If you're lucky enough to have one particular of these shop beauties, finding your own tom anderson serial number is the best way to uncover its secret history. It's funny what sort of few stamped digits can turn a "cool aged guitar" right into a documented piece of artwork having a specific birthday and a list of components that could create any gear geek drool. Whether you're looking to market, buy, or simply satisfy your own curiosity, understanding how to read these numbers is half the fun of owning an expensive instrument.
Exactly where do you even discover the thing?
First things first, let's discuss location. If you're keeping an Anderson, a person aren't going to discover the serial number hidden in some obscure spot like underneath the pickups or even within the neck pocket—at least, not usually. Tom and their crew have always been fairly straightforward relating to this.
Flip the guitar over. You'll almost always discover the tom anderson serial number stamped or printed right on the rear of the headstock. It's usually close to the top, situated between the tuning pegs. On old models, it might look a little bit more "handmade, " while newer ones are incredibly sharp. If it's not there, something could be a bit cool, though there are always exceptions in the world of custom guitars.
The old-school dating system
For a long time, Tom Anderson used a program that was actually incredibly logical. Instead of a random chain of nonsense, the particular serial number had been basically the guitar's "birth date. " If you see a number like 05-12-94A , you don't need a secret decodierer ring to figure it out.
It breaks straight down like this: * 05: The month (May) * twelve: The morning of the month * 94: The entire year * A: This signifies the order associated with completion for your particular day.
So, that any guitar was the 1st one finished on May 12, 1994. If you discover a "P" or a "B" at the end, it just indicates it had been the second or third acoustic guitar finished that day time. It's a very individual touch that will remind you these aren't mass-produced on the giant conveyor belt. Somebody actually sat presently there, finished the setup, and stamped that will date for the wood when it had been finally "born. "
The shift to sequential numbering
As the particular company grew and the logistics of building more electric guitars became a little bit more complex, they will eventually moved apart from the date-based system. I guess when you're producing a lot of guitars, having twenty different "05-12-23" variations gets a little confusing for the database.
Nowadays, a tom anderson serial number is generally a sequential five-digit number. For example, you might notice something like 12-15-22P on the guitar from the few years ago, but newer ones are just straight numbers. If you see a number that doesn't appearance like a time, don't panic. This just means your guitar is the more recent conjunction with the Anderson loved ones. These sequential amounts are actually actually easier for the particular factory to within their modern digital archives.
Using the legendary "Guitar Search" tool
One of the coolest things regarding this brand—and something I wish every single guitar maker did—is the "Guitar Search" feature on their own official website. When you have your own tom anderson serial number ready, you can head over to their site and plug it in.
It's like looking at an electronic birth certificate. As soon as you hit enter, it usually spits out the full spec sheet. You'll see: * The precise model (Drop Top, Classic, T-Pro, and so on. ) * Your body wood (Basswood along with Maple top? Swamp Ash? ) * The neck user profile (Even-Taper is a classic, but maybe you have a Happy Medium) * The specific pickups that were installed with the factory * The finish colour (some of their own burst finishes have wild names)
This is the lifesaver if you're buying an used Anderson from somebody who says, "I think it has the maple neck. " You can confirm everything in secs. It also helps you find out if the previous proprietor swapped out the pickups or transformed the wiring. In the event that the site states it should possess H1 and H2+ humbuckers, but you see something else, you know it's been modded.
What if the number isn't in the database?
Sometimes, you'll type in a tom anderson serial number and obtain nothing. Crickets. Don't panic and presume you bought a phony. Their digital data source is massive, but it doesn't constantly go back in order to the very, very starting of Tom's single career within the mid-80s.
If your guitar is definitely an early "pioneer" design from the late 80s or early 90s, it may not have already been digitized yet. Within those cases, the particular Anderson team is normally pretty responsive in case you shoot them a message with some pictures. They get huge satisfaction within their work, and they usually have outdated paper logs or even "brain trust" knowledge to help you identify an aged soul.
Why the serial number matters for resell
Let's become real: these electric guitars are expensive. They're worth every cent, but when you're spending thousands associated with dollars within the utilized market, you would like peacefulness of mind. A clear, verifiable tom anderson serial number will be your greatest insurance policy.
When you discover a listing on Reverb or auction web sites, the first point you should do is ask regarding a photo of the serial number. In case the seller gets weird about this, leave. Once a person have that number, you can confirm the "originality" of the piece. Enthusiasts love original specifications. If an acoustic guitar has been seriously modified, the serial number search can reveal it, which gives you even more leverage inside a cost negotiation. On the flip side, in case you're selling, getting that spec page printed out can make you look such as a pro and builds trust along with the buyer.
Spotting fakes and "parts-casters"
Mainly because Anderson necks plus bodies are therefore perfectly machined, individuals sometimes try to mix and complement parts. You might find a legitimate Tom Anderson throat on the random entire body. This is where the serial number becomes a detective tool.
When the tom anderson serial number for the headstock says a guitar should be a "Translucent Blue Drop Top" but you're searching at a great dark "Classic" having a pickguard, something is wrong. The neck might be real, but the particular guitar as a whole isn't a factory Anderson. Whilst "partso-Andersons" can nevertheless play great, they don't hold the same value as a factory-original instrument.
The individual touch of the boutique build
At the end of the day, finding out about your tom anderson serial number is regarding more than just specs and resell value. It's regarding the connection to the shop in Newbury Park, California. Tom Anderson is one of the "good guys" in the industry, plus he's been obsessed with perfection since he was functioning at Schecter in the day.
Each time you look at those digits, you're taking a look at a timestamp of when the small team of dedicated luthiers put their practical that specific bit of wooden. It's a pretty awesome feeling to know that your own guitar isn't just one of 10 thousand identical products, but a specific build using its own entry in the logbooks.
So, proceed grab your any guitar, flip it more than, and see exactly what that tom anderson serial number has to tell you. You might find away your neck posseses an unique radius you didn't notice, or even that your pickups really are a rare vintage-voiced set that these people don't make any more. Whatever you discover, it'll probably allow you to want to plug in and perform for another 3 hours. And really, isn't that the particular whole point?