Just when I thought I had enough... it's a NGD. A Suhr.

[polara]

I had been doing a good job prepping for the 2025 move to Sweden. Lots of housecleaning, lots of giving stuff away, moving investment accounts, put my resident visa application in months ago, and am starting to get rid of music stuff. But Saturday morning Missus Polara and I stopped in Guitar Center to get a pair of powered speakers to rent for Porchfest. And in a stand next to the rentals counter was a powder blue Suhr Classic S, with HSH pickups (chrome covers on the humbuckers.) I picked it up and strummed it as we waited.

Damn.

Yeah, I got it. I Googled the serial number and it was originally like so...

...but it now has chrome humbuckers in the bridge and neck positions. The pickguard is perfect in terms of fit and matches the vibrato cavity cover, so I SUSPECT it had been bought, the buyer wanted more "oomph" and so sent it to Suhr to be modified, as they come routed for HSH anyway. Then, after apparently playing it once... sold it to Guitar Center.

Not a scratch or smudge on it. The size of the neck is very nice, not as small as a Music Man, not as chonk as a 50s Gibson. Finish is flawless, neck sits perfectly in the pocket, and the frets are polished and rounded at the ends like nothing I've ever seen. When I change strings I'll see what the pickups are, but I suspect Suhr vintage-y something because the volume and overall tone is pretty consistent in all five positions. Beefier in bridge and neck than a Strat of course, but it's not as if the guitar changes personalities. Wasn't cheap, but no more than a new Eastman.

I've literally never touched a Suhr before, but this one, when I picked it up, just spoke to me. Took it straight to the gig, and Missus Polara siad she'd never seen me having so much fun playing.

[tbonesullivan]

I really, REALLY love the looks of a strat. I just wish that I was as much of a fan of the bridge pickup. I guess I spent too much time playing a Gibson SG with a P90 to ever be able to love the strat bridge pickup.

Glad you love the guitar. Looks like a real keeper, and that subtle body color definitely works great with the maple fretboard and white pickguard.

[polara]

8 minutes ago, tbonesullivan said:

I really, REALLY love the looks of a strat. I just wish that I was as much of a fan of the bridge pickup. I guess I spent too much time playing a Gibson SG with a P90 to ever be able to love the strat bridge pickup.

Glad you love the guitar. Looks like a real keeper, and that subtle body color definitely works great with the maple fretboard and white pickguard.

Same here. Ergonomically they're pretty much perfect, but the trad Strat sound is too wiry and spiky for me, especially on the bridge pickup. Obviously there's an industry built around super-strats so that's not a concern any more, and the number of builders, from Temu to Tyler, means you can buy endless Strat-shaped objects, with endless types of wood, bridges, and electronics, at any price point. This one manages to keep a bit of the clarity and airiness I like in the Strat sound while having more warmth and midrange. But what really gets to me is the feel. I guess it's the combination of tight tolerances, really good wood and parts, and lots of time spent on the final finishing. It has a "fun" quality that's hard to explain, and hard to find.

[tbonesullivan]

12 minutes ago, polara said:

Same here. Ergonomically they're pretty much perfect, but the trad Strat sound is too wiry and spiky for me, especially on the bridge pickup. Obviously there's an industry built around super-strats so that's not a concern any more, and the number of builders, from Temu to Tyler, means you can buy endless Strat-shaped objects, with endless types of wood, bridges, and electronics, at any price point. This one manages to keep a bit of the clarity and airiness I like in the Strat sound while having more warmth and midrange. But what really gets to me is the feel. I guess it's the combination of tight tolerances, really good wood and parts, and lots of time spent on the final finishing. It has a "fun" quality that's hard to explain, and hard to find.

I've still got two G&L Legacy guitars, that I just need to clean up and re-string before selling, and they definitely have a bit more 'oomph' on the bridge pickup, especially the one with the Dimarzio INjector pickups. But, when compared to say my Jazzmaster, they are just lacking something. I considered turning them into SSH guitars, but I'm a big fan of big bends and double stop bends, so having a floating tremolo is kind of an issue.

Suhr guitars are top top top tier. I really wish they had a decked tremolo option or a hard tail for their more 'modern' designs, but I guess now that I've been "ibanez'd" its a moot point.

[RobB]

47 minutes ago, tbonesullivan said:

I really, REALLY love the looks of a strat. I just wish that I was as much of a fan of the bridge pickup.

Wire it up with a bridge tone pot and a Strat becomes much more usable. 

[Jimbilly]

I have a DiMarzio HS-2 (stacked hum, medium output) at the bridge of my 'strat', pretty happy with that.

