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My Tom Anderson build arrived this past Saturday evening.
Review:
Body: As requested on my build sheet, the crew at TAG selected a lightweight alder body blank. The guitar weighs a comfortable 7.3 Lbs and balances well on the strap or when playing in a seated position. The Angel body shape has large cutaways providing ample upper fretboard access. The arm carve, belly cut, rounded body edges, and sculpted neck heel work together for an unobstructed playing experience. The sparkle plum finish is absolutely spectacular. It turned out exactly as I was hoping for with a rich purple hue that varies in appearance from almost black in low light to a true plum in direct sunlight. Pictures don't fully capture the visual impact of this finish. The metallic flake makes the guitar glisten as light moves across it. I made a video (below) to more fully convey how it looks in person. I rate the finish a 10/10, highly recommended.
Hardware: The Anderson branded locking tuners operate smoothly and lock securely with the back mounted knurled knobs. The pickup switches operate with a solid tactile feel while not being overly stiff. The volume and tone knobs move smoothly through their entire range with not a hint of audible crackle. The matte black pickguard is precisely cut and it conforms closely to the body and pickups. I believe that Anderson cuts all of their pickguards on a laser it shows. The fit is perfect. It has no bowing or areas that flex or creak when touched.
The neck pickup is seated such that it is nearly touching the end of the fretboard. This is a good thing in my opinion because it allows for the neck pickup to be positioned as close as possible to the position where it would sit on a traditional Strat design. The satin finish on the bridge pickup looks and feels nice without being a fingerprint magnet like the polished covers on my 2024 build are. The cover arrived with a few pinhead sized specks of rust, so I suspect that the rougher surface finish of the cover might be prone to oxidize further. A minor flaw / oversight that I noticed was the presence of some metal filings on the neck and middle pickup pole pieces. I suspect that steel wool was used in the fret finishing process and the pickups grabbed some of the resulting metallic dust. I was able to remove the dust from the pickups using some electrical tape, so not a big deal.
The non-fine tuner Floyd Rose is a solid unit that has no hot spots or sharp edges to irritate the picking hand. The bar is mounted by pushing it through a plastic collar and then it threads onto the bridge directly. The tension of the collar can be adjusted with a grub screw to allow the bar to either swing freely or stay in place depending on user preference. The bar has no play before engaging so the result is a responsive vibrato feel. Since this bridge is fully recess mounted, the range is greater than what you get with a floating top mounted setup. It does not have quite the range nor is it as quick to respond as a full double locking setup though because the length of the strings behind the nut are still in play. Tuning stability with vibrato is good but not perfect. That was also the case for my other Anderson with this bridge. It took about a month of playing for that one to settle in and now it is totally stable even with heavy vibrato use. I expect that this guitar will also settle in and become similarly stable.
Update: A dose of Big Bends Nut sauce on the underside of the string tree resolved the tuning stability concern.
Neck: The even taper -0.020 roasted maple neck carve feels identical to my 2024 Anderson with the same profile. The satin finish has a low friction feel that is smooth to the touch without being sticky (like some gloss finished necks can be). The rosewood board is a warm brown hue with highlights of red and dark brown running the length that compliment the purple finish well. The edges of the board are rounded. The neck pocket is precisely fitted with no gaps between the neck and the body. The Tusq nut fills the slot perfectly in every dimension, has rounded edges, and the slots are cut with just the right depth to allow for cleanly ringing open notes and comfortable first position chording.
The ends of the jumbo stainless steel frets are smooth and the frets polished to a mirrored finish. To my surprise and disappointment, the frets on this guitar did not pass inspection with a fret rocker. I found areas of concern on frets 2, 4, 7, 13, and 22. I discovered that the frets weren't properly level when I adjusted the action. The guitar arrived with the action at 1.3mm at the 12th fret (1.7mm at the 24th fret) and 0.010 in of relief at the 7th fret. The guitar played cleanly across the whole neck (good sustain, no fret buzz or dead notes) with the factory setup, but it was stiffer than I'm used to. I straightened the neck (0.0055 in of relief) and dialed in the action to 1.25 mm measured at the 12th fret (1.6 mm at the 24th fret). After lowering the action the guitar exhibited fret buzz mostly in the range of frets 6-12 that was significant enough to be audible through a clean amp. Those same notes rang clearly when played with approximately the same picking intensity on my most similar guitar (2022 Tom Anderson Angel setup with an action of 1.4 mm at the 24th fret and 0.0055 in of relief).
