Tom Anderson Drop Top (1 Piece) Ginger Burst (s/n: 02-16-26A)! Guitar comes with Tom Anderson Logo GigBag!

There are certain guitars where the wood should be allowed to tell the story. This Tom Anderson Drop Top in Ginger Burst is absolutely one of them.

At the center of this build is something especially noteworthy: a one-piece Flame Maple top over an Alder body. Rather than joining two pieces of figured maple down the center, Tom Anderson was able to use one continuous piece of flame across the entire face of the guitar. Finished in warm, transparent Ginger Burst with natural binding, the result is a Drop Top with an unusually clean and uninterrupted visual character.

But the beauty of the Drop Top has never been only about the maple.

Tom Anderson introduced the design in 1990, developing a way to “drop” the maple top into the forearm contour rather than sacrificing the comfort players expect from an S-style body. The approximately 3/16-inch maple top became part of the instrument's sonic recipe as well as its visual identity.

Add an Even Taper Maple neck, Rosewood fretboard, 25.5" scale, SC1/SC1/H2+ pickup combination, Vintage Tremolo and Anderson locking tuners, and this becomes exactly what we want a Tom Anderson to be: beautiful enough for the collector, but engineered from the beginning for the serious player.

As a Premier Authorized Tom Anderson Dealer, Northeast Music Center is proud to offer this exceptional Drop Top.

GUITAR HIGHLIGHTS:

• Tom Anderson Drop Top
• Rare 1-Piece Flame Maple Top
• Ginger Burst
• High-Gloss Finish
• Natural Binding
• Alder Body Back
• No Pickguard
• Maple Neck
• Rosewood Fretboard
• Even Taper Neck Profile
• 25.5" Scale Length
• 22 Medium Jumbo Frets
• 1 11/16" Nut Width
• Dot Inlays
• SC1 Neck Pickup
• SC1 Middle Pickup
• H2+ Bridge Humbucker
• 5-Way Switching
• N+B with Splitter
• Vintage Tremolo
• Anderson Locking Tuners
• Chrome Hardware
• Chrome Knurled Knobs
• Tom Anderson Ultra-Plush Logo Gig Bag Included

THE DROP TOP – A DESIGN THAT CHANGED THE FORMULA

When Tom Anderson introduced the Drop Top in 1990, the idea solved a problem that sounds simple until you try to build it.

How do you add a genuine maple top to an S-style guitar without losing the comfortable forearm contour that makes this body shape so enjoyable to play?

The answer was the Drop Top.

Rather than leaving a conventional flat maple cap where the player's arm meets the body, Anderson developed a construction method that allows the top to follow—or “drop” into—the forearm contour.

That meant a player could have the visual and tonal contribution of a real maple top without giving up the ergonomics of a contoured body.

More than three decades later, it's still one of the defining designs of Tom Anderson Guitarworks.

ONE PIECE OF FLAME MAPLE

This particular Drop Top takes that concept somewhere special.

Its top is made from one continuous piece of Flame Maple.

Most figured maple guitar tops are bookmatched from two pieces, creating the familiar center seam and mirrored figure that we associate with high-end electric guitars.

This one is different.

With a 1-piece top, the figure flows naturally across the entire face of the guitar without being divided by a center joint.

That gives the instrument a visual personality all its own.

And because one-piece figured tops require a sufficiently wide and visually compelling piece of maple to begin with, it's an appointment worth emphasizing on a boutique guitar at this level.

GINGER BURST – LET THE MAPLE SHOW

Ginger Burst is an ideal finish for this top.

The warm amber and ginger coloration adds depth and contrast while remaining transparent enough for the Flame Maple to remain the centerpiece.

That's important here.

When you have a one-piece figured top, you don't want the finish fighting the wood.

The natural binding creates a crisp transition around the body and showcases the maple itself along the edge, while the high-gloss finish gives the flame additional dimensionality as the viewing angle changes.

It's sophisticated rather than overstated.

And it's unmistakably Tom Anderson.

FLAME MAPLE OVER ALDER

Underneath that 1-piece maple top is an Alder body back, and this is one of the classic Drop Top combinations for good reason.

Alder brings the familiar lower-mid fullness and upper-mid presence associated with great S-style instruments, making it equally comfortable supporting single coils and humbuckers.

The maple top becomes more than decoration.

At approximately 3/16" thick, Anderson's Drop Top construction allows the maple to participate in the response of the instrument without overwhelming the underlying character of the body wood.

That's an important distinction.

This isn't a beautiful maple veneer placed on an otherwise conventional guitar.

The top is part of the design.

EVEN TAPER – 25.5" SCALE

The neck keeps the instrument grounded in familiar territory.

A Maple neck with Rosewood fretboard is paired with Tom Anderson's Even Taper neck profile, a traditional 25.5-inch scale length, 22 Medium Jumbo frets and a 1 11/16-inch nut width.

It's a combination intended to feel immediately comfortable to players accustomed to traditional S-style instruments while benefiting from the precision associated with Tom Anderson neck and fretwork.

