**UPDATE** Any TA Drop Top owners..

stink

Experienced
I’m considering ordering an Anderson Drop Top and wondered if anyone here has any experience between the sound/tone of the hollow vs a solid body?

I plan on either a mahogany/quilted maple or a basswood/quilted maple combo for the body.

I’ve decided I want a caramel maple/chocolate maple fingerboard.

For pups, HSS configuration: HC3+ and 2 SC2

Also a short scale length neck (24 3/4, 50’s V large) and fixed, non-tremolo bridge.

I have a Gibson 2003 Joe Perry LP Boneyard (fixed bridge), that is chambered and it has a very resonant woody tone - and it’s a lot lighter than a typical LP. I’m looking for a similar thing with the TA but in a Strat configuration.

The TA’s look absolutely stunning but I can’t find one locally to take for a test drive.

Anyone?

EDIT: ** UPDATE**

So I pulled the trigger back in November... just got this beauty yesterday 4/10/21
 

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I have two. Both are alder with rosewood fretboards though. They are excellent guitars and you can buy one without playing it and it's almost guaranteed to be great.
 
I have two. Both are alder with rosewood fretboards though. They are excellent guitars and you can buy one without playing it and it's almost guaranteed to be great.
Cliff, your opinion is highly regarded and appreciated. Do you have a solid body or hollow DT?
 
Why not try the one for sale here and order one if you like it? I imagine you wont lose a penny on resale.
 
I have a hollow Cobra S. Absolutely love it and really like the weight drop from the hollow. I picked it up from our local dealer which was my favorite shop until they went out of business / change to online only Tom Anderson dealer.

When I discussed with Kevin the owner of the shop he mentioned the tone difference of the chambered vs the solid is very slight.

If you don't have a dealer you are working with I'd also recommend Kevin the new online business is deep water guitars. He's a straight shooter and definitely knows his stuff.
 
I would agree with what's been said about Andersons. There's not a big difference in tone of the hollow drop top but there is a difference. (I have almost identical guitars in hollow & solid body) As Anderson's site says: Maple Top on Hollow Basswood "The sonic character of this combination is similar to that of its solid body counterpart in that it creates a very full rich sound with great low, middle and high end. The hollow body does produce richer and more abundant overtones which give this combination a whole new character - perhaps moving closer to the traditional wood tones without losing its own personality. It is very light weight and looks great with almost all transparent colors."

The shorter scale
might effect the tone more than being hollow. Also short scale & mahogany body would also push it a little more towards a Gibson-ish midrange tone. The other thing to consider with hollow is they do have a tendency to feedback more at higher volumes. Again, it's not a huge difference from the solid body but could be an issue if you play really loud.
All in all, Andersons are great guitars. I have 4 of them & the only reason I am selling the hollow drop top is I have too many guitars, I'm retired & want to put the money into other things but I would not hesitate buying another one if the need came up.
 
I would also add that the hollow Tom Anderson that I have has a lot more in common tonality wise to my solid body than to my true hollow body. I have a Collings i30 and while the above characteristics for the Tom Anderson hollow (good overtones and slightly more feedback) the difference to the true hollow body with fholes in both those characteristics is way more substantial. It's also way less feedback prone than the yamaha sa2200 semi hollow I had prior to picking up the Collings.

I love both guitars and the Tom Anderson is more versatile and has amazing tones on it's own also being less finicky but it does not match the Collings at the hollow body p90 things it's good at.

That said the TA also feels less fragile (exactly like a solid body) the neck to me is perfect and it just super easy to play.

The could split on the TA also gives me what I feel are some fantastic single coil tones
 
I would also add that the hollow Tom Anderson that I have has a lot more in common tonality wise to my solid body than to my true hollow body. I have a Collings i30 and while the above characteristics for the Tom Anderson hollow (good overtones and slightly more feedback) the difference to the true hollow body with fholes in both those characteristics is way more substantial. It's also way less feedback prone than the yamaha sa2200 semi hollow I had prior to picking up the Collings.

I love both guitars and the Tom Anderson is more versatile and has amazing tones on it's own also being less finicky but it does not match the Collings at the hollow body p90 things it's good at.

