid. I own 7 tele from american to mexican... TA replaced my california tele I keept breaking strings on bends
I have yet to break a string on my TA.

I also had problems with noisy pick guard, I would like to replace it cause I
think the plastic deteriorates (my therY%*()&%&$) OR LOOSE RADICALS

Oct 13 2000, Trans White ash top alder back, Gold hardware, Trem bridge, TD3R bridge, SA1 middle, TD0 neck. Pulltone adds bridge. Medium frets TA standard neck, Maple board. Natural wood binding, Pearl pick guard. AWSOME!!!!!!!!

I have been looking for a great clean sounding tele for about 10 years now, Mainly for clean country twang, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, I have owned this Guitar for almost three years now, and I keep getting suprised by it every time I come back to it. I have a Custom shop 3 pickup Tele that is a great guitar, and a 1968 tele with 5/2 duncans that I keep alternating. But the most versatile and best all around is the Anderson. However, it doesn't work with all amps, for me anyway. I have a Rivera R100, and a Rivera M100, and the Anderson just doesn't sound like a traditional Tele through these amps, But with a Fender Deluxe, it is Fantastic!!!! I now mainly play the anderson into boss pedals--- Japan SD1> Boss SD2 dual OD> Japan CS3 comp> GEQ pedal> Japan DD2 delay> Fender Deluxe Reverb or a Hot Rod Blues Deluxe.The sound is Great clean or with OD. I can get any sound that I can imagine. Some might say it sounds a bit thin, but thats because I run it so clean. The overdrive sounds are very fat once you roll off the tone control.

Beautifully finished guitar, Anderson guitar of the week Oct 13 2000. I dont much care for the Pearl pickguard, but I ordered it that way, I will be replacing it with a black one soon.

After three years it still works and looks like new. The gold plating is tarnishing, but I dont think that is the guitars fault. I destroy strings in an evening, fairly acidic, I think.

This is where this company SHINES!!!!!!!!! They are absolutely amazing in there quest for customer satisfaction. They say the deals not done untill you are happy, and man do they ever mean it. I dont want to say what they did for me because it may cause trouble, but what I can say is UNREAL and THANKS TOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! I'd like to give them a 12.

I have been playing for thirty years, and have owned quite a few guitars, I still think I need to keep an old Tele around just for fun, But this guitar is really all you should ever need. I would replace it in a minute, and I think I will be looking for a Solid T Classic, and a Hollow Classic Strat soon. I do wish I would have got the X bridge for acoustic sounds. I think that would make this guitar so versatile.

1997 hollow drop top, maple neck, figured maple top on basswood finished in ranslucent turquoise. Natural colour headstock. 5 way selector with single coils. Pearloid pick guard.

I play a mix of rock and blues. Presently I use a Peavey Classic 30, mainly on the clean channel as the drive channel is a bit coarse. I tried this guitar through Rivera Fandango and Quiana 112s and was blown away by both the guitar and the amps. It sounded so good I wondered whether it was mainly the Rivera so I A/Bd it with a tele I own and the difference was astounding. Mix of classic Fender tones but much cleaner and better. On the driven Rivera channel it rocks. What really impresses is the clarity of response, either individual notes or chords. This is a seriously quality sounding guitar. No volume variation between strings and both the volume and tone pots work across the range with no sudden transitions on the tone pot as is usually the case with most guitars I know. Shimmering chords or soft melodic tones are all there. This is the easiest guitar to play of all of mine. The neck is perfect.

Build quality is exemplary. I don't particularly like the colour but its the sound and playability that counts.

5 years old and still mint. This guitar will last forever and be a true classic. Not owned it long enough to find out if there any niggles but I don't imagine I will.

I wanted to find out which woods had been used, specifically the body, and emailed TA and got an immediate personal reply from the man himself. Can't ask more than that.

I took up playing again 6 years ago after a 30 year break. I own a number of early vintage strats and Gibsons, a Parker Fly Classic and Birdfish and this is the best player as well as being equal or better in construction than these fine guitars. This is the best guitar I have ever owned. I am now going to look out for a hollow Cobra for the fatter tones.

