holLoWskull Posted May 15, 2005 Posted May 15, 2005 I have an opportunity to pick up an older (I think??? late 80's - early 90's) Tom Anderson H-3 (red label) bridge pickup for a pretty good price. I was wondering if some of you have used these pickups in any of your guitars and what your opinions are? Are they on par with some of the other high end pickups (ie. Fralin, Bill Lawrence, etc.)? From the Tom Anderson website, it looks like these pickups are designed for the woods T.A. uses in his guitars...not really a problem because I was thinking of using the H-3 it in my T-62 (unlike my Daytona w/ a factory humbucker, my T-62 was "modded" to fit a humbucer by the previous owner, but done well). Since it's alder body, pau ferro board, it should be close to some of the TA guitar models that these pickups were in, right? Also, how are the T.A. single coil pickups? I've pretty much only had Seymour Duncan and EMG pickups in my Hamers, if the general consesus is that the Andersons are good for music ranging from pop rock to heavier rock\metal....I might break out of that rut.
Scottcrud Posted May 15, 2005 Posted May 15, 2005 I had a H-3 for a few years, loud, crunchy, and pretty quiet for a high gain pickup. They're built well, and sound good. Make sure you get a wiring diagram, they're not standard like Duncans and Dimarzios.
tombo Posted May 15, 2005 Posted May 15, 2005 Great pickups, but be forewarned: I think they call the H3 "the flame thrower." If that's your thing, get it! My choice would be a little less powerful. Call Roy Fought @ Anderson and he'll talk your ear off. Whether or not you buy an Anderson pickup, it doesn't matter. Great people at TA and they'll help you.
holLoWskull Posted May 16, 2005 Author Posted May 16, 2005 Great, thanks for the info guys. I think I'll pick it up and give it a try. Maybe I'll put the H3 in my Centaura instead, if it's really a super hot pickup. Any opinions on the single coil varieties?
MrGuitarguy Posted May 16, 2005 Posted May 16, 2005 Anderson pickups sound very HI-FI. If you like that kind of tone, go for it. If you're looking for a "classic" sound or something "vintage or "Traditional" I wouldn't go with them. Even their vintage models (which are supposed to have more of a traditional style of tone) don't sound vintage.Some guys really like them. Personally I always found hem to be the one part of Andersons that I didn't like.
tombo Posted May 16, 2005 Posted May 16, 2005 "Hi-Fi" is not a term I'd use with Anderson pickups. My vintage VA pickups from Anderson sound just that - vintage. Somehow, "hi-fi" got into players tone terms when Andersons showed up in many studio guitarists' hands as their main guitars. Hey, put one and one together and you get hi-fi, right? Wrong, but hey, that's just another opinion. I'll leave it at that and leave you all with a link to the "sterile hi-fi thread:Sterile
MrGuitarguy Posted May 17, 2005 Posted May 17, 2005 Well in all fairness you are using a guitar with the "vintage model" pickups so they would not have nearly the "hi-fi" tone of the others. I worked for an Anderson dealer for years and have probably heard more Andersons than most people. Also a good friend of mine has owned a number of his guitars, and he and I being two of the pickier guys I know in town also have to A/B things so that we are "familiar" with them. A number of customers who've bought Andersons ended up changing the pickups in their guitars to Fralins, Duncans, other manufacturers, etc. I've been fortunate to have heard all of Anderson's pickups and about 90% of the others from well known manufacturers in positions to compare them through all kinds of top end amps and from personally installing them in the same guitars back to back.The vintage pickups Anderson makes compared to many others, do not sound vintage. (I can tell the difference very easily). That said, that's clearly not what Anderson is going for as the Vintage set is Tom Anderson's least favorite of the pickups and is a style he made just to satisfy others.The pickups don't sound "bad", but don't expect a soundtht is "familiar" either. I think hi-fi is a very fair adjective to describe the standad pickups. However the words "sterile" and "Hi-Fi" are very different and I don't think "sterile" applies.
HAMERMAN Posted May 17, 2005 Posted May 17, 2005 How would they compare to EMG's? Just curious since EMG's are often described as sterile or hi-fi.
MrGuitarguy Posted May 17, 2005 Posted May 17, 2005 Passive pickups tend to catch little nuances that actives don't. This is primarilyl because of the boosted signal (a poor analogy on my part would be to think of it like a compressor). If you want screamin' hot, smokin' distortion the EMG's will certainly get you there. However, EMG humbuckers, especially the 81's, are hard to clean up because the output is so high. EMG's seem to work well with people who use lots of FX as well since the output is very balanced (read "loud").The Anderson's while, Hi-Fi or non traditional sounding, are passive and do let the nuances through with great dynamics. They maintain that "emotional" sound that we associate with passives. Again, they don't sound bad, just different.Here's a bizzare sort of example:Take Steve Vai for example. No one's going to consider his clean and dirty tones "vintage". They're very Hi-Fi sounding (think of the various tunes on Alien Love Secrets), but they still sound good. I love Steve's sound, but I wouldn't buy a Marshall, a Bassman, or a vintage guitar to get it. Andersons will get more of a "non-vintage", "Hi-Fi", "modern" tone. It's not a bad sound, but it isn't a "familiar" or "vintage" sound. All I can say is try them and see what you think. It's easy to hear the difference between them and other "traditional" guitars.Also let me go on the record as saying Andersons a killer guitars. Personally I would rather change the pickups.
Scottcrud Posted May 17, 2005 Posted May 17, 2005 I liked my H-3 and really never thought of it being "hi-fi" sounding, but then I'm a EMG 81 lifer, and I guess I'm just used to a Hi-Fi, sterile, lifeless sounding pickup. Of course I'm kidding, I love my 81 and if you heard my tone you certainly wouldn't say it was sterile, lifeless, of hi-fi.
tombo Posted May 17, 2005 Posted May 17, 2005 Also let me go on the record as saying Andersons a killer guitars. Personally I would rather change the pickups. I get what you're saying. Good explanation. I think you have the same experience that "Sylvanshine" in the sterile thread is talking about:"To me, the term sterile is one of those glass is half full/half empty words. I now think of Anderson pups as even, flat, consistant and transparent. There are no low end or high end spikes. The tone comes from the woods, your hands, the volume/tone knobs and your amp. You don't half to "dig in" to get a certain tone."I tend to agree with him that the Anderson pickups "amplify the wood" and nothing else. If that's hi-fi, I dig it. For everyone else, ymmv, but if you're out there searching for an Anderson, before you buy, give Roy @ Anderson a call and discuss what sounds you're after. Then, he can help you choose the right pickup for you. Also, Mr. GG, you're right about Tom not being thrilled with the vintage sets. He's a humbucker guy, but a low powered humbucker guy.
MrGuitarguy Posted May 18, 2005 Posted May 18, 2005 Also, Mr. GG, you're right about Tom not being thrilled with the vintage sets. He's a humbucker guy, but a low powered humbucker guy. As am I.Roy is a great guy and very helpful. He's also pretty damn hysterically funny.
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