Charvel vs suhr

[BYeh1]

They're not bolt-ons & unrelated to the thread topic, but I gotta throw in my 2 cents for PRS, decided to pick up a Custom 24 about 3 years ago, its now my main guitar, beautiful guitars and amazing playability...

[surfreak]

well, I have played several Suhr and Charvel CS, and in my opinion there is no contest.

Suhr are simply better built guitars, more consistent, higher quality woods, better playability etc.

This said, Charvel have that special rock vibe and "mojo" that makes you want to own them, not just play them.

I mean, you own a Suhr, fine, you know that you've got the finest possible production bolt-on guitar money can buy, but you don't really feel like you'd need another one, because it will be simply another perfectly built, perfect playing, great sounding guitar.

You get a Charvel CS instead and, no matter how great it is, you'll want another one tomorrow, maybe with a different pickup layout, or just a different paint job.

To quote a much abused cliché, the Suhr is the prom queen, and the Charvel is the slutty sister...

[Chubtone]

I owned two beautiful Suhr Standards. One of them built exactly to my specs and set up by John Suhr himself while I gave my input to him and played it back and forth at the factory. They were gorgeous and for two years I played nothing but.





Man were they beautiful. Man did they play great. I am huge into performance cars too. I love putting things into car comparisons. If we are talking about custom shop Charvels and custom shop Suhrs I would say that this is the Suhr:



And I would say that this is the Charvel:




I no longer own either of my Suhrs. Rolls Royce's are beautiful and amazing cars, but I want to ROCK!

[gtrbuyer]

I own and play both...I really like the stainless steel frets on the Suhr. Suhr guitars are really sexy and polished...but Charvel is and will always be my comfortable tennis shoes

[toxikdeth]

I own and play both...I really like the stainless steel frets on the Suhr. Suhr guitars are really sexy and polished...but Charvel is and will always be my comfortable tennis shoes

That suhrs nice

[85 San Dimas]

I though the comparison to PRS was really on point. IMHO.

Suhrs have a superior build for a "Strat". Now, they can be customized but not really what i'm getting at.

I think the Suhrs fall into classes of "Ultimate Fender Stratocasters" if you get my intent. If you want the best strats reasonable money can buy you can't go wrong ther and hot rodded as well if you want that. It's pure function in damned fine wrapper-like a PRS. Solid professional quality equally playable for the best pros or rank beginners. Your success on these instruments is based on ability to execute only. Can't blame the guitars.

Many times "character" is in the flaws IMHO, and Suhrs have very few. I think that's why many times people react to Suhrs and PRS as "lacking soul." They aren't perfect but well built to the point that "character" seems to be missing. Can't beat them for a gig or studio work where you need a great guitar, but on the other hand few are going to go "wow" when they see you playing it.....they'll say "Sweet"....

But pull out a set-neck Phil Collen Ibanez or an old Bullseye Charvel and people go "Man, where did you get that? What would you take for it?" Crowds gather......new CS Charvel very nice guitars but they require the "wow" factor as they just aren't really built to be a "pure" instrument in the same vein as we all know. I believe the Suhr is somewhat superior but...

Who are you as a player (in the end)?.....so back to personal choice?

[Jacksons Shred]

I owned two beautiful Suhr Standards. One of them built exactly to my specs and set up by John Suhr himself while I gave my input to him and played it back and forth at the factory. They were gorgeous and for two years I played nothing but.





Man were they beautiful. Man did they play great. I am huge into performance cars too. I love putting things into car comparisons. If we are talking about custom shop Charvels and custom shop Suhrs I would say that this is the Suhr:



And I would say that this is the Charvel:




I no longer own either of my Suhrs. Rolls Royce's are beautiful and amazing cars, but I want to ROCK!

I'm not one of those people that get all googly eyed for a guitar.

But God Damnit...

[surfreak]

Nice guitars there, but I'd still take the cars instead.