This is a Hollow T Classic Contoured, serial number 4-7-99A, which I custom ordered from TA in 1999. I worked with Roy at TA to design a guitar that would meet my desire for massive versatility. I wanted to be able to get ES-335 "ish" full rich jazz and fusion sounds from the neck pickup, and strat and tele sounds everywhere else. I wanted a huge sounding guitar. Roy explained all the differences between wood combinations, pickups, hollowness, pickguard vs. non, scale lengths and all of their respective impact on tone. By grilling me on my style, equipment and the sound I heard in my head, Roy then constructed the guitar conceptually.
Ultimately, we built an alder top/alder body guitar, with maple neck and madagascar rosewood fretboard. Roy was very firm that alder on alder in a hollow tele style guitar would get the PHAT sound I wanted and work for all my needs, despite the fact that it wouldn't have the striking wood grain of maple. Roy kept coming back to "Do you want the sound or the look?" The sound!!!
My Hollow T has the standard TA neck shape, 22 medium frets, TA split shaft tuners, Buzz Feiten tuning system and a fixed, non-tremolo bridge. The neck pickup is an H1+ (humbucker), the middle pickup is an SA1- (strat) and the bridge is a TD3 (tele). Switching is via a 5-way blade, and the tone pot is a push/pull that activates the bridge pickup in the 1 and 2 positions. This enables me to get the bridge and neck pickups together (position 1 and pull) or all three pickups (position 2 and pull). This is an unusual combination on the Hollow T, which typically is either the traditional tele set up or a H-S-H with TA's switcheroo system. One volume, one tone and a coil tap switch complete the picture. The guitar is finished in Cherry sunburst with matching headstock, and has a tortoisesehll pickguard. TA guitars come with a hard shell case.

I play through a Mesa Boogie Mark IV combo, with a variety of cabinets (2x10 and 2x12). I have a small rack with a Lexicon MPX-1 and a Korg rackmount tuner running through the Boogie's effects loop. I occasionally will use a Wah pedal. My style is versatile, but focused on R&B, rock, pop, fusion, and blues. I don't play high gain stuff, and my current band is a bar/dance band, so I have to cover a wide variety of styles and sounds.

This guitar nailed it perfectly!! It has a huge PHAT sound. It is a jack of all trades. The neck position, clean, can get full rich jazz sounds. Granted it isn't a big jazz box, and doesn't get it perfect, but it is very passable. Overdriven the neck pickup sings in Santana like tones. The strat and tele pickups do their thing just right, with great out of phase tones, spank and sparkle. All three pickups can sound very slinky or strong, depending on coil split. The bridge tele pickup is bright and powerful, without being harsh. Again, the guitar doesn't capture a perfect tele or strat sound, but it gets close enough to sound very good. Again, my goal was versatility and the ability to sound like a lot of instruments. So, I intentionally sacrificed the "pure" sounds of specific instruments for "tempered" versions of multiple instruments in one axe. I feel I got exactly what I wanted. The guitar is silent in dual coil mode. In single coil settings it can have a bit of hum when you are positioned just wrong in relation to the amp. Compared to most single coil guitars, this is very very quiet. What is most impressive is how full, rich and fat the sound is. This guitar just plain sounds big. I get compliments and questions from other players all the time on the guitar. I got exactly what I wanted from Anderson. Granted, the guitar doesn't generate the powerful, driven sounds (think Marshall/Les Paul); However, it isn't designed to. I did not select the hotter output pickups in Anderson's line. So, by choice the guitar won't do the high gain, screaming sounds. I don't knock the guitar for that, as it does what it was designed to do.

I have owned several Andersons over the years. Their quality is second to none. This guitar was perfectly set up when it arrived to me. The action was low without a buzz anywhere on the fretboard. The pickups were adjusted right. I did notice that over the course of a year, the pickup screws on two of the pickups worked themselves loose. i had to find them, reset them and re-adjust the pickups. I was a little suprised. Otherwise, the guitar's fit, finish and action were flawless.

