Diezels and Tom Anderson Guitars

[eddyrox]

so over the last few days I've been noticing more Diezel guys playing the TAG's (jcj recently).

I talked with Andy Wood (VAN Hellion) and we both had the same observation about Tom's p/up's and how well they marry up to the Diezel voicing.

IMHO I've hear a lot of the "Boogie-ish" low-mid (but tight - not farty/tubby) in my Herbert. The difference is that the gain structure on the Diezel is much more transparent (as in dim and 7/9 chords ringing through) than the Rectum-friers/Tremoverbs. Not surprisingly Doug West/Randy Smith use tom's H3's to voice their amps.

After playing the VH4 and Herb today, I noted that the H2's seem to be the best bridge p/up for my Diezels. Whether it's a H2A (atom), H2+ or even an HO2 (lower output H2) on my Cobra, the TAG's just ooooze wood tone while still providing enough treble spark to cut through the mix. Pinch harmonics (Zakk, Dime, EVH) are soooo easy to pull off, that I've been "ordered" to settle down on the "squealing"

Bottom line, you owe it to yourself to play an Anderson through a Diezel - especially a Mahogany TAG with H2's through the Herbert. Something about the mid-focused punch of the Anderson just sits perfectly with the Herbert voicing, especially Ch2 +. All cabs (V30/240W or T75/300W) seem to work.

 

[nbarts]

I have to agree there was some glue in that combination, however it didn't have the mean aggression I get from LPs. The midrange is really nice, but that's about it. I think it would work really well to double track using Anderson on one for midrange & LP aggression on the other.
I wonder if I should switch one of my LP bridges to H3 or H2, it could be nice.

 

[eddyrox]

Personally, I love the 57's in my LPC as well - especially the neck p/up! Warm, round, and woman-like!

LP's are wonderful with the Diezels. Must be the mahogany!

 

[jcj]

I've got the H2+ in mine, and it's my "magic guitar" the thing just KILLS on everything I play it through. Talk about a deal too. Love the Andersons!

Tom A For The Win

 

[supersonic]

I've got a Herbert and an Anderson Hollow Drop Top with a H2 in the bridge. It sounds fantastic. I haven't tried the H2+ but I tried a H3 and didn't particually like it. The H3 thined out the sound and compessed it too much for my taste. Unlike the H2 which is big airy and open sounding. Killer guitars!

 

[van hellion]

am i the only one who digs h3 in the bridge? you guys are making me second guess my tone as usual should i give the h2+ a try? i dig the compression i get with my current setup but like any guitar player im always changing shit how do the h2's mate up with h1 in the neck, btw i will NEVER trade my neck pickup tone for anything!
peace
A Wood

 

[eddyrox]

am i the only one who digs h3 in the bridge? you guys are making me second guess my tone as usual should i give the h2+ a try? i dig the compression i get with my current setup but like any guitar player im always changing shit how do the h2's mate up with h1 in the neck, btw i will NEVER trade my neck pickup tone for anything!
peace
A Wood

Andy! no, no, keep the H3. It's really a matter of body wood, IMHO. You know how transparent and Hi-Fi tom's p/up's are.
By way of example, my PROAm has an H3 in the bridge. With a basswood body, that guitar is too dark with the Herbert, and really "boxy" and wooly with the VH4. On the other hand, my black beauty DT has an H3 in the bridge. But the alder back and maple top really even out the tone to the point where she burrrrrrns with both Herb and VH4.

as you can "see" here, the black beauty is the perfect guitar for just about anything!

 

[supersonic]

am i the only one who digs h3 in the bridge? you guys are making me second guess my tone as usual should i give the h2+ a try? i dig the compression i get with my current setup but like any guitar player im always changing shit how do the h2's mate up with h1 in the neck, btw i will NEVER trade my neck pickup tone for anything!
peace
A Wood

I use a single coil in the neck. H2's and H1's apparently match up nicely. I'd recomend to try a H2, maybe find a used one and sell it if you don't like it. It seems to match the HDT quite well, BTW is a Maple top on basswood. I always thought it wouldn't be hot enough as I tend to like high output humbuckers, but is sounds so sweet.