[Jakeboy]

7 hours ago, RobB said:

Wire it up with a bridge tone pot and a Strat becomes much more usable. 

This.

[tbonesullivan]

8 hours ago, RobB said:

Wire it up with a bridge tone pot and a Strat becomes much more usable. 

I am always amazed that fender STILL has stuck by that original wiring. The TBX system is far better, as is the PTB system that G&L uses. Why would you NOT want a tone control for the pickup with the most treble to control?

[Travis]

On 10/21/2024 at 10:30 AM, polara said:

I had been doing a good job prepping for the 2025 move to Sweden. Lots of housecleaning, lots of giving stuff away, moving investment accounts, put my resident visa application in months ago, and am starting to get rid of music stuff. But Saturday morning Missus Polara and I stopped in Guitar Center to get a pair of powered speakers to rent for Porchfest. And in a stand next to the rentals counter was a powder blue Suhr Classic S, with HSH pickups (chrome covers on the humbuckers.) I picked it up and strummed it as we waited.

Damn.

Yeah, I got it. I Googled the serial number and it was originally like so...

...but it now has chrome humbuckers in the bridge and neck positions. The pickguard is perfect in terms of fit and matches the vibrato cavity cover, so I SUSPECT it had been bought, the buyer wanted more "oomph" and so sent it to Suhr to be modified, as they come routed for HSH anyway. Then, after apparently playing it once... sold it to Guitar Center.

Not a scratch or smudge on it. The size of the neck is very nice, not as small as a Music Man, not as chonk as a 50s Gibson. Finish is flawless, neck sits perfectly in the pocket, and the frets are polished and rounded at the ends like nothing I've ever seen. When I change strings I'll see what the pickups are, but I suspect Suhr vintage-y something because the volume and overall tone is pretty consistent in all five positions. Beefier in bridge and neck than a Strat of course, but it's not as if the guitar changes personalities. Wasn't cheap, but no more than a new Eastman.

I've literally never touched a Suhr before, but this one, when I picked it up, just spoke to me. Took it straight to the gig, and Missus Polara siad she'd never seen me having so much fun playing.

Looks KILLER!  Congrats on scoring a sweet Suhr. Got any pics of it with the humbuckers in it?

 

[Disturber]

On 10/21/2024 at 5:30 PM, polara said:

I had been doing a good job prepping for the 2025 move to Sweden. 

Congrats, I like that color. Subtle blue. 

Where are you relocating to? South of Sweden, around Skåne?

[polara]

5 hours ago, Disturber said:

Congrats, I like that color. Subtle blue. 

Where are you relocating to? South of Sweden, around Skåne?

Missus Polara has applied for a few jobs in Lund, Malmö, and Copenhagen. So it looks like someplace around there. Polara Junior took her uni language test Wednesday, and I guess I go to the Consulate to confirm I'm not completely mad and like sill.

[polara]

7 hours ago, Travis said:

Looks KILLER!  Congrats on scoring a sweet Suhr. Got any pics of it with the humbuckers in it?

 

I took the pickguard off when I changed strings. It was neatly wired with 500k pots and a Duncan Pearly Gates neck, an APS-1 (Alnico II Pro@) middle, and Pearly Gates bridge. I YooToobed a few sound clips of the Suhr vintage single-coils vs Duncans, and I can understand why someone would do that. Even in the videos, all the vintage-voiced Suhr pickups are quite bright and clear. I guess the pickup swap dropped the resale value, but these pickups in a Strat-style guitar sound good to me, as I've never cared much for the 60s Strat vibe... too zingy!

[Travis]

4 hours ago, polara said:

I took the pickguard off when I changed strings. It was neatly wired with 500k pots and a Duncan Pearly Gates neck, an APS-1 (Alnico II Pro@) middle, and Pearly Gates bridge. I YooToobed a few sound clips of the Suhr vintage single-coils vs Duncans, and I can understand why someone would do that. Even in the videos, all the vintage-voiced Suhr pickups are quite bright and clear. I guess the pickup swap dropped the resale value, but these pickups in a Strat-style guitar sound good to me, as I've never cared much for the 60s Strat vibe... too zingy!

I’d call that an upgrade. But that’s just me and my preferences. I bet the pearly gates sounds sweet in the neck of that thing. 

[Disturber]

9 hours ago, polara said:

Missus Polara has applied for a few jobs in Lund, Malmö, and Copenhagen. So it looks like someplace around there. Polara Junior took her uni language test Wednesday, and I guess I go to the Consulate to confirm I'm not completely mad and like sill.

We drove around Österlen this past summer for a week. It is lovely down there. My grandmother was from Lund. It's a nice little town.