Anderson Hollow T Contoured

Made in the USA in 2001. 25.5" scale length.
Cajun Red finish, quilted maple top with binding.
Basswood body, bolt-on hard rock maple neck.
Madagascar rosewood fretboard with dot markers.
Black headstock, satin finish on neck, 1 5/8" at nut.
Heavy frets, '62 Roundback neck shape.
Buzz Feiten Tuning System.
Chrome hardware, fixed bridge, split-shaft tuners.
Anderson H1- full size humbucker at the neck, SA1 single-coil sized humbucker in the middle, H2+ full size humbucker at the bridge.
Switcheroo system.
Came with hardshell case, Elixir .010-.046 Nanoweb strings.

The '62 roundback neck shape is a pretty chunky profile that gets fatter as it nears the body. It is much chunkier than the Anderson "standard" neck shape and the "slimmer Cobra" neck on my Hollow Drop Top and Hollow Cobra S, respectively. The top of the guitar has a decent quality quilt finished in the Cajun Red finish, while the back is painted black.

You can get 63 sounds out of this guitar!! Let me explain. The Switcheroo system consists of four mini toggle switches on the face of the guitar and 3 dip switches which can be accessed by removing the cover to the electronics cavity on the back of the guitar. Three of the mini toggle switches are for turning each of the three pickups on/off/split or parallel. When a toggle switch is in the down position, the corresponding pickup is turned on and wired in series. The middle position is the off position. The up position selects either split or parallel wiring, depending on what that pickup's corresponding dip switch is set to. The fourth mini toggle allows you to switch instantly to the full-on bridge humbucker, no matter what the positions of the other three switches -- the idea being that you can always access a lead sound with just a flip of a switch. Basically, you have four different possibilities for each pickup -- series, split, parallel, or off. Because there are three pickups, that means you get four to the third power (=64) possible combinations, but since one of those possibilities is all the pickups off, there are 63 possible sounds with this guitar!!

The tone of this guitar is very well balanced, fairly warm, rich, and smooth. It is not as fat sounding as my Anderson Hollow Cobra S or my American made Hamer Studio, but almost as fat when using the humbuckers. Setting the dip switches to the parallel setting makes the pickups sound thin, but dark, not really bright and sparkly like the split setting. So I keep all the dip switches set to "split". The split coils are okay-sounding, not as good as what you'd get from a nice strat, but if you need some single coil tones, this guitar will provide plenty of them, what with all the numerous possible combinations of switches. This guitar sustains really well and the hollow chambers contribute to a beautiful clean tone.

Workmanship was almost flawless except that the guitar hums whenever I'm not touching anything metal on the guitar -- so it's not grounded properly (also true of my other 2 Andersons). Also, using the Buzz Feiten intonation offsets for the G string (-2 cents at nut, +1 cent at 12th fret) makes notes really, really sharp above the 14th fret on that string. I found this to be true on my other 2 Andersons as well. I adjusted the intonation so it's flatter at the 12th fret than the Feiten offset because the excessive sharpness of the notes way up high on the G string were really, really bothering me. Otherwise, the construction of the guitar was flawless.

This guitar is built solidly and will easily last for years and years.

Never needed support for this guitar.

I've been playing almost 17 years now. I also own an Anderson Hollow Drop Top, an Anderson Hollow Cobra S, and an American made Hamer Studio. This guitar is really a great instrument. I don't use all 63 sounds, I primarily use just the neck and bridge humbuckers in series about 90% of the time, some combination of the pickups split/series about 9% of the time, and about 1% of the time, I fool with combinations of parallel/split/series. Like my other 2 Andersons, this guitar plays exceptionally well. It sounds great and looks nice, too -- couldn't ask for more, really.

