NGD: Holy f* I actually bought one (Suhr Modern Satin)

[Promit]

Completely first of all - I want to thank two dealers. First, Brett at Eddie's Guitars for originally posting about this guitar in the Emporium and offering me a price that actually put it within reach. Second, Vince at Lark Guitars for hooking me up with one in stock, also at a manageable price, when someone beat me to the one Eddie's was selling.

I agonized about this purchase forever, having never spent more than a thousand on a guitar. Usually I'd buy something similar to what I wanted, then make changes over time. Pickups, electronics, new tuners, new bridge, new nut, get a pro setup/plek... it adds up. I think it's easier to be blind about the actual price when doing that, and more importantly it's easy to be blind to the failings of the guitar. "Oh I'll fix that next/soon/eventually", I've said to myself a hundred times.

Well, I finally decided to find at least one guitar where I didn't have to worry about fixing it or overlooking problems. Plus I needed an external reference for what constitutes perfect, and I don't think anybody would question John Suhr's dedication to making his guitars perfect. Apart from that, I really appreciated his participation on the various forums around the net, his obvious commitment to customer satisfaction, and so many other things.

Okay, let's talk about the guitar before this turns into an Oscar's speech Again, I'm someone who wasn't really convinced that this caliber of instrument had a point. I've played expensive instruments in stores before -- PRS, Ibanez JEM, G&L, Fender Deluxe, and come away unimpressed. At first, this guitar seemed similar. Fine, but just another in a sea of fine instruments.

And then an hour is gone. And two. It's still only been a few hours, but what I'm noticing is there's no earth shattering "OMG this feels awesome moment". It's just a guitar that smoothly, confidently does everything it's asked. The pickups are excellent. The taper of the knobs is excellent. The treble bleed is perfect. The tone knob is usable through almost the entire sweep! The body is light and resonant, the neck and frets are perfect, there are no dead spots, tuning holds and the trem returns nicely. I could do with a thicker neck, but ultra-thin seems to be the style now and the profile doesn't seem to cause any discomfort.

I believe I had more things to say but I need to spend less time typing and more time playing now

 

[bouVIP]

That red is simple and elegant! Amazing guitar HNGD!


That's cool that you bought it from Lark Guitars! I actually know Vince lol glad to see the newly opened store getting a sale already! He's also been trying to get me to try out Suhrs, but they are out of price range haha.

 

[HighGain510]

Very nice, congrats man! You hit the nail on the head as far as playability goes too. All of the Suhr Moderns I've owned were just monsters as far as playability goes. I had the same sort of feeling when my latest one arrived... "Okay, it looks nice, frets are perfect, but it's not really knocking me out..." But then I looked at the clock and realized I had been playing for 2 hours! They are just guitars that the old, overused saying actually applies to: "This thing plays so nice, it practically plays itself!"

 

[pushpull7]

Someday I'll be smart enough to get a suhr! Nice one!

 

[Promit]

I remember what I was going to say now. This guitar is crazy lightweight! Must be 6 lbs or so? Reminds me of paulownia but without the balance issue and a better tone to it. That's part of why time slips away I think - it doesn't feel like a guitar has been weighing you down.

 

[mniel8195]

The guitar store in Seattle is going to become a sugar dealer soon I can't wait to try a satin. It's just a great price point.

 

[valuable_user]

Nice guitar. HNGD

 

[Stompmeister]

Sweet lookin git man. Sure as hell likin some of these Suhrs that are comin out. Quick question though, is the nut supposed to hang off the fretboard like that? I know it doesnt affect playability but i would expect a bit more attention to detail on such an instrument of this caliber.

 

[technomancer]

Great score, didn't think I'd like the red satin but that looks pretty sweet

Sweet lookin git man. Sure as hell likin some of these Suhrs that are comin out. Quick question though, is the nut supposed to hang off the fretboard like that? I know it doesnt affect playability but i would expect a bit more attention to detail on such an instrument of this caliber.

Not seeing what you're talking about I see a sliver of nut shim in the first pic?

 

[Electric Wizard]

^Look at the first picture again. The base of the locking nut looks like it has a few millimeters just hanging over the headstock.

Cool guitar dude. I didn't know that Suhr was doing colored satin models.

 

[Promit]

Yeah, the nut hangs off the edge of the fretboard; the cut shelf isn't as large as the floyd nut. Looks like the fretboard is exactly the same size between the floyd and non-floyd versions of this guitar, and so there's not quite enough space behind the nut. Doesn't bother me in any case.

 

[gizmi7]

Looks both simple and awesome, congrats!

 

[Dana]

dude, awesome. its reminds me (in a good way) of a washburn n2. maybe its the color or the simple elegant design. i hate flashy, so this guitar is my type of fiddle.

 

[SpaceDock]

Sweet lookin git man. Sure as hell likin some of these Suhrs that are comin out. Quick question though, is the nut supposed to hang off the fretboard like that? I know it doesnt affect playability but i would expect a bit more attention to detail on such an instrument of this caliber.

It's designed like that, just google the Suhr Moden Floyd.

 

[technomancer]

^Look at the first picture again. The base of the locking nut looks like it has a few millimeters just hanging over the headstock.

Cool guitar dude. I didn't know that Suhr was doing colored satin models.

Ah ok, as somebody else pointed out that's how the nut shelf is designed on the Suhrs so I didn't even register it when I was looking.

 

[ej207t]

this just made my black underwear go white.

the floyd nut is the same on mine too, it overhangs a little. Not sure why they do that, doesnt really do anything to the guitar itself. But HighGain pretty much said it all, they play themselves!

HNGD!

 

[ToneLab]

I remember what I was going to say now. This guitar is crazy lightweight! Must be 6 lbs or so? Reminds me of paulownia but without the balance issue and a better tone to it. That's part of why time slips away I think - it doesn't feel like a guitar has been weighing you down.

I know what you mean on this. I just got an ESP Jon Donais sig model and I just can't believe how light and balanced it is. Satin finish, your hand just glides over it, both picking hand for strumming and high up the neck and fretting hand on the back of neck. It's almost like it isn't there its so light and smooth. Reminded me immediately of the Suhr modern satin's I had played. Very nice guitar. Congrats.

 

[Yimmj]

Oh my god :O thats amazing man. a (not suprisingly) beautiful suhr

 

[Grindspine]

Wow, does that have an Original Floyd? I thought Suhr had switched over to the Gotoh Floyds.

 

[Promit]

Wow, does that have an Original Floyd? I thought Suhr had switched over to the Gotoh Floyds.

This is what their customer service guy posted on their forum:

It is in fact an original Floyd. We revisited the Floyd's and found them to be much improved. The tone and performance are excellent.

The African Mahogany is bright and lively sounding with some nice sparkle on the top end. It's also lighter weight than standard Mahogany. Average weight on this batch are running around 6lbs! The weight may vary in future batches, so if lightweight is something you're looking for, then you may want to get on board with one of this first run of Modern Satins.

The light weight African Mahogany, combined with the thin satin finish, makes for an extremely resonant guitar. These things just ring like crazy.

I think the OFR is cheaper than the Gotoh, helps them hit the price point on this guitar. Suhr had criticized the OFR heavily in 2007, but I guess they got their act together.