Guest Luthier Series - Michael Anderberg

[BTMN]

Was Willie a guitar player/maker too?
Cool!! I named one of my guitars after my mama. Gotta celebrate the one's ya love.

It took me a minute to notice you put the answers to Bean's questions in his quoting.

[Michael Anderberg]

Hi Michael, fairly simple question (to ask anyway!): How do you go about selecting the ideal pickups for each instrument?

Cheers!

I just go with what has always worked,and the customer likes an wants

[Michael Anderberg]

Was Willie a guitar player/maker too?
Cool!! I named one of my guitars after my mama. Gotta celebrate the one's ya love.

It took me a minute to notice you put the answers to Bean's questions in his quoting.

No, Wille was an artist

[scottish]

hey michael, nice to have you here.

how did you get into building guitars? was it the urge to try something new, the lack of certain choices currently available in the guitar world etc etc?

Second, have you ever had one of those "oh crap" moments when you are working on a guitar and realize you just screwed something up really badly? And if you dont mind sharing, what was it? I have built a couple of guitars myself and have had plenty of those moments.

Cheers
Grant

[Michael Anderberg]

do you have a tone in mind before you start building or do you "listen" to the wood and just try and bring out its best qualities?

the guitars in the pics are all double cutaways, do you prefer that type over a single cutaway? is it a tone thing or playability?

I always listen to every board I use...it has to have a good ring to it.
I`ve always liked double cuts and a neck thru design for playability
and sustain.

[Evan Skopp]

Michael:

Ever make acoustic guitars? Or other instruments?

[Michael Anderberg]

hey michael, nice to have you here.

how did you get into building guitars? was it the urge to try something new, the lack of certain choices currently available in the guitar world etc etc?

Second, have you ever had one of those "oh crap" moments when you are working on a guitar and realize you just screwed something up really badly? And if you dont mind sharing, what was it? I have built a couple of guitars myself and have had plenty of those moments.

Cheers
Grant

Yes,I wanted something nobody else had and to incorporate everything I wanted in a guitar.
And yes...I`ve had plenty of oh crap moments...thats how you learn.
Still have them sometimes...I call them brain farts.I once cut the wrong body angle for the bridge I was using,and had to rout the entire top off.

[Michael Anderberg]

Michael:

Ever make acoustic guitars? Or other instruments?

I have`nt made an acoustic yet but it`s in the plan.

[BTMN]

Tell us about the moment, if you can recall, you fell in love with guitars.

First guitar player to make ya go WHOA!!!

Last band you saw live.

[Michael Anderberg]

As a small-volume builder, do you feel like the frame of reference of what works for an electric guitar is already set by G-word and F-word, and you have to consciously try to make your designs dissimilar to theirs?

As in, for example "a Stratocaster shape really is the best for what I want, but I have to consciously get away from that shape to create my own design niche"

I like making my own shapes.Re-making an F-shape or G-shape seems pointless...there are so many of those shapes out there.

[Michael Anderberg]

Tell us about the moment, if you can recall, you fell in love with guitars.

First guitar player to make ya go WHOA!!!

Last band you saw live.

I fell in love with guitars when I was a kid
in the 70`s.There were so many great players back then. Jimi Hendrix,Johnny Winter,Jimmy Page,Jeff Beck,Al Dimiola,ect,

[Mr Wolf]

Hi there Michael thank you for giving up your time to answer our questions.

I am facinated by how you go about sourcing top notch tone woods. How does a builder such as yourself start off with a load of timber, and then be able to know which bits would make a great instrument?

Many thanks

Jeff

[Michael Anderberg]

Hi there Michael thank you for giving up your time to answer our questions.

I am facinated by how you go about sourcing top notch tone woods. How does a builder such as yourself start off with a load of timber, and then be able to know which bits would make a great instrument?

Many thanks

Jeff

If I buy wood locally,I usually hand pick my boards to whatever part i`m trying to make.My necks are made up of several laminated boards,so I look for flatsawn lumber for my neck section...that way it will be quartersawn
when I turn it on edge and glue it up.My bodywings,I try to find quarter sawn
8/4 mahog. Also,I alway tap the boards and listen for the ring.

[Michael Anderberg]

let's try this instead ...

what would *you* like to talk about?

If you could have the ultimate guitar,what would it be?

[Evan Skopp]

If you could have the ultimate guitar,what would it be?

Light weight, highly resonant body
25.5" scale "fast" neck
Strat and humbucker tones
Looks cool but not so beautiful you're afraid to take it on a gig

[tone4days]

If you could have the ultimate guitar,what would it be?

hmmm - not sure i am the right guy to ask that to - i am far more a 'horses for courses' kinda player rather than an original artist looking for a singular 'voice' ... that said, the major missing guitar tone in my arsenal is a P90 axe - ideally a nice korina-finished piece of black limba - gibson scale - neck carve like my EJ strat - flat radius rosewood board - set up for slide ... and i am a value kinda guy, so fancy finishes / inlays arent as important ... toneful materials, exceptional playability, precision craftsmanship/assembly ... but as i've said on this forum before, any music i play will be more limited by the player than the guitar

[baritone]

When you sit down to play, which guitar do you find yourself reaching for the most?

In response to your question: the ultimate guitar for me would be double cutaway, solid alder body, flame maple top, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, very shiny gloss finish all around, tune-o-matic/stopbar, scorching hot pickups, 22 frets, and a really long neck. In case you were interested.

Cool having you here today.

[crusty philtrum]

Hi Michael, and thanks for visiting with us

What do you think are the good and not-so-good things about the way the electric guitar had developed over the decades since they first appeared?

And how do you think it will evolve into the future....good, bad or otherwise......?.....

[MikeRocker]

Hello Michael,

What are your favorite kind of pickups - single coils, P-90s, humbuckers - and why? Also, what's your procedure with regards to frets (for measuring location, cutting slots, and installation) to insure correct intonation?

Thank you!

[Michael Anderberg]

When you sit down to play, which guitar do you find yourself reaching for the most?

In response to your question: the ultimate guitar for me would be double cutaway, solid alder body, flame maple top, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, very shiny gloss finish all around, tune-o-matic/stopbar, scorching hot pickups, 22 frets, and a really long neck. In case you were interested.

Cool having you here today.

It`s a hard question to answer is`nt it...every guitar has its own voice and feel.