EBMM Cutlass vs PRS Fiore vs Fender Strat vs ?

Another vote for Suhr here. I have a Modern Carved-Top and a Classic S HSS. Two totally different guitars in sound and feel but consistent in top-notch quality. Plus, Suhr stands behind the quality of his guitars 100%. There’s a thread on the Gear Page in which someone mentioned that his new Suhr has a dead spot and John Suhr personally replied telling the guy that he’s making a new neck for him.
I’ve have a lot of high end Fenders that I loved. Some were better than others in quality (loose neck pockets, pick guard gaps, badly filed nut slots, etc.). One of my Strats was absolutely flawless and I only sold it because it didn’t have stainless steel frets. \
Good luck on your search! There’s a lot of right answers.
 
I've had a Strat ultra for a few months, and then went to Suhr and got hooked. A modern Satin, might be another model as well as the more classic styled models mentioned earlier in this thread. The Strat ultra was a really good guitar though also. The Modern Satin has a 14" neck radius and not compound. Felt a lot like the Strat, and the coil splitting gets the Strat tones, and the pickups sounded better to me than the Fender ultra model stock pickups.
 

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TSJMajesty said:
I think it's really hard to know what you're going to like without getting the guitar in your hands, if you're not already familiar with things like the various ergonomics of the different brands and models that may satisfy your needs. So here's an outside-the-box idea...
To maybe offset the cost of buying, and then selling, a few guitars (without playing them first) before you land on the one you like, has anyone who doesn't have close access to a well-stocked music store ever considered watching for airline ticket sales, then buying a cheap ticket to a major city so you could go visit a few stores? Or maybe roll a visit or 2 into an upcoming vacation? Just an idea...
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I have considered making a day out to the GTA to get to one of the better stocked stores so this may well end up being the answer but wow, musicstorelive has a killer inventory!

Does anyone have a take on LSL or Friedman's? I didn't consider those in the mix.
 
Romo82 said:
I have considered making a day out to the GTA to get to one of the better stocked stores so this may well end up being the answer but wow, musicstorelive has a killer inventory!

Does anyone have a take on LSL or Friedman's? I didn't consider those in the mix.
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I've had 3 Friedman's, sold off 2, and kept the one, but only because of the types of guitar I have, I didn't need multiple guitars that serve the same purpose for me. They are FREAKING STELLAR, equal to Suhr in my experience. I had a traditional strat-type (sold only because I have a ridiculous amount of gear), a Les Paul type, and then a NoHo24. I kept the NoHo for my 80s nostalgia fix. The pickups are awesome in the Friedman's I've had and the one I currently have.
 
Well, after checking on the in-stock guitars at what is enthusiastically labelled as "Canadas largest music store!" (which was the one I was thinking of driving to) it seems almost their entire top end catalogue is all "out of stock but available for order".

I'm going to say it here now, Canada's guitar stores suck ass! No wonder its so hard to find guitars to play before buying! :triumph:

If anyone knows of decent stores in the GTA area, please let me know.
 
unix-guy said:
Maybe you posted the wrong video? That's not a Nick Johnston... ;)
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Are you sure? Here's my NJ HSS in Atomic Ink, the imported NJ HSS. I had thought that Marco's was the NJ HSS USA made model with the sunburst finish...

I recall from viewing Marco's previous videos that he owns a NJ HSS, just not sure if its an older sunburst model or an entirely separate model altogether.

EDIT: Just verified Schecter's website. Marco's is the NJ HSS format, only in custom shop sunburst finish. Likely a one-of-a-kind built for Marco.

MOKLzWU.jpg
 
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bleujazz3 said:
Are you sure? Here's my NJ HSS in Atomic Ink, the imported NJ HSS. I had thought that Marco's was the NJ HSS USA made model with the sunburst finish...

I recall from viewing Marco's previous videos that he owns a NJ HSS, just not sure if its an older sunburst model or an entirely separate model altogether.

EDIT: Just verified Schecter's website. Marco's is the NJ HSS format, only in custom shop sunburst finish. Likely a one-of-a-kind built for Marco.

MOKLzWU.jpg
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The guitar in the video is labeled as
a Schecter R66 Elite right on the screen ;)

I've looked at that series before since Marco has been playing them for a while. The Route 66 (R66) line is an Italy-only line apparently.

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unix-guy said:
The guitar in the video is labeled as
a Schecter R66 Elite right on the screen ;)

I've looked at that series before since Marco has been playing them for a while. The Route 66 (R66) line is an Italy-only line apparently.

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Yowza! Must have let that slip by unnoticed. Not moving to Italy anytime soon, but am there in spirit (flesh is weak just now).

