Suhr Guitars Carved Top Standard

This review is for a 2008 Suhr Standard Carve Top. The spec includes alder body wood with a 3/16" quilted maple carved top, hard rock maple neck with pao ferro fretboard, heavy stainless steel frets, Gotoh Floyd Rose and locking nut, SSH+ bridge humbucker, V60 LP single coil middle and SSV neck humbucker with coil tapping on both humbuckers from a puch pull tone switch. The finish is Bengal on the headstock and maple, with an auburn stain on the alder. The neck is a C slim RB shape (0.8-0.85) and the nut a 1.650 width. Included in the price was a beautiful G&G custom shaped case. In terms of features, it lacks nothing! But that's the joy of a custom made guitar, you get exactly what you want.

The choice of woods along with the HSH set up was always designed to give me a relatively aggresive but smooth and versatile super strat. After playing numerous Washburns, Ibanezes and Ernie Balls over the years, I never quite got the guitar I wanted. This was really the distillation of 20 years of guitar buying and hasn't disappointed in the slightest. The Alder/Maple/ Pao Ferro combination is very much aimed at an open and bright sounding guitar and more at the Strat end of the tone scale than a Les Paul. It works beautifully. It's hard to go over every sound available as, with the coil tap and disabled auto switching on position 2 and 4, I have 9 completely useable tones, and every one is to die for! Everything from the early Van Halen brown sound to Lukather/Carlton style fusion is here. I mainly play classic rock/pop/AOR and occasional jazz/blues. This guitar can cover every base. The only area it won't go into, and wasn't meant to, is the much chunkier Les Paul sound. You need mahogany for that...and I'm already making plans for another custom for that very job. I tend to run it directly into a Marshall AVT150 with a little delay/reverb for playing live, and use the Line 6 Toneport and Logic for recording. It brings both alive in a way that very few of my previous guitars could, and manages to make teh Line 6 software sound warm and most undigital like. Is there any noise present? Well, these are passive pick ups, and not active, so yes. But only on position 3, the single coil on it's own, as you'd expect. There's far less noise when it's combined with either humbucker, and the split 'buckers are remarkably quiet. I did enquire to John whether his Silent Single Coil system could be used, but he reckoned the expense and complexity of getting it to work with such varying outputs from the various combinations would lead to a lot more bulk. The noise is no worse than I had in my high end Jems in the same position, and a lot better than any Fender I've tried though. It adds character.

In terms of set-up, it arrived from California almost perfect! The strings had obviously stretched a little as the floating Floyd was leaning back a little and causing a little high E buzz, but a quick quarter turn on the trem claw screws to get it level and a retune and it was perfect, absolutely perfect! As for the rest of the guitar, the finish is staggeringly beautiful, the frets perfect, the satin maple on the neck and the pao ferro board completely, silkily smooth! At this level of guitar, you don't expect any flaws....and there are none! It plays incredibly well after that minor adjustment.

It's built like a tank. Really. It's easy to say that and almost a cliche, but it's true. The controls, the finish, the quality are all second to none. I'd fully expect it to outlast me! Would I depend on it solely? Absolutely. Even the Gotoh Floyd feels more stable than any Floyd, original, Ibanez or Musicman, that I've tried. It's far more accurately fashioned as well and outdoes just about any trem I've met so far.

Quite simply, second to none. If you send an e-mail to them, Ed Yoon in Customer Services will reply in 24 hours. If it's technical, John himself will often reply and the advice they give is absolutely sound. You can trust them 100%. The online forum from their site is a joy to use with no clashing of egos and some very useful advice, and I'd also give a quick mention to their Gallery page which shows all the guitars that have recently shipped in photographic form. Warning though, do not go near it if you have GAS. I've already seen finishes I'd love to own!!!

I've been playing, now, for 22 years and, after starting from the mid range Washburns in the 80s, worked my way up the Ibanez range, then Ernie Ball Musicman, which I never thought I'd see beaten on build quality. But artist models are always relatively limited beasts and the Suhr was a way of escaping that shadow and ordering a guitar where I got to choose exactly what I wanted from each of those previous guitars. I'm very glad to say, given the cost, that it has exceeded my expectations. Would I buy another one? I'm already saving up to give it a friend! Customising must be the ultimate form of GAS, but I have no intention of giving my money to any other company! These guys are, quite simply, at the top of the tree. Any regrets at all? Actually, no. The one worry I did have was over the pao ferro board. John tends to recommend it in combination with an Alder body, especially for rock playing, and I wasn't entirely sure how it would look or play. But I went with his advice. On receiving the guitar, it amazed me at just how smooth the board surface is, similar to ebony. None of the gritty feeling when bending strings that you get from even the best rosewood boards. The only thing I'd add is that if you do spec pao ferro, make sure you know it's a light milk chocolate colour, not dark like rosewood. It may affect what finish you choose. But it looks absolutely gorgeous with the bengal quilt, so I'm delighted they advised it.