I have been playing this guitar steadily for three years now without so much as breaking a string. All of the hardware is pristine, no oxidation anywhere. The finish is unblemished (except where I nicked it pretty good, but that was my fault). I have gigged with this guitar outdoors in the California summer heat without an issue. This guitar is built to be played and will last a long time. Anderson builds them right. I would use it without a backup, but don't. A backup is just good business.

As I mentioned, I worked with TA to design this unique guitar. I had had previous interaction with TA with other guitars. They have always been very helpful and go out of their way to give you information. Roy can be hard to reach, as he deals with everyone from stars to the average guy. Once you get him, though, he treats you like you are the most important customer he has. When I dented the finish, Tom Anderson personally answered my panicked plea for help on how to keep the finish from checking, peeling or getting worse. He gave me great advice that worked and then followed up. I have never needed to have a guitar repaired, but when I took a TA Drop Top in to upgrade pickups, Roy arranged to open the shop early to accomodate my schedule and then gave me a tour and introduced me to the whole gang. They love what they do and take pride in their work and their loyal customers. They have "tone" down to a science. Their website is full of great information and fun too.

I have been playing over 30 years, and performing live for 25 years. I play through Mesa Boogie amps. I have owned Ibanezes, a vintage '59 Epiphone Sheraton, Les Paul Gold top, Hamer Artist, two TA Drop Tops, another TA Hollow T, a TA Cobra, several Taylor acoustics and most recently acquired a Baker B1-H. If this guitar were stolen or lost, I would have to custom order another one, as it has become an extension of me. I have since sold off all my other Andersons, and rely on this one and my Baker to cover it all for me.

I went to Anderson with a goal in mind and they built a custom guitar for me, designed to achieve my specific goal. I understand that each player's desire, style and "sound" is unique and that my particular guitar may not be right for anyone but me. I suppose this review really is about Tom Anderson Guitarworks in general, and their ability to help each player get that unique sound and deliver an amazing instrument. If you read the magazine reviews of TA and most of the reviews here in HC, it is the consensus that Anderson builds fabulous guitars. What impressed me most was how they were able to extract my vision, and the sound in my head, put descriptive words to that, and then identify the best components for a guitar to achieve that vision- and then deliver!!

This is a '99 model which was purchased new in 2001. It has a hollow alder body, with a black finish and natural "binding". White pearloid pickguard. This is the non-existent "Pete Anderson" model, in that it has Tele type bridge and neck pickups, with a Strat mid pup and a two point trem. All pickups are true single coils. Grover locking tuners. Has a five-way switch for standard Strat type switching, and a push-pull pot on the tone knob for adding the bridge pup to whatever is selected on the 5-way. Maple on maple neck, which has a satin finish. The nut width on this one is 1 5/8ths. Buzz Fieten tuning, and it's great!

As you might expect, it sounds pretty much like a cross between a Tele and a Strat. The Strat phasoid tones are decent, perhaps a tad more subtle than a typical Strat, but still a definite Strat tone. The Tele bridge pickup helps tame some of the harsh treble of a typical Strat, making it much more useable. You get the typical 60 cycle hum since the pups are true single coils. Since this was a "store" guitar, and not ordered for a particular person, I have no idea why they didn't go with noiseless in this day and age.

Overall, very high quality. The finish on the body and neck are done very well, and the fit of the neck in the pocket is very tight. The trimming of the fret ends is not very good. They won't cut you, but I could definitely feel each and every one as I slide my hand up the edges of the fretboard. Should be able to do better for this price. Also, the skunk stripe in the back covering the truss rod is not completely flush in one area. Although not dramatic, I can definitely feel where it is.

This rating is largely due to the typical price and reputation of Andersons work. I'd say that these items, although not severe at all, are sub-par for Anderson.

Seems quite solid. The methodology of the Grover locking tuners is dramatically different than Sperzels, but seems to work fine. Strap buttons were replaced with nylon T buttons from Warmoth (use them on all my guitars). I'd always bring a backup to a gig for tuning/string breaking reasons, but in terms of durability, I have no doubts that this guitar will hold up well.

In the past, I've made a couple of calls and sent a couple of emails to Anderson and always gotten quick and informative responses....often from Tom himself! I haven't had any problems yet, and haven't contacted Anderson since purchasing, so I can't really rate it, although I sincerely doubt I'd have any problems.

