Don't worry, Doc'll write a 'scrip for all 3!

I may have a terminal case of Tom Anderson GAS!!

I am officially CURED OF GAS!!!!! Sold my stuff on Ebay and was watching 3 Fender Champs until I could find a nice one and I made the mistake of going to the MF site. Gibson Goldtone LP Junior amp on closeout! I was done. I really like those. Bought it and should have it by Monday or Tuesday. So, I'm CURED. I have the guitars I want and the amp I thought I'd never get! Finished, done. I have an LP, a Srat, and my acoustic, and now the Goldtone. I can live without a Tele I tell ya! I can, I know I can! Oh shit, who am I foolin. I gotta find more stuff to sell!!!!! It's all yooz guys fault!!!!!

WEll, in all honesty, one of those is a re-issue.......

ME????

Don I like your taste in hobbies.... Guns and Guitars!!! I just bought a H&R .410 and while I was in the shop I saw this new Ruger Charger which today I decided I had to have. It's basically a 10-22 with a pistol grip and 10" barrel. Had a buckridge red dot sight on it too..... Ok back to guitars now. Bitchin collection of Marshall's Don!!!!

There's nothing like taking Friday off!!! LOL

I visited a friend who happens to run one of the finest non chain music stores I know of. I hadn't been there in about 2 years, so I just had to make a run.....

Jack Gretz is one of the GOOD GUYS. He's been a great help to me, esp. when it comes to PRS guitars, and Fuchs amps. The store he runs is typically in the top 3 nationwide in PRS sales, and they have a healthy internet business. They get many unusual PRS guitars, ones you'd not see at other retailers. Magdon Music's monthly email, advising me of new PRS and Anderson guitars they've gotten in, is welcomed spam!!!! LOL Check them out, as you can sign up for the e mail updates. Even if you're not buying, it's some great eye candy for us Guitarded individuals.

http://www.magdonmusic.com/

Jack is also a luthier, and I may have him help me with my Koa Les Paul project.

I got to play several guitars and amps that we've been talking about here on the forum. So, I thought I'd do a review of some of the "stuff" I spent some time with today.

I briefly played thru one of those new little tweed Gretch amps. I was very dissapointed. The sound and tone sounded muted, and it distorted way too early, and NOT in a pleasant way. If you are looking for a new "true bedroom amp", I'd go with the Fender Champion 600 as my #1 choice, or the Gibson Les Paul Jr. amp as my #2 choice;

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Champion-600-5-Watt-1x6-Combo-Amp?sku=485054

I played a Carr "Mercury" combo. It's a really cool class A amp...there is a knob that allows you to quickly go from 1/10 watt to 1/2 watt to 2 watts to 8 watts. The amp is NOT cheap, but is pretty cool.

http://www.carramps.com/mercury.html

I played thru a Fuchs "Lucky Seven" head. I played it thru a Fuchs 2x12 loaded with EV's. This little 7 watt KILLER is one heck of a great amp. Simple, yet dead on....it's voiced in the vein of an old Marshall Plexi or a Trainwreck. I flat out loved it. If I was looking for a small head to give me a BIG sound, this would be my choice for sure. Confirmed guitar and amp-a-holic that I am, it was hard to leave the store without this puppy.

http://www.fuchsaudiotechnology.com/html/lucky_7.html

I also had the chance to try out the brand spankin new "Plush" OD pedal by Fuchs. Andy Fuchs is just getting into the pedal effects business. It's a solidly built OD, in a cool green box. It was really good, adding a darker tone to the overdriven tone of the Lucky 7. Very cool pedal. I'd think that these will start to show up in select Fuchs dealers showrooms soon.

I played a custom shop Fender Tele made of Rosewood. It is one of the most naturally beautiful guitars I've ever laid eyes on. It's like the one George Harrison had......First, it's a limited run. Second, it ain't cheap!! This one is actually used....some guy bought it, from the looks of it didn't touch it, and returned it, buying another guitar. So, Jack's got it at lower than the new price. It still ain't cheap!!! LOL But, if you're interested call Jack. It is a good deal on a virginal guitar. This puppy is HEAVY. The body is sandwitched solid rosewood, with a thin strip of holly wood (accoring to Jack, it's holly...I've seen it said that the thin strip in the center is maple???) in the center, sort of like a Les Paul Deluxe. The neck is also solid rosewood. The wood is nothing short of magnificent!!! It played great, as you'd expect of a hand made Fender custom shop axe. The tone??? It sounded a bit "tight" to me.....but, it twangs with the best of them. A truely lovely guitar. Here's a link to one offered by another retailer, just so that you can see how lovely this guitar is (the one I played today is prettier than this one shown);

