Tom Anderson Guardian Angel Player | Satin Black with Bora to Purple Dog Hair Surf

The Tom Anderson Guardian Angel Player has always been one of Anderson’s most unapologetically modern designs, but this one takes things somewhere they haven’t gone before.

The finish is the story here. This is the first Dog Hair finish from Tom Anderson to incorporate a surf/fade, transitioning from brilliant Bora blue into a deep purple across the Swamp Ash body. The open grain allows both colors to cut beautifully through the Satin Black base, creating a finish unlike anything we’ve seen from Anderson before. Photos barely capture it; in person, it’s absolutely stunning.

Underneath that one-of-a-kind finish is a seriously capable Anderson Custom build. The Chocolate Maple neck is paired with a Rosewood fingerboard, jumbo stainless-steel frets, a 12"–14" compound radius and Anderson’s Even-Taper carve. It’s fast without feeling thin and, with the satin natural neck finish, has that ridiculously smooth Anderson feel the moment you pick it up.

An HC1+ at the neck and hotter HC3+ at the bridge give the Guardian Angel plenty of authority when pushed, while the 5-way switching adds split sounds and considerably more range than the two-humbucker layout suggests. A fixed bridge, locking tuners and black hardware round out a build designed to be exceptionally stable, precise and effortless to play.

There will be other Guardian Angels. There will be other Dog Hair finishes. But this is the first time Anderson has ever combined Dog Hair with a colour fade and Bora into Purple was one heck of a way to start.