Talk me out of (or into) buying a Suhr Guitar

Riccardo Ros

Riccardo Ros

Experienced
Following a previous title (related to a Strandberg) I'm here to listen to your kind advice...

I'm thinking of swapping my Ibanez AZ2402 with a Suhr Modern Plus HSH.
The Ibanez is a great guitar but I cannot totally bond with the neck... so there's a good deal on a used Suhr and I'm just evaluating pros and cons.

Any advice is appreciated!
(picture attached as a reference for the used Suhr)

suhrModern.jpg
 
BBN said:
You'll probably find a lot of Suhr love in this board. I know lots of folks absolutely love them.

My only comment would be - also check out Tom Anderson. Similar price point and I've never found an Anderson I didn't love.
I've liked all the Suhrs I've played, but I've loved the Andersons.
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I'd like to, but the price in Europe is prohibitive...
Also the Suhr's have a crazy price, but this used one is 3200€ (the retail for a new one is 4500€).
Anderson's are difficult to find and the price starts at 5200€ for the models I like... I cannot justify the price with myself (that doesn't mean that it's not right..)
 
I’ve got a Suhr Modern T with a natural finish and love it. Neck and fretwork is perfect. I’ve had a few Ibanez 6 and 7’s over the years and the necks were a little flat and wide for me. But I immediately bonded with the Suhr.
Looks like it’s a great deal too so if you don’t like it you can probably resell it without a loss. I just did that with a EBMM Majesty….
 
Suhr makes super high quality amps and instruments. In fact, if I were in the market for a tube amp, I'd likely buy a Suhr Badger, Hombre, or even their Bella.

If you're looking for a less expensive option, consider Japanese made Tokai guitars. They make fine LP, S, T types. I have an S type. It's fretwork is amazing; the neck fits me perfectly; the pickups are balanced and sound great. I bought mine from a shop in Canada for $1,000 US, shipped. (You could buy 2 or even 3 Tokais for the price of 1 Suhr).
 
I have a couple of Pete Thorn Standards, and really like them a lot! I bought one earlier this year and immediately bonded with it. I ended up buying a 2nd one as a backup as one came up for a really good price 2nd hand. It had hardly been played and was only 8 months old. I had to have it lol. I had to sell a couple of guitars to buy them both

The necks are so comfortable and easy to play. Very well made too. It's become my main guitar now for gigs etc. I was using a Music Man L3 as my main before which I still really like, but there's something about the Suhr it just has a clarity to the sound. I did end up swapping the bridge pickups out on both guitars from a Thornbucker + to an SSH, just to give me a little more bite and I love it!

Never been a fan of Ibanez they aren't my thing but they are still great guitars! If your not bonding with it then it makes sense to get something you feel more comfortable playing.
 
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vika12 said:
Suhr makes super high quality amps and instruments. In fact, if I were in the market for a tube amp, I'd likely buy a Suhr Badger, Hombre, or even their Bella.

If you're looking for a less expensive option, consider Japanese made Tokai guitars. They make fine LP, S, T types. I have an S type. It's fretwork is amazing; the neck fits me perfectly; the pickups are balanced and sound great. I bought mine from a shop in Canada for $1,000 US, shipped. (You could buy 2 or even 3 Tokais for the price of 1 Suhr).
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thanks!
I know them (good price, good quality) but they produce "super classic" copies and no ss frets..
 
Riccardo Ros said:
thanks!
I know them (good price, good quality) but they produce "super classic" copies and no ss frets..
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True - no SS frets --- but, you'll have a great guitar for many years before a re-fret, if any, would be needed. (And, the cost of a re-fret would be minimal compared to the higher purchase price of the Suhr). EBMM did the same thing, by the way, they jacked the prices of their Stingray and Cutlass guitars by c. $1,200 a few years ago and the only "upgrade" was a roasted maple neck from an un-roasted maple neck.
 
