Help me decide: Strat-style - Suhr or Anderson

TSJMajesty said:
I don't see how this would tell you anything useful. As an example, the guitar you try may be more costly because of many things, such as inlays, binding, piezo, coil taps, 10-top, etc., but those items don't really contribute to how the guitar feels and plays. But if it had say, dead notes, or uneven frets, that certainly wouldn't mean a "lower line model" would share the same imperfections.
I would suggest you narrow it down to your must-haves, e.g., neck thickness, # of frets, scale, control layout, PU's..., those sort of criteria, then try to get your hands on as many as you can, that meet your needs/wants.
Just like the guy who posted above, whose favorite PRS is somewhat plain-jane, with your plan, unless I didn't understand what you really meant, I think there's a possibility of missing out on a great guitar.

Plus, if the guitar you try out, that you "can't afford" turns out to be a fantastic, drop-dead gorgeous guitar, with coil taps and switching options you didn't think you needed/wanted, yet sounds fabulous, you may either not be able to look at a lesser version, because it just had a way of ruining your thoughts of getting something without those features, or, you may suddenly find that you "can" afford it. ;)
When I go vehicle shopping, I purposely stay away from trim lines beyond my budget, because I know what may end up happening! "But it only adds another $80 to your monthly payment." :tearsofjoy:
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I know what you mean, but there's another side to it. Everyone loves PRS -- you've seen it here -- and their production craftsmanship has elevated the industry.

But the fact is, I've never played one I really loved. Ordering one off the net at this point would be on other people's word that PRS is great, which is dumb. Once I know I really like a Core 594 in person, buying an S2 version sight unseen because it's affordable and I trust their quality makes more sense.

Blingy wood on a higher model isn't going to seduce me, it's actually a negative. I hate gold watches, fancy clothes, all that stuff.

We'll see.
 
Piing said:
That extends the duration of the dead note, and makes it decay in a more natural way. But still not as long as the neighboring notes.

Anyway, with or without dead notes, that device is very useful for playing at home when you cannot use a loud amplifier. It provides eternal sustain (for the non-dead notes), and it is fun to feel the guitar body vibrating while playing
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That's pretty cool, I might look into getting a setup like that.
 
Why limit yourself to just Suhr or Anderson? There’s a few others like Friedman, or the Nick Johnston strats.

on Suhr, I have a Modern. I can’t fault anything about it but there is something uninspiring about it. Like it just doesn’t feel like home. My Friedman Cali on the other hand... I want to bring it to bed with me. It might be the vintage aged finish but it just feels so nice to hold. Anyway I digress...
 
Tahoebrian5 said:
Why limit yourself to just Suhr or Anderson? There’s a few others like Friedman, or the Nick Johnston strats.

on Suhr, I have a Modern. I can’t fault anything about it but there is something uninspiring about it. Like it just doesn’t feel like home. My Friedman Cali on the other hand... I want to bring it to bed with me. It might be the vintage aged finish but it just feels so nice to hold. Anyway I digress...
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Absolutely - I'm open to other brands - "... Suhr, Anderson, or something else ..."

I also had a Suhr Modern that I just couldn't gel with. There wasn't anything wrong with at all, it just didn't feel right. I thought Suhrs just weren't for me. Then I got the Modern in my avatar - it's a keeper - felt at home with it right away.

I'll check into the Friedman Cali. I've never seen one in person, but based only on photos I've seen, I didn't like something about the look. I can't recall what they may have been. I'll look again with fresh eyes. Thanks for the tip!
 
secondwindow said:
Absolutely - I'm open to other brands - "... Suhr, Anderson, or something else ..."
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Charvel DK-24 USA Select... Most excellent and used more than my Suhr currently.

The neck is the best I've ever felt (and you can get the MIM version without the fancy wood for less than 1/3rd, which is a really good value for what you get):

7E09843D-AF10-41C6-ADAC-DD873DFF1F27.jpeg

Edit:

Maybe not Strat-like enough...
 
If I didn't had my Schecter Nick Johnston USA, I would go for a Schecter USA Traditional or Wembley

https://www.schecterguitars.com/custom/usa-production/base-designs/traditional-detail
https://www.schecterguitars.com/custom/usa-production/base-designs/wembley-detail

TRAD%20CAR_R%2016-04031TILT.png

TRAD%20GOLD%20BODY.jpg

WEMBLEY%20WHT.jpg
 
unix-guy said:
Charvel DK-24 USA Select... Most excellent and used more than my Suhr currently.

