Help me choose a Suhr Classic

[fractal]

Hi all,

I posted this on the Suhr message board, but I thought I'd check here too...

I'm really thinking about getting a Suhr Classic. Trouble is, I can't decide what woods to get. I'm thinking about alder with maple, and ash with rosewood, although alder with rosewood makes sense.

I don't want to qualify with my setup or music preference - instead I just want to get your preferences and opinions.

Anyone want to post their favorite?

(Even if it isn't a Suhr...)

Thanks,
-Garrett

[Scottone]

I like the Ash and Rosewood combination on my CS Tele and I'm sure it would translate well to a Suhr as well. Think Robben Ford's tele tone.

[tms13pin]

My '79 strat is ash with a maple neck and board. It's the
greatest strat wood combo ever. Period, IMO. For what
that's worth.... And leave it all natural finished. Let the wood
show its true colors.

--Tom

[OLIE J]

My favorite wood for the Classic is alder with rosewood board, with alder/maple running a close second. I don't really know why, but I just prefer alder bodies on strat type guitars.

[MikeP]

Originally posted by Suhr


In my opinion it is hard to go wrong with Maple Neck, Ash body or Indian Rosewood with Alder Body.:dude



You will love the Suhr & it is hard to go wrong with what Suhr himself suggests. He should know eh? ;)

You didn't say Classic T so I guess your getting the Classic S type?

I am pretty traditional in tones & love my Classic Suhr with the Alder body & Maple/Indian rosewood neck.

I also have a Suhr T & never had a doubt sight unseen that I would buy the Swamp Ash body with the 1 piece Maple neck. Classic T tones all the way.

I'm so happy with these guitars. The tones are Classic all the way.

Mike

[Reeek]

I'm going with Suhr Classic or a Grosh.

What about string trees?

Are they part of the "tone" and "mojo"?

I seem to notice that Melancon and Grosh use them and John Suhr doesn't. T Anderson uses them too.

Am I being too picky about the modernization part of today's retro style guitars?

I still think the Suhr because although I want a retro style axe, I know I'd be unhappy with too much "real life authenticity of retro". I do want that look but with today's knowledge and technology making it sound and play it's best.

So, John Suhr, You say the one piece maple neck on an ash body will be more piano like?

That's what I'm after since I have all humbucker guitars today.

Are straight grain one piece maple neck less stable than a maple and rosewood neck? That is my only issue. I was thinking alder/maple/rosewood but I want spank, pop and clarity. The feel is not an issue to me. I can do both in that regard.

Also, explain the heavy frets as far as size/dimensions. I have never had SS frets before but have read all the pros/cons posts about them all over the place. I like 6100 fretwire and play it well but I have been enjoying medium jumbos more again lately. I'm leaning toward the 6105 SS for some odd reason. Perhaps because this guitar won't be real cheap and I expect I'll be playing it more than many other guitars.

I hear the Heavy frets are a popular option on the Suhr guitars though.

Thanks a lot everyone! I'm all giddy now that I've decided to pull the trigger on a top-o-the-line guitar.

[TNJ]

You should be (giddy)!
I'm still giddy when I pick up my Suhr Classic (Ol' Yeller) now into my 2nd year of ownership. I dont usually say such things. :D
Mine is the alder/rosewood variety with the VLP60 pups.
Sweet!
S>j

[Reeek]

I can buy this one right now for a good price. I was thinking about a gold color of some sort but this one is VERY close to what I'm looking for. ONly the color and the neck contour would perhaps be what I changed. I like bigger necks but this one isn't small either. Any have this neck profile?

I want the VST pickups, swamp

I want the Sperzels but who prefers the Kluson over those? Anyone?

[TNJ]

I have the locking tuners, Sperzel I think.
Man, changing a string takes about 45 seconds.
Amazing.
S.
j

[Reeek]

Originally posted by TNJ
I have the locking tuners, Sperzel I think.
Man, changing a string takes about 45 seconds.
Amazing.
S.
j

I like them too. I never seemed to notice any tonal detriments using them.

[Scottone]

Originally posted by Suhr
I generally would not recommend Ash Body, rosewood fingerboard unless you have a dark sounding amp or like a lot of sizzle. If you notice Leo always did Maple with Ash or Rosewood with Alder. Sometimes Maple with Alder is also nice. But it is very rare to ever see a vintage tele with Ash/Rosewood.

Weren't all the blonde early 60's tele's ash with the rosewood board?

I've actually had two guitars with this combo...an early 90's G&L Classic, which was my only electric for several years, and this CS Tele. There is certainly a lot of zing in the high end and a really tight bass...probably not a great match for blackface Fender amps.

[TNJ]

Tele Custom...great axes all!
S.
j

[fractal]

Thanks all!

(Hmmmm, choices...)

[fuzzyguitars]

The Suhr that I got coming is

swamp ash body

maple neck

and the new jumbo 6100 stainless steel fretwire!

I have a standard with then even c slim neck and love it.

but I was at the shop and tried the 60s slim and then the

even c medium and the even c medium was so nice that I opted for that too.