http://www.elderly.com/fmic/items/FCSLRT.htm

Now, the main reason I went to Magdon is that they are a Tom Anderson guitar dealer I've heard nothing but great stuff about Anderson electrics for a year or two, but have only played one, their "T Classic" in trans blonde finish. It was in Manny's in NYC. Unfortunately, that guitar was not set up particularly well, so my impression was fouled. Here is a link to the same model that they have in stock at Magdon, so you can take a look see;

http://www.magdonmusic.com/guitars/Anderson/TCLASTBL.html

Today, I played a Anderson "Hollow Cobra" in "Tiger's Eye" finish. This guitar has a chambered mahogany body, with a beautiful flamed maple face, and a great mahogany neck. It's scale length is close to that of a Les Paul. It's a hardtail strings thru body, and plays rock solid!! This guitar has a real edge!! You'd not have any problems cutting thru the mix with this axe.

http://www.magdonmusic.com/guitars/Anderson/HLCBRTE.html

Now, I'd been watching the Anderson guitars that Magdon had in stock on and off for a couple of years. About a week ago Reif posted that video of him playing his buddies' Anderson "Hollow Drop Top" (HDT). Reif mentioned that this HDT was like driving a Ferrerri. Hummmmmm, I thought to myself. Hummmmmmmm. Then I noticed that Magdon had several in stock, including one with a Flame Koa face, on a basswood body with a rock maple neck and a rosewood fretboard. This is what precipitated my trip up to Magdon today. It's all your fault, Reif!!

This Koa HDT has large frets, and had the Buzz Feiten tuning system. It's scale length is similiar to a Fender. It's got a five position pu selector switch, as well as a mini toggle that toggles the pickups from humbucking to single pole. The neck and middle look exactly like vintage single pole strat pu's, but they are stacked humbuckers!! So, you can play this guitar to sound similiar to a traditional Strat, or a Strat on steroids....humbuckers all!! There is a master volume knob, and a single tone knob. The tone knob is a push-pull, where pulling it out adds the bridge humbucker to any other pu you might be playing. THAT is a great feature, as that bridge bucker kicks the tone into hyperdrive with either the neck or the middle pu. This is a fairly complex setup, but very intuitive, and offers all sorts of tone possibilities.

Also, it's got what Anderson calls "Vintage Voicing", which means that when you are playing any of the pu's as a singlecoil combined with the bridge humbucker, the dB level of that single coil is boosted to be compatable with the humbucker.

I played the Koa HDT thru the Fuchs Lucky 7, the Carr "Mercury" combo, and thru a Marshall JCM-800 reissue 100 watt thru a Marshall 4x12 vintage cab (the one with the basketweave grill cloth).

The Verdict? Holy Crap, is this an amazing guitar. Reif, you were dead on....it's the hottest, best playing guitar I've ever touched. If I was playing out, this one would be at every gig. It doesn't quite have the funk of a good Strat. But, I'm not sure that really matters, considering the quality and tone it does possess.

First, the neck is truely outstanding. It's the finest neck I've ever played....the big frets are friggin perfect. You can grab a lead note, and bend with impunity....you can reall dig in, and pull and bend and the neck just invites you to go for it!! It's very much like the feel of a Strat with jumbo frets....the long scale makes the strings a bit stiff. And, the axe comes with 10's on it. But, it's truely the most "made to play" guitar I've known. Ferrari.....Porche....take your pick, this guitar is a HIGH PERFORMANCE MACHINE.

Tone for days. The bridge pu is amazing. I pushed the Marshall a bit, just briefly, and that bridge humbucker shone. In short, this is perhaps the finest new guitar I've encountered.

I recently decided to sell most of my new guitars. I really don't want to, as I have some really special axes. But I find that I mostly play the old ones. So, with a few exceptions they are gonna go. In fact, I've already sold two in the past week.

So, since I am otherwise "cleaning house", I decided to bring this Anderson Koa HDT home. Over the next several months, many others will be finding new homes. But, not this one.....it's STAYING!! I'll try to record some audio of it. In the mean time, here's some pics;







http://www.magdonmusic.com/guitars/Anderson/HLDTKOACS.html