Tom Anderson Guitarworks was founded in 1984 and is currently based in California, USA. After leaving Schecter Guitars, Tom Anderson started his own company to initially make pickups and necks, but a growing reputation soon meant that the company could focus on producing their own line of guitars.
The good news is that Tom Anderson Guitarworks is another company which can be added to the top of the ‘lefty friendly’ list, as they make all of their guitars available left handed at no additional charge. The only option that isn’t available is the mono choice on the Crowdster Plus and Plus 2 as reverse taper components are not available.
Below is a quick summary of the left handed guitars available from Tom Anderson. All guitars can be fully customised, the images used are just examples of the different styles.
Tom Anderson Left Handed Guitars
Bulldog
Knock-out looks, light as a feather and with tones to die for, the Bulldog is one seriously badass looking single-cut! Focused and muscular, musical midrange predominates but the Bulldog is a purebred Anderson through and through. So, no need to fret, as every outrageous Anderson attribute is soundly intact and at your command.
Atom
A brand new body shape accompanies mahogany-based construction and a shorter 24 3/4-inch scale-length. Legendarily effortless Anderson neck playability is at hand with a new and extremely comfortable tilt-back neck geometry supporting the incorporation of a light-weight top-mounted bridge. Booming and focused musical tonality is the result of this well-balanced instrument.
Atom Special
Atom Special is special because it does not have a maple top crowning its body as does its older sibling, the regular and now established Atom. So then, the Atom Special derives its ultimate specialness from a body that is all one type of wood through and through. All-Mahogany, Atom Specials deliver a thunderously round sonic blow to all within earshot.
Atom CT
Atom in it’s carved-top incarnation. An artistically sculpted flame maple top defines Atom CT’s refinement and dominate character. Lightweight top-mounted Tune-o-matic type bridge with twin H-series pickup layout sticks with a somewhat traditional arrangement—Anderson style. Control is accomplished via Atom’s 5-Way, two knob with push/pull, promoting quick-flicking full dominion over everything you have to say or play.
Crowdster
There is no longer any debate; Crowdster is the premiere live-music acoustic guitar—the one to bring your acoustic guitar sounds effortlessly to life on stage with all the fullness great acoustic guitar parts deserve. Crowdster is a guitar most at home in front of large crowds where it can show off superlative amplified acoustic guitar tones, unencumbered by the usual trappings of live acoustic music.
Crowdster Plus
Same amazing guitar as the regular Crowdster…plus…the addition of an Anderson electric guitar pickup made especially for Crowdster—so you can blend in or select impressive supplemental electric guitar sounds to augment Crowdster’s already substantial acoustic voice.
Crowdster Plus 2
The same wonderfully lush and uncompromised live music acoustic abilities as the Crowdster Acoustic; expanded to utter magnificence by 2 electric guitar pickups that are specifically tuned to listen to the voice of bronze strings, so all your acoustic guitar attributes remain firmly embedded while a large variety of ripping electric tones are now at your command.
Cobra
Cobra find their muscular voice solidly based on a Mahogany foundation and 24 3/4-inch scale length, while their defining clarity comes from a string-through-the-body bridge—tremolo or fixed—and flat neck-to-body geometry. It is the best of both worlds as Cobra stands midway between Anderson’s long-scale guitars and Bulldog – granting giant legato growl with a bit of a Cobra bite.
Cobra Special
An all mahogany body 24 3/4″ scale length Cobra usually equipped with Anderson Soapbar type pickups. The shorter string-length in combination with its all mahogany body and mahogany/rosewood fingerboard neck, create a very fat, powerful and concentrated mid-range tone. And when you include the aforementioned pickups, you have the most beautiful sounding and structurally stable guitar of this type found anywhere.
Cobra S
Those who lived and breathed the obvious advantages of Cobra but also reveled in their S-shaped Andersons wanted the two to merge into one magnificent instrument that could and would boast all Cobra attributes but look and hang like their favorite “S-shaped” “Andie”. In 1996, Cobra S took its rightful place alongside the now renown Cobra to add the same Cobra “crush” to the world of “S.” Taking over the (musical) world with an “S” just got a lot easier. This is the “S-shaped” guitar that will command everything within its earshot.
Cobra S Special
Cobra S Special is the all mahogany body version of the Cobra S. Not sharing the spotlight with a maple top, mahogany rises to the occasion with sound akin to controlled thunder – huge and rich with strong, round midrange. The absence of the maple top rounds off the upper-mids just a bit more for those who seek fat everything in their tone.