Price - $2,540.00

Model - Hollow T Classic Contoured (Tele shape)
Body Finish - Cherry Burst with Binding
Body Wood - Quilted Maple Top on Basswood
Neck Wood - Hard Rock Maple, Madagascar Rosewood Fretboard
Neck Finish - Matching Headstock, Satin Back
Nutwidth - 1 11/16 in
Frets - Heavy
Back Shape - standard Anderson
Hardware - Chrome
Bridge - Non-Tremolo Fixed Bridge
Pickguard - White Pearloid
Pickups - TD1- TD3
Switching - 5 Way with Vintage Voicing
This guitar was born Feb. 8th, 1995 in the morning. I bought it on ebay last year for $1800.00 and I think it was worth every penny. It cmae with the best case for a Tele-shaped guitar I've ever seen. I use for my 52 Tele Reissue. I use a leather Levy gig bag for the Anderson. This is the lightest guitar I've ever owned at less than 5 lbs. I rated this at 10 because of the features. Some would probably argue with me, but it's a "Tele" style guitar. It has a lot of features for this style.

I play country music. This gutar fits my style perfectly. I use it with 2 Fender Deluxe Reverb Amps through a pedal board and a stereo Boss chorus, Boss Compressor and Tubeworks 903 Blue. I took out the Boss Equalizer when I started using this guitar because it sounded so good direct.It has a rich full sound. It is not quite as bright and sharp as my Tele, but retains the "twang" that I need for country music. I like everything about this guitar and I have been playing for over 40 years and have owned just about everything, Gibsons, Fenders, PRS, G&L, Musicman, Gretch, Takemine, Taylor, Charvel. I especially like the contour body and the light weight. It is very acoustic unplugged.

According to the original owner, he's never adjusted anything. I've only adjusted the bridge for height and intonation. I did heighten the neck pickup a little, but I believe this is strictly personal taste. The action is great. The neck is silky smooth. It's low with no rattles anywhere. This is one of the finest made guitars I have ever owned and definately the best looking.

I have played an average of 6 times a month, plus weekly practice with this guitar for over a year with no problems. The hardware is top of the line. The fact that I bought it used and it was made in 1995 and looks new ... I think the finish will last. I changed the strap button to locking Dunlaps. I use it everytime I play without backup.

It was not under warranty , but I did email the company before I bought it. I was impressed with the response. I was buying a guitar that they have already sold. They cannot make anymore money on this purchase. They not only answered all my questions, but the owner of the company emailed me with suggestions on how to treat the arthritis in my left hand, because he has the same problem. I got the feeling that each guitar was like one of his children.

I've been playing for over 40 years. I asked a lot of questions before buying this guitar. I heard nothing, but sometimes unbelievable praise. Everything was told was true.If this guitar was stolen, I would sell my car and ride a bicycle to get another one.What do I love about it? The feel. It just feels right. I don't know why. If you are planning to buy a Tom Anderson, don't just take your amp and effects with you when you try it out. Also take your favorite strap. Put it on. Stand up and play. It just feels right. The only thing else I would like to share is that I want at least 2 more of these guitars.

10-10-02N. H1-/SA1/H2+ and Fishman powerbridge. Red Cajun flame maple on basswood, 62 hardrock maple neck with Madagascar rosewood fretboard, switcheroo, etc...all the things a growing boy needs.

I play mostly through Bogners, Blues, Classic Rock, Contemporary Rock, Alternative, this is the most feature laden guitar I have yet to own. With most other do-everything guitars, each sound is ok. This gutiar is amazing. I like it a bit better than my Cobra. Each sound is amazing in it's own right. In bridge humbucker mode, it has all the agression of a Les Paul with far more clarity AND GOBS OF SUSTAIN! Single bridge mode like cross between a fine strat and tele, without the harshness. Middle positions nails the Jimi Hendrix tones, and both neck positions are deep without too much mud, unlike the Cobra, Les Paul, PRS, and other assorted usual suspects. ( I'm referring to overdriven sounds!) All the clean tones are sweet and articulate. The fishman powerbridge coupled with the powerblend ( $200.00 option ) gives a pretty convincing acoustic tone if sent direct into the pa, similar to my acoustic into Trace Eliot TA 100 tone. The tone and volume controls are the best I've ever heard, and that is true with the Cobra as well. Tom, you really outdid yourself here! In short, THIS GUITAR KICKS ASS!

As good as any I've seen, all is well here. Easy to play, light, good looking.

Too new to tell, but I suspect it will be excellent.

Outstanding, as stated in my review of the Cobra.