John Suhr Carve Top Standard 2006, custom guitar

Basswood body in "trans wine red"
3/4" thick quilt maple top AAA-grade in "trans honey"
Maple neck w/vintage C medium shape in satin finish
Indian rosewood fingerboard (10" - 14" compound radius)
Match figured headstock, Laser-logo, hand signature of J. Suhr at the back
1.650" Tusq nut w/Buzz Feiten tuning system, 22 medium frets
Gotoh hardtail bridge, chrome
Sperzel locking tuners, chrome
Chrome knobs, side input jack
Volume, tone (push-pull for split), 5-way PU-switch
JST V60's single-coils for neck & middle, white
JST DSV humbucker, white
Form fitted solid G&G case, black vinyl

This guitar was built specified to my order - so I waited 6 months and I did get it exactly I wanted to!!!

I mostly like to play all the Knopfler-stuff...otherwise I play a lot Blues, Rock, Hard Rock, Funk & some Jazz things

My equipment: Fender HotRod DeVille 60 watt 2x12 combo w/Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, Boss OD-3, Boss BD-2, Boss DS-1, Artec analog stereo chorus, Artec analog delay, T-Rex room mate reverb, Peterson Strobostomp tuner, Vovox guitar cables
This setup works very well with my guitar!

Very clear and glassy clean tone! Overall tight and strong lows, warm mids and perfect rounded highs.
Get all the classic "Strat-sounds" of it with these pickups since I can split the humbucker for using as a singlecoil alone as well as with the middle PU. Never sounds harsh or too trebly, yet with a nice sparkling and glistening brightness!
Get I a lot of rich harmonics and let her "sing" is very easy with a little overdrive. The DSV humbucker is sounding similar to a '59 PAF-style PU...warm, but never muddy!!!

The tones unfold very fast and build up with a very, very long sustain - thanks to the hardtail bridge and the more resonating wood!!! :-)
Great tone dynamics possible with a big sense in playing attack!

The guitar has an overall round and warm sound, but with the right amount of brightness yet! The long sustain is a great feature for me...

Sounds exactly the way I like...can achieve a lot of different sounds with it!!!

This guitar is built this way: P-E-R-F-E-C-T-L-Y!!!!!! The guys at John Suhrs factory are real professionals, indeed!

With high quality parts and an absolutely flawless and wonderful finish! The factory set-up is ideally - no reason to change anything for me! The string height is quite low, very comfy to play but with NO fret buzz at all!!! Every single tone's sweet with the BFTS, just on-the-spot!!!

It's great fun to play with it, everything is in the right place and it feels like MY favorite guitar straight out of its case!!!

NEVER PLAYED SUCH A STUNNING GUITAR IN MY LIFE!!!

All the materials are solid and high quality, it's built to last!
This guitar is new, but it surely will survive me if used the "normal" way...

...I depend on this guitar and WILL NOT use a backup guitar, even if I have one!!! If you like to play always with a backup guitar DO NOT NEED to buy a Suhr!!! Or just buy another Suhr as backup guitar! ;-)))

Always good experiences with the people at Suhr...kind and expert!!! Have a lifetime warranty for no wearing parts...

This guitar is just the best thing in my life I bought - and quality has got its price, right? You get the best for your money for sure!

Hope to enjoy it a long time, it's a pure treasure for me!!!

Carved top mahogany body with quilt maple top and maple neck with matching headstock. 2 covered hb pickups with 5 way switicing and vol. and tone controls. has a Fishman bridge (no trem) and locking tuners. Neck is thin C type with indian rosewood fretboard.

I play blues, 'light' jazz and do some studio work. It is fabulously smooth sounding for jazz with excellent sustain for mod. blues. Using a Fender Stage 1600 dynatouch amp. Noise is zero from the 2 HB's and it has a full sound that is distinctly non strat. The bridge position yiels the warmest fattest tone I ever heard from this type og guitar and is much richer than a L.P.

Got it at Pianos n Stuff in Pittsburgh. perfect setup right off the wall. very low action and very slick with elexir strings. finish is flawless (the Lexus of guitars)I changed not one thing, John Suhr is a player too and it shows in the tactile sense you get from his instruments

I don't do much club work but it looks built to last.I depend on this guitar for every session I do and do not take a backup guitar because I really would not want to play the backup one.