The neck is the best I've ever felt (and you can get the MIM version without the fancy wood for less than 1/3rd, which is a really good value for what you get):

View attachment 92347

Edit:

Maybe not Strat-like enough...
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I've always heard great things about those guitars. For my next guitar, I think I'd like something that does have more of a traditional strat-look, but may go with HSS instead of SSS if I like everything else about it.
 
Piing said:
If I didn't had my Schecter Nick Johnston USA, I would go for a Schecter USA Traditional or Wembley

https://www.schecterguitars.com/custom/usa-production/base-designs/traditional-detail
https://www.schecterguitars.com/custom/usa-production/base-designs/wembley-detail

TRAD%20CAR_R%2016-04031TILT.png

TRAD%20GOLD%20BODY.jpg

WEMBLEY%20WHT.jpg
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Thanks for the tip on the USA Traditional! It has a lot of the features I'm looking for and the price isn't too high. I like that it has 6100-sized frets and a fairly flat fingerboard radius, 14 inch.

Once upon a time in the mid 1980s ...

I fell on tough times and, one by one, all of my guitars ended up in a pawn shop - until I had no guitars. I always hoped I could get one of them out of hock, but never had enough cash in time.

When I did finally have steady pay checks (joined the Army), the first guitar I bought was a second-hand Schecter strat from Tewksbury Music in Massachusetts. It was white with matching headstock and a great rosewood fretboard. I wrote a lot of songs and played plenty of gigs with that guitar. I even took it with me when I went off to the Gulf War - I put a label on the headstock to rename it the "Suadicaster".

Of the guitars I've bought and later sold, that's the one I regret letting go of the most. So, nostalgia may lead me to another Schecter strat.
 
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Budda said:
ESP USA snapper or whatever their strat style is?
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That's exactly what they're called, "Snapper". I has to look that up, hadn't heard of that line before. Kinda cool. The list price looks like more than a similar style would be from the other brands we've been talking about in this thread.
 
secondwindow said:
That's exactly what they're called, "Snapper". I has to look that up, hadn't heard of that line before. Kinda cool. The list price looks like more than a similar style would be from the other brands we've been talking about in this thread.
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Didnt expect an ESP USA to be more than a Suhr haha.
 
Andy Eagle said:
Both the Suhr and Anderson are reliable quality guitars with pro and cons.
The Suhr has a far better bridge and people tend to like the pickups although they air on the hi fi IMO. But they do seam to suffer from dead and over loud spots a bit more than the Andersons do. On the Anderson the A neck joint is much better but the pickups often get swapped out and the bridge is OEM Korean not Gotoh. The issue of dead spots usually follows the body and can happen at any price point to any company. It is if it is picked up in QC, and it hardly ever is. It happens when the resonant frequencies are dissonant in the neck and body. The further they are apart the less likely you are to have an issue (same as dissonant notes in different octaves.) High end companies have ways of selecting neck and body wood to minimise the chances but until the guitar is finished you can never be 100% that it will be fine. The best way is go and play as many as you can find and let your ears decide. If you are stuck and can only buy blind phone the dealer and explain your issues and leave them in no doubt that if it has this problem even a bit it's coming back but you will need to be flexible on colour.
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Regarding the bridges on Andersons:

Does "OEM Korean" apply to the strat-looking one with the "Anderson" name on it? (Like on the Icon Classic)
 
I have both Suhr and Anderson guitars. For an S style I would go with the Anderson, mostly because I prefer the neck joint on it compared to the Suhr S. But I don't think you could go wrong either way. They are both high quality guitars. If you are buying new you could look for a dealer that carries both, tell them you are trying to choose between them, have them send both out, and ship back the one you don't want to keep.

I had questions before buying two of my Andersons. Both times I called the factory to ask for some information. The kind lady that answered the phone transferred me to Tom Anderson himself. Tom spent 10-20 minutes answering all the questions I had and then pulled up the inventory in stores/in production to help me find something the guitar I wanted. It was a fantastic experience both times.
 
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