any love for john suhr strats?

[oscar100]

i think they are a subtle improvement on teh original and again teh pickups are better

[rhinocaster]

Originally Posted by oscar100

i think they are a subtle improvement on teh original and again teh pickups are better

Everything about the Suhr is "Better" that the Fender offering.

Having said that, it doesn't feel like a great old Fender.

I've owned Suhr, and I've spent significant time with many Suhr guitars including the Antique series. For me, they may be "Better" than a Fender, but they certainly are not "Better" for what I want from a guitar.

I want a guitar that feels and sounds like an old Fender. Suhr isn't that.

[Vizcaster]

High quality guitars that are very very pretty and are custom made with the basic Fender designs as a starting point. Choices of woods and finishes and hardware and electronics - everything you should expect from a one-off guitar. They're not reliced Fenders, not supposed to be. I wish I could afford one of his guitars, but I'm the first to admit that when I made a couple of partscasters I used his guitars for inspiration.

Suhr happens to be a contributor to the TGP forum.

[Mark Davis]

Suhrs play good and play intune good but they dont sound like Fender Strats at all.

[oscar100]

i put wcr srs in my suhr and it out strats any strat out there

personally i dont get teh relic concept - i think its bull

paying xtra to have someone take some sandpaper to your new guitar - no thanx

what put me off in particluar was finding out how tehy do the gallagher strat

they have a template they put over teh body and then sand off

whats the point?


:)

[Del Pickup]

It's the age-old story - guitarists tend to be fairly conservative in their likes and dislikes - and unless it has Fender or Gibson on the headstock then anything else is second best - regardless of quality, finishes, etc.

I've played a Suhr in a local shop and, while it was very nice and I couldn't fault it on anything, it just didn't do anything for me at all. I certainly wouldn't have paid for it before buying a Fender or Gibson.

For me, it's the same with all these boutique makes. I'd rather have a Fender tweed amp than a Victoria regardless of whether the Vic is better or otherwise.

It's a history thing. Fender and Gibson were there at the start of rock'n'roll and blues. Victoria, Carr, Suhr, Anderson, etc have simply taken the basic ideas and tweaked them to suit their marketing angle. And made very good quality instruments and amps along the way.

But will a Suhr or Anderson tele or strat type guitar be seen as 'the real deal' in 50 years time? Somehow I don't think so.

And that's why so many of us hesitate to buy these instruments; we are looking to find a little piece of that early years rock'n'roll cred in the instruments we play and unfortunately Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, BB King, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, etc etc didn't have a Suhr guitar round their necks when they made their historical music.

[Vizcaster]

Mark Knopfler had a Suhr around his neck for quite awhile. I'd hazard a guess that you or I could call John Suhr and get ourselves an amazing one-off custom made a lot easier than it would be to have the Fender Custom Shop make something up for our personal tastes.

[rhinocaster]

Originally Posted by oscar100

i put wcr srs in my suhr and it out strats any strat out there

personally i dont get teh relic concept - i think its bull

paying xtra to have someone take some sandpaper to your new guitar - no thanx

what put me off in particluar was finding out how tehy do the gallagher strat

they have a template they put over teh body and then sand off

whats the point?


:)

The point of a template when creating a guitar with specific wear patterns makes all the sense in the world.

I'm glad you like your Suhr.

[Del Pickup]

Yes, fair enough. Mr Knopfler has used them over the years but I can't think of any other well known player who has. But, to be honest, when I think of him and his music I visualise a strat, Les Paul or National Steel rather than a Suhr.

Maybe that's just me.........

And as for Suhr making something as a one-off, I can quite believe that he could do it quicker than Fender. But maybe that's also because he isn't making as many instruments as they are - perhaps because the demand isn't as strong?

I have nothing against these smaller manufacturers in any way. But, I think that, until I have all the Fenders, Gibsons, Nationals that I would ever want then I wouldn't be buying one of these instruments.

[T-Money]

Another great player that plays a Suhr is Scott Henderson. And the blues stuff he has been doing lately is amazing!

John Suhr used to work in Fender's custom shop. He knows how to make an incredible instrument and in stock form they blow any off the rack Fender out of the water.

I make guitars and find it amazing how little people really know about what is good and what isn't and even what sounds good and what doesn't. Just because it says Fender on it doesn't make it great. I've had some real dead sounding crap that was made in the USA and said Fender on it. My current Tele says Fender on it and with replacement pickups in it, it is awesome. With Fender its going to be the luck of the draw. With Suhr your going to have a lot more consistency of getting something good, cause he personally makes sure of it. Quit being a bunch of name brand Wankers. Look beyond that and find what really makes quality and tone.

Of course that just my humble (but right) opinion!

[Telenator]

Yup, I own two. Excellent guitars!

[viking]

Never tried one , but Mr Suhr is actually a Dane , so it cant be all that bad , LOL......

[buddastrat]

Originally Posted by T-Money

Another great player that plays a Suhr is Scott Henderson. And the blues stuff he has been doing lately is amazing!

John Suhr used to work in Fender's custom shop. He knows how to make an incredible instrument and in stock form they blow any off the rack Fender out of the water.

I make guitars and find it amazing how little people really know about what is good and what isn't and even what sounds good and what doesn't. Just because it says Fender on it doesn't make it great. I've had some real dead sounding crap that was made in the USA and said Fender on it. My current Tele says Fender on it and with replacement pickups in it, it is awesome. With Fender its going to be the luck of the draw. With Suhr your going to have a lot more consistency of getting something good, cause he personally makes sure of it. Quit being a bunch of name brand Wankers. Look beyond that and find what really makes quality and tone.

Of course that just my humble (but right) opinion!

But there's a zillion more Fenders out there, so you're bound to come across more dogs. But as small as Suhr is, I've read quite a bit of unfavorable stuff too. the fact that he was using a cheap $25 Wilkinson trem bridge and saying how it blew away a Fender vintage bridge killed his credibility with me.
I bought one of those Wilky trems and it was junk.