I've been playing about 8 years, and because of good fortune and hard work I've had the luxury of either playing or owning the finest guitars and amps out there. If I like it, I buy it! This guitar will be my main gigging guitar, with my Cobra as a backup. I've owned many fine Les Pauls, Strats, Tele's, PRS, Melancon, Warmoth, Chandler, and although all of them are great, except for the PRS that is ( good idea and construction, average tone! ). I will gig with these, and even use them in recordings. Again, THIS GUITAR KICKS ASS! If lost or stolen, I would buy another immediately, hunt the dirty rotten scoundrel down, and make them suffer! I love this guitar!

This wonderful guitar was born on the morning of 12th June 2001. It has 22 heavy frets on a Madagascar rosewood fretboard. The beautiful quilted maple top in tortoise burst with binding is on basswood. There is a volume control and a tone control with a surprising amount of tonal difference on tap. The guitar is fitted with the Anderson switcheroo system and a blower switch which cuts to the bridge humbucker for leads. The pickups are Anderson configured H1- SA1 H2+ and the bridge is a fixed Anderson. The tuners are split Grovers and the hardware is gold. The 25 1/2" neck is hard rock maple with a nut width of 1 5/8" and is Anderson standard profile. It came with Elixir 009-042 strings fitted. The guitar is tele style with front and rear comfort contours. The guitar came in an impressive fitted hardcase. Last but by no means least is the Buzz Feiten tuning system. It is absolutely fantastic and it must only be a matter of time before more manufacturers fit it as standard.

I live in northern England and travelled to Manchester to buy a Hollow Cobra. I also tried a Hollow Drop Top. The Cobra was fantastic, very much like my Les Paul, but better. The Drop Top was exceptional with clean sounds. However, the Hollow T lived up to the advertising blurb of being a do everything guitar. It is so versatile with a variety of clean sounds and the ability to do the Les Paul thing too. I have a Fulldrive 2 but rarely use it as the guitar played through my Mesa Boogie Maverick 2x12" can produce fabulous creamy overdrive. I still would like a Cobra but the price of these guitars in England makes that a long term desire. The guitar is not noisy at all and totally satisfies my needs which are mainly blues and classic rock.

There is not much I can say here except I cannot believe that the build quality can be improved upon. It is simply perfection.

I have not had the guitar long enough to express a valid opinion. However, there is nothing about the guitar which would make me feel it was not resilient. Thing is, it is so beautiful that it is a natural reaction to treat it well.

Again it is very early to be sure and California is a fair distance from Durham, England. However, both Tom Anderson and his front office lady, Rachel have been very helpful to date. They certainly generate the impression that they care deeply about their guitars and their customers. They seem like a family of caring, committed people.

I recently retired, aged 52. It is 30+ years since I played in a band and it is great getting back to learning to be a better guitarist. I have a top class tutor and all my playing is done at home until I can find a few more old guys to join me! Since starting over in Jan 2001 I have bought a Gibson J200 acoustic, A Gibson Les Paul Standard and A Gibson ES335. The ES335 was nice but it had to go in part ex. for the Anderson because the retirement funds are becoming sadly depleted. I started with a Marshall DSL 201 and now have a Boogie Maverick. As I said earlier, I also have a Fulldrive 2 which I rarely use (nearly $300 dollars in England!). The Anderson is my personal pinnacle - I will never want anything else, except another Anderson perhaps. It is beautiful to look at and a dream to play. It is well insured and if it were stolen I would replace it to the exact spec. I understnd that everyone has different tastes but Anderson guitars are very special in every way in my opinion.