 

[JohnRageOn]

am i the only one who digs h3 in the bridge? you guys are making me second guess my tone as usual should i give the h2+ a try? i dig the compression i get with my current setup but like any guitar player im always changing shit how do the h2's mate up with h1 in the neck, btw i will NEVER trade my neck pickup tone for anything!
peace
A Wood

I have an H3+ on my ash strat. It is very punchy combined with VH4

 

[Rob Tahan]

Funny you all say this because i HATE my JB duncan now and have been looking into Anderson pickups for my Ibanez's. You think they'd be good in an ibanez prestige. Im happy with my duncans in the strat but NOT at all in the Ibanez. im also looking into getting a duncan custom custom.

 

[PBGas]

Tom Anderson guitars are/were just amazing, period. I had the fortunate opportunity to have one a few years back. I only wished that I had one with a Floyd on it.......

My 513 sounds pretty damn amazing with my Einstein, so I can't complain.

 

[van hellion]

my 2 main shred andersons are a mahogony body drop top with h1 and h3 and a basswood body drop top with h1 sa1 (i think) and h3, that was the guitar that recorded all of the clips on the down from up page. i prefer the solid guitars for rock but i have a hollow drop top t with a b bender that helps me release my inner redneck! who knows i may try a h2 but my tone is really happening for me right now so then again i may not
peace
A Wood

 

[nbarts]

my 2 main shred andersons are a mahogony body drop top with h1 and h3 and a basswood body drop top with h1 sa1 (i think) and h3, that was the guitar that recorded all of the clips on the down from up page. i prefer the solid guitars for rock but i have a hollow drop top t with a b bender that helps me release my inner redneck! who knows i may try a h2 but my tone is really happening for me right now so then again i may not
peace
A Wood

I just checked your link, some awesome music you've got there!

The tone had too much treble for me.
What you guys think about H2 in LP bridge?

 

[van hellion]

yeah the tone was mixed super bright, the producer tavis wyrick (P.O.D, 10 years, Pillar, Disciple) liked it super bright. the amp in room is very dark but as you can tell by vocal mix and cymbals, Travis loves the bright. im doing some solo stuff that will be more along the lines of a guthrie, petrucci, lane, kind of guitar sound....to bad i cant play like em
peace
A Wood

 

[jcj]

am i the only one who digs h3 in the bridge? you guys are making me second guess my tone as usual should i give the h2+ a try? i dig the compression i get with my current setup but like any guitar player im always changing shit how do the h2's mate up with h1 in the neck, btw i will NEVER trade my neck pickup tone for anything!
peace
A Wood

Andy! no, no, keep the H3. It's really a matter of body wood, IMHO. You know how transparent and Hi-Fi tom's p/up's are.
By way of example, my PROAm has an H3 in the bridge. With a basswood body, that guitar is too dark with the Herbert, and really "boxy" and wooly with the VH4. On the other hand, my black beauty DT has an H3 in the bridge. But the alder back and maple top really even out the tone to the point where she burrrrrrns with both Herb and VH4.

as you can "see" here, the black beauty is the perfect guitar for just about anything!

Hey Mike....

Are you going to make it to the SoCal ampfest? That Trans black is about tops on my list of things I'd like to try

Please........?

Josh

 

[White_Van]

am i the only one who digs h3 in the bridge? you guys are making me second guess my tone as usual should i give the h2+ a try? i dig the compression i get with my current setup but like any guitar player im always changing shit how do the h2's mate up with h1 in the neck, btw i will NEVER trade my neck pickup tone for anything!
peace
A Wood

Andy! no, no, keep the H3. It's really a matter of body wood, IMHO. You know how transparent and Hi-Fi tom's p/up's are.
By way of example, my PROAm has an H3 in the bridge. With a basswood body, that guitar is too dark with the Herbert, and really "boxy" and wooly with the VH4. On the other hand, my black beauty DT has an H3 in the bridge. But the alder back and maple top really even out the tone to the point where she burrrrrrns with both Herb and VH4.

as you can "see" here, the black beauty is the perfect guitar for just about anything!

Hey Mike....

