High-end Fender vs Suhr

High-end Fender vs Suhr

  • I'm with Fender

    Votes: 48 45.7%
  • I'm with Suhr

    Votes: 30 28.6%
  • Neither

    Votes: 27 25.7%

  • Total voters
    105
yUP sub. Could be that the HSH config to similar to most ibanez. Ibanez done well at that. I believe suhr buyers looking for somethin visually and functionally different from mass-produced instrument. But suhr's tops are amazing.
 
:mrgreen:tyler and suhr.. looks delicous... beside both "dishes" to compete with fender.. which other boutique brands are there in market?

anyway.. i think suhr is a lousy name... heheehee

they both dont offer any choices for leftist hande
 
i feel that an HSS pickup config would endown the player with some tonal versatility.

H-H and H-S-H could too...

Its just a matter of taste here - a HSS would lack the fatness/feel of a neck humbucker, and if you put a stack humbucker instead, then you lose the whole vibe of a single coil in neck.
 
:mrgreen:tyler and suhr.. looks delicous... beside both "dishes" to compete with fender.. which other boutique brands are there in market?

anyway.. i think suhr is a lousy name... heheehee

they both dont offer any choices for leftist hande

Boutique brand names:
  • James Tyler
  • John Suhr
  • Don Grosh
  • D'Pergo
  • Tom Anderson
  • Brian Moore
  • DeTemple
  • Lentz
  • Patick Eggle
  • Jason Shroeder
etc etc etc...
 
H-H and H-S-H could too...

Its just a matter of taste here - a HSS would lack the fatness/feel of a neck humbucker, and if you put a stack humbucker instead, then you lose the whole vibe of a single coil in neck.

I don't feel lacking in fatness in the AT300, nor the single coil vibe. It's not worse than either example, just different. I think you CAN compensate for tonal differences using a stacked single coil with wood and construction. Note, I said compensate, not replace...
 
why not- specs dislike?

Not just specs. Honestly, I don't really like guitars that look too pretty. I prefer workhorse guitars. Furthermore, John Suhr is known as a boutique masterbuilder of STRATS. a 22 fret HSH guitar to me is a bit trying. It's not full superstrat spec, and it's not quite vintage. If I wanted a HSH superstrat, I'd buy a Musicman Silhouette. Probably hunt for the earlier models with the FR...:mrgreen:

PS. I ever liked Suhr's headstock design either...:p
 
A little OT, Suhr seems to recommend against an ash body and rosewood fretboard combination, too much "sizzle". Does anyone know what that means? Isn't rosewood supposed to sound darker/warmer? I'm just not getting the "sizzle" description. :confused:

well, i now have 2 strats with swamp ash bodies and braz rosewood boards.

they certainly ring out a lot better than many other strats. i find that this combination gives an 'explosive' attack when you dig in on single notes - like the notes are bursting forward in the mix with goodness. i happen to like this characteristic very much.

as for the sizzle, i don't really notice any unpleasant 'sizzle', even though one of my strats has stainless steel frets (which are known for adding more 'sizzle'). what i do notice is that these strats cut through a live band damn well, and sound damn good while doing that.

i also have a rosewood/alder strat, and it sounds much warmer and a little less lively in comparision. just another flavour for me.

i have had many many strats in the past. my favourite combos are braz rosewood board/ash body, followed by maple neck/ash body.

i find rosewood/alder pretty neutral.

*do note i am referring to unplugged tone. pickups do matter, but good pickups will lallow the unplugged tone to dominate.

my least favourite is maple neck/alder body. i do not like the attack chracteristics of this combo, in general - i find it a bit brittle on the attack, and too 'spongey' when it comes to neck pickup tones.


heh.. i hope this rambling makes sense to somebody. its okay if it doesnt.. :P
 
Thanks Ben, that was most descriptive!

Suddenly remembered the "mid-scooped" nature of ash, doesn't a RW fretboard/maple neck complement this well, if RW can be brighter?

OT again: I'm a strat noob, just developed a horrible case of GAS for one. Reading up the specs on the various models just left me confused, like the neck shapes, radii, fret-wire, routing, etc etc.

Noob questions:
I've seen S-saddles that rust, but the modern saddles don't. Huge tonal difference there?
What's the difference between a 6-point vintage trem vs the modern 2-point?

What would you recommend for a noob? I'd prefer a SSS config, and a neck that is some-what fatter (like a 50s neck on a LP), 335 types are too thin and uncomfortable IMHO. Have only had experience with RW fretboards, but I suppose no harm trying maple too. SS frets preferred, only for the rust-free nature, as with the trem (modern saddles that don't rust). In terms of tone, pretty much open there, don't have a particular vibe I'm after. Rest of my rig is in my signature. Thanks mates!
 
Ben, your intuition worked out brilliantly. Your warmoth would stand up to any boutique guitar out there. Brazilian rosewood has different characteristics from the Indian variety though.
 
my least favourite is maple neck/alder body. i do not like the attack chracteristics of this combo, in general - i find it a bit brittle on the attack, and too 'spongey' when it comes to neck pickup tones.

sigh...you just made me, hendrix, malmsteem and blackmore cry......cos thats exactly the combo i have.
 
sigh...you just made me, hendrix, malmsteem and blackmore cry......cos thats exactly the combo i have.

no la.. everyone has their own preferences. i was talking about my own preference..

maple/alder is a classic combo. its just that i find rosewood/ash to sound more lively in general, compared to the the classic combo.

by the way, hendrix, malmsteem and blackmore used late 60's to 70's strats which had seperate, laminated maple fingerboards on maple necks.

these sound different from 1-piece maple necks. i feel they have more bite.
 
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