As for the stainless steel fret option I would recommend it!

Silky smooth frets without fear of tarnishing, and years before needing a fretjob even with heavy handed players and heavy gauge strings like me!

I think there is very little tonal difference. Just maybe a hint more of pschoacoutistic "ping" to the high end of a note. And i emphasize the "psycho" in psychoacoutsic!

[PlexiBreath]

I too am pondering the tonewood question for the Suhr I'm having built. I already have two alder body Strats and would like to have at least one in swamp ash. I like the light weight and resonance of swamp ash bodies. But I don't like maple fingerboards.

However, I am taking to heart what John Suhr is saying about the drawbacks of the combination of rosewood fingerboard with swamp ash body, it complicates my decision as I prefer a rosewood fingerboard. To add another variable to this mix is that I'm having a Skyway bridge on this guitar which transfers a whole lot of string vibration into the body. The only guitar I've played with rosewood/ash/Skyway had a chambered ash body, it sounded great but the chambering introduced too big a variable.

I find myself reluctantly considering having this guitar made with an alder body as there are many other things about this guitar that are different than my other Strats anyway, such as the SS frets, Silent Single Coil System and the Skyway bridge. Besides, when at Tone Merchants I did get a chance to play a Scott Henderson Suhr Classic which was rosewood/alder with the Silent Single Coil system, the tone was stellar and showed that of the variations of the rosewood/alder combination, Suhr knows how to select the sweetest wood.

Only one guitar that I do know of with plenty of recorded examples that's rosewood fingerboard and ash body is the Tele Jimmy Page played the first year with Led Zeppelin, the one with the psycodelic paint job, but that may have been a thrown together parts guitar.

[tthompso7]

I've owned a few Suhrs... 2 S classics (both 60's type alder, maple/rosewood) and 1 T classic (ash, maple). The Tele was a one peice (swamp) ash and I wish I never let it go. I really liked them all for different reasons but I stick with the classic wood combos. Fender had this right the first time...I'd go with John's advice and stay clear of the ash/maple/rosewood combo.

[PlexiBreath]

Originally posted by Suhr
You sure about that?
I dont remember any Fender being stock Rosewood board and Ash Body.

One alternative is a Pau Ferro Fingerboard, it has a similar tone to Maple but looks and feels like Rosewood
I've seen closeups of the Page Tele and it's ash body with rosewood fingerboard. However, there's no logo on the headstock so I'm assuming it was built from spare parts, a neck here, a body there. It was given to Jimmy Page by Jeff Beck so it may have been something Jeff threw together from parts of different guitars that he wanted to get rid of. But I'm only speculating, I don't know the whole story.

[Scottone]

here's another thread discussing the body wood - neck wood combos

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=99307

[Srini]

I have a Warmoth swamp-ash/maple neck/Braz board Strat with Anderson pickups and it sounds great. It used to have a koa neck and pau ferro board, but I think the tone has improved tremendously after the neck change - but that may also be because I went to a fatback carve (1" throughout).

The exciting news for me is that I just ordered a Suhr Standard, and this is probably not a very common setup, but I'm hoping to get a Strat/335 cross with it - chambered mahogany/koa top, mahogany neck, Braz board, hardtail, with a H/S/H set up. Needless to say, even C huge.

Can't wait!

[PlexiBreath]

I was tempted to do an entire rosewood neck as a one-piece on this guitar, but have no idea how that would sound, it would sure look cool though.

[Vince]

Originally posted by Suhr
Could be
...during the glory days of Fender ....50's to Mid 60's you didnt usually see Ash with Rosewood. I think that was for a reason

You think it was sonic John? I always thought it was Don Randall. I'm sure some of the production issues with ash helped facilitate the switch to alder, but it took 3 years to make the move to the "classier" appeal of the rosewood board. I think Randall wanted to be in that market to chase Gibson. I think if they'd stayed with ash after '56 and all things being the same in the market, they would have still gone with rosewood and ash.

Ash and rosewood is one of my favorite combinations, especially with the 25" scale of the Legato. With a medium to light body, I don't find it to be overly brittle and the bottom is rich and full without being muddy. The highest highs are clear but not sizzly, and the secont tier highs are well defined and very crystalline. The middle is a bit scooped compared to the othe ends of the spectrum, but still tight.

[Reeek]

fractal,

My Suhr Classic arrived yesterday. You can't go wrong. I'm going to stop gushing about it like a giddy child but the bottom line is this Suhr Classic has done something I never knew could happen. It has changed me from a gung ho humbucker lover who could never like a Strat style guitar up till now and it has become my favortie guitar by far at this point. Last night I played her for 2 hours through my JBL Twin, my Sano 160R 1x12 and my Sano BA-1 1x15 (in the flavor for a Bassman 20 but with 2 EL84's instead)

It's the most playable guitar I have played in my life. It takes the veratility of a Strat and adds the playbility of other "fast" playing guitars and rolls them all into one and those pickups? Holy Smoke!

I must have a T style soon now . . .