I dont want to talk you out a Suhr/Anderson. Over the years I had several guitars ( some of them high quality ).When I bought a Anderson, it was a relief. Compared to all the others, the fretwork was better, the playability was better, the sound was better ( to me ). There are way more companies, that make also great guitars, I know and I`m not saying they are the best or something like that. But if it is possible to try a Anderson or Suhr, do that !! By the way, I was hignly sceptical relating to SS Frets....it will save you money for refretting and soundwise everything was fine for me.
 
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I had that same Ibanez, and I currently have that Suhr. I also have a similar Tom Anderson. If you don't bond with the neck on the Ibanez, the Suhr might be the right guitar for you. They are similar IMO, and I didn't need both. There isn't anything I don't like about the Suhr. But I do like the TA more, but that's subjective and for 4 reasons that might not matter to you: 1. The TA I had done in a shorter scale 2. I tend to hit the middle pickup on HSH because I suck, so I like the HH on the TA better 3. The TA neck profile sits in-between the Suhr and the Ibanez. 4. The TA has no tremolo, which I don't use/need.

Overall though, the Suhr sounds great, is super comfortable, and there isn't a single fault I can find with the build quality. I don't need all 3 I listed, but the Suhr and TA were the 2 I kept, and the (good guitar) Ibanez was sold.
 
The Oval C neck on the Ibanez AZ series is definitely chunkier than the Suhr Modern elliptical neck. Otherwise, I'd probably own one!

The Suhr Modern is a great guitar overall.

I was also going to recommend Tom Anderson but their Even Taper (C) neck is pretty similar to the Oval C (maybe a tiny bit slimmer). I like the Even Taper - 0.20 better.
 
The neck on that Modern is going to be thin. About .8” at the first fret. The profile is a D shape. Suhr calls it Elliptical. Think of an Elipse cut in half across the longest diameter. The back is flatter than a C shape and it has a little more shoulder. It’s a very comfortable neck if you like thinner necks.
Otherwise, you can’t go wrong with a Suhr.
 
rcm78 said:
The neck on that Modern is going to be thin. About .8” at the first fret. The profile is a D shape. Suhr calls it Elliptical. Think of an Elipse cut in half across the longest diameter. The back is flatter than a C shape and it has a little more shoulder. It’s a very comfortable neck if you like thinner necks.
Otherwise, you can’t go wrong with a Suhr.
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Yeah, the standard is profile .800-.850 (1st fret to 12th).
 
After my Dad died a couple of years ago a few months later there was a mint barely used white Classic S dealer select HSS strat on eBay

I figured it was my dream guitar, well one of them, so I got it
By far and away the most expensive guitar I've ever bought and I got it because my old man would have said "treat yourself"

It is something quite special, I've quickly bonded with it a lot, I adore it so much I'm toying with a Thornley Roughneck or a PT

My tech has spent decades building Gypsy Jazz acoustic guitars. He always said electrics are overpriced and we'd talked about Suhrs and Tom Anderson s and he said the prices were silly and they weren't worth it
I took the Suhr along to see what he thought of it.
He opened the case, picked it up and strummed a few chords. He plugged it in to his amp and locked shocked there was no 60 cycle hum off of the single coils, he then took it apart in front of me and then turned to me after giving it a complete on e overand said "You know, this really is an incredible guitar, the build and quality is first class"

They're just such thoroughbred instruments

You only live once, just buy it. I doubt you'd regret it
 
Save some money and get a Charvel DK24. With the extra money, you can have refretted with steel frets.

I had that same guitar in a different top and the pickups were too hot.
 
I have a Suhr Modern, Andy wood Signature model (not the tele shaped). It's the red guitar in my profile pic.

Probably one of the highest quality instruments I've owned. Plays and sounds like a dream. Outside of replacing a Scratchy pot (after 10+ years of use) I have had zero problems with the instrument.

As many have stated, the moderns have a smaller neck shape, and some may have a compound radius. Also, the steel frets and their fret size may be a dealbreaker depending on what you seek.
 
sandmannn69 said:
Save some money and get a Charvel DK24. With the extra money, you can have refretted with steel frets.

I had that same guitar in a different top and the pickups were too hot.
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I see your point... And I really like the Charvels! It's just that spending half the money of the value of the guitar for changing the frets doesn't sound right.
 
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