Suhr 80's Shred... wow.

[mattsmusiccenter]

The scalloped board is optional and both paint jobs are available with maple or ebony.

And all this is just silly. All of the companies named produce amazing Made in USA products. If you don't like the price, go somewhere else. If you don't like the product go somewhere else.

I did make fun of the US Flag GMP looking like a guitar that Hair Metal Barbie should own, because it does (don't like it, tough shit) but I don't question the quality or workmanship. These are all fine instruments. Pick the brand you like and don't worry what the other guy is playing.

I just posted it because I liked the paint drip, but I don't like the scalloped maple board. It should have ebony, as every goddamned guitar in the world should have.

[xenophobe]

The scalloped board is optional and both paint jobs are available with maple or ebony.

Why..... why did you have to tell me that. haha.

I think I might be in for a green drip... but lemme think about it for a few...

[The Rossness]

I've played quite a few Suhr's and the only one I ever liked was the Reb Beach model. To me Suhr's are overpriced for the way the feel and sound. I've never dug the bridge pup's either, but the SSV is an ok neck PU. I don't like the 10-14 compound radius neck. and really, I've just never geled with one. That said, I've seen some pretty crappy J/C stuff as well.

I can't comment on GMP, GMW, Moser, Rico as I've never played them. Tom Anderson is hit or miss. I played a floyded buldog at Matt's music that was awesome and a used Cobra that was the shit...quite literately, it felt like shit.

Wayne's are good, but they should cost half their price. Carvin's have great prices as do Music Man Guitars. I just ordered anEBMM Axis and paid less than a similar Jackson/ EVH. Tyler's aren't cheap, but JT makes some cool stuff. His headstock is so ugly its actually cool!

but the best custom shop guitars with the best matching prices are Heritage.

[xenophobe]

I've played quite a few Suhr's and the only one I ever liked was the Reb Beach model. To me Suhr's are overpriced for the way the feel and sound. I've never dug the bridge pup's either, but the SSV is an ok neck PU. I don't like the 10-14 compound radius neck. and really, I've just never geled with one. That said, I've seen some pretty crappy J/C stuff as well.

I can't comment on GMP, GMW, Moser, Rico as I've never played them. Tom Anderson is hit or miss. I played a floyded buldog at Matt's music that was awesome and a used Cobra that was the shit...quite literately, it felt like shit.

Wayne's are good, but they should cost half their price. Carvin's have great prices as do Music Man Guitars. I just ordered anEBMM Axis and paid less than a similar Jackson/ EVH. Tyler's aren't cheap, but JT makes some cool stuff. His headstock is so ugly its actually cool!

but the best custom shop guitars with the best matching prices are Heritage.

No two guitars are identical. They're all hit or miss in my opinoin. I've never found a brand that I could pick up any of their guitars and get that feeling you get when you've found the right one. I've sat for hours and played high end guitars at the local boutique stores and have left without having played one that really mattered to me. I've sat and played through dozens of American Standard and American Deluxe models only to find that some random MIM, while not having the obvious build quality of the USA, just had that sound and feel that you were looking for.

I've owned more CJ's than anything else, and have played some really nice guitars. The best high end guitars can feel lifeless and you can find also find that one crappy guitar that makes you go wow.

[Mazrim]

The Aldrich pick up is a seriously good pick up if you like heavy rock and metal. Probably only bettered by Bare Knuckles stuff in my opinion. In fact the marriage of a Suhr with BKPs is about as good as it gets.

As for feel and sound, I've owned 5 and played about 30 Suhrs and whilst some suited me more than others I can't think of a better brand of guitars at the moment. I love Jackson and will always own some but god damn Suhr take some beating at the moment.
The materials are exquisite, the feel and playability is outstanding and the overall workmanship is top notch. The sound these guitars typically produce is something else. So much organic character and dynamics. They sing. I've never heard one sound even average but I guess its all subjective.

Arguably all top guitars are overpriced now but compared to the competition Suhr are pretty reasonable. You could custom order a Suhr for less than some off the rack PRS and Gibson guitars that are not it's match.
Most Suhr figured tops are the equivalent of a PRS private stock grade for instance.

[shredmonster]

I've just never geled with one.

Me too. I don't get why they don't have "that feel" to me. I want to like them. I keep playing them every chance I get trying to find one I might like.

[xenophobe]

Me too. I don't get why they don't have "that feel" to me. I want to like them. I keep playing them every chance I get trying to find one I might like.

And I've done the same with Jackson... I don't know how many times. Every new Jackson I've ordered, I've sold. I have a handful of keepers and many dozens I've tossed. I think my ratio with Jacksons is 1:25 or 1:30 or thereabouts...

