Sorenspete
Inspired
EDIT: ok I'm just going through this to amend a few things since it might come off the wrong way.
This just came in yesterday and I have a pretty interesting take on it...
This is my first Suhr. Prior to this guitar, I have owned ESP's, Caparisons, Fenders, as well as 3 Japanese Ibanez RG's. If you want the blunt version of my take, these things are not worth the money people are asking for them on the market but that's because they're limited edition. And in my case it's hard to justify a purchase like this when you get stung 30,000 JPY for shipping and 800 NZD for import GST. Right now some versions of this guitar - the Suhr Standard Legacy - are going for over 700,000 Japanese Yen. I got mine for 400,000 excl. shipping and handling. I think it was displayed in a shop for a little bit and then rotated out and put back in its case until I bought it because it was pretty grubby, but ultimately in good condition. The only perceivable blemish is a knick on the headstock, so depending on how you look at it, it was a steal.
So why don't I think that this guitar is worth the retail or street price (which I believe is a lot higher)? Well, it's simply that, when compared to my ESP or my Caparison, this guitar isn't $2800 NZD better than them - plain and simple. My Caparison Dellinger is by far one of the most solid instruments I have ever owned. It never goes out of tune and the EMG SLV + SLV + 85 set that I have in there work so well. There is something about the fit and finish that is just so incredible. There is something about the Suhr, however, that doesn't wow me like the Caparison does.
On the other hand, the Suhr does play well with the exception of one little bugbear, and tonally does exactly what I want it to. My Caparison doesn't have the Knopfler mod, so position 2 isn't really anything to write home about. And just to be fair on the Caparison, the SLV pickups aren't as 'stratty' as the SA's which for sure I prefer, but the SLV's have an excellent 'high-fidelity' quality to them.
One thing that I think was an odd, unnecessary, and frankly poorly executed touch, was the felt lining on the Floyd Rose recess on the top of the body. Very strange choice when just a natural wood finish look would have worked a lot better, and the felt is cut poorly so it's a bit unsightly (I'll provide a picture of this when I get home from work). I don't know what they were trying to achieve here other than mildly protecting the cavity from the Floyd when under spring tension alone. If anyone can shine some light on this I'd gladly eat my words.
I think the fact that the guitar wasn't brand new contributed to my experience with it. Most of the hardware (in fact, probably all) was covered in oxidised sweat from some grubby person molesting it and no one wiped it down.
The Original Floyd Rose isn't German - it's a Ping (Korean) made 1500 series unit. I will say, the inclusion of both the more common OFR trem arm assembly as well as the pop-in assembly with the rubber insert is nice. I prefer the latter but you can imagine why it isn't more prolific as the rubber will deteriorate and require replacement. I'm tempted to replace this bridge with a German-made unit with the hope that I can transplant the rubber insert style trem assembly over, but I digress.
My biggest bugbear with this guitar is that the Indian rosewood fingerboard isn't smooth like Brazilian rosewood is. It may just need a good treatment of lemon oil, but there's some noticeable friction when you play vibrato notes. I hope I can break the guitar (and fingerboard) in with time.
Going back to build quality, my Fender American Professional II strat was around the same quality as the Suhr and cost less than half the price. I think what I'm sayin is, speaking strictly in terms of build quality, nothing stands out which could justify the price. What does justify the price is specs and wood selection, as the African Okoume body and flamey-quilt maple top look absolutely incredible. I would have preferred a nice, dark Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, but the Indian rosewood looks good.
Anyway, it's early days and I dare say my opinion might continue to improve in the coming weeks. It sounds awesome for Mark Knopfler style tones and it's a very satisfying guitar to play and hear.
PS. Hope I haven't offended the Suhr defense force
This just came in yesterday and I have a pretty interesting take on it...
This is my first Suhr. Prior to this guitar, I have owned ESP's, Caparisons, Fenders, as well as 3 Japanese Ibanez RG's. If you want the blunt version of my take, these things are not worth the money people are asking for them on the market but that's because they're limited edition. And in my case it's hard to justify a purchase like this when you get stung 30,000 JPY for shipping and 800 NZD for import GST. Right now some versions of this guitar - the Suhr Standard Legacy - are going for over 700,000 Japanese Yen. I got mine for 400,000 excl. shipping and handling. I think it was displayed in a shop for a little bit and then rotated out and put back in its case until I bought it because it was pretty grubby, but ultimately in good condition. The only perceivable blemish is a knick on the headstock, so depending on how you look at it, it was a steal.
So why don't I think that this guitar is worth the retail or street price (which I believe is a lot higher)? Well, it's simply that, when compared to my ESP or my Caparison, this guitar isn't $2800 NZD better than them - plain and simple. My Caparison Dellinger is by far one of the most solid instruments I have ever owned. It never goes out of tune and the EMG SLV + SLV + 85 set that I have in there work so well. There is something about the fit and finish that is just so incredible. There is something about the Suhr, however, that doesn't wow me like the Caparison does.
On the other hand, the Suhr does play well with the exception of one little bugbear, and tonally does exactly what I want it to. My Caparison doesn't have the Knopfler mod, so position 2 isn't really anything to write home about. And just to be fair on the Caparison, the SLV pickups aren't as 'stratty' as the SA's which for sure I prefer, but the SLV's have an excellent 'high-fidelity' quality to them.
One thing that I think was an odd, unnecessary, and frankly poorly executed touch, was the felt lining on the Floyd Rose recess on the top of the body. Very strange choice when just a natural wood finish look would have worked a lot better, and the felt is cut poorly so it's a bit unsightly (I'll provide a picture of this when I get home from work). I don't know what they were trying to achieve here other than mildly protecting the cavity from the Floyd when under spring tension alone. If anyone can shine some light on this I'd gladly eat my words.
I think the fact that the guitar wasn't brand new contributed to my experience with it. Most of the hardware (in fact, probably all) was covered in oxidised sweat from some grubby person molesting it and no one wiped it down.
The Original Floyd Rose isn't German - it's a Ping (Korean) made 1500 series unit. I will say, the inclusion of both the more common OFR trem arm assembly as well as the pop-in assembly with the rubber insert is nice. I prefer the latter but you can imagine why it isn't more prolific as the rubber will deteriorate and require replacement. I'm tempted to replace this bridge with a German-made unit with the hope that I can transplant the rubber insert style trem assembly over, but I digress.
My biggest bugbear with this guitar is that the Indian rosewood fingerboard isn't smooth like Brazilian rosewood is. It may just need a good treatment of lemon oil, but there's some noticeable friction when you play vibrato notes. I hope I can break the guitar (and fingerboard) in with time.
Going back to build quality, my Fender American Professional II strat was around the same quality as the Suhr and cost less than half the price. I think what I'm sayin is, speaking strictly in terms of build quality, nothing stands out which could justify the price. What does justify the price is specs and wood selection, as the African Okoume body and flamey-quilt maple top look absolutely incredible. I would have preferred a nice, dark Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, but the Indian rosewood looks good.
Anyway, it's early days and I dare say my opinion might continue to improve in the coming weeks. It sounds awesome for Mark Knopfler style tones and it's a very satisfying guitar to play and hear.
PS. Hope I haven't offended the Suhr defense force
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