I emailed support and Anderson Guitarworks co-owner Markus Spohn responded within a few hours confirming that they provide a lifetime warranty on the neck and fretwork. Arrangements have been made for me to send the guitar back to Anderson so they can diagnose and correct the issue. It sucks that I have to send my new guitar back. On the positive side, I have full confidence that they will resolve the matter to my satisfaction and make the guitar play as well as my other Andersons.
Tones:
I am really enjoying the sound of the VA7 single coils. They have the sparkle, chime, and snap you would expect from a Strat while somehow not being harsh. Compared to the other Strat style single coils I have, they are similarly bright and clear like the Suhr V60 pickups but with a smoother top end. The VA7's have more top end than the Suhr V60LP pickups which helps them sound great with clean tones. They are much more traditional sounding than the Anderson SF1 (which is more round sounding and has more output). The V-quiet system is effective and I can only hear the faintest 60-cycle hum when listening to the ambient noise of the guitar through a gained up Plexi preset on the Axe-FX III with no noise gate. I would say that the Suhr SSCII is a bit more effective at removing single coil hum, but the V-quiet system is close.
The HC2+ bridge humbucker has plenty of output and a big warm sound. The top end is soft, the mids are forward, and the low end is round and punchy without sounding bloated. Dialing in a rhythm tone for the neck pickup and then switching to the bridge pickup provides a fat and powerful lead tone. The split sound is convincing as a lower output single coil and it balances well with the VA7 pickups. I especially like the tone I get with the combination of neck pickup and the split HC2+ for rhythm playing. This is the default selection with the switch in position 3. Alternatively, I can access the middle single coil pickup by pulling the tone control with the switch in position 3. Surprisingly, I actually like how this middle pickup sounds on its own. That's the one setting that I don't like on my other HSS and HSH guitars. I did the direct comparison against the middle pickup on the Suhr Classic S (V60LP) and the Suhr Standard (V60) with the same amp settings and the VA7 middle pickup is a much more pleasant and usable sound. Tonally, this guitar fulfills my goal of sounding like my idealized super Strat; vintage strat tones on the neck and middle pickups and a medium hot bridge pickup for lead and heavy rhythm work.
Setting aside my disappointment with the subpar fret work, I am happy with how the build turned out. It looks incredible and it delivers the tones I was after. I will of course provide an update to the review once the warranty work has been done.
Review:
Body: As requested on my build sheet, the crew at TAG selected a lightweight alder body blank. The guitar weighs a comfortable 7.3 Lbs and balances well on the strap or when playing in a seated position. The Angel body shape has large cutaways providing ample upper fretboard access. The arm carve, belly cut, rounded body edges, and sculpted neck heel work together for an unobstructed playing experience. The sparkle plum finish is absolutely spectacular. It turned out exactly as I was hoping for with a rich purple hue that varies in appearance from almost black in low light to a true plum in direct sunlight. Pictures don't fully capture the visual impact of this finish. The metallic flake makes the guitar glisten as light moves across it. I made a video (below) to more fully convey how it looks in person. I rate the finish a 10/10, highly recommended.
Hardware: The Anderson branded locking tuners operate smoothly and lock securely with the back mounted knurled knobs. The pickup switches operate with a solid tactile feel while not being overly stiff. The volume and tone knobs move smoothly through their entire range with not a hint of audible crackle. The matte black pickguard is precisely cut and it conforms closely to the body and pickups. I believe that Anderson cuts all of their pickguards on a laser it shows. The fit is perfect. It has no bowing or areas that flex or creak when touched.
The neck pickup is seated such that it is nearly touching the end of the fretboard. This is a good thing in my opinion because it allows for the neck pickup to be positioned as close as possible to the position where it would sit on a traditional Strat design. The satin finish on the bridge pickup looks and feels nice without being a fingerprint magnet like the polished covers on my 2024 build are. The cover arrived with a few pinhead sized specks of rust, so I suspect that the rougher surface finish of the cover might be prone to oxidize further. A minor flaw / oversight that I noticed was the presence of some metal filings on the neck and middle pickup pole pieces. I suspect that steel wool was used in the fret finishing process and the pickups grabbed some of the resulting metallic dust. I was able to remove the dust from the pickups using some electrical tape, so not a big deal.