And that's not talking about crappy imports. That's just USA or Customs.

[roodyrocker]

Well, since this has turned into somewhat of a high end guitars comparison I'll chime in. Suhr does have nice quality but the reason I don't own one is two things. One is they simply don't look as good as a Jackson and two, yes they are overpriced. The way I look at it is if I had the extra money laying around to order a new guitar in that price range I'm going to go for a custom shop Jackson not a Suhr. I don't blame anyone wanting a Suhr though. If thats what floats your boat go for it. The only other high end brand I've been buying lately, besides Jackson/Charvel, is certain Gibson Les Pauls. The Les Paul Custom 68 RI models and the 74 RI based models to be exact. You gotta have that Les Paul tone and the only thing that gets it is these I do have Suhr Aldrich pickups in one of my LPC 68 RI's but I think thats about the only "Suhr" I'll have for a long time.

[xenophobe]

The only other high end brand I've been buying lately, besides Jackson/Charvel, is certain Gibson Les Pauls. The Les Paul Custom 68 RI models and the 74 RI based models to be exact. You gotta have that Les Paul tone and the only thing that gets it is these I do have Suhr Aldrich pickups in one of my LPC 68 RI's but I think thats about the only "Suhr" I'll have for a long time.

And I don't want anything to do with overpriced Gibson Les Pauls. I think they're a complete waste of money except for investment purposes. Any number of builders could make you something far superior. PRS is alive and well today because of the high price of marginal quality guitars Gibson has put out. I wouldn't want one of them either.

But then again I did buy a Reb Beach Ukelele.

[roodyrocker]

And I don't want anything to do with overpriced Gibson Les Pauls. I think they're a complete waste of money except for investment purposes. Any number of builders could make you something far superior. PRS is alive and well today because of the high price of marginal quality guitars Gibson has put out. I wouldn't want one of them either.

But then again I did buy a Reb Beach Ukelele.

It depends which Les Pauls you're talking about. The 68 RI LPC is top notch. I've got a few of them and will take them over PRS all day long. You are correct, Gibson is pricey. However, if you try to resell a PRS or a Suhr I think the depreciation is worse on those than a Les Paul generally speaking. With the exception of certain models you generally take a bath on them if you need to unload a Suhr or PRS. The market for Les Pauls is also huge, like Strats

[xenophobe]

It depends which Les Pauls you're talking about. The 68 RI LPC is top notch. I've got a few of them and will take them over PRS all day long. You are correct, Gibson is pricey. However, if you try to resell a PRS or a Suhr I think the depreciation is worse on those than a Les Paul generally speaking. With the exception of certain models you generally take a bath on them if you need to unload a Suhr or PRS. The market for Les Pauls is also huge, like Strats

One of the main reasons I bought my Fender is that if I don't end up liking it as much as I think I will, I'll be able to flip it for a generous profit. All I need to do is set whatever price I want and include the make an offer. Since it's dead mint, new in original shipping box with all the case candy unmolested, I think I could put $9999 on it and probably get 7-8K for it. But that guitar really wasn't overpriced at all, it was considerably underpriced.

The 7 string CS Charvel I bought on the other hand... $3.3k for a bolt on? I'm not sure that Charvel still does fretwork like they used to and the Suhr or other boutique guitar might actually be better for roughly the same price.

[The Rossness]

Well, since this has turned into somewhat of a high end guitars comparison I'll chime in. Suhr does have nice quality but the reason I don't own one is two things. One is they simply don't look as good as a Jackson and two, yes they are overpriced. The way I look at it is if I had the extra money laying around to order a new guitar in that price range I'm going to go for a custom shop Jackson not a Suhr. I don't blame anyone wanting a Suhr though. If thats what floats your boat go for it. The only other high end brand I've been buying lately, besides Jackson/Charvel, is certain Gibson Les Pauls. The Les Paul Custom 68 RI models and the 74 RI based models to be exact. You gotta have that Les Paul tone and the only thing that gets it is these I do have Suhr Aldrich pickups in one of my LPC 68 RI's but I think thats about the only "Suhr" I'll have for a long time.

I have a few Suhr-ish products. 1) The Suhr Riot pedal is the best dirt pedal ever created! It will never never my pedal collection. 2) While technically not Suhr, I have a clone of a CAE OD100 SE+ amp that is simply amazing. I totally get their amp/ pedal side of things, but I'll pass on the guitars. Bob Bradshaw has a great ear for tone!

