Help me decide: Strat-style - Suhr or Anderson

I am an Anderson owner and love their guitars. However, I don't judge guitars in general terms even though Andersons are very consistently excellent; I have found through trial and error over the years what I like and why and bought/sold/borrowed/demoed guitars like anyone else. That goes for ANY manufacturer/luthier.

If you have a guitar that does most of what you want, then swap the pickups. If you are looking for a specific thing, both Suhr and Anderson have particular qualities that differ from other makes. It comes down - as it always does - to feel.

Each guitar brand has its pros/cons; each guitar, however, is an individual instrument and must be judged on its own merits only.

The unfortunate universal truth is that until you have tried a given guitar in your own hands and listened to it with your ears with your rig and specific playing style, can you know if it works for YOU.

One example is PRS, which most would agree (whether they love them, hate them, or have only tried them) that are high-quality guitars. I have owned over 30+ of them over the years. I have one now, it is the best of the best for what that does, but on paper, it does NOT have any of the PRS-centric features I would have at one point called essential in a personal sense for me. It is a plain-jane gold top Custom 22 with moon inlays and aftermarket pickups I added. It has some vibe to it that encapsulates what PRS guitars can do for ME. So even within that massive spread of what PRS does - and again, I have owned a LOT of PRS guitars across a ton of their model range and have put hands on most everything they've done from the beginning to now... for me, it came down to this one single instrument that just jelled with ME.

I recommend buying used, buying smart so you can flip it, and putting it into your own hands, your rig, and letting it speak to you or not. Guitars are incredibly personal, and there is no way to judge that from other people's opinions on the web or IRL.

Just IMHO, your mileage may vary.
 
I agree to some extent but if you are familiar with something like for example a Suhr Modern with a particular neck carve and fret size the feel these days on a product like this is incredibly similar across production. Consistency at Suhr and Anderson is very high. You may always surprise yourself and find you like a spec that you didn't think you would and the only way to find out is try it. If you know what the speck is exactly from either of these two builders you are not in for any surprises in regard to feel. Tone of wood is an entirely different thing and there is no substitute for playing it or indeed owning it to try. Some of my best customers regularly buy stuff to try it as this is really the best way and if you buy used and wisely you will not loose if you do sell it on.
 
Andy Eagle said:
Be carful not to dismiss guitars because of easily fixed issues or bad setup. Concentrate on the fundamentals.
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Good point, and I should have mentioned: some of the things on my list are not deal breakers; they're there just for me to ensure I take a moment to ask and to answer the question, and to make sure if there is a problem that I can fix it. Dead notes, if they're bad enough, are definitely a deal breaker; that's just a world of heartache, when all I'm looking for is romance.
 
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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Great info!

I didn't know that about Anderson bridges. I assumed they were high-quality - maybe because they're stamped "Anderson".

I've played and owned a few Suhrs and have liked them, but never picked up an Anderson to try and have only seen them in a shop over 20 years ago.

So far, I'm leaning toward Suhr since I'll have a good idea of what to expect.
 
State of Epicicity said:
Things to check for in a new guitar

[ ] Stainless Steel Frets
[ ] Check for notes that fret out just from regular playing
[ ] Feel for upper fret access
[ ] Dead / Wolf Notes
[ ] See if middle pickup is in the way of picking
[ ] Do wide bends on every note to check for bad frets
[ ] Check that trem stays in tune with dive bombs, aggressive wiggling, pull backs, and regular left hand note bends
[ ] Check that G string stays in tune: Do double-stops with D & G string 4ths and 5ths dives and pull ups, and do double-stops with G & B string 4ths and 5ths dives and pull ups
[ ] Check for sustain in general, this goes with checking for dead notes
[ ] Check for any echoes from trem when you abruptly mute a power chord with high gain
[ ] Look for grain of neck to be quarter sawn, not flat sawn
[ ] Make sure there is no harshness at low gain. Play open wound strings and see if pick attack is harsh.
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Great list! Some of those things can sometimes be fixed with adjustments or part swaps. But, it's great to know about even those things before buying.

If a guitar doesn't pass all of the items on the list that can't be easily changed, it's definitely time to put it back on the rack and try another.
 
Scott Peterson said:
I am an Anderson owner and love their guitars. However, I don't judge guitars in general terms even though Andersons are very consistently excellent; I have found through trial and error over the years what I like and why and bought/sold/borrowed/demoed guitars like anyone else. That goes for ANY manufacturer/luthier.

If you have a guitar that does most of what you want, then swap the pickups. If you are looking for a specific thing, both Suhr and Anderson have particular qualities that differ from other makes. It comes down - as it always does - to feel.

Each guitar brand has its pros/cons; each guitar, however, is an individual instrument and must be judged on its own merits only.

The unfortunate universal truth is that until you have tried a given guitar in your own hands and listened to it with your ears with your rig and specific playing style, can you know if it works for YOU.