The result is one of the reasons these guitars have such a loyal following.

There isn't a long adjustment period.

You pick it up and play.

SC1 / SC1 / H2+ – CLASSIC S-TYLE VERSATILITY WITH MORE MUSCLE

This Drop Top is loaded with a particularly versatile Anderson pickup combination:

SC1 – Neck
SC1 – Middle
H2+ – Bridge

The SC1 pickups provide the clarity and articulation players want from the neck and middle positions, while the H2+ bridge humbucker adds the fullness, output and authority needed when the music calls for something bigger.

It's an extremely useful combination.

Clean rhythm work, articulate neck tones, classic in-between textures, driven rhythm and full-bodied bridge leads can all live in the same instrument.

For a guitarist who needs to cover a wide musical range without changing guitars, that matters far more than simply having an impressive specification sheet.

5-WAY SWITCHING WITH SPLITTER

Tom Anderson takes further advantage of the pickup configuration through its 5-Way switching arrangement, including the specified N+B with Splitter functionality.

That expanded switching allows the guitar to move beyond a basic HSS setup and provides additional tonal combinations without cluttering the front of the instrument with unnecessary controls.

That's one of the things Anderson does particularly well.

There is substantial versatility available, but the guitar still feels intuitive.

You don't need to solve a puzzle before the first song.

VINTAGE TREMOLO & ANDERSON LOCKING TUNERS

A Vintage Tremolo keeps the response familiar and expressive, making everything from subtle chord movement to more pronounced vibrato available under the player's hand.

At the other end, Anderson locking tuners provide secure string retention and quick string changes.

Chrome hardware and chrome knurled knobs provide the perfect visual complement to Ginger Burst—clean, traditional and understated enough that your attention remains on that remarkable maple top.

BEAUTIFUL ENOUGH TO COLLECT. BUILT TO BE PLAYED.

It's tempting to focus entirely on the appearance of this guitar.

After all, a 1-piece Flame Maple Drop Top in Ginger Burst isn't something you're likely to overlook.

But that would miss the point.

This is still fundamentally a player's instrument.

The 25.5-inch scale is familiar. The Even Taper neck is purposeful. The SC1/SC1/H2+ electronics provide serious versatility. The Vintage Tremolo is there to be used. The Alder body gives the instrument a proven tonal foundation.

The exceptional top is the bonus.

And that's something we particularly appreciate about Tom Anderson guitars at Northeast Music Center.

The craftsmanship can be extraordinary without turning the instrument into something too precious to play.

PREMIER AUTHORIZED TOM ANDERSON DEALER

Players shopping at this level tend to know exactly what they're looking for.

They're paying attention to the neck carve.

They're looking at the fretwork.

They're thinking about pickup combinations, switching, balance, resonance and how the guitar will respond when they're actually standing onstage or sitting in a studio.

As a Premier Authorized Tom Anderson Dealer, Northeast Music Center understands that these instruments deserve more than a photograph and a generic specification list.

The details matter.

And on this Drop Top, the details come together beautifully: one-piece Flame Maple, Ginger Burst, Alder, Even Taper, SC1/SC1/H2+, Vintage Tremolo and Anderson locking tuners.

ULTRA-PLUSH LOGO GIG BAG INCLUDED

This guitar comes complete with the Tom Anderson Ultra-Plush Logo Gig Bag, providing substantial protection while retaining the portability that working players appreciate.

THE DROP TOP FORMULA – WITH SOMETHING EXTRA

The Drop Top has endured because the original idea was so good.

Take the familiar ergonomics of an S-style instrument.

Add a real maple top without sacrificing the forearm contour.

Choose body woods for musical reasons.

Build the neck and fretwork to an exceptional standard.

Then give the player electronics capable of covering a serious amount of musical territory.

This particular guitar adds one more ingredient:

a beautiful one-piece Flame Maple top.

Finished in Ginger Burst with natural binding, it's a spectacular example of a design Tom Anderson has been refining since 1990.

For the player who wants boutique precision and tremendous versatility—or the collector looking for an especially distinctive example of one of Tom Anderson's signature designs—Northeast Music Center is proud to offer this exceptional Drop Top.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Model: Tom Anderson Drop Top
Construction: Solidbody
Top Wood: 1-Piece Flame Maple
Body Back: Alder
Finish: Ginger Burst
Finish Type: High Gloss
Binding: Natural
Pickguard: None
Neck Wood: Maple
Fretboard: Rosewood
Neck Shape/Profile: Even Taper
Scale Length: 25.5"
Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo
Nut Width: 1 11/16"
Inlays: Dots
Neck Pickup: Tom Anderson SC1
Middle Pickup: Tom Anderson SC1
Bridge Pickup: Tom Anderson H2+
Switching: 5-Way – 3=M, N+B with Splitter
Bridge: Vintage Tremolo
Tuners: Anderson Locking
Hardware: Chrome
Knobs: Chrome Knurled
Case: Tom Anderson Ultra-Plush Logo Gig Bag Included