The non-fine tuner Floyd Rose is a solid unit that has no hot spots or sharp edges to irritate the picking hand. The bar is mounted by pushing it through a plastic collar and then it threads onto the bridge directly. The tension of the collar can be adjusted with a grub screw to allow the bar to either swing freely or stay in place depending on user preference. The bar has no play before engaging so the result is a responsive vibrato feel. Since this bridge is fully recess mounted, the range is greater than what you get with a floating top mounted setup. It does not have quite the range nor is it as quick to respond as a full double locking setup though because the length of the strings behind the nut are still in play. Tuning stability with vibrato is good but not perfect. That was also the case for my other Anderson with this bridge. It took about a month of playing for that one to settle in and now it is totally stable even with heavy vibrato use. I expect that this guitar will also settle in and become similarly stable.
Update: A dose of Big Bends Nut sauce on the underside of the string tree resolved the tuning stability concern.
Neck: The even taper -0.020 roasted maple neck carve feels identical to my 2024 Anderson with the same profile. The satin finish has a low friction feel that is smooth to the touch without being sticky (like some gloss finished necks can be). The rosewood board is a warm brown hue with highlights of red and dark brown running the length that compliment the purple finish well. The edges of the board are rounded. The neck pocket is precisely fitted with no gaps between the neck and the body. The Tusq nut fills the slot perfectly in every dimension, has rounded edges, and the slots are cut with just the right depth to allow for cleanly ringing open notes and comfortable first position chording.
The ends of the jumbo stainless steel frets are smooth and the frets polished to a mirrored finish. To my surprise and disappointment, the frets on this guitar did not pass inspection with a fret rocker. I found areas of concern on frets 2, 4, 7, 13, and 22. I discovered that the frets weren't properly level when I adjusted the action. The guitar arrived with the action at 1.3mm at the 12th fret (1.7mm at the 24th fret) and 0.010 in of relief at the 7th fret. The guitar played cleanly across the whole neck (good sustain, no fret buzz or dead notes) with the factory setup, but it was stiffer than I'm used to. I straightened the neck (0.0055 in of relief) and dialed in the action to 1.25 mm measured at the 12th fret (1.6 mm at the 24th fret). After lowering the action the guitar exhibited fret buzz mostly in the range of frets 6-12 that was significant enough to be audible through a clean amp. Those same notes rang clearly when played with approximately the same picking intensity on my most similar guitar (2022 Tom Anderson Angel setup with an action of 1.4 mm at the 24th fret and 0.0055 in of relief).
I emailed support and Anderson Guitarworks co-owner Markus Spohn responded within a few hours confirming that they provide a lifetime warranty on the neck and fretwork. Arrangements have been made for me to send the guitar back to Anderson so they can diagnose and correct the issue. It sucks that I have to send my new guitar back. On the positive side, I have full confidence that they will resolve the matter to my satisfaction and make the guitar play as well as my other Andersons.
Tones:
I am really enjoying the sound of the VA7 single coils. They have the sparkle, chime, and snap you would expect from a Strat while somehow not being harsh. Compared to the other Strat style single coils I have, they are similarly bright and clear like the Suhr V60 pickups but with a smoother top end. The VA7's have more top end than the Suhr V60LP pickups which helps them sound great with clean tones. They are much more traditional sounding than the Anderson SF1 (which is more round sounding and has more output). The V-quiet system is effective and I can only hear the faintest 60-cycle hum when listening to the ambient noise of the guitar through a gained up Plexi preset on the Axe-FX III with no noise gate. I would say that the Suhr SSCII is a bit more effective at removing single coil hum, but the V-quiet system is close.
The HC2+ bridge humbucker has plenty of output and a big warm sound. The top end is soft, the mids are forward, and the low end is round and punchy without sounding bloated. Dialing in a rhythm tone for the neck pickup and then switching to the bridge pickup provides a fat and powerful lead tone. The split sound is convincing as a lower output single coil and it balances well with the VA7 pickups. I especially like the tone I get with the combination of neck pickup and the split HC2+ for rhythm playing. This is the default selection with the switch in position 3. Alternatively, I can access the middle single coil pickup by pulling the tone control with the switch in position 3. Surprisingly, I actually like how this middle pickup sounds on its own. That's the one setting that I don't like on my other HSS and HSH guitars. I did the direct comparison against the middle pickup on the Suhr Classic S (V60LP) and the Suhr Standard (V60) with the same amp settings and the VA7 middle pickup is a much more pleasant and usable sound. Tonally, this guitar fulfills my goal of sounding like my idealized super Strat; vintage strat tones on the neck and middle pickups and a medium hot bridge pickup for lead and heavy rhythm work.
Setting aside my disappointment with the subpar fret work, I am happy with how the build turned out. It looks incredible and it delivers the tones I was after. I will of course provide an update to the review once the warranty work has been done.
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