Overall, this is a good quality and highly versatile guitar. The only features I would see in addition to what it has would be noiseless pups (I'll probably install some) and a piezo system (Anderson has this available, just not installed in mine). It can handle pretty much anything, except the beef you get out of full size humbuckers. I have found, however, that it's usually easier to get a beefier sound out of a SC guitar (Malmsteen?) than it is to get a nice clean or cutting sound out of a dual HB guitar. I'll add an HB guitar, and perhaps a backup to this one, and I'll be set.

For anyone looking for a Fenderish type guitar, I would strongly recommend checking out Andersons. In addition, they have HB models that are quite good as well, although the general feel is still rather Fenderish.

My guitar was born on the 1st September 1992 at noon. and I bought it new, sight unseen from the Australian agents for Tom Anderson guitars about 14 months later, after seeing a Guitar Player magazine review of 32 telecasters. I had never owned a tele up to this point, and after reading the mag, and seeing that the Anderson creamed the opposition, all 31 of them,I just had to have that sucker. The Anderson tele on test was a 'burst Hollow T classic, and the reviewers raved about it. It earned top points in every area, and as the mag stated...."This is as good as it gets " and "It doesn't get any better than this". I wrote to Laurie Berg, and received a reply stating that the guitar I wanted may be in Australia. On calling the agents they said that they had one Tom Anderson Tele in stock and it was a 'burst hollow T classic. I paid for it then and there.
Since then I have never looked back, and without a doubt it is the finest guitar I have ever played or had the opportunity to own. The tones this guitar can produce are nothing short of amazing. I play it through a Fender 76 twin reverb amp,and I am always getting comments like, "I've never heard such a sweet sounding guitar". I cannot describe the tonal variations, except to say that it can produce a top end that will make your ears bleed, or a soulfull fullbodied tone that any guitarist would kill for. Jazz, rock or country this guitar can do it all. And loud.......volume for volume, this Anderson will outperform other guitars for sheer balls.
I lived in the harsh Kimberley district of Western Australia, and this is where my Tom Anderson performed, four nights a week for 5 years,in skin drenching humidity, and scorching heat. At night during the "wet", I could not lay it down, as it would be covered in dew immediatley. The guitar never went out of tune, and the action remained constant, wet or dry. The years of playing and hard use have taken their toll on the bridge where the plating has worn, but thats it. I take my hat off to Tom and his dedicated team.

Whilst in the Kimberleys I met another guitarist who won a scholarship to study guitar in America for 12 months. He spent that twelve months also searching for a guitar to bring back to Australia, after many months of road testing every axe from Fender to Fernandes, He opened his guitar case and there was a beautiful drop top. Here we were in this small country town, in the middle of outback australia, and with the only two Tom Andersons for thousands of miles. We were in sonic heaven.

This Hollow T classic, makes a novice guitarist sound like a prodidy.

Fit and finish for this guitar were absolutely exemplary. As the magazine noted, the only blemish was a one eight plugged hole in the headstock, near a tuner, and my guitar has that plugged hole.

Read the above, with regard to playing in some of the harshest conditions imaginable.. 34 degrees and 90% humidity, and this is at night, during the tropical summer. It never let me down. Once.

Have never had to fall back on Tom's support. Guess, being in Australia that wouldn't be too easy, but i've never needed it.

I've been playing 36 yrs, if it were stolen, I'd loose the will to live......almost....well, if I couldn't aquire another hollow T.
I love the ease with which it plays, and the fact that I feel "naked" without it hangin' off my shoulder.
I would sincerely tell anyone thinking of purchasing a Tom Anderson crafted guitar to do them selves a favour, and JUST DO IT!
remember, I bought mine 'sight unseen'. Best thing I ever did.(musically)

For me this July, 2000 American-made Hollow T Classic is the evolutionary perfection of the Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster models that Leo designed in the 1950s. With a Tele-style Translucent White Swamp Ash top and Alder body, hollowed sound chambers, comfortable Maple Neck with a Madagascar Rosewood Fingerboard and jumbo frets. Tele bridge, and Strat middle and neck pickups, 5-way selector switch with a tap that provides the chimey Tele sounds- 7 tonal options in total. String-through-body bridge, whammy bar and locking tuners. High-end form fitting case. When I sent in my completed warranty card, I received an Anderson strap and a personal thank you letter from Tom Anderson.