That said the TA also feels less fragile (exactly like a solid body) the neck to me is perfect and it just super easy to play.

The could split on the TA also gives me what I feel are some fantastic single coil tones
I agree. The hollow drop top will feedback less than a semi hollow like the Collings I30 (I had an I35 Deluxe & whole heartedly would recommend a Collings. Great guitars!) & also much less than a full hollow body like a Gibson 175. Also, the Andersons (new 2 bolt or older 4 bolt) guitars are solid as a rock. It's really hard to go wrong with an Anderson!
 
I’ve had as many as 4 at one time. Picked all the things I liked from each, and custom ordered one. It’s a hollow drop top Hss with solid rosewood neck, Floyd rose, and the switcharoo system. Never played a dud, and Tom is a class act.
 
The shorter scale might effect the tone more than being hollow. Also short scale & mahogany body would also push it a little more towards a Gibson-ish midrange tone.
All in all, Andersons are great guitars. I have 4 of them & the only reason I am selling the hollow drop top is I have too many guitars, I'm retired & want to put the money into other things but I would not hesitate buying another one if the need came up.
The short scale is what I like. I have LP’s and a PRS, both short scale. Agree, they sound and play different from 25.5” but I find I don’t have to coax out the notes as much.



I agree. The hollow drop top will feedback less than a semi hollow like the Collings I30 (I had an I35 Deluxe & whole heartedly would recommend a Collings. Great guitars!) & also much less than a full hollow body like a Gibson 175. Also, the Andersons (new 2 bolt or older 4 bolt) guitars are solid as a rock. It's really hard to go wrong with an Anderson!
This is good information. That is the information needed. I have a Duesenberg TV player Mike Campbell model and at loud volumed, it’s prone to feedback.

I’ve had as many as 4 at one time. Picked all the things I liked from each, and custom ordered one. It’s a hollow drop top Hss with solid rosewood neck, Floyd rose, and the switcharoo system. Never played a dud, and Tom is a class act.
Exactly the information needed! I’m still wavering a bit about the Floyd vs fixed bridge. I like the way the Floyd makes string bending a bit wilder, especially with a short scale but they tend to be a PITA at times when setting intonation.

Just want to thank everyone who took the time to chime in and offer their opinions – greatly appreciated.
 
I have the vintage trem bridge instead of the floyd in my Tom Anderson. I have it setup not to float so that I can bend without impacting the other strings

Drawback is that trem can only drop the pitch but so far I like it better than the floyd on my solid body and if I changed my mind I can always set it up floating by tweaking the springs
 
I have the vintage trem bridge instead of the floyd in my Tom Anderson. I have it setup not to float so that I can bend without impacting the other strings

Drawback is that trem can only drop the pitch but so far I like it better than the floyd on my solid body and if I changed my mind I can always set it up floating by tweaking the springs
Might have to look into that as an option. Thank you!
 
These Wilkinson locking saddles work great & are a direct replacement on Anderson bridges as well as others like the Gotoh 510. These allowed me to not have the term decked & made it much easier to get nice, even vibratos & stay in tune much better than before, even with it decked. They sell out quickly and are out of stock now but can be found on Wilkinson Direct on Reverb: https://reverb.com/item/24879182-wilkinson-wls130-locking-steel-saddles?show_sold=trueIMG_5766.jpg
 
These Wilkinson locking saddles work great & are a direct replacement on Anderson bridges as well as others like the Gotoh 510. These allowed me to not have the term decked & made it much easier to get nice, even vibratos & stay in tune much better than before, even with it decked. They sell out quickly and are out of stock now but can be found on Wilkinson Direct on Reverb: https://reverb.com/item/24879182-wilkinson-wls130-locking-steel-saddles?show_sold=trueView attachment 74530
Now THAT is a very cool option! Best of both worlds. Thank you for that information. :cool:
 
I have a solid drop top and a hollow T.

Absolutely love the drop top. I did swap out for Suhr pickups which I prefer to any of the Anderson pickups I’ve tried.

For the T, I generally find it to be too scooped sounding. I’m guessing that’s from being hollow, but not entirely sure. I have a pickup swap to do on that one to get more mids.
 
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