Suhr guitars on the bright side?

cragginshred

cragginshred

Fractal Fanatic
A lot of people posted regarding Suhrs versus Fender custom shop. Apples to apples I am talking Suhr classics or antique classics versus custom shop strats. For those who have played the Suhrs (seemed like 88% of you liked Suhrs way better than Fender).... but for you folks do you find the suhrs to be a little bright? This thread is not for 'check out my favorite guitar that looks like a space ship and is a swiss army knife (no offense) but stick to the topic please. Part of this topics is, my brief experience with Suhr is that they are so exact and spot on that they were both a little bright as well as may I be so bold as to say a little 'sterile'. Granted I owned the lower end pro series c-1 they no longer make so please correct me if I am way off.
-Don
 
I own 2 Suhr's. An S-4 and a Classic.

I would agree they are both bright guitars IF you peg the tone knob like people (me included) do on most guitars.

However if you think it is too bright, simply turning the tone knob easily corrects this.

I find the tone knob on both my Suhr's to be very usefull and cover a wider tone range then what I find on most guitars. I would assume they have a higher value component then most guitars, but as soon as I say that someone will post a schemtic showing that not to be the case.

My Classic I keep the tone on the bridge pickup around 7.

On the S-4 I typically keep it pegged. But sometimes I drop it to around 8.

But really, if you think it is too bright, the tone knob does wonders.
 
I don't think Suhr guitars are brighter than Fender guitars, as rule. I do think Suhrs have better string-to-string definition, which makes chords sound clearer, but that's a setup (and possibly bridge) issue. Suhr guitars are put on the plek before they go out, and as long as the intonation hasn't drifted off on it's way to the store, or during its time at the store, the guitars sound really tight, to my ears. Due to how clear and intonated the guitar is, I think people think they sound bright. I just think they sound really accurate and precise. Whenever I pick up a Fender guitar at a store, it always sounds smeared to me, compared to the Suhr, and that's just probably because of the setup of the Fender.

BTW, I think some of the Fender strats I've played have been the brightest guitars I've ever heard. :)

Both guitars sound good, it just depends what you want. And a good guitar tech can help you make one brand sound more like the other.
 
I compared a Suhr Modern with Aldrich pickups to my PRS Custom 24 and EBMM JPXI on YouTube and Suhr was clearly brightest out of the bunch. After that it's all about what you like.

I had some friends come by who play Ibanez and since I consider the Modern Suhr to be similar they had a go. They thought it was good but thought the price was idiotic.

That's kind of my opinion also. Sorry Suhr fans. :)
 
Don - for one thing the pro series is not a low end in terms of quality or tone, just options. Rasmus is their low end. Also, there is a rather good 4 part youtube video factory tour where John goes thru the process, and one of them he explains his pickups in some detail. He describes the magnets he uses. It explains the brightness. I DO get what I pay for according to my wallet with Suhr. My .02.
 
Yek what model do you have, did you feel the need to swap pups, and use the tone knob to tame it? I am interested in all models but primarily the ones listed in the OP
 
H3O2 said:
Don - for one thing the pro series is not a low end in terms of quality or tone, just options. Rasmus is their low end. Also, there is a rather good 4 part youtube video factory tour where John goes thru the process, and one of them he explains his pickups in some detail. He describes the magnets he uses. It explains the brightness. I DO get what I pay for according to my wallet with Suhr. My .02.
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I agree, the S-1 I had was a very quality guitar and much better than any American Fender. I just remember trying several different pups with it due to the brightness. I also was scopping my tone and playing with a real head with limited tonal shaping options at the time.
 
cragginshred said:
Yek what model do you have, did you feel the need to swap pups, and use the tone knob to tame it? I am interested in all models but primarily the ones listed in the OP
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Suhr Modern, GG model.

No need to swap pups because they are not the cause. I have Suhr pickups in other guitars and they're great.

While the guitar is bright, it doesn't bother me. It used to bother me in older firmware though (some time ago).
I also apply hi-cut in the Cab bock so the highs are limited anyway.
 
fatoni said:
i think that might be a trait that suhr wanted in his guitars. i remember him saying that you can always remove brightness but its not so easy to add it.
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That makes sense. I mean it is so simply to adjust the tone knob and make it as dark as you would like.

I love both Suhr's, and while I understand while some may think the price is "idiotic", I think they were worth every penny. Hoping my next guitar is going to be a Modern, but the new EVH Wolfgangs are calling out to me as well :p
 
I own both an S4 and a Classic, the only time I find either bright is when I use the bridge pickup on my Classic. Then, that is what makes it different!
 
fatoni said:
i think that might be a trait that suhr wanted in his guitars. i remember him saying that you can always remove brightness but its not so easy to add it.
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Yep -- I prefer a bright guitar -- much easier to remove brightness and still maintain clarity.

I love my Suhrs -- same with James tyler guitars.

I am not a fan of darker tone guitars.
 
rather than going down the pup swap trail,why not just try a higher value cap on your tone pot?quick,cheap and easy. and if you don't like it, change it back.
 
My Favorite Suhr

antique Tele - Korina Body (bright/full) -- even though it has two humbuckers it handles R&B tunes very nicely (almost strat like)
Roll back the tone and the guitar sounds like an Arch top --- put it through a Tweed, Dumble or a Twin with a BB Pre presets and this sucker sings!

this is my #1 go to guitar -- my other is a tyler Burning Water 2K

John Suhr is Da Man!

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My go to is a Suhr Modern. If I dime the tone knob, it is bright, but that's why I dime the tone knob. I rarely do that. FYI, my Modern has a SSH in the neck and an SSH+ in the bridge. My Modern's pickups would not reasonably be described as bright or thin. With the tone knob set to the indent, or just on the treble side, I get super tone. Not muddy on the bottom, nice full mids, and a great singing tone. I like to be able to use the tone knob to brighten it up or mellow it out as I want. It has a great sweet spot and just sings. Suhr is no more an over-priced Ibanez than Fractal is an over-priced POD. Materials, build quality, fretwork, etc. is superb. I'm considering getting another.

I think many guitars are too bright if you dime the tone knob and just emphasize the treble. Some may love that sound, but I prefer a more balanced tone with good bottom in the low registers, nice mids and sweet rather than bright high registers. My Suhr has that tone and plays like buttah, and that is why I like it so much. To each their own. Fender guys love their Fenders, and rightly so. Suhr guys love their Suhrs and rightly so. The tone knob on my Suhr is very responsive to my touch. I use that in my playing.
 
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