No opportunity to deal with the company

I have played for 25 years. I own an SG standard and an older jazzmaster and a Larrivee classsical. If stolen I would have a duplicate made for me. What I love is the effortless action and the sensitivity of the pickups to a light touch. I compared it to PRS, Les Pauls, and numerous stratocasters. I don't dislike anything about this guitar, but sometimes i wish it had a Floyd Rose trem. this guitar has a playability that makes me want to try different tunes and genres, it encourages the player to "lean out".

2002 Suhr Carved Top Standard, LP brown mahogany body, trans honey AAAAA quilted maple carve top, plain grain maple neck with Madagascar rosewood fingerboard. Black painted headstock. Volume, tone and 5 way controls. EMG active pickups, SA-SA-85 singlecoil/singlecoil/humbucker combo. Gloss finish body and neck with full tinted binding around neck, headstock and body. Chrome hardware. Standard steel block tremelo with push in arm. 1.65" tusq nut, 11-14" radius fingerboard, even C slim neck, 22 heavy frets, Sperzel locking tuners. Deluxe case included ($180 for the case which is compulsory).
John Suhr and his team made this guitar to my exact specs, it is similar in design (but better in construction) to John's original #1 Pensa-Suhr guitar he built for Mark Knopfler and which has been seen and heard in many Dire Straits recordings of the 1990's. The only differences are Knopfler's had a Floyd Rose trem, gold hardware and a midboost.
Because this guiltar was made exactly to my specs I have to give it full marks here.

Well, you have to be a fan of EMG pickups to love the sound. It is super clear with the single coils and roll down the tone and you get a really smooth warm sound. It is not going to give you true vintage single coil action, if that is what you want then John Suhr can give it to you with his fabulous V60 pickups. I wanted to get a sound close to Knopfler's 1990's sound and this guitar does it for me. The EMG 85 humbucker can go from creamy smooth tone with a nice hint of breakup with a valve amp (think Brothers In Arms)to full on power distortion, it is a little warmer than the EMG 89 'bucker. Staying with the MK sounds for a moment, this guitar will recreate any of Knopfler's signature tones from Sultans Of Swing right through to Money For Nothing and more. It will also give you many other sounds as well and will pretty much suit any musical style from blues and jazz through to thrash, it's all there. I fingerpick, Travis style and this instrument suits the sounds I want perfectly. The only thing it can't give you, as I stated earlier, is true vintage tone, this is a refection of the active pickups not the guitar woods so I'll give it

The guitar was set up very well from the moment I opened the case. The action is ultra low and when played unplugged there is a bit of fret buzz. I put this down to the very low action, .009-.042 strings and the climate change from the warmth of California to the, well, variable weather I get here. The store it was ordered through offered to just tweak the truss rod a little to sort it and when I get chance I'll take it in. It is pretty minor though and doesn't affect it when plugged in. The pickup height was perfect and so was the set up of the saddles, intonation is spot on. This guitar uses the Buzz Feiten tuning system and in my opinion every guitar should be built using this system. Every note on every fret, every chord is sweet, no flat or sharp notes anywhere. Perfect. The AAAAA quilted maple top was perfectly bookmatched and the finish on the whole guitar is flawless. I have owned quite a few instruments, Gibson Les Pauls, Fender Strats, a PRS Custom 22 to name just a few. The finish on this guitar is amazing. I sat and just looked at it for the first hour I had it! I couldn't find a single flaw. Fit and finish is truly 100% and I don't impress easily. I'll take off a point for the minor fret buzz, that's all.

This is an instrument that was built to last. It will survive me and I fully expect any children and grandchildren I have to have no problems with it. All the hardware is top quality, which you expect at this price. The finish is UV cured polyester and is rock hard yet thin as well and it should age well due to the fact it won't lose the plasticisers that nitro does over time. I would fully expect to gig it without a backup, however because the EMG pickups are battery powered, I would keep a second guitar for a larger gig, you never know!

I have never met anybody as friendly and helpful in this business as John Suhr. His customer service is THE best. John would even email me if he though I may want anything different (he suggested the tint on the binding to give a more subtle look to the top and I'm glad he did). I must of sent him 20 or so emails about minor changes or with questions and he replied to them all and gave me updates on the progress of the build process. I don't expect to ever have a warranty issue but John stands behind his instruments and the warranty is lifetime to the original owner, you probably won't need it though.