EDIT: Also noted that the R66 Elite Contemporary is not listed anywhere on the Schecter USA website, not even in the international section. Gotta be custom build.
 
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Romo82 said:
Well, after checking on the in-stock guitars at what is enthusiastically labelled as "Canadas largest music store!" (which was the one I was thinking of driving to) it seems almost their entire top end catalogue is all "out of stock but available for order".

I'm going to say it here now, Canada's guitar stores suck ass! No wonder its so hard to find guitars to play before buying! :triumph:

If anyone knows of decent stores in the GTA area, please let me know.
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Cosmo? Call them and ask when they are expecting stock in.

GTA: The Guitar Shop, Various L&M's (call ahead), Capsule Music, Folkway, 12th fret, Cosmo, Shyboy and Tex. No idea if Mountain Music in Hamilton still exists - their site looks outta 2003. DO NOT go to Tundra.
 
My Suhr classic SSS is the best strat style guitar I have ever played. It's so much like a mid-60s strat, but with the advantages of modern tech to keep everything to very close tolerances. I know people have said the PRS Silver Sky is also a great guitar. I haven't played one, but I trust those who have recommended them.
 
unix-guy said:
As mentioned, it's an Italian line, so makes sense to me that it's not in the Schecter USA website ;)

https://www.strumentimusicali.net/p...d/163037/schecter-r66-elite-contemporary.html
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Then I'd withdraw my NJ HSS recommendation for the time...it seems that the imported NJ HSS model volume pots have issues after about 1 year's time. The solution is to replace the volume/push-pull tone pots with something more reliable. Which may be my only option regards the NJ HSS.

I'll be contacting my guitar tech buddy upstate and asking if he could perform a swap, or it this might need the expertise of a guitar tech from a bonafide shop.
 
My favorite S-type guitar, and I've own a bunch of different ones - is the Knaggs Severn. More specifically, the Larry Mitchell model. Larry is a Fractal artist and a monster player. These guitars are incredibly versatile and a dream to play. Not cheap, but you get a lot of guitar for the money.
 

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Knaggster said:
My favorite S-type guitar, and I've own a bunch of different ones - is the Knaggs Severn. More specifically, the Larry Mitchell model. Larry is a Fractal artist and a monster player. These guitars are incredibly versatile and a dream to play. Not cheap, but you get a lot of guitar for the money.
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The guitar is as beautiful as the music Larry makes playing. Incredible stuff.
 
I own a fiore and a elite strat. Fiore has vintage strat spacing like EBMM, strats are a smidge wider. Youd be more comparing the fiore/cutlass to an ultra strat which would get you a compound radius which i wish the fiore had.

FIore is an incredible guitar but you cant really do anything to it like a strat. The single coils are not the same size as traditional, so replacing them would be a pain if you dont like them. I like them however. Other issue is if bent steel saddles arent your thing, you cant replace them. No "vintage" string spaced saddles will fit, believe me as i tried.

Ive never played a cutlass, but personally. Wouldn't spend that much on it.
 
I had and, ultimately, sold a Cutlass. It was the model with 3 single coils and a plain maple neck (before they started roasting the necks; installing a humbucker in the bridge; and skyrocketing the price). Great build quality and neck feel. However, there were 3 things I did not like about it: 1. The pickups were weak. 2. The battery operated "silent circuit" did not eliminate noise. 3. The 9-46 hybrid strings.
 
vika12 said:
I had and, ultimately, sold a Cutlass. It was the model with 3 single coils and a plain maple neck (before they started roasting the necks; installing a humbucker in the bridge; and skyrocketing the price). Great build quality and neck feel. However, there were 3 things I did not like about it: 1. The pickups were weak. 2. The battery operated "silent circuit" did not eliminate noise. 3. The 9-46 hybrid strings.
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That's interesting feedback regarding the pickup output. I've always considered SC's to be low output in general so to see you mention the Cutlass pickups being weak is disconcerting.

The more I look in to the options, the more it seems Fender may have hit all the right notes with the American Ultra. It's starting to look like a 2 horse race between Fender and Suhr and that could make it hard for the Suhr to stand up to the Fender. I'm sure the build quality is better with the Suhr but is it $1000 better?
 
Romo82 said:
That's interesting feedback regarding the pickup output. I've always considered SC's to be low output in general so to see you mention the Cutlass pickups being weak is disconcerting.

The more I look in to the options, the more it seems Fender may have hit all the right notes with the American Ultra. It's starting to look like a 2 horse race between Fender and Suhr and that could make it hard for the Suhr to stand up to the Fender. I'm sure the build quality is better with the Suhr but is it $1000 better?
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Isn't the Cutlass now over $2,500? That's pretty close to a Suhr isn't it?
 
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