It was made in 2000 as part of a special order through Buffalo Brothers. I was told that, at that time, no one had requested the P-90s on a Hollow-T, since they were associated more with shorter scale guitars and thus had been used on Anderson's Cobras. It has 22 frets (medium jumbo, I believe---I just trusted to the Anderson standard on those)on a Madagascar rosewood fretboard affixed to a 4-bolt maple neck with the heel rounded and shaped to facilitate playing in the upper zone. As the name suggests, it is hollow, in a Tele shape, with arm and belly contouring, and it is made of swamp ash. The nitrocellulose finish is in a gorgeous yet, paradoxically, restrained sunburst with very subtle color gradations on both the front and back, and the bookmatching on the front is impeccable It has one volume control and one tone control, and a 3-way switch for the p.u.s, which are Anderson's in-house soapbar P-90s (and I chose black covers, which, with the simplicity of the Tele shape and the rich sunburst, create an elegant package for the tones therein). The neck p.u. is warm and full, and the bridge p.u. is hot and raucous-in-a-good-way. The electronics are passive, the bridge is fixed, string-through-body, albeit the bridge does not copy the Tele's use of a large metal plate, the Anderson-branded tuners are non-locking split-shaft. It does not have "tons of features", just a very sophisticated interpretation of the basics. It is a 10 in the classic sense.

As single-coils, P-90s are, to some degree, inherently noisy. At first, I thought they were a bit too noisy (since they were noisier than the P.U.s on my Lonestar Strat, American Standard Tele, and '65 Rickenbacker 330). I called Tom Anderson, who was kind enough to let me come to his guitarworks so that he could examine the guitar and we could address the issue. Subsequently, I found my perspective changing; I know believe (especially after comparisions with other new and vintage soapbar loaded guitars) that the degree of noise is not excessive, and is part and parcel of getting that P-90 tone.
The guitar has a very strong midrange that seems rich with overtones/harmonics. The neck p.u. is great for jazz chording,with a thick voice, while the bridge slaps my amps nasty-silly ( I play through a Top Hat Vibra-Trem, '63 1/2 Deluxe Reverb, Vibro-King, Blues Deluxe). I tend to set the volume of my amps somewhere between 4 and 7, and controlling their volume from the guitar. I find that backing off the volume at the guitar generally creates a more delicate/articulate response, enhanced by the manipulation of the guitar's tone knob, which has a remarkable spectrum of subtle and smooth tone colors. If any of my amps are at 7 with the guitar's volume full on, it gets really, three-dimensionally (and in the case of the bridge p.u., violently) physical---NO NEED FOR AN OVERDRIVE OR DISTORTION BOX...it's all in the interface of guitar and amp. Honestly, the only effect I use with this guitar is some degree of slapback and just barely wet reverb. Any other effect would (to me) spoil its voice, which is...well, I am in love with its voice, and am always discovering new nuances to the degree that I sometimes feel inadequate and unworthy of the guitar (or of capably describing what you would just have to feel and hear for yourself). It works for blues (T-Bone and the three Kings), roots (although its twang isn't totally Tele in nature), and jazz chording. I give it a 9.5 (just to assert myself over it).

It was perfection. Again, I don't know if I'll ever realize its potential. It was and is a 10

I baby it totally, but it seems very durable and reliable, if I can judge it on the basis of its track record with recording and performing musicians that I admire. I'll go a 9 on this.

I do not know how long the warranty is, but because my contacts with Anderson Guitarworks prior to and after delivery were so positive, as i have heard from others to be typical of this maker, I do not doubt that he will address any of my future concerns in a satisfactory way. I have heard and read that Tom Anderson's attitude towards his guitars gives the original owner the equivalent of a lifetime warranty (and perhaps that was the actual warranty---the reputation of his guitars and his company is partly what influenced me to buy one after I had auditioned eight or nine).

I have been playing since I was 14 (I am 48 now). The only things I would have changed would be to have had the neck tinted, and maybe to have asked more of Anderson's advice regarding the tone regarding the combination of p.u.s, woods, and scale that I chose; A maple top may have given me something a little brighter/sparkly, but I do not know if I would like that better or worse, it would just be different.I do love the power of a P-90, and I much prefer single-coils over humbuckers. God, yes, I'd buy another one if something bad happened to this. I wouldn't mind it if the p.u.s were quieter, but I wouldn't take the quieter operaton if that meant some loss of their tonal authority. I have compared this to a P-90s loaded Les Paul, P-90s loaded SG, P-90s loaded Bluesbird, P.R.S. Soapbar Special, and a Dan Grosh custom loaded with P-90s. I did not know exactly what my Anderson would sound like until I took delivery of it, but it was just stronger than the others, able to go from raw to refined at the flick of a switch and twist of a dial