I own various instruments of all price ranges and I was looking for something built for me by the best. John's guitars are not expensive you simply get what you pay for, top quality. Certain large companies offering reissues for five times the price of what they should retail at, that is overpriced. John uses the finest woods and hardware available with top class lutherie, that is what you pay for. I had never seen or played anything like this before. I talked to people, read reviews and did my homework and I can say I made the right choice. I waited 7 months for my custom instrument. It can take upto a year for a custom order to be completed but it really is worth it (this coming from someone with very little patience!) If you check John's dealers they will usually have something in store or on order if you don't want to wait. I've not seen a bad Suhr guitar ever.
I have waited until I have evaluated this guitar fully before posting a review because I didn't want to write something based on first impressions. It truly is an amazing instrument and worth the hardship involved for me to buy it. I ain't a rich dude but I don't mind working hard to buy an instrument like this.
If it was stolen and I didn't find the person responsible I would buy another, no question. If I did find the person responsible, well, do they let you play a guitar in prison? Seriously though, overall, the guitar, John's customer service and every area of this purchase has been great and hassle free. Go out and order a Suhr, you won't regret it ever.

There are two identical guitars custom made to our requirements but maintain 100% Suhr features and design. They are carved top Suhr Standard style with 2 humbuckers and one single coil in the middle, the pickups are all made in house by John Suhr et al. The body wood is one-piece solid quilted maple, and the neck is a one-piece solid "crushed velvet" flamed maple. The wood grain is like a dream come true. The conventional measures of top 10 or AAAAA is not sufficient to rate the rare beautiful quality of these solid one-piece figure wood components. The HSH, Floyd Rose original, Buzz Feitung system, etc. provide more features than would be needed. Gold color metal parts blend nicely with the honey wood finish, very beautiful two pieces of artwork.
The body shape is superb for ease of handling and comfort. The body and neck are elegantly designed and constructed to achieve optimal features in ergonomic and aesthetics. It is a pleasant and comfortable experience to play these guitars.

Only one of the twin guitars was played through a vintage 1965 Fender Dual Showman and the sound is superb; bright and clean and very sweet, with a lot of vintage Fender sound and distinctive Suhr tone.

The guitars are set up perfectly; the low action makes the strings bending effortless. The wood stain is optimal for bringing out the live 3 dimensional graphics of the wood grains with very subtle burst to make it very beautiful and elegant. The finish is flawless; the surface is devoid of any defect or unevenness. The body and neck wood are flawless, not a black spot or streak could be found on the wood, absolutely immaculate. The extremely high quality of the wood alone is a rare beauty, which makes the guitars look majestic and beautiful. The green and blue abalone marking dots and the Suhr logo on the headstock shine like rare black Australian opals. The main feature of these twin guitars is to show off the beauty of the figure wood, so only very simple marking dot inlays is provided on the one-piece solid neck surface. The neck is done with a special matt finish that feel like touching the bare wood. The binding is unbelievably beautiful and extremely well executed, not a minute flaw could be detected under very careful visual inspection and by the feel of fingers. The workmanship and quality of the material for these two guitars are so perfect that it is hard to believe they are real. One such quality guitar is already very difficult to produce, let alone two almost identical guitars are made at the same time, but John did it.

The guitar just arrived a few days ago through UPS across the Pacific Ocean and made some stops along the way. When it was taken out of the case, the set up was perfect and no tuning required, it was ready to be plugged in the amp and played. Judging from the extremely well engineered and constructed finished products, I don't expect to see any problem developing with the guitars other than through careless use or lack of maintenance.

I must have called John more than 10 times discussing about many details of the guitars while being designed and built. His assistance and patients are just superb. His attitude is very professional and very friendly. I had many technical questions/concerns, and he always gave me very satisfactory answers. I was never disapointed by John. Nothing, no matter how minor, of the design and construction of the guitars was overlooked by John.

Overall, these two guitars are more like artwork for display in a museum of arts, but the good tone and ease of handling make you feel like using them as the work guitars. They are good work guitars and will be well used in the decades to come. The presence of John Suhr will certainly raise the standards by which other top quality world class electric guitars will be judged.
The one guitar being tested easily outshines our other guitars like Gibson LP Std. plus, vintage 1965 Jazzmaster, 1973 vintage Strat, G&L Fullerton, Ibanez JPM02, Gibson ES-355, Gibson Flying V, etc. all played through the same vintage 1965 Dual Showman.
If any one would like to get more information, I would be glad to help. Just send your email to: aledtan@rad.net.id.
Howard