GMW vs Suhr

[shred4Him]

Has anyone ever played both guitars enough to give a quality comparison? I have been thinking about getting a Suhr Standard similar to what Reb Beach uses, but I noticed that GMW has lower prices and gets great reviews. I am curious to know if GMW is in the same league as Suhr. I have played Suhrs before and they are fantastic, but they are a ton of cash. Any help is appreciated.

[sully]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

chuck should be along shortly to assist you.

sully

[toddstaples]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

Yea..... Chuck will be here in a few...

[Chuckracer]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

GMW makes great guitars and I would never say a bad word about them.
However, Suhr's are in a whole different league. Are they worth the extra money? Only you can answer that. Like high end amps, twice the price does not get you twice the instrument, but it certainly is a big step up the ladder.

All I own now is my Suhr. No GMWs, no Charvels, no Jacksons. When I can afford it, I will have another Suhr...oh yes I will!

[shreddermon]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

Hmmm. I seem to remember Chuck making similar statements about GMPs a while back. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Just bustin' your @ss, Chuckster. We're all the same gear whores, ain't we? [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[Chuckracer]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

Amen to that! Yeah, when I was in my Mahagony phase, GMPs filled the bill perfectly. But I change my mind and my gear often - as often as I can afford - and right now I'm totally in a Suhr phase.
I'm sure I'll own a GMW again someday. I wish I could one of each of my favorites: Suhr, GMW, GMP!

[shred4Him]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

That makes sense. I would have to say that Suhrs are the best guitars I have ever played, but I have never been able to afford one( I own a Parker Fly Deluxe that I bought new on close-out). I guess I will have to scrape pennies for a while. It is better to get what you want the first time than to take the shortcut and wait even longer.

[edgar allan poe]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

I have owned both...and my vote goes for the Suhr. That is not to say the GMW doesn't make a fantastic instrument...they do...but Suhr is on a different level. Chuck said it best when he said..that the price/performance is really a subjective thing...everyone will have a different opinion...but IMHO..the Suhr is a fantastic instrument. If I had to choose between GMW and SUHR, I would take the SUHR any day...and twice on Sunday. Also...this may or may *not* be important to you...The Suhr holds its value *very* well.

[Rocco Siffredi]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

Can not comment on a GMW since I have yet to play one. When I got my Suhr, I looked at a variety of bolt-ons (Fender, Anderson, Jackson PC-1, Wayne etc...) They were all great; however, the Suhr just had the mojo. The finish he puts on the back of his maple necks is great.

[JacksonJuiceBox]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

Does suhr have a website? never heard of them till now

[edgar allan poe]

Here you go...

http://www.suhrguitars.com/

[dinkyjacksonman]

GMW vs Suhr

Oh man, I can answer the question since I have owned more than 5 Suhr guitars and maybe 10 GMWs.
I have talked with both John Suhr and Lee and I custom ordered with both too.

Frst of all, what frustrates me about Suhr guitar is availability of options is so minimum.
When I ordered 2 of my custom in last 3years, there are things I wasn't happy because they were unable to do exactly what I wanted.
Such as Trem bridge option,Pickup option, neck shape option and so on.
If I asked, everything will be upcharged and I would end up with 3K guitar with normal looking guitar with Alder body.
The Suhr guitars I owned, they were GREAT.
I have nothing to complain.Wonderful Necks,nice fret work but if you don't like the way they play or look, you are out.
I wish John Suhr to build me EXACT guitar I want but too many upcharge to make it exact.
I have a Classic custom that would look like normal strat with Birdseye neck and few upgrades but it would cost me $2600.

About Lee, I have nothing to say but he is AMAZING!
He can build exactly what I want and he can set up guitars the way I want.
I would never get frustrated about it.That is great.
Plus I can tell him so many small details and he wouldn't upcharge most of them.
If I spend $1200, it will be a perfect guitar that I don't need to change anything.That is less than half of Suhr guitar!


So to me, If I want every detail the way I want in a guitar, I would go with GMW because Lee can build me 100% I want but at the same time I love Suhr Guitars and Even something is not the way I prefer, when I play them, it makes me to play and play because these Suhr guitars play fantastic and sound great.
That is why at one point, I had 5 Suhr guitars.

My suggestion about Suhr is to try one.
They are expensive and lucky if you can get it for less than $1500 for a used one in good shape.
If a new one, a quilt top one would cost close to 3K.
Even a Alder Strat body one with few upgrades like birdseye Maple neck would cost $2.5K.

Both John Suhr and Lee Garver are great builders and If I were to order custom, I only have 2 of these to go with.

[edgar allan poe]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

"Frst of all, what frustrates me about Suhr guitar is availability of options is so minimum.
When I ordered 2 of my custom in last 3years, there are things I wasn't happy because they were unable to do exactly what I wanted.
Such as Trem bridge option,Pickup option, neck shape option and so on.
If I asked, everything will be upcharged and I would end up with 3K guitar with normal looking guitar with Alder body."

I can't argue with this...I agree with everything you said here.

[snc2716]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

I think Suhrs are nice guitars but too expensive for
Fender variations. I've owned almost every boutique
guitar you can name and my friend's GMW is extremely
impressive. I'm going to have them build me a guitar
as soon as I can decide on all the details.

[neilli]

Re: GMW vs Suhr

The one problem with GMW at the moment is the waiting time. If you want anything other than San Dimas style bodies and necks, it seems to be a nine month + wait....well worth it, but I'm impatient!
Cheers
Ian