I bought a guitar that cost three times what a Fender Tele costs because tone is important to me. I am the rhythm guitarist in a wedding band. We play everything. I play the Tom through a 2000 reissue Vox AC30 TBX (with the Blue Bells) and the sound is fantastic. I use only a Tubescreamer and the Tremelo/Vibrato footswitch on the Vox and it's enough for what we do. The tone is rich, full, airy and chimey. I'm still finding out everything that this instrument can do, since I wasn't a Strat player before I bought this guitar. Everyone who hears the Tom loves it (and it's a looker, too).

This is an Anderson guitar- no flaws. Everything is perfect. I had my guitar tech set up my Hollow T for rhythm. I use 11s and I want a toneful sound with no buzzes.

This guitar exudes durability and reliability, but I'll admit that I'm a bit anxious about scratches and the bad stuff that can happen at gigs. I'll get over the "new car" effect soon, and depend on it as my one and only electric. No backups for me. Two strap buttons for a security- a great idea.

Before I bought this instrument on The Net, I e-mailed Anderson Guitarworks with some questions. They were answered by Tom himself. I suppose this can happen with 17 employees making under 800 guitars each year. The warranty is for life- it's even transferrable to a future buyer. As if!

I've played for 30+ years and own the Vox and an 1992 Martin HD28. This guitar is it for me. I wonder if I am guitarist enough to deserve it. It's so beautiful, versatile and toneful that I know it will be a life-long love affair. Check Tom Anderson out. They're the best.

Swamp ash blonde bod with maple neck. Chrome hardware, single coils, pearl pickguard and a nice form fitted h.s. case.

2 knobs and a 5 way switch with the best sounding pickups and body tonewoods bring out a variety of beautiful tones, from beautiful and sweet to brutally thick. Heavy attack will add a nice distortion when cranked wide open!

This is the Rolls Royce of guitar quality. Tom Anderson builds 800 guitars a year. Paul Reed Smith builds 8,000. Fender builds 800,000. Fit, finish, hardware, wood, electronics, feel, are all top shelf.

This is my 3rd Tom Anderson and is almost identical to my main gig ax. I alternate the two between gigging out and parlor playing.

I never needed support but when I registered this guitar with Tom Anderson he personally wrote a nice letter thanking me for purchasing my 2nd Tom Anderson guitar (it is actually my 3rd).

I have accumulated alot of guitars and amps. I believe that money earned through a business should be reinvested in that business. Tom Anderson guitars work for me.

Swamp ash body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, 2 single coils, volume & tone knobs, 5 way switch, transparent blonde finish with gold hardware, original hardshell case.

The sound is pure heaven. The most toneful guitar I have ever heard through a variety of amps and pre-amps. I play mostly one nighters in venues of varying size using rocktron chamelion direct to board, or Boss G700 direct to board, or Line 6 AX2, or Crate Blue VooDoo 60 combo, or johnson Marquis with 1-12 Boogie cabinet. I play blues, classic rock, & country using very little effects for a clean sound with just a hint of slap back delay.

Action, fit, and finish are flawless. Pickups are the best! I used to break a string every 3 to 4 gigs until I replaced the saddles with String Saver saddles, now I get 5 to 6 weeks out of a set of strings and replace them because they go dead.

This is my main gigging guitar and has worked perfectly for the past 3 years. Finish is great, no dings,chips, or scratches. The gold hardware is wearing off the bridge and knobs which give this guitar the character of the well used tool that it is.

NA

I've played since 1964 and have an extensive collection of guitars and amps. The Tom Anderson Hollow T Classic is my main workhorse simply because it sounds and plays the best. I always have a back up with me and at present I am waiting for delivery of another Swamp Ash Hollow T Classic but with a Maple fingerboard. Although this guitar is a bit pricey it is worth its weight in gold, for its tone and playability. I can't say enough about this guitar. She is my soulmate.