[roodyrocker]

One of the main reasons I bought my Fender is that if I don't end up liking it as much as I think I will, I'll be able to flip it for a generous profit. All I need to do is set whatever price I want and include the make an offer. Since it's dead mint, new in original shipping box with all the case candy unmolested, I think I could put $9999 on it and probably get 7-8K for it. But that guitar really wasn't overpriced at all, it was considerably underpriced.

The 7 string CS Charvel I bought on the other hand... $3.3k for a bolt on? I'm not sure that Charvel still does fretwork like they used to and the Suhr or other boutique guitar might actually be better for roughly the same price.

Which Fender did you end up buying? As for Charvel, I haven't bought any CS stuff lately so I don't know. But the stuff that Charvel had at NAMM on display looked great to me. If I was buying a new bolt on and the choice was Charvel or Suhr, my personal choice would be Charvel.

I have a few Suhr-ish products. 1) The Suhr Riot pedal is the best dirt pedal ever created! It will never never my pedal collection. 2) While technically not Suhr, I have a clone of a CAE OD100 SE+ amp that is simply amazing. I totally get their amp/ pedal side of things, but I'll pass on the guitars. Bob Bradshaw has a great ear for tone!

I was refering to the guitar side of things. I have been into various amps lately and although I don't own one, the CAE OD100 SE+ is certainly a beast of an amp. I've heard it before. For high end amps I'm a Bogner fan and I also like the Soldano SLO. My latest amp purchase was a Cameron CCV which kicks much butt. Of course there is always the tried and true cranked Marshall too Speaking of Bob Bradshaw, I've also picked up a couple used items that I may use for future more elaborate setups. I picked up a CAE Audio switcher, Dual Stereo Line Mixer and RS10 midi controller. Should be able to handle multi amp/effects with those

[xenophobe]

Which Fender did you end up buying? As for Charvel, I haven't bought any CS stuff lately so I don't know. But the stuff that Charvel had at NAMM on display looked great to me. If I was buying a new bolt on and the choice was Charvel or Suhr, my personal choice would be Charvel.

I bought a 7-string CS Charvel. It cost $3.3k. It's going straight back to Music Zoo. Despite being horribly set-up with about 4mm of string height at the 12th fret, there's a buzz around the 10th fret on the D, G and high B that probably won't go away if you lower the action. May need a shim under the neck, may not need anything more than a light truss tweak. Overall quality wasn't really bad. I couldn't find any real flaws with the guitar cosmetically. The neck had a generic rolled edge that didn't feel too bad, but it didn't feel like CJ. Also the sanding was inconsistent... back of the neck felt like 1000-ish grit, the back of the headstock and the edges felt more like 800... there was a definite textural difference. The neck backshape was nothing special, but the guitar was definitely not $3.3k worth of CS guitar. The skunk stripe was not perfectly centered, it veered off towards the high strings a touch. It's about a grand and a half overpriced. Oh, BTW, the Charvel seemed sterile... like it was built by robots. It did sound nice though.

The Masterbuilt sounds absolutely amazing. The custom work is top notch. The fretboard feels amazing. It was unplayed for 13 years sitting in a guitar store collection as NOS, so it's undergoing warranty repair... the neck settled/lightly warped and there's some string buzz on several spots of the board... nothing bad, but it's only correctable by a level. Also the fret ends was causing very slight delamination at the fretboard sides, so they're correcting that too. Oh, I haven't mentioned the price before but it was $5k. I paid an uninflated 1999 price. Adjusted for inflation, it should have retailed at about $9700. If you tried to order one today, you would be denied. They no longer make this model, and even if they would, retail price would be in the $10-12k range if they built one like it now. That's if you could find another one-piece slab of koa as nice. Does it smoke my Jackson? Well, it definitely has a better tonal voicing. Once the neck has been put back to masterbuilt spec, I'll find out.

The MIJ Fender I bought absolutely smokes any new Charvel, import or US. It's the white one... look at it. It's a better Charvel than Charvel. Overall it's amazing build quality. It's off at the luthier getting the fretboard edges filed/rolled like my 89 Jackson Strathead. I don't think they do file work like this anymore. So when I get it back, it should be pretty much the equal of my CS Strathead. And I've been searching for guitars that one-up my Jackson for the last decade. I've only had 2 that played better for me. It may be the third... I'll see after I get it back though.




Masterbuilt Koa Showmaster:


And this MIJ Factory Special Order:

[roodyrocker]

Nice looking stuff there! Too bad the CS Charvel is disappointing you. The one Charvel I wish I would have bought was the Fat Checkers from NAMM about 3 years ago. I love that graphic!