Are you going to make it to the SoCal ampfest? That Trans black is about tops on my list of things I'd like to try

Please........?

Josh

That guitar just literally dropped my jaw.

Quite possibly the most gorgeous guitar I have ever seen.

I'm really, really jealous.

 

[eddyrox]

Thanks ToneFreeq, I really love her too - she sings as good as she looks. I'm gonna be taking her into the "maker" to get the H3 swapped for a HW2 in the bridge. The "W" allows for the tone of the HO2 while splitting like an H2 and simply resonates with the VH4 and the Herbert.

Jcj, I got a call from Mark Cameron a few weeks ago. While we were catching up, Mark told me about his new house and shop, and his hosting the SoCal fest. Unfortunately I'm going to be in Chicago that week of June. However, I'm gonna swing over to Cameron's later in the month to check out the the CCV's.

 

[van hellion]

hw2 huh? i need some info on this!
peace
A Wood

 

[eddyrox]

Andy, here's the "word" from the Supreme Commander:

"gather round and i'll tell you a tale. i'll try to keep it mostly true, or at least as much as i remember.
the H2 has been a favorite of mine for many years, loved the way it split. it has a very unconventional magnet and coil structure. it has coils that are twice as tall as most humbuckers, like a single coil, and a very weak magnetic field at the strings, but strong in the coil itself. so it makes good power with low string pull. we started making humbucker that were more vintage style, HO's. they have shorter coils and an alnico magnet on the bottom. we liked what was happening on the humbucker side of things, but weren't in love with the split sounds. during the process of developing the HO's, we learned more about layering and tension so we decided to take that knowledge and see if we could make a tall coiled humbucker that would sound more like an HO but split like an H2. it has the power of the H2 but the winding style of and HO. so what do we call it? first we thought H2O, but it didn't fit into our normal numbering sequence. so since H2O is the symbol for water, we thought how about...HW2?
them's the facts, and i'm stickin' to 'em."

Here's my response:
"very poetic origin! I love it!
I'm very curious as to why you've not tried the HW2's with other guitars (other than the Atom). I'd imagine that in a non-Atom, mahogany body, short scale (Cobra S), that the HW2 would fatten up the bottom?

I must admit I would've remained silent on encouraging the "HW2" use if I hadn't been playing Diezel amps. These are "modern" voiced amps, with an tight low end (without becoming overly compressed where you lose the dynamics) and ton of gain. Surprisingly, they are very transparent and articulate for such "hi gain" amps, and IMHO, avoid the "1-dimensional noise machine" classification. The modern voicing, however, can become "scooped" if you don't bring up the mids.

When coupled with the HO2 and H2+ (Cobra and DT), the amps simply come alive - treble spark without too much compression or "ice pick" brightness, and a grunt without too much flab - very balanced.

But with the Atom's HW2A - a whole new dimension is added. While that balance between hi and low is evident, the HW2 adds a touch more mid that increases the cut without having to re-EQ anything. It's almost where the HO2 lacks a little presence and the H2+ has a tad too much fire. And with the HW2A, I find I can roll off the volume and still have a singing, liquid lead tone that doesn't sound like I just rolled off the volume! Enter Sandman to Day Tripper without doing anything but rolling back the knob - all through a Diezel.

I'm definitely gonna take you up on swapping the H3 from my new DT for a HW2. The SF1/SF1R and a HW2 - it's gonna sing!"

tom: "we have made lots of underground pickups over the years. some catch on some don't. we just haven't pushed that one. it didn't work out as well for me, but i'd describe my amp as almost anti diezel, not that that there's anything wrong with either, just that with my squishier amp the hw2 was too soft sounding for me. it's always the sum of all the parts that makes a great tone. sounds like you've found a great combination for you.
yes, dealers can order them."

me:"thanks tom! FWIW, the TAG H2 (H2+, H0, HW2) has been proclaimed "king" of all p/up's when it comes to Diezel. Must be the softer, lower output that just gels with this brand of amp."

 

[van hellion]

i gotta order an h2+ i think, thing is im just gonna try it in my 2 pickup drop top see how it goes and then go from there!
peace
A Wood