T Classic
Time-honored layout with many Anderson perks. 25 1/2-inch scale, traditional pickguard and control layout. Just pick one up…just once…and strum it, hold it close and feel it resonate. Listen to it ring out—even unplugged—and you will know for sure. All doubt will leave you forever. This is the “T” that will allow you to transcend all of your previous “T” trappings.
Short T
The Anderson Guitars Short T is a shorter, 24 3/4-inch scale length, T-style guitar with customary pickguard—like the Anderson Hollow T Classic or T Classic but with the shorter scale length. Only the services of traditional “long-scale” woods are enlisted to insure that all desired T-ness remains soundly in tact.
Drop T
Very soon after the revelation of the revolutionary drop top in 1990, Anderson Guitars knew they needed to apply the same Drop Top technology to the “T” platform. The result was Drop T—a “T” of a profound nature—completely new and different than anything “T” that had come before. Single cut, non-pickguard styling and with a 25.5″ scale length makes this a real player’s guitar.
Drop T Classic
Not a pickguard in sight here but instead a stunning Maple, Walnut or Koa top astride a wonderful tone-wood back and full body contours. 25 1/2-inch scale length and almost any pickup configuration you can imagine. A “T” style guitar with a difference!
Drop Short T
Drop Short T is the same big deal as its traditional tonewood sibling, the Short T. Exhibiting the same seamless playability and tonal distinctions—but with the added visual presence of a beautiful maple, koa or walnut top. It is visual virtue at its finest for feasting your eyes upon.
Mongrel
With such similar DNA (dynamic note amplitude), it is a mating that had to happen. When the doors of Anderson Guitarworks are finally locked for the night, S & T-style guitars will come out to play. And the result is … Mongrel … an offspring of S & T style guitars—a cool and so playable amalgamation.
Drop Top
This is the guitar that started it all! Before Drop Top, the number of S-style guitars that had a maple top that was “dropped” or swooped over the top to create a comfortable forearm contour was exactly…zero. But with the introduction of the magnificent Drop Top in 1990, all changed and the “S” instrument could now have it’s full contours, be a thing of astounding beauty and have ample amounts of tone wood backing its exotic wood top to sound rich and spectacular.
Drop Top Classic
Drop Top Classic is “classic” pickguard styling collaborating with Drop Top technology—merging the grandeur of flame or quilted maple, koa or walnut top, and its flowing and comfortable body contours, with the time-honored passion of a pickguard. Along with its venerable look, pickguard styling also adds more overtone and less fundamental to Drop Top demeanor. That means that Drop Top Classic presents all it has to say with a bit more “classic” voice.
Pro Am
In the mid 80’s, a whole new guitar company was launched, Tom Anderson Guitarworks. As they stated in their first magazine ad, “We are a small American company dedicated to creating the world’s finest feeling, playing and sounding electric guitars. Period!” Well, it was this commitment that led to the Pro Am, the most amazing feeling, playing and sounding guitar to appear on the scene. It changed everything in the guitar world!
The Classic
The Classic is vintage body and neck woods with pickguard styling and any configuration of Anderson pickups you prefer for your sonic pleasure. Could this superlative instrument be the most profound, best playing and best sounding vintage double-cut-away electric guitar on Earth? Customary “S” can get no better than this with your choice of traditional body woods and pickguard styling.
Raven
The Guitar Player’s, Offset Guitar! Svelte, cut, light, fast and nimble, boasting extraordinarily effortless intonation and tuning stability, jammin’ with Raven is truly a joyful performance experience. Raven hangs as if it were sculpted for you—because it was. Not oversized or bloated but proportioned just right to feel familiar, welcomingly tractable and boundingly dynamic.
Tom Anderson Website
The Tom Anderson website is a simple, but elegant design which works very well. However there is one niggling thing to be improved upon. In order to find out if a guitar is available left handed you need to navigate to the guitar info page and download a custom order PDF document. Inside this document there is a menu which unlocks the lefty option, it’s a little confusing and time consuming. It would be nice to see an FAQ page with information about left handed options.
The website really shows that Tom and his team are incredibly passionate about what they do and proud of the guitars that they produce. Unlike many of the bigger companies Tom Anderson Guitarworks really comes across as being a down-to-earth brand who are super-excited to share their guitars with the world. The down to earth mentality really shows when you email the company with a question and Tom Anderson himself replies.
For more information:
Tom Anderson Guitars Website
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