[John.E.Fawkes]

ive only ever played 1 suhr, it was a reb beach model. as soon as i grabbed it i could just tell it was a great guitar, possibly the best ive ever played.
i believe suhr are much higher quality guitars but charvels are my thing
just knowing that suhrs are out there is good enough, but i dont feel the need to own one.

[jbob]

Suhr = mid 40s to older guy with money to spare
Charvel = mid 30s to older guy who got to play the non pointy ones and got the reason why these necks were the $hit. Ask David Gilmore when he recorded the wall. nuff said. Suhr is a really well made guitar with no name mojo and an ugly headstock. Charvel is a brand thats been stained with bad memories of the 80s hair metal but man they play good.

[shredmonster]

Wow. Finally some perspective on Suhrs. I am so sick and tired of people kissing their ass on every forum. They are great guitars but I have not found one that I prefered over say a PC1 or I would have bought one years ago.

I have played about 10 Suhrs now. I have not played a Modern yet which I very much would like to. I have played mostly the strats and a few teles.

Honestly I have been in rooms with Langcasters and Warriors and Zions, Andersons, Suhrs, G& L's, Bakers, etc.... All fine fine guitars.

IMO if you like Suhrs great. None of them so far have done anything for me. Can't really say why. I don't think they played any better than anything else.

I think Charvels have a vibe to them as you guys have pointed out. Can't put my finger on it but they are absolute ROCK machines. They are more my style than a Suhr for sure. So are the PC1's.

I think you guys are absolutely dead on about the vibe thing. So far every Suhr has felt "flat" to me. Nothing special. Nothing that sticks out or makes me have to have it.

Still waiting to try a Modern though but I gotta say I am disappointed after all the hype they get on the forums.

[Leardriver]

Well I haven't posted much at all here but I do have some feeling on the subject. First, I have owned my share of Charvel's (including an 84 Holdsworth I bought new) and currently have a mind blowing Suhr that they just built to my specs including a custom finish from pics provided (it has since been released in their limited Edit guitars and is called Faded Whale Blue Burst). The build, customer service, and overall vibe of this instrument is second to none! It is everything I was hoping for and I don't expect it will be my last one. Having said that I am comtemplating a Charvel Custom Shop but am a little reluctant as it is going to be very hard to equal what Suhr builds. And.......no matter who builds the guitar no two pieces of wood are going to sound the same. They might be identical in every way...weight, species, ect...but they may sound totally different......alas one got "vibe" and one doesn't. It really is luck of the draw.

More food for thought in general. My brother in law used to have an extensive collection of "vintage" Charvel and Jackson guitars..many celeb owned or famous ones. Of the 50 or so that I played I would honestly say 90% lacked "vibe". They were now "pieces of art history" not tools for making music..they had no soul. But so and so used to play and sweat on it so it's "collectable" or has mojo? Well why did so and so sell it than? There is always a story of course but most probably because he had a better sounding one right next to it. There were a handful of course that did kill though...

Now, I am thinking of having a guitar built that I have always wanted....hardtail, pickguard, ect. (yea you know who I grew up listening to..lol), but if the guitar doesn't SOUND great when I close my eyes it will not stay. Ordering a guitar is always a risk. It is still a tool for me to make music and it has to work for my ears. I know what the Suhr has brought to the table and I will do my best not to compare the two because they will be different animals in most respects. The Suhr is beautiful in every way, if the Charvel becomes reality it will be more utiltarian and have a lot to live up to.

I will end by saying this...if the Charvel comes and it doesn't work out I WILL be ordering/replacing with another Suhr. I believe they have as much Vibe as anything. The guys at Suhr are at the top of their game and they really care about EVERY guitar they build. I can only hope a custom shop Charvel will yield similiar results. As guitarist players we all want to look in the mirror and get shivers when we see the axe were playing cause it is the coolest guiter and is an extension yourself..call it ego, vanity, whatever....we have this image of ourselves and the guitar is a part of it. Just don't forget to close your eyes and listen with your ears! The logo on the headstock is cool (and as it turns out important)...but remember it's the player that makes it truly magic.



PaulP