One example is PRS, which most would agree (whether they love them, hate them, or have only tried them) that are high-quality guitars. I have owned over 30+ of them over the years. I have one now, it is the best of the best for what that does, but on paper, it does NOT have any of the PRS-centric features I would have at one point called essential in a personal sense for me. It is a plain-jane gold top Custom 22 with moon inlays and aftermarket pickups I added. It has some vibe to it that encapsulates what PRS guitars can do for ME. So even within that massive spread of what PRS does - and again, I have owned a LOT of PRS guitars across a ton of their model range and have put hands on most everything they've done from the beginning to now... for me, it came down to this one single instrument that just jelled with ME.

I recommend buying used, buying smart so you can flip it, and putting it into your own hands, your rig, and letting it speak to you or not. Guitars are incredibly personal, and there is no way to judge that from other people's opinions on the web or IRL.

Just IMHO, your mileage may vary.
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Good insight.

Buying used is something I've done often. And, if I upgrade parts, I usually hold on to the original parts. That way, if I do sell it I can swap the original parts back and reuse or sell the upgrade parts separately.
 
Andy Eagle said:
I agree to some extent but if you are familiar with something like for example a Suhr Modern with a particular neck carve and fret size the feel these days on a product like this is incredibly similar across production. Consistency at Suhr and Anderson is very high. You may always surprise yourself and find you like a spec that you didn't think you would and the only way to find out is try it. If you know what the speck is exactly from either of these two builders you are not in for any surprises in regard to feel. Tone of wood is an entirely different thing and there is no substitute for playing it or indeed owning it to try. Some of my best customers regularly buy stuff to try it as this is really the best way and if you buy used and wisely you will not loose if you do sell it on.
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A good example of what you describe, for me, is the Suhr shown in my avatar.

The neck profile is a little beefier than I've owned and it has a 16 inch radius. Based on that, I'd have never even wanted to pick it up - thought it would feel like a baseball bat and the fretboard would only be good for shredding. I'm SO glad I tried it - it felt like home right away.

On a related note ...

In your thread about the strat you're building, you said it'll look authentic (it does!) and sound vintage, but will play like a Suhr. That's what really set me on this path of finding a strat-like guitar that suits me better than what I have now.
 
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Budda said:
And sometimes you gotta buy new to find out.
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I've really lost money a few times when buying new, but the guitar just didn't gel for me - and I waited too long to return for refund. The resell price was painful.
 
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Dave Merrill said:
When I can, I'm going to try a PRS I know can't afford, before I try any harder to check out similar lower line models. I figure if the Real Thing doesn't do it for me, there's no point trying the compromise versions.
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Good idea. I've read many posts from PRS owners that say they have one of the "lesser" lines that outperforms their high-end models.

But, I think you're right - if the best they have to offer isn't speaking to you, then one of the less-expensive models may not be your thing.
 
State of Epicicity said:
Good point, and I should have mentioned: some of the things on my list are not deal breakers; they're there just for me to ensure I take a moment to ask and to answer the question, and to make sure if there is a problem that I can fix it. Dead notes, if they're bad enough, are definitely a deal breaker; that's just a world of heartache, when all I'm looking for is romance.
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"that's just a world of heartache, when all I'm looking for is romance"

That's a great way to put it!
 
unix-guy said:
Well, I think the thread sums it up.

After a lengthy process of getting a new neck built by Suhr, the problem was reduced but not eliminated.

I'm not thrilled but I'm living with it.
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That thread freaked me out! I had to carefully check all my guitars for dead spots. Luckily, I didn't find any.

I've been super-cautious about that ever since. I've been checking for dead spots for a long time, but not as obsessively as I do now.
 
secondwindow said:
That thread freaked me out! I had to carefully check all my guitars for dead spots. Luckily, I didn't find any.

I've been super-cautious about that ever since. I've been checking for dead spots for a long time, but not as obsessively as I do now.
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In my case I've found them too late, when playing a song that requires to sustain a cursed note. With the J-Custom RG8550MZ it was Joe Satriani "Crying" and Steve Vai "Hand on Hand", and with the Suhr Modern Satin it was Genesis "Firth of Fifth" and Santana "Europa". It is frustrating, and time consuming to experiment with mitigation measures, like a speaker driver attached to the guitar through a Fat Finger


20210826_105821-jpg.87605
 
Piing said:
In my case I've found them too late, when playing a song that requires to sustain a cursed note. With the J-Custom RG8550MZ it was Joe Satriani "Crying" and Steve Vai "Hand on Hand", and with the Suhr Modern Satin it was Genesis "Firth of Fifth" and Santana "Europa". It is frustrating, and time consuming to experiment with mitigation measures, like a speaker driver attached to the guitar through a Fat Finger


20210826_105821-jpg.87605
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Wow, you are going through a lot to get past that dead spot. Is that working?
 
secondwindow said:
Wow, you are going through a lot to get past that dead spot. Is that working?
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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
 
Dave Merrill said:
When I can, I'm going to try a PRS I know can't afford, before I look any further at similar lower line models. I figure if the Real Thing doesn't do it for me, it's unlikely I'll be thrilled with any of the compromise versions.
Click to expand...
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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